Gov. Bob takes it away with the Super Sunday quote of day
Gov. Bob McDonnell
This morning on CNN, Gov. Bob McDonnell took what has got to be regarded as a brave, reality-based step for any Republican politician: He actually conceded that an economic recovery is underway.
This amounts to near heresy in the lala land of conservative, trash-President Barack Obama-at-all-costs thought. It’s very dangerous ground politically.
But don’t you worry, RWers. McDonnell made an amazing recovery with a quick-on-his-feet qualification giving all the credit for that to Republican governors like himself. Who else?
Here’s the statement, from Talking Points Memo:
“Look, I’m glad the economy is starting to recover but I think it’s because of what Republican governors are doing in their states. Not because of the president,” McDonnell said on CNN’s State of the Union.
“It’s been a complete failure of leadership,” he said of Obama.
February 5, 2012 - 12:35 PM
There are certain states like Virginia and Texas that have held their own, and McDonnell was clearly speaking for those states. Their governors deserve tons of credit. But he’s right that Idiot Boy’s policies have only hurt; not helped. If that weren’t true, then New York and California wouldn’t be falling down the sh*thole.
Virginia is doing better than most states because of what McDonald’s predecessor accomplished. The Republicans have done nothing but create problems that Democrats have to fix.
Virginia is also doing better:
1) Because of federal government stimulus money that propped up the state budget in the past 2 years.
2) Because, relative to other states, a huge amount of funding for Virginia businesses comes directly or indirectly from the federal government;
and
3) because McDonnell and the legislature made the shortsighted decision 2 years ago to borrow money to erase what would otherwise have been a budget deficit. And they borrowed more for roads, rather than raising the gas tax and doing pay-go projects.
May I guess that he did not offer even one specific on how those sainted governors managed that feat? Doubtless the Stimulus money helped them in many ways.
The economy in VA is gonna make a huge comeback with all the money made from mandatory ultrasounds…maybe if Republican Richmond can now pass a ultrasound tax….I mean “ultrasound fee” we can give back all the stimulus money that hasn’t done anything.
Back when Clinton was elected, Rush Limbaugh liked to point out that the Bush I recession was bound to end at some point as economic cycles also rebound after the bottom out. He wasn’t going to give Clinton any credit for positively addressing the problem. It’s quite likely that the economy will gradually recover, and it’s also likely the federal stimulus kept things from getting worse.
But Rush was probably right, down cycles do eventually come round, and guess whose watch that’ll be on? Gonna be hard to paint Obama as inept if it keeps up, and I hope it does.
McDonnell seems to be like a lot of other Politicians. He puts his mouth in motion but forgets to put his brain in gear.
@1: You are racist. Like that is news for the regulars here … but anyway. Your lack of intellect is repulsive to begin with. Then compound that with an unwillingness to be open to facts and you have one really winner of a human. There is no need for you to throw around racist slurs that I know for a fact you would never use to a black person’s face just to further prove to everyone your total lack of decency. We get it.
Gov Bob has to be given credit for his actions rather than his words. He speaks Republican buy acts more like a Democrat. Dan, I will have to disagree about the borrowing from the Retirement Plan as a means of meeting the budget shortfall. Gov Bob kept the State afloat and reduced layoffs by balancing the Govt with borrowing. Had he been a true member of the GOP, he would have just cut the jobs and let the Govt suffer. The recession was not the time to raise taxes to balance the budget. Like Obama, he used monetary policies to keep the State going until the recession passed.
He was, as you have said, fortunate to have many US government jobs within the State that helped him keep the State solvent.
I hate to see him resort to the RW ways now that recovery is underway, and of course recognize that he can never give Obama credit for helping to keep his State afloat; but the truth is that he used the same policies that Obama has used to help VA through the recession.
I would like to also laud the administration on it’s holding the state’s transportation costs and energy costs to record lows this winter. Extremely efficient management of our state’s resources. Excellent job, Governor McDonnell.
Yikes!
A bill in Virginia would make it illegal for state colleges to require a class that conflicts with a student’s religious views. Critics say that would enable a student to receive a biology degree, for example, without studying evolution if he or she objected to it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/on-eve-of-darwins-birthday-states-take-steps-to-limit-evolution/2012/02/01/gIQAzxnAiQ_story.html
#1 most ill-informed
You really shouldn’t brag on Texas:
Texas’ unemployment has remained stubbornly high. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the state’s jobless rate increased from 8.1 percent in 2010 to 8.2 percent in June, while the unemployment rate in nearby states remained lower or dropped. And many of the new jobs in Texas have been GOVERNMENT AND LOW-WAGE POSITIONS. Texas is tied with Mississippi for the greatest percentage of minimum wage workers.
and on the environment: Rick Perry’s environmental record is as straightforward as it gets. Under his leadership, the state has consistently ranked as the worst in the nation when it comes to carbon emissions. http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/politics/blogs/rick-perrys-environmental-record
Oh yeah, we should all emulate Texas…live in poverty while breathing that good ol’ Texan pollution…
You make some interesting and valid points Richard. Strange that neither side can see the truth in them when they are in political attack mode. For dems, it was okay for Obama to borrow to try to stave off the recession but it was “shortsighted” when McDonnell did the same thing on a much smaller scale. The same hypocrisy is true for Republicans. They’ll support McDonnel for borrowing to fund things that are important to him, but they criticize Obama for it.
