Since it became clear that the application of civil remedial fees to out-of-state drivers was removed by Governor Tim Kaine in cleaning up the transportation bill, Republican bloggers have been giddy. Somehow, I guess they think that this puts the blame for this mess on the Democrats.
No, it doesn’t. And even the Republican legislators say so. From The Richmond Times Dispatch:
Del. H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, the House majority leader, was conciliatory.
“I think he probably was advised that it would be difficult to collect,” he said.
[…]
Republicans yesterday were not trying to make an issue of Kaine’s role in the transportation package. Like Griffith, many feel that fees imposed on out-of-state motorists, if not unconstitutional, are at least uncollectable.
The bottom line is that with or without the language, the fees wouldn’t be collected. So what’s the point of putting the language in there? Would it make y’all feel better if it were there, even if we never collect a dime?
Of course, some Republicans just don’t get it:
Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William) accused Democrats of playing politics because many of them voted for the transportation bill.
That’s BS. If every single Democrat had voted against the bill (and I certainly wish they had), it still would have passed.
This is y’all’s mess.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
I see it a little differently. All delegates and senators knew (or should have known) that these ridiculous “fees” were in the transportation funding legislation….both Democrats and Republicans.
The Democrats, I’m sorry to say, could have objected to this during the session. Just think what that would have gained them by voicing an objection! This “revenue” idea was not thought out and I’m sorry to say that most Democrats, anxious to get out a transportation bill, went along with what now has turned on them politically. That’s not to say that the Republicans don’t share the blame (since they were claiming all the credit for the bill) but our Democrats let us down on this one and some may have to pay politically. Lesson learned.
Sleepless is right, Vivian. This is all our mess. I’m not a fan of this bill, but there is more than enough blame to go around. I guess compromise can sometimes get messy.
Nice Republican talking points – this is “everyone’s” fault. Yeah, right. These talking points are all just an attempt by Republican’s to avoid taking the inevitable hit at the polls in November for their own bill. They’re hoping that if they can trick people in believing that blame was equal, voter retaliation will be equal.
Sorry, it just ain’t true. The House Republicans never allowed honest discussion on the matter – this was all their effort and they weren’t going to listen to Democrats. Their strict anti-tax ideology demanded that raising the gasoline tax by only a few cents (which would more than cover the revenues these fees would generate) would not be considered. Period. Just look at Albo’s anti-tax quote in yesterday’s Washington Post and you know what they were thinking and still are thinking.
Kaine and some Democrats aren’t completely clean, but 90% of this problem is the fault of House Republicans. Focus the blame on those who earned it (more like they demanded it): House Republicans. Everything else is just damage control in a desperate attempt to drag the Democrats down into a massive Republican error.
I’m with you, Eric.
alteroffreedom:
While I agree that much of this is due to those in the power structure of the Republican Assemby in their “infinite” wisdom what gets me is the total lack of accountibility some place with Kaine. I have said it before and will keep on saying it, he has to lead from the front. The wholeissue of whose to blame “more” does diservice to the fact “our” government is failing “us” in this area. Talking points or not our transportation infrastrcuture is still a mess. Results define an administration regardless of what your up against.
I wonder why it is we have Governors in this country who accomplish more on balance when they are on opposite sides of their respective legislature than we can in Virginia.. Romney ,Richardson, Thompson I think seemed to have accomplish more when faced with opposing legislatures. Is it that our Republican legislature is so unwilling to move on issues and play politics or is it the Democratic powers merely want to allow them enough rope to hang themselves and advised Kaine to support the bill while we sit in the balance. Either way, the whole mess is shameful and both are to blame. With each day I fail to understand the leagcy in which Kaine wishes to leave his mark on. I like the guy but get on it!
As to the “collection” ya ya …thats a joke. We collect speeding tickets from residents from other states all the time. We require them to return for hearing or simply pay the fine. If they do not a suspension will be issued. If the goal is truly defined and this is the direction to go, then the legislature needs reciprocal agreements like the one with North Carolina. As a Virginia resident if you speed down there and do not pay your fine, your driving privlages are revoked in Virginia and North Carolina. In the end thats expensive , to get it back your looking at $250 court fees, plus fines and another 100 in DMV fees for reinstatement.
The thing I find is people want a fix, but this legislature is unwilling to fix it by making the hard choices. Just once I would like someone with the balls to stand up and tell us that if we want a better transportation system we need to pay for it and if you want better roads then we need to pay for it and simply do it by raising the dam tax. Its far different than raising taxs for things the overwhelming population fails to support, but when the state is so united in the concern for roads they cannot get over their little political egos and the thump on the chest that they never raise our taxes. They fail to realize that there refusal to solve the problem merely results in increased repair cost for citizens on their automobiles which might as well be a tax when you look at from our perspective.
Raise the dam charge for Inspection to $20 or add an emission check tax (thats $4 more than now) and target the extra $4 solely towards transportation. Do the math moroons (them not us)
Eric, I agree with a lot of what you say…but….”they weren’t going to listen to Democrats”. Don’t you think that the Dems should have gone to the voters on this item? I never heard a peep out of my delegate nor my senator. Then boom…it hits us right before it goes into effect..
