It has begun.
Two of the three candidates vying to be nominated by the Democrats for Governor of Virginia announced their willing to consider raising taxes next year (Virginia Pilot, h/t Tertium Quids, emphasis added):
Two of three Democrats likely to vie for governor next year on Tuesday declined to rule out increasing taxes if the state’s economic problems deepen.
. . .
“Everything should be on the table,” said Del. Brian Moran, D-Alexandria. His position was echoed by state Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath.
This all but ensures tax increases of some kind will be discussed in the General Assembly session next year.
In other news, at the same event, Terry McAuliffe suddenly became a serious candidate. How? Like this (VA Pilot):
Terry McAuliffe, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who is eying a gubernatorial bid, disagreed. “You don’t raise taxes in a down economy,” he said.
With that line, McAuliffe just established himself as the sane and centrist Democrat in the race, which may come as a surprise to the previous Democrat in that positin (Deeds), but that’s what happens when you tell voters going through hard times that you want to hit them up for more of their money.
Bob McDonnell also weighed in (same link):
McDonnell also rejected taxes, saying lawmakers should cut spending. “The worst thing you can do during a recession is try to tax yourself to prosperity,” he said.
So long as McDonnell keeps to that (i.e., doesn’t try to sneak in regional tax hikes for “transportation”), he should be able to avoid Jerry Kilgore’s fate (especially if the Democrats nominate someone other than McAuliffe).
More to the point, we now know that the Democrats (or at least some of them) will try to raise taxes on Virginians next year. The questions are as follows. Does McAuliffe hold to his position? How many Democrats can he win over to the no-tax-increase side? Will McDonnell hold to his position? Can he stop Republican defections on this issue?
The answers to these questions will determine the budget, the tax bills of Virginians, and Election 2009.
I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but McDonnell had no problem raising taxes during a good economy.
Actually, McDonnell had no problem raising taxes in a bad economy either at the beginning of the year.
Should we go on what experience has told us, or what a politician thinks sounds good?
Comeon,D.J., please don’t say you’re surprised. Moran and Deeds, at heart, have always been tax hikers, and now with Virginia “going blue”, they think they can say it out loud now. And Terry will say whatever he thinks will get him across the finish line.
I’m not sure how you read surprise in my reaction to Deeds and Moran; if anything, McAuliffe’s reaction gives me the most surprise. Deeds may be surprised to find out he’s been outflanked by T-Mac, but that’s not a surprise to me.
He’ll have the chance to show how much his words mean during the special session. If a bunch of pro-McAuliffe Dems vote for tax hikes, the fellow is either unserious or unable to exact his will on his fellow Dems.
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