Apparently it is not acts that or right or wrong, wise or ill-advised, but instead the actors who are saints or sinners. Ain’t politics grand?
And many of the new jobs in Texas have been GOVERNMENT AND LOW-WAGE POSITIONS. Texas is tied with Mississippi for the greatest percentage of minimum wage workers.
Considering the influx of illegals to Texas, Perry has done a remarkable job keeping everybody employed. And since 2000, the man has been lights-out.
Sticking with Dan’s “Most Liberal team wins” concept, I predict a Pats victory. 31-23
He wasn’t going to give Clinton any credit for positively addressing the problem.
What did Clinton do to address the downturn of 2000-01?
It’s really hard to point to a turnaround when 0bama lost us 2.5 million jobs last month. There is no recovery.
#10 suzie can be pretty funny sometimes. She’s praising the governor for the effects of a mild winter. Who knew she was so wild about global warming.
Richard@9
Ya know, I expected the worse about Gov Bob, but I didn’t realize that he had a pretty accurate political compass. He’s moved to the center, and I’m pretty sure that’s not where his personal political inclinations are. Course, right now he doesn’t have to initiate much, he has the legislature to do it for him.
We’ll see how it shakes it in the next couple years. I’m hopeful that a rebounding economy will vindicate the President’s policies and make criticism of him a difficult sell.
I’m sure right-wingers from FR and elsewhere will be screaming about all the NFL players who didn’t put their hands over their hearts during the National Anthem. Obviously these guys are not real Americans. Probably Muslims born in Kenya.
#11 Just when you thought right wingers couldn’t be more stupid.
http://tinyurl.com/6u67m4y
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Georgia Administrative Law Judge Rejects Claim That President Obama Isn’t a Natural-Born Citizen
Eugene Volokh • February 5, 2012 6:07 pm
This is the litigation I mentioned when the judge allowed it to go forward earlier this year [ http://tinyurl.com/7k7ozxw ]; the judge has now ruled on the merits [ http://tinyurl.com/77ywdgw ] that the fact that President Obama’s father wasn’t a U.S. citizen doesn’t keep President Obama from being a natural-born citizen: Anyone born in the U.S., with narrow exceptions (such as that for the children of diplomats) is a U.S. citizen from birth, and therefore a natural-born citizen.
I’m not an expert on this area of the law, but the Georgia judge’s reasoning, which echoes the reasoning of a 2009 Indiana Court of Appeals decision [ http://tinyurl.com/y8v7qx3 ] strikes me as quite persuasive, as does the much more detailed reasoning in a Nov. 2011 Congressional Research Service report [ http://tinyurl.com/6s339vs ], which reaches the same result.
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Best Superbowl Commercial-Clint Eastwood Detroit
Worst Superbowl Commercial- Rocky Hyundai
What’s really hysterical here is that the right wing Rethugs have been campaigning on the claim that there is no recovery going on and will not be any recovery — and now they’re trying to claim credit for the recovery that they say doesn’t exist. Can the hypocrisy be any more naked?
Good Game. I’ll stick to political prognosticating from now on…
Aaron Rogers putting the B in bush league implying the Giants faked injuries in their play off game on air Super Bowl Sunday. Guess he had no business being in the conversation. Pathetic.
Go Giants!!!!
13. Thanks, Chuck, as do you.
18. Mike, yes, he has Cuch and the boys going crazy while he can play to the middle, but in today’s politics in the GOP, that probably hurts him. Also why I don’t think he will get consideration as a VP candidate.
Pick me! Pick me ! Pick me!. I really rerally want to be VP!
The Roanoke Tea Party had their day in the NY Times on Saturday. Some of them even got their picture in the paper.
“Roanoke’s Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to renew its Iclei financing after many residents voiced their support.”
“The Tea Party people say they want nonpolluted air and clean water and everything we promote and support, but they also say it’s a communist movement,” said Charlotte Moore, a supervisor who voted yes. “I really don’t understand what they want.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/04/us/activists-fight-green-projects-seeing-un-plot.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23
“That lady goed away. Why did they DO that?”
A 3 year old girls (daughter of friends) commentary on Madonna. I don’t know if she was wondering why she left or why she was in the Superbowl to begin with.
