Last week, the Richmond Times Dispatch published an editorial by Bob Rayner that compared and contrasted the governing styles of the new Governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell (shown above), and President Barack Obama and his Democratic leadership in Congress. The editorial presents a clear picture of the differing governing styles, not just of the present incumbents in the Governor's Mansion in Richmond and the White House in Washington, but also of the difference in political philosophies between the Republican and Democratic Parties when put into action.
Here are some excerpts from Radnor's editorial:
"An extraordinary contrast is emerging between the style and philosophy of governing as practiced in the executive mansion just north of the Potomac River and the Executive Mansion just north of the James River. In Washington, President Obama is borrowing, taxing, and spending with abandon -- with little apparent concern about the long-term consequences of his unprecedented expansion of government control of the economy and the claims it will make on future earnings of the American people. The president's agenda relies on one-party power and minimal attempts at compromise.
In Richmond, on the other hand, Gov. Bob McDonnell has just closed a $4 billion budget deficit without raising taxes. To do so, he made significant cuts in a budget that had expanded by more than 70 percent in a decade* -- better than 28 percent for every citizen in Virginia (in inflation-adjusted dollars).....
McDonnell met the claims of those who insist that government must always grow -- even when growth in the private sector has stalled -- with the obvious but too rare assertion that limiting public spending is not only unavoidable in the wake of a deep recession, but sometimes healthy...
Facing the most challenging state budget gap in at least a generation, McDonnell crafted a bipartisan compromise that allowed the General Assembly to adjourn just one day later than planned.....
The most significant piece of McDonnell's budget -- though not widely noted -- was the decision to trim the pension costs of future state employees. By shifting the model for those hired after July 1 to one that more closely resembles private-sector retirement plans**, McDonnell took an enormous step in ensuring the state's solvency -- which should soon emerge as a distinct competitive advantage for Virginia's economic development -- while keeping faith with past promises made to current state workers.
This essential reform would have been impossible if Virginia politics were dominated by the public-sector unions that seem determined to drive California and New York, to name the most prominent examples, into bankruptcy, crippling tax increases -- or perhaps both. McDonnell has set an important precedent here.....
At the same time, he went out of his way to stress that Virginia wants "to have a good relationship with the federal government. We want to be partners in getting things done."
It's a good bet that McDonnell was aware even then that a federal decision concerning offshore drilling for oil and natural gas was in the pipeline -- if you'll excuse the pun -- and there was nothing to be gained by taking cheap shots at Washington. The governor's strong and early support for drilling off the coast of Virginia during last year's campaign -- derided as wishful thinking by his critics -- seems set to pay off big-time now that the president has started to clear the way.
McDonnell's subtle handling of his comments about the commonwealth's relationship with the feds emphasizes the style of governing he has used with such success in his first months in office. Call it principled pragmatism, based on a philosophy that recognizes the need for limited government -- and spending -- combined with a willingness to strike compromises that lead to action.....
As Washington sinks deeper in red ink and partisan acrimony, it would do well to look south and emulate the Richmond model being built by Virginia's new governor."
Footnotes: * In eight of the ten years during which Virginia's spending increased by 70%, the Governors were Democrats Mark Warner (now a US Senator) and Tim Kaine (now Chairman of the National Democratic Party).
** It's interesting that by shifting public pension plans to a model similar to the private sector that future government spending increases will be reduced. This demonstrates how much government spending is out of control. Recent polls have shown that public sector employees' compensation now exceeds average employee compensation in the private sector. In addition, the only sector of the economy in which there has been job growth over the period of the current recession has been in the public sector.
It is clear that out-of-control government spending that is characterized, not only by the current Democratic government in Washington, but by state governments run by the same party, must be reduced drastically to avert disastrous consequences to our nation. Instead all Democrats seem to be able to propose in order to reduce the government deficits they continue to build ever larger is to raise taxes on the "rich", the very people we must rely on to get the economy back on track and to boost employment in the private sector.
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