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Fight for the Right - Why Virginia’s Republican Party is on the verge of a meltdown.
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Apr 05, 2006 08:46pm |
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| Category | Commentary |
| News Date | Thursday, March 16, 2006 02:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | On one side are moderate Republicans who control the Senate, where the veteran Hawkins resides. Schooled in the Gov. John Dalton tradition of the Virginia GOP, they favor a pay-as-you-go fiscal philosophy and take what they call a more inclusionary view of Virginia voters’ needs.
On the other side are conservative Republicans, like Hurt — a minority in the Senate, but holding the reins of the House. Many are younger party faithful who quote Reagan. They’re more socially conservative and anti-tax, preaching the smaller government mantra epitomized by former Govs. George Allen and Jim Gilmore.
This moderate-conservative divide has deepened since 2000, soon after Republicans triumphantly gained control of both chambers of the statehouse. It was the first time in a century Republicans had taken hold of the majority, compelling then-Gov. Gilmore to declare to jubilant supporters: “Free at last, free at last, free at long last! Democracy has finally come to the Commonwealth!”
But the afterglow of that historic election night soon diminished in the tug-of-war between the party’s factions. Now, four years since leaving office, an exasperated Gilmore is attempting a comeback and sounding an alarm to his former colleagues. “The Republican Party is losing its message and theme to the people of Virginia,” he says.
On the surface, it seems like a difference of opinion that reasonable lawmakers could work out, particularly within their own party ranks. But it symbolizes the great divide over where the party should stand when it comes to fiscal responsibility.
“The stakes are so high, they both think they’re right,” says one Republican lobbyist. “I don’t think anyone’s willing to admit they’re wrong” — especially the more conservative ideologues in the House, he says, who are less likely to compromise, taking more absolute positions. |
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