Ever since I started blogging on Virginia politics, I have noticed a deep, albeit obscured, fault-line in Virginia politics – not a partisan or ideological one, but a regional one. At times, it seemed that western Virginia (which I define as roughly west of I-95 or the suburbs of DC and Richmond) and eastern Virginia were practically different states.
Election 2007 actually revealed it in the most stark manner. Eastern VA saw a GOP meltdown (lose 4 Senate seats, lose 3 net House seats), while western Virginia was more ho-hum (no net change in either chamber). However, even that paled in comparison to the reaction to today’s Supreme Court ruling invalidating the regional taxes in HB3202.
In the eastern part of the state, the blogs were on fire. Bearing Drift had something up before I did. Jim Bowden, BVBL, Citizen Tom, Ric James (Hoodathunk), Jim Bacon, Doug Mataconis (Below the Beltway), and Riley (VV) were all over it – just to name a few. In eastern VA, the decision got the respect it deserved.
By contrast, I could find only one blog from western Virginia that even mentioned this case: Roanoke Red Zone - where former Senator Brandon Bell called his vote for this monstrosity “probably one of the worst votes I ever cast” (this quarter applauds his willingness to admit to a mistake). To everyone else - from Charlottesville to Charlotte County, Winchester to Wise, Lee to Louisa, and anywhere in between – it was as if nothing happened.
Sadly, this silence fits a pattern - the bloggers out west have no idea what’s going on over here. The raging debate over HB3202 largely passed them by without notice (Spank That Donkey was a rare execption). While I was happy to join several Valley bloggers in supporting Scott Sayre, I got the impression most of them were angrier about his vote on illegal aliens and in-state tuition than his endless support for higher taxes (again, STD was the exception).
It’s not just the right, either. Waldo Jacquith actually manages to see the state GOP as having had a “continual crunch to the right” over the last decade – never mind that it caved in and accepted two tax hikes in three years. He then rips Jeff Frederick as “a far-right Republican, precisely the sort of guy whose positions are losing Republicans the majority” – this is the same Jeff Frederick whose opposition to HB3202 turned his Prince William seat from a nail-biter to a stone-cold, lead-pipe lock.
How can so many people just miss the boat like this? I suspect two reasons.
First of all, the GOP in western Virginia has a much longer history than in the east – long enough to remember when Republicans were the big-government types. Old habits can die hard, especially when a slew of social issues make it far easier for tax-hiking ciphers to build “conservative” credentials without ever really giving up on big government.
Secondly (and I would say most importantly) state politics in western Virginia just stoppedafter 2001. The redistricting did what it’s supposed to do there – elect mainly Republicans who reflect the views of their constituents. In fact, since 2001 (if memory serves), there have hardly been any party switches in three elections cycles – the only one I can remember off the top of my head is the Democrats taking Lynchburg’s House seat.
In easternVA, however, politics has been at warp speed. We have seen a referendum for higher taxes crash and burn in NoVa and Hampton Roads – then watched Republican impose higher taxes on them anyway – and that was after John Chichester called for a tax hike more than twice as large as Mark Warner requested in 2004. This has badly demoralized the GOP base, and led to utter bewilderment when we hear westerners go on about how the party is too far to the right.
The fact is, economic conservatism – to use the popular term - has been in very short supply here in Virginia. It is the party’s appeal in the eastern part of the state. The more westerners ignore this, the less they will understand us.
March 1, 2008 at 7:27 am |
Thoughtful. One of the hardest things about blogging is waiting to post until you actually have something worth saying. Seems to me like you did that.
March 1, 2008 at 8:47 am |
DJ: The political sensitivities and sensibilities are shared among Conservatives from one corner of the Commonwealth to the other. The big difference, I submit, is that folks outside of NoVA and HR/Tidewater haven’t been screwed by their elected Republican officials as much, in public, and with such arrogance and, yet, deceit – as we have.
