FamilyFoundationBlog.com

We are pleased to post here our interview with former House of Delegates Majority Leader Dickie Cranwell, chairman of the Democrat Party of Virginia. We will post it in two parts, concluding tomorrow. The questions and answers appear exactly as submitted. We think you will find his comments very interesting and worthy of discussion and debate. We look forward to your feedback.

With this interview, all three men who are, or will be, leading the Commonwealth’s two major parties for the next year are on record on this blog. Previously, we posted an interview with Republican Party of Virginia Chairman John Hager (click here for part one and here for part two) as well as one with Delegate Jeff Frederick (R-52, Woodbridge) who is challenging Mr. Hager for the RPV chairmanship. Click here to read that interview.

familyfoundationblog.com: You’ve had a distinguished career as an attorney, legislator — the House Majority Leader, in fact — and party chairman. With the Democrats making so many gains in Virginia over the last few years, why retire as party chairman now?

Chairman Dickie Cranwell: I never sought the position of Chair of the Democratic Party. Governor Warner asked me to fill the unexpired term of Kerry Donley. I agreed to serve until a new Governor was elected. Governor Tim Kaine’s vision for restructuring the Democratic Party agreed with mine so I agreed to stay on until Donley’s term expires in 2009. Hopefully the changes in the Democratic Party which have occurred during my tenure have made the party stronger and more candidate friendly.

We have taken back the State Senate, elected the last two governors and a U.S. Senator. And, I anticipate Virginia will elect Mark Warner as its next U.S. Senator and at least one new Democratic member to the House of Representatives this year. I also believe Virginia will be in play in the Presidential race, something that has not occurred since Lyndon Johnson.

The party is in good shape and I have boys, ages 8 and 10, so there is a lot of baseball and soccer to occupy my time. I am just stepping down. I am not retiring from the field of battle. There is a wealth of talented people in the party who can carry on the work of the Chair. I look forward to those folks’ continued success.

familyfoundationblog.com: U.S. Senator Barack Obama has said we are now entering a post-partisan era. Does that mean that parties no longer will be partisan? Do you agree, and if so, what does that mean for political parties? (For example, what will it mean for the parties’ ability to organize, recruit candidates and fund raise?) If not, what are the parties’ role in policy debate in general?

Chairman Cranwell: I believe you either misstated or do not understand Senator Obama’s message. He says we have to get beyond the Beltway mentality; that Democrats and Republicans need to work together to rebuild a shattered economy, end an ill-conceived war, save working people’s homes from foreclosure, rein in the oil companies to drive down the price of gasoline and stop the hemorrhaging of debt inflicted on us by the Bush Administration which has mortgaged the future of every child in America.

Senator Obama’s message is that we are Americans first and foremost and, if we work together, nothing is beyond our reach. I believe in the two-party system and believe it will continue to serve America well, but the parties must be willing to work together for the American people.

Governor Mark Warner proved this by working with the Republican majority in the General Assembly during his term. As a result, a $6 billion hole in the budget was fixed. 

Along the way, Warner chaired the National Governors Association, leading a national high school reform effort to meet the challenges of a global economy. He was named among Governing Magazine‘s “Public Officials of the Year” in 2004, TIME Magazine‘s “America’s 5 Best Governors” in 2005, and Newsweek‘s “Who’s Next” issue in 2006.

While Warner was governor, Virginia was named “the best managed state in the nation by Governing Magazine, and the “runaway winner” in the new “Best State For Business” ranking done by Forbes, based on the tax structure, education system, and bipartisan fiscal management the Warner administration had put in place. Education Week Magazine named Virginia as the best place for a child to be born in terms of educational opportunity during Warner’s tenure as Governor.

familyfoundationblog.com: We see Senator Obama and Senator Clinton trying to answer the concerns of values voters, a demographic Republicans typically win. What do Democrats in Virginia and nationally have to do to appeal to people with concerns over abortion, marriage and pro-family issues?

