Conservatism returning to GOP

The News Virginian / News Virginian
Published: April 5, 2008

The candidacy of Northern Virginia conservative Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, for attorney general along with those of Robert McDonnell for governor and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling for the top two spots on the state ticket appear to indicate a building resurgence within the beleaguered state GOP.

Cuccinelli, a state senator who staved off the effects of Democrats' widespread penetration in his region by narrowly winning re-election last fall, has carved out a strong base on the strength of the bedrock conservatism that had once been the staple of his party. Cuccinelli is a champion of limited government, gun rights and the death penalty, espouses crackdowns on illegal immigration and opposes abortion funding.

His ascendancy within the party demonstrates what apparently slipped the minds of many Republicans amid the tumble from voter grace that culminated in November's rise of Democrats to Senate power. There are political dividends to be gained from holding fast against the opposition party's perpetual push to inflate government, increase the burden on taxpayers and deepen the nanny state's pervasive influence on the private lives of its people.

"I am unapologetically pro-life and anti-tax and I have been the biggest defender of the Second Amendment and property rights in the Virginia State Senate since my arrival," Cuccinelli declared to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "And I have done all this in some of the toughest political territory for a conservative, not merely in Northern Virginia, but in inner Northern Virginia."

Contrast Cuccinelli's robust conservatism, exemplified consistently in the Senate since his entry there after winning a special election in 2002, with the wandering, waffling and placatory posture of fellow Republicans who squandered their majority while passing a string of tax increases during that period. The response of voters last fall, we suggest, was not so much a ratification of Democratic policies but a declaration that if the state is to be ruled by them, that party might as well run the show officially as well as in practice.

Like Cuccinelli, McDonnell boasts a stellar conservative record, established during his days in the General Assembly and furthered in his crime-fighting role as attorney general. Bolling boasts similar conservative credentials, having been a constant foil of Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's. Both McDonnell and Bolling were tainted by the ill-advised and ultimately unconstitutional plan to establish a regional taxing authority to generate billions of dollars for road fixes in Northern Virginia.

But they remain a formidable duo and one that conservatives can — and most assuredly, will — embrace without pause. Perhaps equally encouraging to supporters on the right is the amicable manner in which the ticket was formed. Bolling had considered a gubernatorial bid, but rejected the notion in the name of unifying a badly fractured but not broken party.

We wonder if it all has caught the attention of state Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, who remains waist-deep in the political morass over Scott Sayre's attempts to unseat him in last spring's GOP primary. Hanger is seeking to wrest control of the Augusta County Republican Party, whose leadership depicted him as a tax-and-spender while pushing Sayre's primary run. He had been considering his own run at lieutenant governor but had his chances squelched by Bolling's decision to seek re-election.

Despite justifiable criticism over his tax stances, Hanger has served well his constituents in his 12 years in the Senate. That description does not apply to the political infighting in which he is now thoroughly engaged.