I think Dems need to learn how to better grab the bully pulpit. when they can….especially the blogosphere bully pulpit where all of this could have been discussed and cleared up handily!!!
Afterall, they represent us….or do they?
Sleepless in Virginia, I don’t know what you were doing while you weren’t sleeping, but I suspect it wasn’t reading a newspaper. Virginia democrats raised many a gripe during the transportation special sessions, complaining that the House was boxing out of the debate and not presenting legislation until right before it came to a vote and criticising them for not producing a realistic, sustainable source of revenue. They were competing for column inches, however, with Senate Republicans, most of whom were seeking a more-sensible answer and who were also at odds with the House GOP.
I’m not sure what you wanted. Did you want a democratic delegates to go out into districts they don’t even represent, accost random voters while they’re in line at the supermarket and say to them, “well, gosh, let me tell you what’s in this transportation plan….” Let’s be clear, here: they don’t get franked mail the way a federal representative does, they don’t have the opportunity to “go to the voters” except for those who live in their districts and then usually only the ones who go to the odd town hall meeting. And most of the time during a special session they’re not with the voters in their district anyway: they’re in Richmond voting on things.
I agree that they shouldn’t have voted for this plan if it’s so ridiculously stupid to include THIS as a revenue source, but I think you have some misconceptions about how the legislative process works in the General Assembly.
How certain is it the the CRF’s could not be collected from out-of-staters?
Fairly certain as the law is written. The fee isn’t collected by the courts, but in annual installments by the state (through the DMV, as I recall). The DMV doesn’t have the authority to levy taxes or fees on drivers outside its licensing jurisdiction.
7. anonymous: I have misconceptions? Don’t the Democratic legislators have massive e-mail lists; can’t they call reporters; can’t they contact the blogs; can’t they release press releases; don’t they have their own websites?
Recently, when the Democratic grassroots/base/bloggers complained LOUDLY that the US Senate caved to Bush’s Iraq supplemental request much too quickly, the Senate Dems caught on real quickly and last night and today you witnessed the Senate Dems standing up to the President and the Republicans on the Iraq War. That’s how it’s done. You don’t sit by passively wishing and hoping that no one will ask you what was in that bill!!!
And, if in your words, the Dems were “criticising them (Republicans) for not producing a realistic, sustainable source of revenue”, then why, for heavens sake, did many Dems vote for it?
Until Democrats quit looking for excuses and acquire a spine, they’ll continue to suffer at the polls. During the 2005 primaries, as a poll worker (inside) I had to listen to Republicans laughing and making fun of my fellow county Democrats as having “no spine”…..they were right.
I’ve worked on Democratic campaigns in several states and understand the definition, consequences, and rewards of the word “hardball”.
SiV, you’re not going to hear me compliment any democrats in the GA for voting for this bill if it’s this ridiculously bad (although I do understand that they didn’t want to risk waiting another 10 years for a new transportation package, I think they’re finding out that it’s not true that any deal is still better than no deal).
That being said, do you by any chance remember 2006, when Moving Virginia Forward shot their wad on robocalls, voter calls, broadcast emails, postcard campaigns and paid organizers to go around the state and talk about what Governor Kaine wanted for his transportation plan and what was wrong with the GOP plan? It was incredibly well organized (and rather expensive). My favorite part was they had organizers using a predictive dialer to contact voters in swing republican districts to tell them what hair-brained idea their legislator had about raiding the general fund for transportation dollars, and then after informing the voter the organizer would ask, “would you like to be connected to your legislator’s office so you can tell him what you think about transportation?” If the voter said yes, an exchange would transfer the call to the direct line in the legislator’s office.
It was the definition of hardball, and it didn’t work. Republicans felt peeved and essentially told the governor to go screw himself, leaving town without trying to reach a deal on transportation.
I’ve worked on a campaign or two, as well, and I’m sure we both know that a voter contact operation like this is incredibly expensive–and difficult to fundraise for if it’s not going to work. This year the Governor’s office has (rightly) determined that the more-productive use of its fundraising abilities is to support campaigns for incumbents and challengers in GA races who would be more-supportive of the governor’s legislative agenda. As the saying goes, the only way to change your government is to change the people you send there. Which is why you and I have both worked on democratic campaigns in the first place.
By the way, the appropriate response whenever you hear a republican laugh nowadays is “scoreboard, bitches.” 🙂
Anonymous, Thanks for the response. I appreciate it.
Being a Dem, I wasn’t involved in the “receiving end” of the MVF effort on transportation “education”. It sounds like it was a good effort if it peeved the Republicans, regardless of whether they walked away or not. Today’s Republicans are not of the ilk to compromise or negotiate as in days past when moderates populated the Republican Party.
Again, thank you for the response!
Just curious and wondering – where did this CRF thing originate! Have, or do any other states have CRF laws? Or was this thought up by our republican legitative braintrust???
NEWS!!!! Gov Kaine, Bill Howell and leading Republicans are going to hold a press conference today at 2 pm to DEFEND the CRFs. What say you all now?
Um… why???