Chairman Cranwell: Voters who are pro-family should be flocking to Democrats. Democrats understand that having a good paying job is central to any family. Democrats understand that we must act to protect the largest investment of most families (their homes) from foreclosure. Democrats want world-class health care and education for every American. Families want to know that if their home and life is destroyed by natural disaster, their government will not take years to help them rebuild their communities. They know they can count on Democrats to make FEMA really work for the working man and woman.

If you’ve been paying attention to the presidential campaigns, you’ve no doubt heard much of the pundit analysis of the candidates. It goes something like this: Obama is “energizing” people and speaking about “change” and is bringing “excitement” to the campaign; Hillary is “mean” and having a hard time reaching “new voters” and isn’t “inspiring”; McCain is about as “exciting” as tooth decay and doesn’t “move” people. And on and on it goes.

Of course, the missing ingredient in most analysis is obvious: what are the important issues and how are each of the candidates actually going to address them. Specifics in this race are about as hard to find as a NOVA Republican.

Truth be told, we shouldn’t expect much else in our celebrity culture, where Americans seem far more interested in the latest “American Idol” than they are in Iraq. We could spend days talking about why, but syndicated columnist Robert Samuelson has an interesting take. He theorizes that we don’t demand honest answers from our candidates, not because we’re more interested in their latest David Letterman appearance, but because we simply can’t handle the truth about the current state of affairs in America. The truth, as they say, hurts.

I think there is a lot of truth to his argument. Facing the realities of $4.00 a gallon gas, a nanny state that is on the verge of complete economic collapse (i.e., Has anyone seen my social security check?), and borders that are simply lines on paper isn’t nearly as entertaining, or diversionary, as Jay Leno.

I guess the question is, how much longer can we bury ourselves in celebrity before we are forced to deal with a crumbling culture?

Bread and circuses anyone?

Governor Tim Kaine surprised absolutely no one when he rolled out his transportation — er, make that tax — plan Monday. It includes nearly $1 billion tax and fee increases under the guise of fixing transportation for what he and the media mistakenly call a transportation special session of the General Assembly to begin June 23. Truth in reporting requires us to call it a Special Tax Session.

Governor Kaine’s plan doesn’ leave out much. It increases the sales tax in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia from 5 to 6 percent, something rejected by voters in those regions in 2002. Governor Kaine also would have us pay more for cars by increasing from 3 to 4 percent the motor-vehicle titling tax as well as another $10 increase in the cost to register our vehicles. Governor Kaine doesn’t stop there: He also proposes an increase in the grantor’s, or property seller’s tax, of 10 cents per $100, just as the real estate market is tanking. Detect a theme here?

How anyone can fathom adding a tax to house sales right now, on top of the fee for mortgage and refinance originations as part of former Democrat Governor Mark Warner’s 2004 record tax increase? (By the way, does he like his successor’s plan?) What does this show of Governor Kaine’s understanding of basic economics? Why do he and other liberals complain about getting branded as big taxers and spenders when they thoughtlessly and reflexively propose more tax increases for every problem (real or imagined)? The fact that spending cuts and prioritizing never seriously are considered shows a true lack of imagination, leadership and courage.

There are at least two reasons why we do not support increasing taxes for “fixing transportation.” One is the lack of a constitutional amendment to protect Virginia’s Transportation Trust Fund from being raided. The other is the depression era law that controls how Virginia funds its transportation needs. Until those two issues are resolved, Virginians should not be asked to send more money to Richmond to fund a broken system.

It is a misnomer that conservatives are anti-tax. We’re anti-tax increases when taxpayer money is wasted on useless programs that often are counterproductive, when taxpayer money is not used for constitutional purposes, when politicians want to start new programs (especially during a shaky economy) to buy their “legacy” (pre-K, anyone?), and when government is so big and bloated that waste and abuse are rampant. When spending is cut in real terms and re-prioritized, and only constitutional functions of government are funded, then let’s talk about taxes.