Do you understand now why Gov. Mark Warner didn’t unveil his proposal on tax reform back in the summer? You remember all that Republican clatter?

“Show us the plan!” they screeched. “Show us the plan!”

They behaved just exactly like a bunch of brush beaters in the old Tarzan movies. You remember those. They line up and move through the bush, beating on pots and pans, trying to drive a big, bad lion out into the open, where he can be shot or strung up in a net.

That’s all that was. Brush beating. Had nothing to do with governing. Had nothing to do with honesty. Had nothing to do with truth. Had nothing to do with principle. It was just racket -- blind, partisan, mindless racket.

Consider now what has happened. Warner puts forth honest, sweeping, comprehensive tax reform and what has he gotten? Same thing. Just a bunch of pot and pan beaters raising up a racket. Not contemplation. Not serious discussion. Not alternatives. Just more of the same blind, partisan, mindless racket.

Scan the headlines this week. Look at the verbs used to describe the Republican approach to tax reform, and to the budget: "Attack." "Blast." "Ripped." And so on they go.

This is serious business, folks. Attacking, blasting, ripping, won’t get the job done. Listening to Gilmore won’t get it done (you kiddin’ me?). Nor will bringing in some voodoo guru from the Reagan administration (you are kiddin’ me, aren’t you?) to explain the numbers to you.

In two years Warner has cut 5,000 jobs from the state payroll. He has eliminated 50 state boards and commissions. And he has managed a $6 billion short-fall in the budget. What else is he supposed to do? Turn wine into water? Divide the loaves and fishes?

Consider the highlights of Warner’s tax reform proposals:

 Lowers the income tax for most Virginians

 Lowers the sales tax on food, while increasing it on everything else by a penny

 Closes corporate loopholes, some of which you can drive a bus through

 Increase the tobacco tax to pay for health care costs

 Ends the car tax

 Eliminates the estate tax for working farms and family-owned businesses

 Ends the accelerated sales tax collection from retailers

 Provides investment incentives for small businesses

 Eases the tax burden on military families

What else do you expect?

Now consider the highlights of the governor’s proposed budget.

In primary and secondary education:

 Increases K-12 funding ($761.5 million)

 Provides funding for the 31,000 new students expected to enter the system

 Funds the SOG prevention, intervention, and remediation program ($41.2 million)

 Funds Northern Virginia’s cost differential need ($7.1 million)

 Increases technology funding ($118.1 million)

 Increases local funding for at-risk 4-year-olds

 Funds Education for a Lifetime

 Funds the National Board Certification bonus program for teachers

 Meets requirements for No Child Left Behind Act

In higher ed:

 Provides new funding for Higher Education, including:

 Funding necessary for !0,000 more graduates

 New research funding ($13.3 million)

 New equipment ($104.4 million)

 Increases student aid ($9.1 million)

 Additional funding of historically black institutions ($12.4 million)

 Operation and maintenance

 Tuition assistance ($4.5 million)

 Military tuition waivers ($2 million)

 Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville ($3.1 million)

In public safety and law enforcement:

 New state funding ($179.1 million)

 Prison capacity ( $97 million)

 New local funding

 Funding for the trooper retention program

In health and human services:

 Safety net programs ($942.2 million), including

 New, required Medicaid funding ($707.8)

 New funding for the Comprehensives Services Act ($46.8)

 Covers mental health shortfalls ($29.6 million)

 Adoption and foster care $25.5 million)

 Covers a shortfall for needy families with dependent children ($20.7 million)

 Covers increased enrollment in children’s health plan

 Increases payment to nursing facilities

 Staffs the sexually violent predators program

 Provides $22.2 million for child care assistance

And in transportation

 Provides an additional $391 million in funding for the state’s roads

Did I mention elimination of the car tax? Did I mention elimination of the state sales tax on food? Did I mention a long-overdue 3% pay increase for state employees?

And what alternative plan have the Republicans put up? Well ... let’s see. One or two mentions of raising the gas tax. And a lot of racket. Besides that, nothing. Absolutely nothing.

What’s my advice to them? The same as is that of most Virginians, I believe. Lay down the pots and pans. Stop all the racket. Put up or shut up.

Consider this for your Christmas gift list:
A 60,000 word collection of Barnie Day’s commentaries, entitled "A Mule Yule: Hey, Jesus didn’t ride in on an elephant," with an introduction by Jerry Baliles and forwards by Frosty Landon, Larry Sabato, Robert Holsworth,and Bill Wood, is available from the Democratic Party of Virginia. Contact Laura Bland, toll-free, at 1-800-322-1144

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