Governor Warner appears to be pulling out all the stops to try to get a $1 Billion tax INCREASE (a term the Post refuses to use) through the Virginia Assembly. According to one Delegate, he even threatened to withhold disaster relief for families impacted by Hurricane Isabel.

Lawmakers say Warner has been relentless in his pursuit of votes for his tax package, taking Republican members to dinner, meeting with them one-on-one and pressuring them at every meet-and-greet function. The $59 billion budget the governor presented in December links many projects for GOP districts to the passage of his tax plan.

The pressure appears to be getting to some anti-tax lawmakers in the House. Del. Thomas D. Gear (R-Hampton) today stood up on the House floor to denounce Warner for "political extortion of the highest order" for what he said was Warner's attempt to hold hostage $800,000 to help rebuild 2,000 homes destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in the tiny town of Poquoson.

Gear said Warner told him and the town's mayor that the hurricane relief money would come only if Gear voted for the tax package.

To be fair, the Mayor of Poquoson said that he didn't feel like he was being extorted to support Warner's $1 Billion tax hike. But then again, Warner already has a history of bribery. Late last year, he announced his intention to bribe 65% of Virginians with a tax "reform" plan that would pay them cash directly from the pockets of their neighbors.