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Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va., Jeff E. Schapiro column: The Big D's keep quiet on'09 raceDec 14, 2008 (Richmond Times-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If it's not a conspiracy, it sure looks like one. The Big Three of the state Democratic Party -- Tim Kaine, Jim Webb and Mark Warner -- are signaling separately they're doing the same thing: nothing, when it comes to the 2009 nomination for governor. The incumbent governor, the soon-to-be senior senator and governor-turned-junior senator are publicly neutral in the accelerating contest among the Wee Three: Creigh Deeds, Brian Moran and Terry McAuliffe. To some degree, this is standard operating procedure for high-level politicians. By staying out of the fray now, Kaine, Webb and Warner can plunge in later, perhaps negotiating the honorable exit of a humiliated contender -- or two. This was the case the last time Democrats endured a brawl for the gubernatorial nomination. In 1985, Lt. Gov. Dick Davis and Attorney General Jerry Baliles battled for weeks. Back then, Democrats chose candidates through an arcane caucus system. Disputing Baliles' claim to victory, Davis threatened challenges here, there and everywhere. Democrats feared fratricide, the result of which would have been a splintered party awarding a worthless nomination to a battered candidate. Gov. Chuck Robb stepped in and, through chief of staff David McCloud, brokered Davis' departure -- at a cost, quite literally. Davis, a la Hillary Clinton, gave up in return for Baliles, a la Barack Obama, paying off his six-figure debt. Such was the cost of unity 23 years ago. Democrats not only held the governorship, they pulled off the second of three consecutive statewide sweeps. They were helped by a blistering fight for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and GOP defections hastened by comical intrigues that included claims of eavesdropping. This is ancient history lost on contemporary Democrats. They nonetheless fret that a crippling free-for-all is inevitable. Wishing they had such problems as a cornucopia of statewide candidates, Republicans depict themselves as unified, dutifully falling in line behind Attorney General Bob McDonnell for governor. Appearances are deceiving. The party has been in retreat since 2001. And as the continuing dominance of the right attests, Republicans prefer absolute-ism to accommodation. This is driving voters to Democrats. It means the Democratic Party is becoming the principal arena in which issues are debated, and that, by extension, Kaine, Webb and Warner reflect different versions of the same theme: a delicate balance of races and regions, of education and income brackets, of priorities and philosophies. Is that threatened by a knock-down, drag-out primary next June? Republicans hope so. For parties, competition is an essential building block. A rumble is not. The Big Three's neutrality is a circuit breaker, protecting the Democrats -- a bit-- from an overloaded campaign. For reasons as much personal as political, Webb and Warner are naturally inclined to duck intraparty squabbles. For lame-duck Kaine, it's quite a contrast. He couldn't wait to endorse Obama, doing so a week after he declared for president in 2007. Sometimes the best way to telegraph strength -- or the appearance of it -- is to keep your mouth shut. Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 6496814 or [email protected]. Watch his video column Thursdays on inRich.com. Listen to his analysis Fridays at 8:33 a.m. on WCVE radio (88.9 FM). To see more of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesdispatch.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |