Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 28, 1994 TAG: 9412070049
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BATES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The facts tell the story. For the first time ever, Republicans hold as many congressional seats in the South as do Democrats. The election also cost Democrats control of governors' mansions in Texas, Alabama and Tennessee. Of longer-term importance, the party of Lincoln now has majorities in several statehouses, including North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.
In almost every Southern state, and even in Virginia where Democrats scored victories this year, Republican candidates won the bulk of the white vote. Democrats have particular problems attracting the white male vote. In South Carolina, only 7 percent of white men consider themselves to be Democrats. Unless there are demographic changes not seen since the time of Moses, Democrats will become a hopeless minority party if they don't address this disparity.
The reasons for the collapse of the party of Jefferson and Jackson go beyond packaging of candidates or campaign tactics. First, the Republican Party has shown that its candidates are responsive to constituents and can govern effectively. Govs. Carroll Campbell of South Carolina, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and George Allen of Virginia have enjoyed wide support for their programs after they were elected.
The Democratic Party should also recognize that it's become identified as the party of government that at one time was on the side of middle-class citizens but is now a burden to them. Stagnating incomes for the middle class since 1973 have spelled the end of the American dream of upward mobility. The seemingly intractable problems of inner cities have led to the creation of an underclass that seems resistant to change, regardless of the billions of tax dollars spent on the problems. Crime, teen pregnancy and chronic unemployment remain unchecked in these areas, and taxpayers see the 30-year war on poverty as a losing battle. The Democratic Party has held Congress and occasionally the presidency in these periods, and is identified with government's failures.
Virginia Democrats were pleased that they withstood the Republican tidal wave of 1994. However, they should realize the tide is still flowing in the Republicans' direction. If trends continue, Virginia Republicans are poised to take control of both chambers of the General Assembly for the first time in our history.
For Virginia and the South to have a competitive two-party system, Democrats need to take steps to make themselves relevant to their traditional supporters and the vast middle class that's voting Republican in overwhelming numbers. The tactics and issues will vary from year to year, but emphasis must be on being on the side of the middle class.
While income for those in the middle class with less than a college degree has been stagnated for 20 years, their tax burden to support government has gone up. This is a real decline in our standard of living, the end of the American dream. All actions should be directed to reversing this trend.
First, there should be a 10 percent cut in income taxes paid by those earning under $80,000 a year. This would be some compensation for stagnating incomes, and would boost the economy with money in the pockets of families who could either pay off credit-card debts or save for the future.
Second, the gateway to better opportunity - education - must be improved and expanded for all individuals, especially those currently at a disadvantage. Virginia's state government should commit itself to eliminating the disparity of funding in public education that allows a child in Southwest or Southside Virginia to have half the resources for his education that a child in Falls Church will get. The state has a role to play in aggressively improving education at primary and secondary levels by ending disparity, and in higher education by expanding student loans to young people of all races whose parents earn under $100,000 a year.
How to pay for this initiative for the middle class? It's time to reduce the actual size of government. State functions that can be privatized to raise money should be. Millions of dollars can be saved through such measures. Several dozen state boards and commissions not necessary for effective governance can be eliminated with savings going to pay for tax cuts and education.
If Democrats were to adopt this approach, some might say they were abandoning their historic mission to help the disadvantaged. But by moving to restore middle-class incomes, Democrats would be lifting millions out of the uncertainty of living paycheck to paycheck. Job creation and education are the best hope for the economically disadvantaged.
Republicans have the vision for tax cuts, but have coupled that commitment with a philosophy that says government is the problem, not the solution to problems. In some cases, they're right. But government is the only solution to huge social challenges such as public education and providing the disadvantaged with bootstraps. If Democrats continue down the road they're on, they'll go the way of the Whigs. Then the South will lose the two-party system that's forced politicians to compete for our votes, and we would all be losers.
Scott Bates of Charlottesville is former secretary of the commonwealth.
by CNB