With the debacle that was the national elections last year, the Richmond Times-Dispatch (of all newspapers) finds a bit of good news.

National headlines reported that George Bush increased his totals at the presidential level, and Republicans upped their margins in the House and the Senate. Democratic gains in state legislatures received far less play. It appears Democrats may have picked up about 60 state seats.

State legislatures often serve as incubators for Senators and Congressmen. For Democrats, the results from the state contests, including Virginia, rate as a sliver of good news in an otherwise dismal year.

The plan the House GOP introduced yesterday to address transportation issues does not solve the long-term problem. Even the GOP admits that (see previous post).

The major new revenue sources, Republicans said, come from diverting about one-third of the state’s taxes on vehicle insurance premiums, ranging from $127 million to $169 million a year, and raising about $100 million annually through imposing bigger fines on bad drivers.

Two questions comes to mind: One, what other services will be cut from the general fund if you take up to $169 million out of it?, and two, who has verified that the $100 million estimated to be raised by larger fines are anyway near accurate?

Clearly, the GOP is on the defensive. Note some of their language in the transportation stories.

“We applaud the governor for getting out of the blocks on some of these things, but the majority of the funds the governor is putting in with that $800 million-plus are in one-time deposits,” Del. Robert F. McDonnell, one of the sponsors of the GOP initiative, said during a news conference outlining the package.

“Governor Warner took a positive step last month. I want to thank the governor for presenting, like the House Republicans, a transportation plan that does not include a gas tax increase or any other general tax increase,” Howell said. “We can work with the governor on transportation issues.”

[Delegate Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) … said the governor has proposed pouring a large amount of general fund money into the transportation budget, and he intends to work with other Southwest Virginia legislators to bring a share of that money home for local improvements.

Everybody wants to be seen as doing something for transportation. And even the House GOPers want to be seen as working with governor. Can those who see a certain hypocrisy between wanting to address the funding issue and anti-tax stands reveal the flat-earthers sleights of hand?

“I’m a traditional Republican, and I like less taxes, but this is one issue where I’m caught in the cross hairs and I don’t know what to do about it…. “I’m hung by my own words. I’m a low-tax guy, but we’ve got to pay some to make it better.”
— Billy C. Power, owner of Power Satellite Services, quoted in a story about state transportation issues.

Also from the story:

Since 1986 , the last time Virginia raised gas taxes to build new roads, the number of licensed drivers has increased by 34 percent, while registered vehicles have grown by half. And people are driving more. The number of vehicle miles traveled has jumped by 79 percent, according to VDOT, while overwhelming numbers of people drive alone.

Vehicle registrations are up by 53 percent, while the Port of Hampton Roads has seen its cargo double to more than 12 million tons since 1993 .

Political leaders traditionally have looked to gasoline tax increases to finance highway construction because a little can go a long way.

A one-penny increase in gasoline taxes can produce about $41 million in new revenue. Today, 46.1 percent of Virginia’s road-building money comes from taxes on motor fuels.

But inflation has eroded the gas tax, and since 1986 the buying power of that money has declined by about 40 percent, VDOT has said. And the tax of 17.5 cents per gallon is low compared with neighboring states; the nationwide average is 18.4 cents per gallon. In some places, local and regional taxes also are imposed.

In Mike Shear’s Washington Post story about the GOP’s transportation plan, House speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford) says, “It’s not a panacea. It’s not a silver bullet. With such an enormous, huge problem that we’ve gotten ourselves into, it’s going to take a while and a whole lot of different approaches.”

And who got us into this enormous huge problem? Could it be the folks who say no-tax, no way? Who will voters hold accountable in November?

“This business of thinking outside the box — that’s nice rhetoric, but infrastructure costs money….After 18 years of really bipartisan neglect, you can’t pretend that somehow you can solve this problem without a serious infusion of revenue.”

—Bob Chase, president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance

The Virginian-Pilot asks a lot of good ones.

The Virginian-Pilot has about the same opinion as I do about Jerry Kilgore’s election year ploy.

In an election year in a state where the death penalty carries considerable appeal, the title of Kilgore’s bill alone may ensure passage. It may also ensure votes next November. Perhaps that’s the real purpose.

