The Washington Post has again endorsed Senator Creigh Deeds for Governor of Virginia. Ironically, it appears that Mr. Deed’s courageous stance that he would not rule out a dedicated transportation tax solidified his endorsement. His opponent, Attorney General Bob McDonnell, has proposed a hodge podge of ways to cannibalize various state services like education, health and public safety.
The entire Washington Post endorsement may be read:
A LEGACY of sound policies, coupled with the proximity of the federal government, has partially protected Virginia from the harsh retrenchments that the recession has forced on many states. Yet the commonwealth faces a daunting crisis in the form of a drastic shortfall in transportation funding, measured in the tens of billions of dollars, that threatens future prosperity. If the current campaign for governor has clarified anything, it is that state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee, has the good sense and political courage to maintain the forward-looking policies of the past while addressing the looming challenge of fixing the state’s dangerously inadequate roads. The Republican candidate, former attorney general Robert F. McDonnell, offers something different: a blizzard of bogus, unworkable, chimerical proposals, repackaged as new ideas, that crumble on contact with reality. They would do little if anything to build a better transportation system.
There are plenty of reasons why Mr. Deeds is the better choice for governor in the Nov. 3 election. He has stood with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, the incumbent, and his predecessor, now-Sen. Mark R. Warner, in support of the sane fiscal and budgetary choices that have made the state one of the best-governed and most business-friendly in the nation. Mr. McDonnell has generally spurned those policies, most notably by opposing Mr. Warner’s landmark tax package in 2004, which attracted bipartisan support as it boosted public safety and education and protected the state’s finances. Mr. Deeds has compiled a moderate record on divisive social issues that reflects Virginia’s status as a centrist swing state. Mr. McDonnell has staked out the intolerant terrain on his party’s right wing, fighting a culture war that seized his imagination as a law student in the Reagan era.
But the central challenge facing Virginia and its next governor is the deficit in transportation funding projected at $100 billion over the next two decades — and only Mr. Deeds offers hope for a solution. Following a road map used successfully in 1986, he would appoint a bipartisan commission to forge a consensus on transportation funding, with the full expectation that new taxes would be part of the mix. Mr. McDonnell, by contrast, proposes to pay for road improvements mainly by cannibalizing essential state services such as education, health and public safety — a political non-starter. And rather than leveling with Virginians about the cost of his approach, as Mr. Deeds has done, Mr. McDonnell lacks the political spine to say what programs he would attempt to gut, or even reshape, in order to deal with transportation needs.
Mr. Deeds has run an enormous and possibly fatal political risk by saying bluntly that he would support legislation to raise new taxes dedicated to transportation. It is a risk that neither Mr. Kaine nor Mr. Warner felt they could take. But given that the state has raised no significant new cash for roads, rails and bridges in 23 years, Mr. Deeds’s position is nothing more than common sense. It is fantasy to think that the transportation funding problem, a generation in the making, will be addressed without a tax increase. A recent manifesto from 17 major business groups in Northern Virginia, calling for new taxes dedicated to transportation, attests to that reality.
Yet Mr. McDonnell, champion of a revenue-starved status quo, remains in denial. He professes to feel the pain of Virginians struggling with financial hard times. In fact his transportation policy, a blueprint for stagnation and continuing deterioration, would subvert the state’s prospects for economic recovery and long-term growth. And it would only deepen the misery of Northern Virginia commuters who already pay a terrible price — economic, personal and psychological — because of the state’s long neglect of its roads.
Gleeful Republicans, convinced that Mr. Deeds has dealt his own candidacy a lethal blow by his stance on taxes, have seized on it as evidence that Mr. Deeds is heedless of the financial strains on ordinary Virginians. A recession is no time to raise taxes, they say; never mind that any solution is unlikely to be in place until recovery is underway. Of course, these same Republicans, Mr. McDonnell included, screeched about the Warner tax increase, first calling it unneeded (during a short-lived budget surplus) and then — when it began to look inadequate — preferring not to talk about it. In Mr. McDonnell’s view, there is never a good time to invest adequately in the state’s critical infrastructure.
