Virginia Tomorrow

1. Mims Joins Suit Threat Against the Cornhusker Kickback

Outgoing Attorney General Bill Mims joined with 12 other GOP AG’s across the nation to threaten a lawsuit if Congress ultimately endorses the Cornhusker Kickback, the deal which got Nebraska a $100 Million Medicaid subsidy in return for Senator Ben Nelson’s “yes” vote on the health care bill. I don’t know what the chances are of the suit prevailing in the courts, but it’s a politically shrewd maneuver to highlight the logrolling that was required for Senate passage. The threat also provides reporters everywhere with the rationale for asking their Senators whether they felt the Cornhusker Kickback  was reasonable and what goodies are they bringing home in exchange for their support.  

2. Multiply the Venues

This is the strategy that Republican opponents of Democratic health care legislation will be using in 2010. The GOP will be heading to the courts and the state legislatures to delay, block and attempt to reverse the victories that the Democrats are winning in Congress. Bob Marshall will be leading in the effort in the Virginia General Assembly and similar initiatives will be undertaken in numerous states. And everyone should start watching the legal challenges that will inevitably be mounted against the legislation as there will be two or three different kinds of challenges to the bill’s constitutionality. The multiplication of venues serves an important political purpose as well: it keeps the issue on the front burner as the Republicans hope that public revulsion against Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will catapult them back into power.

3. The Year of the 10th Amendment

“It’s the New Pink” - isn’t that what they say in the fashion world about a hot item? When I was in school, my teachers hardly covered the 9th and 10th Amendments. Sure, we learned about federalism. But all the fun stuff centered on freedom of religion controversies, rights of the accused, and possible limits on free speech. No longer. With anti-Washington sentiment increasing and Attorney Generals and state legislators threatening lawsuits to combat federal overreach, the 10th Amendment is hot. Pull that copy of your Constitution down from your bookshelf and start to read what you might have just scanned when you were a kid.

4. McDonnell Proposes Changes in the Budget Cycle

Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell said that he’ll be proposing a major change in Virginia’s biennial budget cycle so that the departing Governor is not presenting a two year budget on his way out the door. Adopting a proposal from the Wilder Commission in 2003 that received a lot of favorable comments but not much political backing, McDonnell would have Virginia’s Governors construct their biennial budgets at the beginning of their second and fourth years. Since I served as the Executive Director of the Wilder Commission, it’s no surprise that I like the McDonnell proposal- it increases accountability and it avoids the situation we currently have where critical budgetary assumptions for the biennial budget are essentially dead on arrival because of the political changes wrought by the most recent election.

5. Don’t Think Social Issues are Going Away Anytime Soon

Governor-Elect Bob McDonnell has made it clear that restoring jobs and  economic vitality is his number one priority. His cabinet appointments have clearly reinforced his campaign pledge. But no one should get the idea that social and/or values issues are going away because these won’t be on the top of McDonnell’s agenda.  The major impetus for the social agenda will simply come from the General Assembly. Early indications are that legislators who care about social issues will certainly be bringing these forward during the legislative session, especially those ideas that won’t cost the taxpayers any money.  Scott Lingamfelter has already put repeal of the Wilder Administration’s one gun a month legislation on his agenda ( Lingamfelter’s stance was endorsed by Creigh Deeds during the campaign). And Roz Helderman has noted that there could be multiple bills relaxing carrying restrictions on college campuses. At a time when almost every budget choice is distasteful, the social agenda could be far more visible than most have foreseen.

6. Good Government Reform

I expect that this will be another theme of this year’s General Assembly session. It’s an outcome of both the Hamilton scandal and the interest of Assembly members in finding ways of taking constructive action when money isn’t available. Watch for the Democrats to make a big push on bi-partisan redistricting reform. It obviously serves the party’s political interest at the moment and is a way of drawing a clear contrast with Speaker Bill Howell and the House GOP leadership. The big question is how much of the Governor-Elect’s political capital will he expend on a matter that he endorsed the campaign, but has never been very popular with his Republican colleagues in the House.

7. Bloggers Issue Bipartisan Call

I thought that it was a very good idea for Bob McDonnell to choose a former CEO as Secrtary of Commerce as a way of investing the position with the kind of profile it needs in these challenging economic times. I’ve also been acquainted personally with Bob Sledd, McDonnell’s choice for the position, and believe that the former Performance Food Groups CEO is an excellent choice.  But the agreement to allow Sledd to keep his position on a number of corporate boards while serving as Commerce Secretary (even if it is accompanied by a reduction in his state salary) has come under attack by bloggers from all sides of the ideological spectrum, uniting Lowell Feld of Blue Virginia and Norm Leahy of Tertium Quids. If the agreement holds, look for the Democrats in the General Assembly to keep the controversy alive and make addressing this kind of potential conflict a key feature of ethics reform legislation,