The Virginia Establishment Aims To Install One Of Its Own-- Don Beyer

Virginia food stamp slashers George Allen and Don Beyer

When Jim Moran announced his retirement in January, first politician out-of-the-box declaring an intention to run was multimillionaire car dealer and ex-Lieutenant Governor Don Beyer. It's almost as though he knew and was prepared. He's certainly the Establishment choice for the progressive D+16 Arlington and Fairfax counties suburban DC district (Obama 68% in 2008 ands 2012). No one has to be Republican-lite to win in VA-08. But Republican-lite is what Don Beyer is-- and has always been.

Beyer was elected Lt. Gov in 1989 when Doug Wilder was elected Governor. But in 1993 he was reelected when George Allen became governor. That was because the GOP nominee was an extremist religionist freak, Michael Farris and because even mainstream conservatives like GOP Senator John Warner backed Beyer over Farris. Beyer is no fascist but he's conservative enough for any mainstream conservative. He won 54-46% with lots of ticket splitting; George Allen won that day with 58.3%. If George Allen is best known for the welfare "reform" he passed-- which sounds a lot like the pack of lies Paul Ryan has been preaching-- it was Beyer who drafted the legislation and got it through the legislature for him. It was all based on standard GOP claptrap about giving a "hand up," not a handout and was, among other things, a major attack on food stamps program. It was widely called the Beyer Plan. He's still proud of it and recently, when his campaign released a song listing his accomplishments, one of those accomplishments listed was: "he turned takers into givers." it's an obvious and somewhat disturbing insight into how he views the poor.



The kids are made to sing "We've got some issues that need a stronger man; one who knows Virginians view. He's walked our mountains; rode our rivers; turned the TAKERS INTO GIVERS." How progressive was it to send ittle kids out to sing the song and call poor people "takers" without even knowing what they're referring to?

Business interests love Beyer but his Republican attitudes towards poor people crushed him as the Democratic base refused to turn out when he ran for governor in 1997 against right-wing kook Jim Gilmore. Gilmore beat him 56-43% and he subsequently took a series of party hack jobs, including as Finance Chairman for Mark Warner's PAC.

Beyer was accused by a former employee of business finance irregularities and transferring money from his business to his campaign. The lawsuit was over whether he improperly fired the employee when she reported them and the actual finance concerns don't appear to have been addressed or denied by the Beyer camp.

As Chairman of the American International Automobile Dealers Association Beyer personally lobbied for Free Trade fast track negotiating authority for President Bush. "I personally am optimistic-- and maybe I'm wrong-- that despite having a Democratic House and Senate, we in fact may be closer to death-tax reform than we were before."

He's a garden variety Democrat on most social issues and has been trying to pass himself off as far more progressive than his record. A shameless opportunist, he's running in a seat where we can expect a real principled, values-driven leader on tough issues, rather than an economic conservative willing to go along with issues that the women and gays and college students get all worked up over. He's never been willing to go to bat on progressive issues.

Another friend of Beyer's, none other than Jim Moran, expressed frustration that Beyer apparently didn't "follow his own compass" on his gubernatorial race tax-cut plan (which came in response to Jim "No Car Tax" Gilmore picking up support off of his irresponsible pandering), but instead went with something that "sounds more like a consultant's" idea, and which was "reactive" to boot.

Meanwhile, another 1997 Washington Post article quoted Beyer's "longtime friend" Harris Miller (gack!) defending Beyer's flip-flop on taxes in the '97 campaign ("After Beyer began his campaign by raising the possibility of a tax increase to finance more spending on education and transportation, he instead proposed what he believes the people want: a plan that amounts to a cut in the car tax"), with Miller essentially arguing that Beyer did what he felt he had to do to get elected against Jim "No Car Tax" Gilmore. Of course, we know how that one turned out for Beyer...he lost. Badly. Beyer was also excoriated by editorial boards for his "cop-out on the food tax" and for a proposal to eliminate "corporate income taxes on small businesses," which was simply "inviting a brainless tax-cut bidding war with Attorney General Jim Gilmore" (Roanoke Times; 4/11/97). Ouch. For its part, the Washington Post (7/25/97) criticized Beyer for engaging in what it called a "tax-cut derby, with first Mr. Gilmore and now Mr. Beyer trumpeting financially risky plans to redo or undo the personal property tax on most cars and trucks...tantalizing voters with tax-cut talk that overlooks the damage these plans could do to Virginia's budget and to the economic growth that each plan is conditioned on."

Again, this is a district that can easily support a full-throated progressive champion. My fear is that there are so many of them running in the primary, that they'll split the vote up and Beyer, the most conservative running-- and the richest-- will soil into office. It has Blue America leaning heavily in favor of Patrick Hope at this point.


UPDATE: Something I Forgot To Mention About Beyer

When Tom DeLay proposed replacing progressive incoming tax with a regressve sales tax (in which the rich pay much less and the middle class pays much more), Beyer was an enthusiastic proponent-- and used standard-issue, discredited Republican Party trickle-down talking points to push the point:

House Republican Leader Tom DeLay surprised import-brand dealers at their annual legislative conference last week by putting in a plug for a national sales tax.

...Unexpectedly, the concept was endorsed quickly by Don Beyer, an activist Democrat and Subaru-Land Rover-Volvo dealer in northern Virginia.

"It makes eminent sense as public policy," said Beyer, who is scheduled to be AIADA chairman in 2007. He said it would improve capital formation because wealthy individuals and businesses would have more money to invest in new ventures.