America’s people and businesses are great enough to withstand anything. Maybe an infusion for banks was necessary in 08 – who can know for sure. I do beleve Obama’s enormous debt spending and massive healthcare overhaul law has caused incredible uncertainty for the small business world. In ignorance he has effectively held back a quicker recovery for two years. With the debt it will stay slow for years to come.
I didn’t care for the Clint Eastwood (He did Gran Torino, then a Dodge ad?)/Chrysler ad…it was more a ‘Thanks for the bailout!’ ad than anything else, and about the same with the GM ads.
Ford didn’t need to run gimmicky ads, they’re busy designing and selling the best cars out there, without needing a government bailout to do it.
Sorry Other John, I disagree. Ford made the decision not to take money, but they benefited from the bail-out just the same and an entire industry was given a chance not to become extinct in this nation. If you think Ford could have held on as the ONLY automaker left standing I think you are wrong. I am proud that we saved Chrysler, GM and all those Chevy’s and It makes me proud that cars are still coming out of “the Motor City” and I will always consider it money well spent. I will never buy a Ford for their callous use of the crisis that they KNOW benefited them too.
“But wait a minute. OK, Ford didn’t file bankruptcy or get bailed out by Uncle Sam, but didn’t it receive $5.9 billion in low-cost government loans in 2009 to overhaul its factories and bring out more fuel-efficient technology? What would have happened to Ford if Congress hadn’t authorized taxpayer money to fund that $25 billion Energy Department program during a moment of crisis for the industry?
It’s hard to say, of course, but the fact is, with the aid of that taxpayer loan and a well-timed bank loan of $23 billion, Ford managed to tiptoe past the graveyard and avoid bankruptcy. Since then, it has run its business well and reduced its debt from $33.6 billion to $12.2 billion.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2011/09/19/ford-looks-hypocritical-in-new-anti-bailout-commercial/
It’s also worth noting that GM bought back more than $15 billion in stock in the years leading up to 2008. All that money went to shareholders who profited handsomely, and when crunch-time came the company naturally lacked the financial reserves to continue without a bailout. It’s a tenuous connection, but with the benefit of hindsight you can make an argument that taxpayers subsidized those buybacks.
I have no doubts that had GM and Chrysler folded up shop that Ford would have suffered for it, as would Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, BMW, VW, Mercedes, etc who also run assembly plants in the US. But that doesn’t mean I still won’t ever buy a GM or Chrysler product because they both failed to make the required changes in a timely enough fashion to avoid bankruptcy and needed a bailout to survive. Plus, their track records with reliability have been shaky at best, though, they are finally improving. I’ve owned or substantially driven a couple products from both Gm and Chrysler, and won’t make that mistake again.
When the bailout was first proposed, Ford was already in a position of strength and didn’t need the bailout money to survive. They were also well-positioned to cope with higher fuel prices by having a good lineup of cars in place. They applied for some money anyway so as to mitigate the competitive edge they saw GM and Chrysler gaining from the bailout, but were not given anything in the atual bailout deal.
The loans that Ford did get were not part of the bailout anyway, they were from the Energy Independence and Security Act, which gave them start-up funds to boost the development of hybrids and other more energy-friendly vehicles…of which Nissan and Tesla also took similar loan deals. And for Ford, it’s worked like a charm. Their hybrids are challenging and beating the competition in several segments, and now they’re also beginning to come out with all-electric vehicles and traditional ICE-powered vehicles that put the limits of fuel efficiency further than most have gone.
We’ll continue buying Fords, ever since my first vehicle I’ve owned Ford, and the fact that they were the only one of the Big-3 to be pro-active in restructuring their debts and obligations before they hit a critical mass, plus that they have focused a large amount of time and money on the development of quality vehicles in all segments from sub-compact through full-size, trucks, and SUV’s is why I’m a customer. Chryslyer had no small-car segment until Fiat, and GM spent so little time on their car lineup that they put out duds like the Aveo, Cavalier, Sunfire, Cobalt, G5, etc (shoddy design, low reliability, poor resale, high prices, etc)…thinking they would actually compete with things like the Civic and Corolla, or even the Ford Focus which has been consistently rated one of the more reliable small cars out there, and a pretty darn good seller, both in the US and globally, where it’s often a best seller.
I hope for the best for GM and Chrysler, because I want this country to have a significant stake in automotive manufacturing and the global economy. But I’ll stick to buying from Ford.
I’m with OJ. Love my Ford. Always have, always will. Ford customer for life.
I had nothing against Ford until they went all hypocrite on the bailout. People should buy the cars they want. But don’t tell me how much better Ford is because I don’t buy it. Chevy guys will say the same as will the Dodge Hemi folks. Chrysler has some fabulous cars now and so does GM (the new Camaro & Challenger). My 2001 Pontiac is still running and looking like new. To each their own.
