THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9509280003
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Come Nov. 7, many people will use as an excuse for not voting the oft-heard claims that politicians are all alike and there's not a nickel's worth of difference between the two parties.
The truth is, politicians are not all alike, and even in conservative Virginia there is, in fact, more than a dime's worth of difference between the two parties.
Consider how three environmental groups scored Virginia legislators on six votes in the Senate and eight in the House of Delegates over the past two years. Issues included granting immunity from prosecution to companies that voluntarily disclosed they'd polluted, funding state parks with proceeds from the sale of surplus state property, and widening I-66 for a Disney theme park.
Neither party ranked high, according to the three environmental organizations that did the study: the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action and Virginia Citizen Action. But Democrats voted the way the environmental groups preferred far more often than did the Republicans.
In the Senate, Democrats voted 42 percent of the time and Republicans 9 percent of the time in the way the environmental groups preferred.
In the House, Democrats agreed with the environmental groups on 69 percent of the votes, compared with 23 percent for Republicans.
Those are huge percentage differences: 42 to 9, 69 to 23.
Of the three senators and six House members who agreed with the environmental groups every time, all were Democrats. Of the 31 legislators in both houses who never agreed with the environmental groups, 24 were Republicans, seven were Democrats.
The Republican approach to environmental protection is exemplified by Gov. George Allen's recent proposal to significantly reduce Potomac River pollution entirely by voluntary efforts. A pact Virginia signed with Maryland and Pennsylvania requires the states to reduce the run-off of nutrients into the Bay and its tributaries by 40 percent.
The beauty of Allen's proposal is that farmers and others would escape being ordered by the state to reduce the flow of nutrients into the Bay. Let freedom ring!
The downside of Allen's proposal, says Joe Maroon, Virginia director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, is that it is unlikely to succeed.
On environmental matters, the difference between Democrats and Republicans is evident. There are exceptions, of course. In Hampton Roads, Democratic brothers Clarence Holland of Virginia Beach and Richard Holland of Windsor agreed with the environmental groups zero times. Generally, though, Hampton Roads Democrats scored much higher than did the Republicans.
That stands to reason. Environmentalists often seek government intervention to protect the environment; Republicans tend to oppose government intervention on principle.
The three environmental groups say they represent 160,000 Virginians. If you disagree with the three groups' positions, that's one reason to vote Republican. If you agree with the groups' positions, that's one reason to vote Democratic.
If you see no difference between the two parties, look harder. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
FOR A SCORE CARD
To obtain a copy of the environmental score card, call (804)
643-6713.
by CNB