Mr. Deeds has been broadly criticized, not least by stalwarts of his own party, for putting too heavy an emphasis on negative ads about Mr. McDonnell and failing to make an affirmative case for himself. If so, it reflects a failure of campaign strategy and tactics, not a lack of raw material. In fact Mr. Deeds — a decent, unusually self-effacing man who calls himself “a nobody from nowhere” — has a compelling life story and an admirable record of achievement as a legislator from rural Bath County.
As we noted in endorsing Mr. Deeds in June’s Democratic primary, his record in the legislature ably blended the conservative interests of his constituents with an agenda reflecting the prosperous, politically moderate face of modern-day Virginia. He has been a longtime champion of a more enlightened, bipartisan system of drawing voting districts, a stance to which Mr. McDonnell only recently gravitated. He has played a constructive role in economic development by shaping the Governor’s Economic Opportunity Fund, which provides incentives for investors in Virginia, and he has stood for responsible environmental policies, including green jobs and alternative energy research. Despite his rural roots, Mr. Deeds has been ideologically flexible enough to support abortion rights; press for background checks on firearms buyers at gun shows; oppose displaying the Confederate flag on state license plates; and warm to equal rights for homosexuals.
As for Mr. McDonnell, he deserves credit for having run a disciplined, focused, policy-oriented campaign. As a candidate, a statewide official and a lawmaker, he has maintained a civil, personable manner. His intellectual agility, even temper and facility with the grit of policy have inspired the respect of colleagues, staffers and rivals. He is a dexterous politician.
Our differences with him are on questions of policy. The clamor surrounding his graduate dissertation from 1989, in which he disparaged working women, homosexuals, “fornicators” and others of whom he disapproved, has tended to obscure rather than illuminate fair questions about the sort of governor he would make. Based on his 14-year record as a lawmaker — a record dominated by his focus on incendiary wedge issues — we worry that Mr. McDonnell’s Virginia would be one where abortion rights would be curtailed; where homosexuals would be treated as second-class citizens; where information about birth control would be hidden; and where the line between church and state could get awfully porous. That is a prescription for yesterday’s Virginia, not tomorrow’s.
Mr. McDonnell has inspired a worthwhile debate over privatizing liquor sales in Virginia, one of 18 states that control the wholesale and retail trade in spirits. But by suggesting the state could use the proceeds of privatization as an ongoing funding source for road improvements, he has played fast and loose with the facts — first by plucking projected revenue figures from thin air and second by glossing over the question of what state services he would cut if the $100 million currently gleaned from annual liquor sales could be diverted for transportation.
Mr. McDonnell has sought to corner Mr. Deeds by focusing on debates in Washington over energy policy, labor union membership and other contentious federal issues. But a governor of Virginia can do little to influence the ideologically charged debates raging on Capitol Hill. Mr. McDonnell also has claimed he would be more effective at creating jobs. Yet while Mr. McDonnell has been an activist public servant, he has no significant record, either as a lawmaker or as attorney general, of promoting policies to encourage job growth.
Mr. Deeds, lagging in the polls, lacks Mr. McDonnell’s knack for crisp articulation. But if he has not always been the most adroit advocate for astute policies, that is preferable to Mr. McDonnell’s silver-tongued embrace of ideas that would mire Virginia in a traffic-clogged, backward-looking past. Virginians should not confuse Mr. McDonnell’s adept oratory for wisdom, nor Mr. Deeds’s plain speech for indirection. In fact, it is Mr. Deeds whose ideas hold the promise of a prosperous future.
That’s good! “We endorsed him once and nobody cared.” “I don’t think these people understand how important our endorsement is” “Let’s do it again, then these ignorant unwashed masses will understand”.
Taxes = Courage. Oh….My…..God. The WaPo should stick to pimping out politicians.
No surprises. The WashPost has made a significant investment in colum inches to tear down Bob McDonnell, and it wants a return, no matter what the voters say.
“Lagging in the polls” be damned. The Post wants Deeds! Funny that they wait until now to say anything even remotely substantive about Deeds, something other than that HE wasn’t the author of the 20-year-old thesis.
Kind of like Obama getting a Nobel Prize for not being George Bush, the Post wants Deeds to win because he is not Bob McDonnell.
Deeds was endorsed over McAuliffe and Moran in the primary. Different race. Actually, it is thought that the endorsement made quite a difference in the primary.
