ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701100072
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
THE 1997 SESSION of Virginia's General Assembly convened this week amid pledges of bipartisan cooperation and a gentle state-of-the-state speech by Republican Gov. George Allen. Thus continues the harmony, begun in the 1996 session, that contrasts sharply with the disputatiousness of Allen's first two years in office.
Unfortunately, it is a superficial harmony, contrived for political effect but with little promise of achieving anything of significance in Virginia's governance.
The source of the apparent sweetness isn't a determination to work together, but the fact that politicians in both parties read election returns - especially in a year when Virginia voters will choose a new governor. And recent political history, national and state, suggests convergence has supplanted divergence as the value more highly prized by the electorate.
Consider:
In November 1993, rookie GOP Congressman Allen comes from way behind to take the governorship, stressing Democrats' alleged failure to control crime. Republicans gain House of Delegates seats, and appear on the verge of taking over the assembly. Allen promises to punch opponents' "soft teeth down their whiny throats."
In November 1994, surging Republicans stress criticism of the unpopular president, and capture both houses of Congress for the first time in 40 years. Almost immediately, Allen confronts state lawmakers with a controversial package of tax and spending cuts. This time, the Democrat-controlled legislature - which had given Allen most of the criminal-justice reforms he'd wanted - resists.
In November 1995, campaigning as defenders of public education against Republicans' alleged predations, Virginia Democrats block (if only by the barest of margins in the state Senate) GOP hopes of an assembly takeover. Allen starts toning down his partisan rhetoric.
In November 1996, President Clinton, regarded as politically dead just two years earlier, wins re-election by casting himself a cooperative centrist. Republicans retain control of Congress - but only after taking pains to separate themselves from the confrontationalism identified with House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
For now, look for both sides to prepare for the November statewide election by stressing their similarities more than their differences. Virginia Republicans, for example, will try to convince the public they are as capable as Democrats on education issues. Democrats will seek to show they're as capable as Republicans on economic development.
All of which is nice. But beware: The trend toward convergence is unlikely to endure, and it is mainly for appearance's sake. There's a big difference between making chummy noises and sitting down to deal with tough challenges.
Such as, in Virginia: installing serious incentives for regional cooperation and growth management; investing in early-childhood education; eliminating the food tax and upping the tobacco tax; authorizing charter schools and limiting teacher tenure; capping campaign contributions; and assuring all children access to primary health care.
You won't see any of this agenda addressed in a session, short or long, devoted to pleasantries and positioning.
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1997by CNB