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By GEORGE BOWLES
‘•The best thing the Republicans have going for them this year,” said Republican state Sen. Wiley Mitchell of Alexandria, “is that there is a constitutional prohibition against Gov. Chuck Robb running for re-election. ”
Mitchell, the vice chairman of the Joint House-Senate Republican Caucus, was outspoken in his approval of Robb’s State of ’the Commonwealth speech on the General Assembly’s opening day last weeM His observation came immediately after the address when he and the GOP leadership of the two Houses gathered for what was supposed to have been a critical assessment of Robb’s program for the 1985 legislative session.
Interestingly, even the Republican “loyal opposition” found little to criticize. Indeed, the Republican leaders found so little that it is likely to cause some raised eyebrows among their more partisan party colleagues, especially those who are candidates for office this year.
Understandably, GOP hopefuls are looking for campaign ammunition in a year when the state is electing a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 members of the House of Delegates. In Robb’s address they found little if any. Del. A. R. “Pete” Giesen of Waynesboro, chairman of the Joint Caucus, called it “a good, conservative speech.” Senate Minority Leader William Truban of Shenandoah said it was “a national speech.”
Truban may have been on to something, about which more in a moment.
Much has been written in recent days about the content of the Robb address and about his unusually sweeping agenda for this odd-year, short-session of the legislature.
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