Richmond Virginia Politics

In the fall of 2005, two candidates came to our auditorium in Richmond, Virginia to talk about their platforms. They were Jerry Kilgore and Tim Kaine. I remember listening to the issues and observing the stage presence. Personally, I thought Tim Kaine was much more articulate and appeared much more centric in views compared to most Democrats. Jerry Kilgore had great traditional Republican talking points but lacked the charisma. Tim Kaine won the election.

Four years later, Mr Kaine has moved on to another challenge, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The new governor is Bob McDonnell. Governor McDonnell has the dubious honor of inheriting a huge budget shortfall. Where have we heard that before? Rather than continue to play the blame game he has aggressively vowed to cut spending and balance the state budget. His task is exacerbated by a $7 billion gap the recession has caused and the state assembly is weighing the consequences of another $4 billion in cuts.

This should be no secret to anyone that voted for the governor. People have stepped up to agree on tough issues in arguably one of the toughest economic climates in our lifetimes. Those same people are all taking one step back when it comes to taking the first bullet. At stake is closing state parks, cutting up to 28,000 education jobs, reduced funding on state mental facilities and more.

It will be interesting to see how the local issues impact the national elections in November. When pain is felt at the local level this early in the election cycle, will the people continue to beat the anti-incumbency drum? The same people that declare we need more nuclear power plants are the first to protest when the plans show the next plant will be constructed outside their kitchen window. How's the view now?

Virginia and New Jersey led the swing in anti-incumbency momentum with Republican wins. Then there was the shot heard 'round the political halls, Scott Brown -- a Republican -- wins the Kennedy Seat. Or was that the people's seat? Do the people really want their voice to be heard, or will they succumb to capitulation when the issues dramatically impact their own view of the hood? Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) could see his current momentum stall without anticipating the local impact on a national mood.

It sounds good and feels good to make an impact casting a vote. Candidates know what talking points work well on the constituents. At the end of the day, tough choices must be enacted. That will create pain at the local level. Question is, will that pain help or hurt the November election strategies of Tim Kaine and Michael Steele?