But conscientious lawmakers should think before acting.

First, Virginia’s “triggerman” statute is motivated by the belief that death should be reserved for the worst-of-the-worst. Moreover, there are already exceptions to the rule, allowing death sentences for non-triggermen in cases involving hired killings, terrorism and organized crime.

Second, there’s no reason to tamper with jury sentencing in capital cases. To begin with, only citizens who believe in the death penalty can serve on a jury in these cases. Those who don’t are scratched at the start of the trial. If prosecutors can’t convince a pro-death penalty jury that execution is justified, then there’s probably a good reason. When there’s a deadlock, the sentence is life in prison.

But Kilgore would allow shopping for a new jury when the old one doesn’t suit. That’s excessive in a system that already tilts in favor of the death penalty.

It’s disappointing that those aspiring to higher office in Virginia feel so routinely compelled to beef up their “tough-on-crime” credentials just before an election.

As Virginia’s top elected law enforcement official, Kilgore should be interested in more than just hiking the number of executions. His indifference to the need for reforms to protect against false conviction reflects poorly on his judgment.

That he pushes only one side of the equation exposes “The Death Penalty Enhancement Act” as an election-year sham.

To say nothing of the fact that Kilgore is essentially attacking Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine for his religious beliefs.

I nominate John J. Dodson.

I’ll fess up: I talk on my cell phone while driving. Usually, I use a hands-free device. But that doesn’t matter.

…[P]hone talkers were slower than inebriated drivers to respond to traffic conditions and more likely to be involved in collisions. This study confirmed what others have found: It didn’t matter if drivers were using hands-free or hand-held phones; it’s the distraction factor that matters. When drivers are on the phone, their minds, and sometimes their eyes, are somewhere other than on the road. The term researchers use to describe it, “inattention blindness,” is chilling, because the driver’s seat is no place for any kind of blindness.

I won’t be happy if cell phone use while driving is outlawed. But I’d agree with anyone who proposes such a law. Just don’t expect it to happen here in Virginia. It’s likely unconstitutional. (see here)

Del. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax), who happens to be my delegate, has a wonderful way of merging his ideas with the homey physical façade he’s cultivate, what with his bow-tie, rumpled shirt and impish grin. He’s got an unconventional view of the Lieutenant Governor’s job.

“The way I visualize it is, the lieutenant governor is akin to being the people’s governor,” said Petersen, a Fairfax Democrat who represents the 37th House District in the Virginia House of Delegates.

“It’s not a full-time position. It doesn’t bring with it a mansion in Richmond. You don’t have a security detail. The lieutenant governor is not tied down like the governor is,” Petersen told The Augusta Free Press.

“The person in that position can travel across the state to meet with citizens where they are one on one with no pretensions. And the person in the office can be free to serve as an advocate on issues that the people have deemed to be important,” Petersen said.

“My vision of being lieutenant governor is that I can be the lobbyist for people who can’t afford lobbyists,” Petersen said.

Petersen is one of four Democrats running for the party’s 2005 lieutenant-governor nomination.

He is also among a growing number of Dems who are not afraid to talk about fiscal responsibility.

“I voted against the original Senate proposal because I felt it was too excessive,” said Petersen of his role in the 2004 state-budget debate. “I was also opposed to any increases in the income tax. That is one thing that stands out as far as making Virginia competitive economically. Our income-tax rate is lower than that of some of our neighbors.

If there’s anyone I can see traveling the state to talk to folks about what’s on their mind, Chap is the guy. If that what you want out of an LG. What exactly else are they good for?

Who said that a moratorium on a national sales tax on Internet purchases “would be a significant infringement on state and local sovereignty, create considerable budgetary problems for local governments, and lead to unfair competition in the marketplace”?

That would be the same guy who “said through a spokesman that he does not ‘support any new taxes on purchases made on-line’ in response to a query from The Augusta Free Press on the ongoing efforts to have Virginia join 40 other states in a multistate tax compact styled the streamlined sales-tax project that is being designed to increase the collection of sales and use taxes on Internet-based retail sales nationwide.”

Answer: Tim Kaine.

Now why could that be?