McDonnell Courts Independents

Call up gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell's Web site (www.bobmcdonnell.com) and the first thing you learn is that he "worked effectively with Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine" as attorney general.

McDonnell is a conservative Republican, but he must appeal to independent voters to win next year. He's vigorously cultivating an independent streak, emphasizing his record of building bipartisan coalitions on transportation and law enforcement issues.

His campaign chief says it's a coincidence, but McDonnell's maverick moment comes at a time when the state chapter of Americans for Prosperity is picking fights with House Republican leaders.

AFP is a conservative advocacy group with ties to McDonnell's campaign manager. Phil Cox is on a leave of absence from his consulting job with the organization, based in Washington, D.C.

The group's Virginia chapter recently got in an arm-wrestling contest with Speaker Bill Howell over rules that allow House subcommittees to kill bills without recorded votes.

Some House Republicans are furious at state director Ben Marchi for challenging a rule used to smother bills they viewed as embarrassing or politically risky. Other GOP delegates, who had been lining up support to change the rule, are equally furious that Marchi swooped in and got credit when the caucus voted to require recorded voting.

Marchi says he got involved because AFP favors open government, but subcommittee voting is pretty inside baseball for an organization that generally focuses on broader tax and energy policies.

AFP describes itself as a grassroots citizens group, but the chairman of its foundation, David Koch, is co-owner of Koch Industries, which owns oil refineries and fertilizer plants. Fortune magazine estimated his net worth this year at $19 billion. The president of AFP and its foundation is Tim Phillips, a former political adviser to McDonnell who now pulls down a steady income topping $200,000 annually, according to tax records.

At the national level, AFP is battling to block proposals that would give the Environmental Protection Agency power to regulate greenhouse gases. The group's position paper warns that would give the EPA oversight over lawn mowers and fork lifts, but doesn't mention oil refineries would be covered too.

In Virginia, the group advocates offshore drilling for oil and gas. It opposes new spending on pre-kindergarten, a smoking ban in restaurants, and restrictions on payday lenders. It helped defeat plans to raise taxes for road projects in Hampton Roads.

McDonnell and AFP agree on most issues, but Marchi notes that they parted ways over transportation. McDonnell backed 2007 legislation, later ruled unconstitutional, that would have created a regional taxing authority in Hampton Roads to fund roads.

"We gave him a hard time," Marchi said. "It was unfortunate the attorney general went in that direction."

Now McDonnell is devising a road plan he'll roll out next year. He's previously favored locally imposed taxes over regional levies, but Marchi said that won't appease his group.

As McDonnell swings closer to the swing voters, he may end up yanking the chain of some of his closest allies.

Christina Nuckols is an editorial writer for The Virginian-Pilot. Reach her at christina.nuckols@pilotonline.com.