Why is GOP caving in on taxes?

This week, a small number of Republican delegates are planning to ignore their promises to the voters and join the Democrats in passing sweeping new tax increases on working Virginians. This is very unfortunate, and it is even more unfortunate that the delegates are primarily motivated by fear of what people will say about them.

If the General Assembly passes a general tax increase, without allowing the people to vote on it, it will represent a huge victory for Gov. Mark Warner, and a terrible defeat for Virginia’s taxpayers. Mr. Warner will have gained this victory through sheer intimidation, threatening to blame Republicans for all the ills that could come from a government shutdown.

Worst of all, the Republicans in the General Assembly will get no political credit whatever; no one rewards those who cave in to intimidation. We will still hear the charge that “Republicans can’t govern.” And this charge will still be unfair, as an examination of the many other issues tackled by the Republican General Assembly will show.

Of greatest importance is the legislation Republicans passed regarding educational choice. Mr. Warner's neglect of charter schools resulted in no new charter schools being created in Virginia since 2002, at a time when most other states are embracing these innovative, ground-breaking public schools. Besides denying schoolchildren options for their education, Mr. Warner’s inaction also caused Virginia to lose federal money available for charter schools. It is extremely dishonest for the governor to insist that he needs new taxes for schools when he’s leaving school money on the table for ideological reasons.

House Bill 380 discontinues the authority of school boards to limit the number of charter schools as it requires the state Board of Education to report annually to the General Assembly the number of public charter school applications granted and denied --as well as the reasons for any such denials. The bill also increases the maximum charter term from three to five years.

The General Assembly also passed an important piece of legislation supporting homeschooling, another important source of educational choice for Virginia’s parents. House Bill 675 discontinues the requirement that homeschooling parents hold college degrees before exercising their right to educate their own children. The bill acknowledges that there is no connection between the educational level of the teaching parents and the success of the child. (Children schooled at home perform much better, both on the SATs and in college, than those who go to public schools.) In spite of this evidence, a number of General Assembly Democrats voted against it, and attempted to compel unwilling parents to send their children to public schools.

While Mr. Warner has demonstrated only concern about how much the taxpayers can be forced to tighten their belts, Republican delegates have been looking for ways to force state government to tighten its belt.

The Competitive Government Act requires the governor to conduct enterprise-wide examinations of the commercial activities that are being performed by state employees to ensure that these activities are being accomplished in the most cost-efficient manner. In many cases, the private sector may be able to perform these same tasks for less money. Now, private sector businesses cannot be denied the chance to try.

Republicans are also in the forefront of protecting the victims of domestic violence. House Bill 656 revises the time period from 10 to 20 years in which three convictions for assault and battery against a family or household member must occur for the third one to be a felony. Innocent victims of violence receive greater protection, for a longer period of time, under this legislation.

Help is also on the way for innocent victims on Virginia’s roads, thanks to Republicans in Richmond, who tightened the enforcement of laws against drunk driving. Third time offenders may now have their vehicle seized, and they also lose the presumption of bail on the third conviction. For seriously drunk drivers, whose blood alcohol is twice the legal limit, the General Assembly now requires ignition interlock devises on their cars. Such devises measure blood alcohol levels before the car will start.

In most of these cases, the Republican House of Delegates is dealing with issues that have troubled the commonwealth but haven't been resolved by Democratic legislators during the 100-plus years they controlled the General Assembly.

These examples, and many others, show clearly that Richmond Republicans can govern, and can make the right decisions. It's all the more tragic -- and puzzling -- that some Richmond Republicans are making the wrong decision on taxes.