Sunday, May 2, 2004

In a story that reveals a growing fault line in the Republican Party, the names of Republican legislators in Virginia who voted to increase taxes are etched on a stone boulder in the backyard of anti-tax activist Peter Ferrara. Here’s the lead from the Daily Press:

Peter Ferrara, the anti-tax warrior, knows which Republicans in the General Assembly voted for higher taxes. Their names are etched in stone.

Really. Check out his back yard.

The names of certain Senate and House Republicans are chiseled into a boulder where Ferrara can see them, rain or shine, and contemplate their eventual political demise. There are 31 by his count.

People who think they can talk their way out of this,” he said, “are going to be in for a surprise.”

Welcome to the next debate for the Republican Party of Virginia. It rose to power on the promise of small government and limited spending, but the state budget impasse has drawn new battle lines over taxes. Even Virginia’s two Republican U.S. senators are on opposite sides.

Thanks to reader Ben Cunningham for the tip. For a funny editorial cartoon on the same subject, check out the TaxGuru.