THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 28, 1995 TAG: 9502280012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
The conventional wisdom on the just-concluded General Assembly session is that Gov. George Allen overreached. His doing so helped rouse Democrats from their torpor long enough to hand him one stinging defeat after another. And that sets the stage for a watershed election in November.
There's some truth to that scenario. Allen admitted on a radio call-in show last week that the cuts he advocated may have been too large to achieve. In fact, they appear to have generated more opposition than support at least among vocal special interests.
It's also true that Democrats saw nothing to be gained by rolling over on a series of high-profile votes: Even if they did, Allen would still try to make them the issue in the fall and turn their seats over to members of his own party.
That doesn't mean it was a do-nothing session, however. Allen lost big on his packages of tax-and-spending cuts. He didn't get all the prison funding he asked for and charter schools were rejected. However, the governor prevailed on a number of issues.
A $351 million settlement of the federal retirees' tax case was authorized.
A measure passed to make it easier for law-abiding citizens to obtain concealed-gun permits.
Death-row appeals were limited.
Businesses were granted immunity from prosecution of some pollution offenses if they reveal them and undertake a cleanup.
A new economic-development authority was created.
And in an 11th-hour agreement, Allen won passage of one of the nation's toughest welfare-reform measures.
Reports of the governor's political demise are, therefore, greatly exaggerated. Though he encountered opposition and admits that he might have played his political cards better, he lost only battles. The war may yet be winnable.
Allen has undeniably shifted the debate on a host of issues to the right. He seems to be in tune with the national mood, as reflected in last November's congressional elections. On several significant issues, notably welfare reform, Allen was able to prevail though the General Assembly is run by Democrats. That's because legislators knew their constituents agreed with the governor.
Now Allen and the Democrats will take their case to the people. The issues are clearly drawn and voters in November will have an unambiguous choice. They will be able to send representatives to Richmond who share Allen's vision of a government that taxes less, spends less, regulates less and meddles less in the lives of individuals. Or they will pull the lever for candidates who promise to prevent Allen from cutting popular programs and undercutting the state's long record of fiscal responsibility.
Either way, Allen is setting the agenda. If his partisans win, measures that went down to defeat this year will be reborn in 1996. If the legislative power remains in the hands of a Democratic majority, the infighting is likely to get more intense and the bargaining even harder. by CNB