Rest easy, business leaders and moderate Democrats: Ralph Northam won’t let the crazy that’s taken hold in the Democrat party as of late make it into law.
At least, that’s the message that’s quietly working its way out of the Patrick Henry Building these days.
Northam is quietly — and sometimes not so quietly — doing his best to reassure Virginians who might be terrified of the hard left turn his party has taken that he will be the “moderating” influence that keeps the worst of the crazy from becoming law should Democrats take control of the General Assembly.
The first two phases of this plan appeared last week, as a conversation between Northam and union leaders over right to work “leaked” to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Democrats up and down the ballot are running on the promise of repealing Virginia’s right to work law, which gives workers the freedom to work in their job without being forced to join a union.
Unions have been angling to repeal the laws for years in hopes of rebuilding their clout — and bringing ‘closed shops’ back to Virginia. Want a job? Join the union.
Northam, who hedged his bets on Right to Work as a candidate, let it be known to the RTD that he wouldn’t sign a bill repealing the law — a major concern of the business community.
The Governor also did his best to avoid another potential land mind last week, issuing an executive order designed to move the Commonwealth toward getting 30 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030.
That’s not good enough for a number of Democrats, though, including the Democratic Party of Virginia. The state party endorsed the Virginia Green New Deal on Saturday.
While not as far reaching as the national version of the GND put forward by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, the state version would put an end to any new coal or natural gas exploration or infrastructure as of the end of 2019.
It would also require Virginia to mothball most of its fossil fuel power plants by 2028 — a move that would drive power costs through the roof.
By signing his executive order, Northam sends a message that while he might be all for windmills, he’s not going to be crazy about it — or let a hypothetical Democrat-led General Assembly get crazy, either.
Meanwhile, Democrats on the campaign trail don’t seem to be listening, as they continue to campaign on the hard-left issues that they think resonate with their base.
Time will tell if voters are listening, too.