Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Metro columnist Dan Casey: It's time for some tough questions in gubernatorial debate
Dan Casey is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
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Tonight at 7 p.m., Roanoke College's Olin Hall will host the final scheduled debate in this year's gubernatorial contest. The moderator is WSLS (Channel 10) news anchor Jay Warren. He is soliciting questions for the candidates on his station's Web site.
There are plenty of unanswered ones in this campaign. So I and some posters on my blog have formulated a few.
Here we go.
-- Mr. McDonnell, Virginia hasn't increased its gasoline tax in 22 years. The current levy is less than in all of our neighboring states except Kentucky.
Meanwhile, the Virginia Department of Transportation is slashing its budget by billions, laying off hundreds of workers and canceling or postponing road building and maintenance projects.
For just a moment, let's put aside your plan to sell state liquor stores and tax unproven offshore oil reserves to fund Virginia transportation projects.
Can you conceive of any circumstance under which an increase in the gasoline tax would be appropriate? If your answer is yes, please tell us what that circumstance would be. If your answer is no, please tell us why.
Follow-up: Do you believe the gasoline tax should be lowered? Please tell us why or why not, and if your answer is yes, by how much.
Second follow-up: What, if anything, about Kentucky's road system do you admire?
-- Mr. Deeds, you have hinted that as governor, you would sign a bill increasing the gasoline tax if the General Assembly passes one.
As you know, such legislation would have to make it through the highway-hating, pothole-loving Virginia House of Delegates.
The question is, what are you smoking? Do you honestly believe that a gas-tax increase, or any other tax increase, has a better chance in the House than a snowball in hell? Why?
Follow-up: Really, are you hallucinating?
Second follow-up: Absent a gas-tax increase, what is your plan to boost revenues for the transportation trust fund? (We haven't heard any so far.)
-- Mr. McDonnell, like it or not, your Regent University master's thesis has become an issue in this campaign.
Specifically, you wrote that feminism and working women cause harm to society, and you branded as "illogical" a Supreme Court ruling that legalized birth control for unmarried women.
Recently, you have said your views on those subjects have changed significantly.
Please walk us through those changes, outline the reasons for them, and tell us about bills you introduced and votes you cast as a delegate that reflect this changing outlook.
-- Mr. Deeds, in the 2009 session you voted for an idiotic bill that defined anyone who had passed a one-hour streaming video "course" as competent enough with a gun to qualify for a Virginia concealed handgun permit --even if they had never touched a handgun.
I know this is true because I took that course and had never touched a handgun before the state issued me my permit.
The question is, do you regret supporting this dumb bill?
Follow-up: Would you support its repeal?
-- For both candidates:
Messrs. Deeds and McDonnell, each of you has said that if elected, you would sign legislation allowing concealed-carry permit holders to take their hidden weapons into establishments that serve alcohol, provided those gun-packers don't imbibe.
A recent poll conducted by Christopher Newport University found nearly two-thirds of the commonwealth's likely voters are opposed to legalizing concealed weapons in bars.
Please explain why you're in favor of legislation opposed by nearly two-thirds of this state's voters.
Follow-up: Please explain to us how more guns in bars makes everyone safer.
Second follow-up: Are both of you insane?