Imagine, a new tax created for roads! What will all those school kids think to not have their educational fund scavanged. Wait till little pokie hits school. Then you will care.
Couple of pennies per gallon sure beats a couple of extra kids per kindergarten class.
Maybe they think he is the better candidate Emma? I guess you should just read another paper until you find one that likes McDonnell. How’s that Moonie paper doing? Have they endorsed yet?
What a huge surprise!! The Washington Post has endorsed yet another democrat for a state or federal office. I bet the Post’s record stands at least 80% for endorsing democrats over republicans.
And I love the “Despite his rural roots” slap at the unsophisticated hillbillies who don’t live in Northern Virginia. I can’t imagine those voters are blind to that typically out-of-touch elitism of the liberal Post editors.
Hmmm, I’m going after the Post, not after anyone here, Moon. Your tone suggests something different.
“Moonie paper”?
Buzz words buzz words. What would Republicans do without buzz words.
Interesting that Albemarle County is one of the wealthiest in the nation and probably could out-elite most places. Guess whose district that is? Charlottesville? ditto.
The fact that Deeds is from down state is important. McDonnell is seen as a Northern Virginian. That doesn’t always play out well in the rest of the state where we are all seen as…it pains me to type this…Yankees. Those rural roots are extremely important in this race. I don’t think they were a slap, I think they reach into the heart of the matter.
The Washington Times used to be owned, for years even, by the moonies. Did they finally sell it?
Moonie newspaper–
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Times
Oh, I forgot about that. I don’t generally read the Times.
It seems they were taking a jab at the rural roots by saying that despite all that, he’s all for abortion rights, gun control, etc.–trying to make him more appealing to Beltway voters.
Unless his campaign pulls some “October surprise,” however, I think McDonnell’s lead will continue to widen. His campaign has not made a good effort to put any real substance out there, and the negative campaigning has started to backfire. He’ll get a temporary boost from this endorsement, perhaps, but unless he puts more of himself out there, he’s DOA.
This from the Post today:
“Deeds told the groups that he would govern in the mold of Kaine..”
So he will govern in absentia?
I would hardly say that Deeds is FOR gun control. He had the endorsement of the NRA in a recent election. I think that McDonnell just out gunned him this time. To those of us who believe in 2nd amendment rights with 21st century restrictions, Deeds is fine. The gun control, unless not wanting hand guns in the hands of children, is a red herring. Abortion rights have always been there and good for him.
We shall see…right now Deeds is behind. No argument there. Maybe McDonnell will pull out another stammering ‘Democrat’ as a final hurrah. You never know. Class act. Not.
He should have said Warner, rather than Kaine. Warner is by far the more popular governor in Virginia, and by far the governor most liked by both Republicans and Democrats.
Well, there’s the News and Messenger this morning, with:
and this:
http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/opinion/article/editorial_robert_f._mcdonnell_for_governor/45353/
Well that was a quick find. THAT didn’t take long. How is the Times Dispatch weighing in?
The Times Dispatch on the Post endorsement
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VA_VIRGINIA_GOVERNOR_DEEDS_VAOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
I don’t know if they have endorsed yet. That should be an important one when it comes out.
I’ll admit it, I’m voting for Deeds because he’s not McDonnell. I prefer “Deeds, not words”.
I just don’t trust guys with hair that great, a perpetual smile, lots of easy solutions who run for office. When his term paper came to light, my lack of trust was confirmed. I’m surprised any woman who values her job, rights and choices would vote for him.
But, that’s just my opinion.
I go for the good hair, myself.
Seriously, though, I think a part of me is simply rebelling against the Demoratic lock on our government. I wouldn’t like it if the Republicans had it all locked down, either. It’s harmful to democracy, IMHO, and I think the Dems had better watch their backs in 2010, because there are a lot more who feel like I do out there.
And Virginia will be a bellwether for 2010
It goes back and forth for sure. I tend to agree with Emma about not liking the same party to have a monopoly.
And I don’t think McDonnell is going to knock women out of jobs and make them all barefoot and pregnant. I just can’t vote for someone who ever thought like McDonnell did. @0 years later…it doesn’t matter.
