Virginia On The Brink
With Virginia’s top two Democrat females mud wrestling in Richmond, it’s time to think about what a Virginia state government shutdown might look like.
With 13 days to get a budget, the unthinkable may actually happen: Virginia government may shut down because the Democrats fundamentally don’t like each other.
None of us know exactly what to expect because it’s never happened before. Best of all, according to news reports, Gov. Abigail Spanberger has not made plans for the looming shutdown.
This is what passes for Democrat leadership.
It’s actually delicious. Democrats control both houses of the General Assembly and the Governor’s Mansion and it turns out they can’t govern.
Frankly, I’m here for every minute of the rancor. The primary division is on the issue of tax breaks for data centers. The governor supports them, so does Speaker of the House of Delegates, Don Scott.
The powerful President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Louise Lucas, however, has built a grassroots movement around the commonwealth fueled by opposition to the tax breaks.
It’s gotten so bad in Richmond that in an interview, Lucas looked wistfully back on the days when GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin was in charge, despite the fact that she spent four years spewing venom in Youngkin’s direction.
Brinksmanship might be bad for Virginia, but so are most of the new laws these lefties just passed, so some of us are watching the spectacle with bemusement.
If the governor can’t be bothered to look ahead to an shutdown, we might as well do it.
What’s likely to happen?
First, thousands of “non-essential” state workers would be plopped onto unpaid leave in July (which would become a paid vacation as soon as the shutdown ended). Essential workers, such as state police and prison personnel, would be on the job, without pay. Courts would be open with skeleton staffs.
There would be major delays with anything regarding the Department of Motor Vehicles or other state licensing agencies.
State parks would close. So would rest areas. (Fortunately, Virginians experienced the joy of bladder control during Tim Kaine’s disastrous potty shutdown of 2007 so we’re ready for this one.)
Presumably the ABC stores would be shuttered, although Gov. Ralph Northam found a way to keep them open during covid, so there’s hope for Virginia’s alcoholics.
If the shutdown lasted more than a week or so, the entire state economy would suffer as the buying power of approximately 169,000 state workers dried up.
Is a compromise in the offing? Doesn’t look like it. Scott is keeping House members at home for the time being.
“No budget agreement has been reached yet, so there is no reason for members to show up Thursday. The House is firmly committed to passing a full, balanced budget, and we will not return until we have one ready to vote on.
“Our rules require 48-hour notice before reconvening. As soon as we reach an agreement with the Senate, I will notify members and we will return and pass a budget.”
Democrats campaigned on affordability. All they’ve delivered is chaos.
