Davidson was unable to put together the right combination of Republicans and Democrats for the penny tax increase or the half-cent increase. Some people blame her for refusing to put her foot down and pry votes out of wavering moderates. Just as many wish she would put her foot down on the windpipes of the balking conservatives. He was referring to the late Vernal G. Riffe Jr., who, as speaker of the House, made the railroad run on time and used his power to influence the direction of legislation. People wonder why it's taken nearly 11 months to get only this far since the Supreme Court gave the legislature a year to overhaul the system.
Democracy is messy and time-consuming, and there are many constituencies to try to satisfy.
This legislature has chosen not to dictate a solution. Since his own penny sales tax proposal couldn't get through the House in July, the governor has stayed in the background to see if the legislature could do it without him. Since Voinovich has re-entered the fray with his veto threats, it may be time for him to lead the charge for one last attempt at raising the money to pay for the schools fix. No one should worry about obligating future legislatures and governors. The Supreme Court already has done that.