Furthermore, what is someone with McDonnell’s academic credentials doing going to Regent University?
Didn’t he got to Notre Dame and Boston College?
@Emma
Er…I’m kind of the same way. Anyone who disrespects women like McDonnell has–whether it was past or present–is out in my book.
And I am not someone who usually says whom I will vote for. But in this case, the decision is obvious to me.
Regent University did it for me, long before McDonnell outted himself on his thesis.
I simply don’t understand Regent University. Pat Robertson is welter-weight compared to Boston College and Notre Dame.
Let’s put it more bluntly, Notre Dame doesn’t teach anyone that the earth is only 6,000 years old.
That’s fair. I had to hold my nose and vote McSame because he wasn’t Hussein. The second sentence, I thought you were talking about Johnny “Beefcake” Edwards for a moment!
Surely you had enough firing neurons to grasp that not EVERYTHING they tell you in college is “Gospel” (so to speak).
Moon, you’re spewing the same kind of Bravo Sierra we heard about Palin “she thinks men rode around on dinosaurs!”
Slowpoke, don’t you think McDonnell looks and acts a lot like Edwards (and every other bible toting philanderer on either side of the aisle who has been exposed during the past couple of years)? An “Edwards style surprise” (or insert any of the other slick politician’s name here who turned out to be a hypocrite recently) wouldn’t surprise me.
The Post’s endorsement editorial this morning was excellent. They pointed out that Deeds is at least being honest with Virginians on the issues that count while McDonnell is following the Bush model of telling the public what they want to hear. How did that work out for us? Unfortunately, honesty can cost you an election. With Deeds, I believe we will get what we see. With McDonnell I’m not so sure what we will get. He published his plan for Virginia twenty years ago. Some folks might ask if he was lying then to get his degree or if he’s lying now to get elected. Either way, I’m not going to gamble Virginia’s future by voting for him. Regrettable, slick hair and empty promises goes a long way with uninformed voters who don’t look below the surface and can decide elections.
I’m so fired up I’m going to get a Deeds bumper sticker. This is about getting out the vote. Is the Democratic Party HQ open on Sundays? If women put McDonnell in office, I don’t want to hear any complaints about equal pay, equal rights, or equal employment opportunities for the next six years (with a few exceptions from this website). Don’t worry, McDonnel will continue to sprinkle a few trusted tokens into the mix. It’s public policy that we need to watch.
I’m through with those that hold their nose vote. How gracious of you – besides holding your nose then defending it is simply nuts. We are the most selfish and hedonistic people on earth. We have chosen entertainment over being informed in all aspects of our lives for at least two decades. We’ve gotten exactly what we deserved with Bush, Clinton, Bush and now Obama.
And for the real conservatives out there (because to be a “real conservative” you have to be religious – but not Catholic, Jewish or Episcopalian)”forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us”. Try focusing on the last six words. Just for 10 minutes.
Gosh, maybe I shouldn’t read BVBL before I post here….. Isn’t anyone else just fed with both Dems and Republicans? You know, watching Ted Kennedy’s funeral it made me realize that our elected official care less about party than the majority of the citizens…. so why do we continue to let a BUSINESS like the Washington Post or the Richmond Times get to us. It’s a BUSINESS and they want to make money. Most of the media are owned by some of the most conservative executive around. Go figure.
Juturna, what do you mean “we”? While you may admit to being selfish and hedonistic, I would rather not be counted in that company… and can count more than a few people who wouldn’t care to join you and your friends (that “selfish and hedonistic” croud you apparently belong to).
suggest you read Glenn Beck’s latest book, “Arguing with Idiots” (The title sort of says it all). While I have never been a fan of Mr. Beck’s and am truly offended by many of the things he says, I am surprised about how many of his ideas (as presented in this book) I agree with. Logic is a powerful tool.
A revolution is one of those ideas. That revolution doesn’t have to be violent (ergo, the technology idea I proposed on another thread). It’s about taking our Country back… because we lost it to those elected officials you talk about. On that point, I agree with Mr. Beck.
Until then, we vote for what’s available based upon what we know and value. I’m voting for Deeds.
@Juturna
I thought you were rather tame, Juturna.