A huge point about discontent is the smug governance of too many elected Republicans who govern as if The People are stupid. They aren’t. The average citizen here (Tidewater), not a college grad, working family, etc… knows that the unelected Regional Government has the WRONG PLAN, so it is all about CORRUPTION, the genteel Virginia kind, that moves money to the right people. We know the folly of different city councils and county BOS and key local Republicans in the GA – and don’t want to give those buffoons billions of dollars to spend on their friends, family and contributors.
March 1, 2008 at 10:28 am |
I couldn’t agree more with Citizen Tom, DJ. You wrote an exceptional post here. As a reader, it was a privilege to read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts…which I tend to agree with.
Also, James makes great points, however, he also doesn’t account for the deep pressure all elected officials in the region face to actually get something done for transportation to foster and grow the economic engines of Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. Personally, I feel they chose the wrong plan — and I wrote about that in the past. However, I don’t think of them as any less Republican for making those choices and don’t look upon them as if they were being smug.
March 1, 2008 at 1:44 pm |
Interesting analysis DJ. I’ll need to think it through some more. But having grown up in the 9th District, I can confirm that politics to the west of Roanoke is a different animal.
It’s why, and if you’ll excuse me bringing this up again, when George Allen said “welcome to the real Virginia,” every Southwest Virginia Republican new exactly what he meant, even if the rest of the state (and the world) didn’t.
March 1, 2008 at 4:49 pm |
DJ:
What sparked the revolt in the 24th was Emmett’s consistent voting record on higher taxes. His continued votes for the same has vindicated everyone who supported Scott Sayre in the Primary.
Some GOPers’ out here believed Hanger when he had a paid for article printed in the Staunton News Leader that the Sayre Campaign was ‘telling lies, and distorting his record”.
His recent votes have removed any doubt as to who was telling the truth in that campaign.
The problem in the Valley is the disconnect with their own representatives.. some of whom go down to Richmond and get offered ‘deals’, that get them totally out of step with their constituents….
If Eastern Conservatives think Transportation is a priority it should come from a reprioritization of current expenditures and surpluses, as I know you would agree. This is a long battle, but Potts, Chichester, and all those who went along with tax increases are being pushed to the side… and the battleship slowly turning…
Thanks for pointing out that I Love to rail against higher taxes. Between that and the Second Amendment I don’t know which one I distrust our Govt. more.
March 2, 2008 at 10:23 pm |
The east/west division struck me as strange at first, but on reflection, I think that’s a pretty reasonable way to divide up the state. The interest of Hampton Roads are the same as the interests upstate, by and large. In the rest of the state, though, we really couldn’t care less about things like the HB3202 ruling.
March 3, 2008 at 1:36 am |
Wow! Excellent Post here on this issue. Remember western Virginian’s, especially in the Valley have always gone with a “pay as you go” philosophy generated by the Byrd family. This still holds very strong out here, even in local goverment. All that being said, in most parts of the west HB3202 was never an issue at all with the exception of possibly the Sayre race. Overall people need to remember three big things about Western Va, especially the Northern Valley areas.
1. Social Conservatismm completely rates over fiscal conservatism. People pay more attention to life issues and pro-family issues. I expect this is really why Hanger survived his challenge. This was also the case when the dems dominated this area and also the main reason why the dems lost this area.
2. Illegal immigration could now probably be rated under social conservatism as the #2 issue.
3. Guns, Guns, Guns…..say no more
As a Republican, you vote bad on either of these three issues and you are probably done.
No one paid any attention to HB3202 and they could even care less about how their delegate or senator voted on it as long as they are socially very conservative. Russ Pott’s delcine was due to his anti-family stances out here much more so than his votes on tax increases.
March 3, 2008 at 10:17 am |
[...] it’s not NOVA/ROVA but EAVA/WEVA. March 3rd, 2008 at 10:17 am | Tags: Virginia, asides, [...]
June 10, 2009 at 8:20 am |
[...] definitions are so different. I’ve been harping about the divide between Western and Eastern Virginia for a while now, but there is no better example of that than the career of Creigh [...]