The ongoing Senate Democratic snit over their lack of committee seats and chairman’s gavels could result in something much worse…a state government shutdown:
When the Assembly convened this year, Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling voted with his party to reorganize the Senate, giving the GOP an effective majority in the 20-20 chamber. The Republicans then did away with proportional representation in committee assignments. Democrats were not pleased. Last week they fought back, voting down the Senate version of the state budget and threatening to do the same to the House version. It takes 21 votes in the Senate to pass a budget, and Bolling can’t cast a tie-breaker as he could on the organizational question.
Democrats have offered a couple of fig-leaf rationales, but they don’t do much to hide the party’s real objective: more power, including co-chairmanship of Senate Finance. If they hold firm and prevent the House budget from passing, then there will be no budget. Period.
The RTD says Democrats are now engaged in a game of chicken. In the past, Republicans could be counted on to hold fast for a time, and then fold once the headlines got too hot for them. But there are signs this time that maybe, they won’t blink. Witness Senate majority leader Tommy Norment’s swipe at Democrat John Miller. Miller “was touting a budget amendment he sponsored to give Christopher Newport University an additional $2 million to help build a new student services center.” Norment responded:
“First John Miller asked the Senate to approve $2 million in funds for CNU. His colleagues included the funds he requested. John Miller then turns around and votes against the budget that includes the funds he requested. Adding insult to injury, he then takes credit for obtaining the funding he just voted against. That’s a level of hypocrisy and cynicism you just don’t see every day.
“John Miller’s votes against this budget carry real consequences. If John Miller or one of his Democratic colleagues does not vote in favor of a budget, there will be no budget – and no $2 million for the CNU Student Services Center. There’ll be no funding for anything in higher education, or in public schools or law enforcement or anything else that requires state funding. And, John Miller has it entirely within his power to fix that.
“It’s bad enough that Senator Miller is blocking the passage of the budget. But to then take credit for funding included in the budget he’s blocking is just wrong.”
In the debate over the budget, the Senate entertained and approved any number of Democratic spending amendments, only to witness those same Democrats turning thumbs down on the whole bill. At the time, some observers I’ve spoken with wondered why Norment put the chamber through this exercise, when he knew the Dems had no intention of voting for the budget.
Now it’s at least partially clear: whenever one of them “pulls a Miller,” and brags about the extra money he or she intends to bring back to the district, Norment can very quickly remind everyone how that same member voted against the overall budget and how it may lead to a complete government shut down.
Buckle-up, folks. It’s going to get bumpy…