Nice to see you back 🙂
“Hedonistic” is spending trillions of dollars on a stimulus package that was supposed to keep the unemployment rate below 8%, a package that provided funds to enhance a virtually unused airport in John Murtha’s district, for example.
“Hedonistic” is a plan to pay off seniors from borrowed money so they won’t get made over losing a COLA when consumer prices have remained flat and working-age people are unemployed.
“Hedonistic” is jetting off to Copenhagen at taxpayer expense and embarrasing trumpeting your own personal merits as the reason why your home city should host the Olympics.
“Hedonistic” is a current governor who spends almost no time in the state he is supposed to govern, instead spending taxpayer resources to campaign for Democratic candidates, while letting what potentially could have been a major employer from Virginia locate to another state.
“Hedonistic” is the best word to describe many in the far left, who chant “We won, you lost, so shut up” at every opportunity against any opposition.
@Emma
“many in the far left, who chant “We won, you lost, so shut up” at every opportunity against any opposition.”
Don’t most people on the far anything chant that?
Extremism will be the death of this nation.
Way off topic, but this just in (in the event you didn’t see it)–“Balloon Boy” a hoax: http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Balloon_boy_hoax_was_publicity_stun_10182009.html
Grrrr….wrong link. Here’s a more credible one: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/18/national/main5394371.shtml
You’ve all bought into it – especially those who think you’re “different”. Emma I didn’t really think you were SO biased?!! I don’t think you are. We are a material society that prefers entertainment over information. Convince me. Of course individually we are different but we all rationalize our society for which we are responsible. Convince me
Emma, you are just showing your Obama-hate again. Have you thought about that things would be like without TARP or the stimulus package?
Funny thing about unemployment–it isn’t that easy to hit dead-on. Maybe you would like 25% unemployment instead of just under 10%?
Just fess up and admit you are a die hard Republican.
Those things you name lack substance and are just picking.
Excuse me, but what does that have to do with Meghan McCain’s chesteses!!
ANNNND our stimulus dollars at work!!
http://www.tampabay.com/news/education/article1044637.ece
Awesome!!
@Emma
Hummm… I didn’t know Hedonistic ment any of those things. I always thought I was missing out on something… just shows my lack of skills with the English language.
Emma, where were you during the Bush years? We had eight years of “We won, you lost, so shut up” at every opportunity against any opposition. Now all I hear is “we lost, we are going to make you fail, so shut up” from the Republicans.
I’m an independant so I don’t shout either way… I just lament. I think it’s time for a Beck-style revolution.
@Slowpoke Rodriguez
Er…the parents are hedonistic?
Nothing, silly! That’s why I said it was off topic.
Actually, Opinion, the Democrats had the majority for the last two Bush years.
Where was I during the Bush years? Opposed to the Iraq invasion, opposed to going back into Afghanistan, opposed to some of the outrageous corporate tax breaks. How about you?
I think Beck is dangerous.
I do not think this endorsement, as predictable as it is, will do much to persuede disinterested and unaware people to actually vote. People who would be swayed by the Washington Post are just not as passionate as the die hard Republicans who are sick of losing and see this election as the “Alamo” election, albeit with a less overt racial connotation than that intended by our endearing resident Latinophobe.
I think the average voter is willing to let transportation and other infrastructure slide if need be (it’s only four years), in order to have some balance in our state leadership and to find out what a Republican Governor can do in the age of Obama. This will not change with this endorsement.
I would rather be waterboarded then read anything written by Glenn Beck!
@Moon-howler
He absolutely is dangerous; however, he has a loyal following, two best sellers, the Charisma to mobilize armies of people across the Country (the Tea Parties) and ratings that beat Rush. He is a brilliant entertainer, incredibly intelligent, and a bit “crazy. I have found that among the rants, the publicity stunts, and the “crazy talk” (to get ratings) there are actually a few good ideas.
I would suggest you read his latest book and then tell me what you think. He could influence the nominee for the next President of the United States in a couple of years. It’s possible that Obama could be a “one term wonder” (regrettably) ,a bright guy who inherited a mess not of his creation and got blamed for the results on his watch.
Read the book. I think it’s worth while to understand what someone with this much influence on our society is saying. This would make a great book club topic (if it weren’t for the fist fight potential).