The Washington Post editorial page blasted Va. Speaker Bill Howell’s call for a tax referendum, now that his horse and buggy House has painted itself into a corner. Many complain that The Post’s editorial page is not the liberal clarion it used to be. While that’s true, it’s probably a good thing. I find the page unpredictable, meaning that while you may disagree as often as not, it’s more interesting and certainly much more fair and balanced than Fox News ever is. It pulls no punches this morning.
The report of the referendum idea on B1 is well done with a sense of history, and therefore, perspective. During the gubernatorial race, Warner favored a referendum, and just a couple of months ago, Howell called referenda “passing the buck and not making the hard decisions.”
House GOP seems to develop its strategies at the bar the night before. At first it was this sales tax exemption idea (which frankly isn’t bad but oversold in terms of dollars it will raise). Now it’s a referendum. Howell and Co. keep throwing things up against the wall to see if something sticks. This ain’t pasta, it’s the AAA rating and Virginia’s future they’re playing with.