Barnie Day’s post on the role of the Lieutenant Governor points to a fundamental contradiction in the structure and operation of Virginia state government.
On one hand, the Lieutenant Governor position is widely considered to be a steppingstone for a gubernatorial run.
The LG’s since 1977 have been Chuck Robb, Dick Davis, Doug Wilder, Don Beyer, John Hager, Tim Kaine, and Bill Bolling.
Each one of them has run for Governor, with the exception of Bolling (who is readying to do so).
Three (Robb, Wilder and Kaine) have become Governor. Two lost in a nomination battle to an Attorney General of their own party (Davis and Hager). And one (Beyer) lost the general election to an Attorney General of the other party.
If recent history is a guide, there is a 50% chance that a Lieutenant Governor will become Governor.
Yet while it is an extremely important political position, the actual job is part-time with no significant official responsibilities other than to preside over the Senate.
In the past, I’ve said that we should either let the Governor-Lieutenant Governor run as a team or empower the position with some real responsibilities.
Speaking politically, Bolling’s effort to carve out a prominent role in addressing a major challenge of the commonwealth is perfectly understandable, especially if Governor McDonnell is willing to provide him with the opportunity in a “McDonnell-Bolling” administration.
Day raises a very interesting question about whether Bolling will be granted the resources, staff and authority to actually function as the Commonwealth’s “Chief Job Creation Officer.”
But there may also, I think, be another factor at play here.
I don’t know a soul who believes that Attorney-General Elect Cuccinelli will adopt the Shrinking Violet conception of the AG’s role.
In the campaign, he spoke about having an aggressive and diverse agenda.
I’m certain that he’ll pursue this. Indeed, I would not be surprised if he becomes one of the most visible Attorney Generals in the country.
Given Bolling’s desire to follow the political path of Robb, Wilder and Kaine, he’ll want to ensure that he’s not overshadowed in the next four years by Cuccinelli.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves…
But what the heck..
Only in Virginia
Do we start talking about the next cycle before the Governor-Elect gets sworn in.
The American vice president, who presides over the Senate, may have a few lessons to offer. Dick Cheney was sometimes considered the most influential in that position. Most vps, on the other hand, have felt marginalized, even the politically adroit Lyndon Johnson, Kennedy’s vp. Harry Truman, who had been FDR’s, once lamented that the vice president was about as significant as a cow’s fifth teat. The last vp to be elected president was Bush Senior, two decades ago.
Man, I have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. The LG-elect says he wants to bring jobs to Virginia and Barnie Day’s response is that it’s unconstitutional. Will he be put on trial if he actually commits the atrocity of attracting some jobs? What’s the current penalty for job creation?
Terry McAuliffe (the only Democrat in the primary who had even a prayer of beating McDonnell) talked endlessly about jobs.
I also love the reverence with which Mr. Day writes about Virginia’s constitution. Yes, that ageless, timeless embodiment of pure logic. It has been rewritten six times since it was originally written. We’re not talking amendments … full scale revision. And when was it last rewritten? 1971. Why was it rewritten? It seems the prior Virginia Constitution (1902) was almost totally designed to disenfranchise the Commonwealth’s African-American residents. Little things like school segregation being specified by the 1902 convention just didn’t sit well with the US Supreme Court 17 years after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. So, the Commonwealth of Virginia plunged headlong into the future with it’s seventh constitution.
But enough about timeless truths, let’s talk quality. Virginia’s current constitution is not some almost divinely inspired document crafted by the heroic founders of the United States. It is a badly flawed screed dreamed up by the same type of dingbats who still infest Richmond. It was written to “get the Feds off’n our backs” and it’s high time that it’s scrapped. One relatively minor improvement would be to empower the LG. One relatively huge improvement would be to seriously neuter the General Assembly in favor of more local government. Meanwhile, the LG ought to try to get as many new jobs into the state as possible. If Mr. Day wants to demand that he be prosecuted for that crime I guess Mr. Cuccenelli will have to take that under advisement. As for me, I’ll be the first to contribute to his defense fund.