ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 27, 1995 TAG: 9512270060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: ANALYSIS
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS AND DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITERS
Introducing House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a breakfast this month, Gov. George Allen whimsically referred to himself as "Baby Newt."
A few hours later, Allen unveiled a $34.6 billion, two-year budget proposal that was anything but Gingrich-esque.
The governor, who a year ago penned tax cuts and budget revisions with the zeal of a conservative patriot, put forward a spending plan so conciliatory that many Democrats applauded and some in the conservative base of Allen's party winced.
Pragmatists say Allen has made a necessary midcourse correction; ideologues question whether he has surrendered the revolution.
The governor bowed to the political realities of his failure to win a majority in either house of the assembly in the fall election, Allen advisers and political analysts say,
His calculated decision, at least for now, to forgo some of the most polarizing parts of his agenda and to clean up his "knock-their-soft-teeth-down-their-whiney-throats" rhetoric, is viewed by moderates in both parties as a sign of political maturity that will boost Allen's credibility during his final two years in office and beyond, to a possible race for the U.S. Senate in 2000.
But for conservatives who see the task of reinventing government as incomplete, Allen's performance was disappointing.
"If Republicans in Congress had pushed only those things for which they had the votes to pass, we never would have gotten a majority in Congress," said Morton Blackwell, who runs a training school for conservative operatives and represents Virginia on the Republican National Committee.
"I don't think he has capitulated entirely, but he's compromising a little bit," added Joe Guarino of Newport News, executive director of Virginia Citizens for Excellence in Education, a group that pushes for more parental control of public schools.
"What would they have me do?" Allen replied Friday when told of conservatives' criticism. "The point is to get things done, not just carp and score debating points."
Allen said reports of the demise of his conservative principles are premature. He said his 1996-98 spending plan is stocked with notions that challenge the status quo, such as new student achievement tests designed to ensure that extra money for schools is making a difference, limits on college tuition increases, cuts to state support for public radio and television, and reductions in general relief to the disadvantaged.
"There's plenty of calculated risk in this budget," he said.
To underscore his point, Allen noted that he complained to a state housing official when he saw a proposal for adding an extra $1 million to the budget for indoor plumbing for Virginians who are without it.
"There's a place we can cut," Allen said, recalling his message. Only when he learned that the money was coming from the federal government, not the state, did he agree to the proposed expenditure, he said.
However, other budget analysts see marked change between the proposed budget and the revisions suggested by Allen to last year's budget. That plan was originally proposed by Allen's predecessor, former Gov. Douglas Wilder.
This year's is the only biennial budget that will be both drafted by Allen and primarily spent during his administration. As such, it is viewed as a blueprint of his vision of state government.
With the GOP takeover of Congress in November 1994, Allen appeared intent last year on pushing Virginia to the vanguard of the conservative movement. His budget cut taxes $2.1 billion over five years, slashed programs for disadvantaged students and senior citizens and provided money for "charter" schools that would be freed from state regulations in exchange for innovative ideas.
This year's budget proposal abandons tax cuts, adds about $1 billion for public schools and colleges, and leaves intact programs once recommended for axing.
Among the changes, according to legislative budget analysts:
Funding for at-risk students, which Allen wanted to virtually eliminate last year, would be increased by about $1 million.
About $22 million would go for expansion of the preschool program for 4-year-olds to include an extra 3,500 children. Some conservatives think this gives government too early a sway over children.
Last year, about $550,000 was included for charter schools. This year's proposal doesn't include charter school money. Nor is there funding for tuition tax credits or vouchers for children who attend private schools, other ideas popular with conservatives.
This year's recommendation leaves intact $1.5 million for school-based health clinics, funding Allen tried to eliminate last year. Some conservatives equate the program with condom giveaways in public schools.
People close to Allen said the altered recommendations were governed by several factors.
"This budget is being driven as much by the pure numbers as by the political changes out there," noted M. Boyd Marcus, a GOP consultant who worked in Allen's gubernatorial campaign.
"George has a practical streak that most people don't recognize until he does something like this," added Kenneth Klinge, another adviser to that campaign.
Yet another said that Allen, despite his chipper demeanor, is still smarting from failure to get legislative control in the elections. The extent of his campaigning last fall was unprecedented for a sitting governor.
"Right now, he's still patching up some bruises," the adviser said. "The same fire in the belly is there. It's just [hidden] deeper."
Some analysts say Allen has already established his legacy through the abolition of parole, a dramatic overhaul of Aid to Families with Dependent Children and a whittling of state employee rolls.
Even if nothing else were added, he would still have had as substantial an impact in changing Virginia government as any governor in recent memory, they say.
The revolution, some conservatives say, will have to wait until Allen leaves office in two years and Republicans get another crack at controlling the General Assembly.
WHAT LEGISLATORS SAY
About Gov. George Allen's proposed state budget
"We're in the same gymnasium and wearing the same uniforms. We just have to execute the game plan."
- House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Roanoke County
"From my perspective, this budget is much more progressive than I expected and much less confrontational than I feared."
- Sen. Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, outgoing Senate majority leader and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
"It's no capitulation. I think you would have seen the same priorities regardless of the outcome of the election."
- Sen. John Chichester, R-Fredericksburg, ranking GOP member of the Senate Finance Committee
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
About the proposed state budget?
Let us know so we can follow up:
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