Kaine Sees Transportation Package as a Win-Win

In blunt talk demonstrating his dual policy and political goals, the governor says he is convinced that he cannot lose when the General Assembly returns for a special session June 23 to consider his $1.1 billion tax proposal.

If legislators vote to increase taxes and fees, Kaine said, there would be more money for transportation, fulfilling one of his major policy goals. If Republicans block efforts to raise money statewide for roads, Kaine said Democrats would be on their way toward building a permanent majority in Virginia by painting state GOP lawmakers as obstructionists out of touch with the need to improve Virginians' quality of life.

"It will be very productive to either try to find a solution or make it plain to people who are standing in the way," said Kaine, who raised $4 million last year to help Democrats retake the state Senate. "We are going to make something happen or let the public see who is obstructing, and frankly, that is one of the reasons why Democrats have won elections in Virginia."

But many Republicans, and even some Democrats, say Kaine's latest plan for higher taxes goes too far, threatening the reputation of the state party he has worked so hard to build up.

"It paints once again . . . Democrats as the tax hikers, and in a recession, in particular, that is not a good thing to be to the average voter," said Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II (R-Fairfax), a candidate for attorney general next year.

Former governor L. Douglas Wilder (D), Richmond's mayor, also questioned Kaine's strategy of pushing for statewide and regional tax increases. Kaine unveiled a proposal Monday that includes higher taxes on car sales, an increase in vehicle registration fees and a 1-cent sales tax increase in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

"It has consequences, and it's going to make it difficult for Democrats in next year's elections," said Wilder, noting that it is unusual for a governor to push for a tax increase proposal without first locking up support for it in at least one chamber of the General Assembly. "It's probably not going to be approved."

Wilder has also been skeptical of past efforts to raise taxes, but Kaine's style on the issue underscores the harder edge he is taking with his rivals.

When Mark R. Warner (D) wrestled the governor's mansion from Republicans in 2001, he governed largely through a prism of not challenging the underlying conservative nature of the state, although he did win support for a $1 billion tax increase for schools and social services in 2004.

Kaine, elected in 2005 in part because Warner left office with record-high approval ratings, has been more willing to try to force House and Senate Republicans into taking tough votes, especially those who represent Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, regions rapidly trending Democratic in elections.

Kaine's approach has resulted in a number of legislative defeats, such as his efforts to close a gun show loophole and ban smoking in restaurants, but the governor has also helped force the Republican-controlled House to slowly change some of its conservative views.