It's Called Leadership

Yes, you can raise taxes and still get reelected.

There we’ve said it.

It’s what every state legislator is most worried about.  They’re not asking “Is the Legislature doing what is in the best interests of the state?”  They’re asking, “What do I have to do to get reelected?”

It’s what happens when you ride around on your high horse too long.  You lose sight of what’s happening on the ground.

So here’s a political lesson for the faint-hearted in Tallahassee – a lesson in leadership.

In 2001, when then Virginia Democratic Governor Mark Warner took office, he said he would not raise taxes.

But then, conditions on the ground changed, and like any good leader, instead of sticking to the planned course and taking the state off a cliff, he took the state on a new course, the right course.

And he turned the state around.

With the help of a group of Republican State Senators, Governor Warner put together a plan that raised taxes (including the cigarette tax) and brought an additional $1.4 billion into the state coffers.

This additional revenue put that state on the road to recovery, saved the state’s AAA bond rating and led to Virginia’s single largest investment in K-12 education in history.

And so what happened to Mark Warner?

Well, from what you’ve heard from our state legislators who run and hide at the mere mention of taxes, what Warner did in Virginia must have ended his career.  Certainly no one would ever vote again for someone who once raised taxes, especially in a conservative stronghold like Virginia.

Well, meet U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia).

Virginians did get a chance to vote again for Warner, and they did so overwhelmingly. 

There is something to be said for leadership after all.

Posted by Bernie Campbell on Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Permalink: It's Called Leadership