CREIGH DEEDS Sets Reasonable TRANSPORTATION Plans! His Bipartisan Program Would Not Take Money From Education, As Bob "Macaca Junior" McDonnell Wants To Do!
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governor, is proposing sound, rational, acceptable approaches and
solutions to the state's myriad challenges.
On the other hand, Robert McDonnell, the Republican candidate, whose
documented dream is to return "Ol' Virginny" to its racist, intolerant
past -- "Little Macaca" is busy wasting voters' time denying or
defending his recently-disavowed OPPOSITION to women in terms of work,
pro-choice, and equal pay -- as well as his career-long support for
religious instruction in public schools.
And where McDonnell, a protege of George "Macaca" Allen, is
assiduously striving to hide from voters his hidden ultra-conservative
political views, Deeds is hard at work on the campaign circuit,
actively propounding forward-looking plans and solutions to Virginia's
most important challenges.
If the better man wins in November, it'll be Creigh Deeds.
----------------------
"My Transportation Plan"
By Creigh Deeds
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
The first job of the next governor of Virginia is to restore
confidence in our economy, and the best way to do that is through
fixing our state transportation system.
Our transportation infrastructure is crumbling around us. More than
4,000 bridges are structurally deficient, we can't keep up with basic
maintenance of roads, and there is almost no state money for new road
construction or rail and transit improvements.
In the plan laid out on my Web site, I share my views that we need to:
-- Bring high-speed rail to Virginia.
-- Reduce congestion (and commute times) in Northern Virginia.
-- Expand freight and passenger rail.
-- Maximize economic opportunities linked to the Port of Virginia.
-- Utilize bus rapid transit.
-- Expand the capacity of critical Hampton Roads water crossings and
emergency evacuation routes.
-- Reduce rush-hour traffic through telecommuting and flex-time tax
credits.
-- Promote smarter land-use planning.
-- And expand road and rail projects in Southwest and Southside
Virginia.
We all largely agree about what's needed to fix our infrastructure.
Where my opponent and I disagree is how to accomplish those
improvements. I believe we should use the only approach that has
succeeded in the past two decades.
The last time Virginia passed meaningful transportation funding was in
1986, under Gov. Gerald Baliles (D), who created a commission to
provide recommendations and build support for financing. Since then,
each time a governor has presented a proposal to the General Assembly
to raise meaningful transportation revenue, it has failed.
The day after I'm elected, I will begin assembling a bipartisan
commission to craft a comprehensive transportation package. Like Gov.
Baliles did, I will appoint Republicans, Democrats and independents
along with private-sector leaders and transportation experts. The
commission would begin work in December and issue its report early
next year.
There must be a nexus between funding and those who use our
transportation system -- Virginians and those from other states.
Virginia needs a bipartisan plan that must have enough funding to deal
with our multibillion-dollar backlog and make the needed investments
for our future. All funding options are on the table except taking
money from education and other obligations met by Virginia's general
fund.
I will not let lawmakers go home until we pass a comprehensive
transportation plan -- our economic future depends on this.
Let me be clear regarding taxes. I will sign a bill that is the
product of bipartisan compromise that provides a comprehensive
transportation solution. As a legislator, I have voted for a number of
mechanisms to fund transportation, including a gas tax. And I'll sign
a bipartisan bill with a dedicated funding mechanism for
transportation -- even if it includes new taxes.
To build a bipartisan consensus to find that new revenue, and to
ensure the best chance of passage, all options for funding will be on
the table. We will need every legislator committed to finding a
solution. In my 18 years in the legislature, I've learned that the
best way to reach compromise is to be open to all ideas and get
everyone involved.
Bob McDonnell has pledged not to sign a transportation bill with new
revenue. His approach is to pay for transportation with money from the
general fund. As The Post's Frederick Kunkle has reported, "general
funds are raised from a variety of sources, such as individual and
corporate income taxes. These funds can be spent . . . at the
discretion of the General Assembly and the governor. The majority of
the money in the general fund goes to education (45.9 percent), with
the rest to health and human resources (24.2 percent) and public
safety (11.1 percent)."
I do not support taking funds from these critical priorities to pay
for roads. More important, neither will the General Assembly.
Republicans and Democrats are on record opposing McDonnell's funding
proposals.
McDonnell's idea of using general funds for transportation is not new.
In 2007, an editorial in the Daily Press of Hampton Roads said that
McDonnell urged "the General Assembly to exploit the gap in state road
funding as a rationale for reducing state spending on education,
public safety, health care and conservation. That such an ideological
purpose lies behind the Republican transportation proposal has been
implied all along. McDonnell made it explicit."
We can't solve this problem without new revenue. My opponent is
playing political shell games, being dishonest about his revenue
projections. And his idea to take funds from education, health care
and public safety to pay for transportation is dead on arrival.
My approach is honest, straightforward -- and the only one that can
succeed. Working together, we'll get Virginia moving again.
[The writer, a state senator in Virginia, is the Democratic nominee
for governor.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/22/AR2009092202643.html
babeejm
>As a resident of the above state I can tell you that no matter
how hard the Washington Post is trying to wreck the campaign
of Bob McDonnell..it is not working!! We don't need a Obama
Jr. running our state. Even Douglas Wilder knows better than
that. I won't be voting Democrat for the foreseeable future.
We don't need any more of the Kaine krap..he wrecked our state.
God'sLittleAnus
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/opinions/tomtoles/?nid=roll_toonsvid
James Fenimore
still steamin' over the state's rejection of George "Macaca" Allen for
senate in favor of Jim Webb.
Now, the Repug rube dumb'uns are itchin' to revert to Ol' Virginny,
when religious-freakdom and segregation and lynching were considered
perfectly acceptable.
So, barring a big upset, Pat Robertson disciple and proud graduate of
Pat's law school, Bogus Bob McDonnell, will be the state's next
governor.