Some point in the past 20 years, the entire uniting philosophy of the US Republican Party is "Tax cuts, so help us God!" George W. Bush is probably the only leader in the history of the entire world to launch a major war while cutting revenue collection. Not even war can dislodge this philosophy. So it is a minor miracle in the state of Virginia that the House of Delegates reject the vehement demands of the Club for Growth, Americans for Tax Reform, and various other sects of the "Tax Cuts, so help us God" cult to pass a tax increase. Or course a large part of it is because unlike the federal government, Virginia can't spend more than it takes in. But even with that, most of the Republican House wanted no tax increases -- in fact, they wanted more tax cuts -- and service cuts. Of course, they wanted Governor Warner to come up with the cuts. They wanted all the credit for the tax cuts, but none of the blame for crowded schools or fewer police.

This is the governing philosophy of the Republican Party as explained by Nick Confessore on Tapped. Though he gives way too much credit to William Howell, leader of the House. He did more to sabotage this, with referendum demands, arm twisting former governors to fight against it, and tabling bill after bill.

Of course, this could still collapse at any time. The Senate actually wants more money, for fear of having to do this again in the near future, and it's not likely the House will yield any more.