Virginia Republicans exercised remarkable restraint during the past five weeks. They were the adults in the room - or at least at the Capitol - while Virginia Democrats were busy tripping over their own man-things.

Republican legislators went about their business in Richmond this session, allowing the Democrats to embarrass themselves. Repeatedly. No doubt they were high-fiving behind closed doors, but in public, Republicans were sober and mostly silent. No extreme gloating that I saw.

With the balance of power in the General Assembly up for grabs in November you’d think the GOP would want to hold onto the high ground while Dems are weighed down with ugly issues like alleged rape, infanticide and blackface. If Republicans were smart, they’d sit patiently on the sidelines and wait until election season to unleash campaign ads showing their opponents to be hypocrites who tolerate the intolerable.

Yep, you’d think that’s what the GOP would do. But they show signs of cracking. 

Earlier this week the Republican Party of Virginia offered a tacky $1,000 reward on its website for a verified photo of Mark Herring in blackface. 

Why?

Isn’t it enough that Herring admitted to such moronic behavior? Doesn’t the party trust voters to use their imaginations to see what young Mark Herring must have looked like during his minstrel show days? Do they really want to be associated with this sleazy move?

Beyond that, they’re shopping for this photo on the cheap. Why would anyone sell that damning picture for a thousand bucks when certain tabloids would undoubtedly pay much, much more? If the party really wants photographic evidence, they should offer $20,000. They’d have it tomorrow. 

But they don’t need it.

This is a sign of just how insecure Republicans are despite all the self-inflicted wounds by the Democrats. They believe - or some consultant does - that they need pictures of Herring cavorting around in blackface to retake seats they lost in the last General Assembly election.

It’s reminiscent of former Rep. Scott Taylor’s blunders. He was cruising to an easy victory last year when his campaign workers got caught allegedly filing forged signatures to get a third party on the ballot as some sort of Election Day insurance policy.

Even with Taylor’s tax problems and the allegations of fraud by his workers, he lost by only three points. No doubt about it, this chicanery cost him his seat.

Time for Republicans to have confidence in their message of small government and low taxes.

And also on the uncanny ability of Virginia Democrats to keep stepping on their you-know-whats.