I’ll just say this about the automotive bailout. The apprx $100 billion put into the Manufacturing jobs of GM and Chrysler pales in comparison to what was spent on the Bank bailouts (apprx 1.5 trillion) of which we still don’t know who got the money.
Rock on Clint Eastwood!
BTW, SOTUS says corporation are people, so if Chrysler wants to buy ads which seem to be political in nature who are we to judge? I don’t like it either, so let’s get the ruling changed.
I think it’s hilarious Faux News is in a tizzy over this ad today. What a bunch of hypocrites.
How can Ford be a hypocrite on the auto bailout when the actual US auto bailout money went only to GM and Chrysler? The loan program Ford utilized came from the Energy Department, and several manufacturers took advantage of that program, which was put in place to help automakers achieve the tougher CAFE standards.
FWIW, now that GM and Chrysler are both much more stable, they’re trying to get loans from that same program…they were not able to apply for those programs while their financial stability and economic futures were in question. GM alone has requested some $14+ billion from the EISA/ATVM program, well more than double what Ford got, and nearly 10 times more than Nissan. I actually have better faith in Chrysler to get the job done, because the new leadership from Italy/Fiat seem to have that company on the right track for fuel efficiency (they reduced their loan request to just $3 billion).
There’s really nothing hypocritical about it all. GM and Chrysler had to be bailed out by the government to simply survive…Ford did not. Ford was able to apply for, and get, funding assistance from the DoE to boosting fuel efficiency through re-tooling and new technology development, as were Nissan, Tesla, Fisker, and many smaller companies. That same program can now benefit GM and Chrysler, in addition to the bailout they already got.
And in terms of fund to auto companies vs banks…I think it was much better used on companies with actual manufacturing capacities who make real products.
I already explained this, but I will repeat, Ford benefited from the bailout. No they did not get the money that GM and Chrysler did, but because GM and Chrysler stayed in business, so did the auto industry infrastructure and supply chain that Ford benefits greatly from. Had they gone under, it would have hurt Ford, maybe even badly. So yes, I consider them, knowing they skated due to loans already given from the government and knowing that the demise would have impacted them as well, as being hypocrites to take that “cheap shot”.
Sandi is most likely right about this. GM and Chrysler suppliers would have folded if those companies had. They would have taken Ford down, too, because they’re also vendors to Ford.
Ford benefited tremendously from the bailouts. They received better auto financing rates as a result of the work of the fed, they received the benefit of the cssh for clunkers at a time they were barely hanging on, they received a very favorable concessions from the unions and a new union agreement, all because of the government bailout. They received new incentives and tax credits for producing more fuel efficient cars, better health insurance and retirement provisions. The auto bailout saved millions of jobs and small businesses as well as the State of Michigan from bankruptcy. It has made the US auto industry the strongest in the world at this time while bringing back manufacturing to this Nation. just the battery research and manufacturing now in the US has made a tremendous difference.
You could not have had a more successful idea than the auto bailout and its results for all three US auto makers. And to think, ole Mitt would have let them fail so all autos would be made in Asia. What a foolish idea.
30. Jim – Personally, I believe small business had enough uncertainty with the recession crushing business that they have not been to concerned with the health care or regulation. As for government spending, all the businesses I know have been pursuing all the government spending they can get their hands on. Their only concern is not being able to get their share.
Sandi: Remember Ford chose not “to take money” because they didn’t need to and wasn’t going broke like GM and Chrysler. I see nothing wrong with them capitalizing on that. I’m sure many folks who were usual GM or Chrysler strongly considered Ford because they had managed their business better and because they were also an American company. So why should Ford just sit there passively and say “Let’s hope those GM and Chrysler folks come our way”? It’s a business. My guess is that most advertising is done not only to sell one’s own product but also to make the competition’s product look inferior in one way or another.
Typo again, meant to say “usual GM or Chrysler customers”…
I went to our accountant today. If you are a business owner, you may be surprised to find you will be paying additional monies to VA in the form of your unemployment contribution. Even if you have paid all that was due throughout 2011, you will owe a multiplier of .03 additional funds. Why?
Our esteemed governor, who has been lauded on this thread, borrowed a half of billion dollars from the Federal government to pay for unemployment benefits:
In August 2011, Gov. McDonnell announced that the state ended FY2011 with a surplus.
The surplus announcement, however, did not mention that the commonwealth still needs to pay back the money it borrowed from the retirement fund for state workers or that the STATE HAS NOT REPAID HALF A BILLION THAT IT BORROWED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. “The funds in question come from loans to the unemployment insurance trust fund. This fund ran out of reserves as unemployment soared. Virginia has borrowed more than a half-billion dollars from the Feds to replenish it. So far the state has paid back a little more than $400 million and plans to repay the rest soon to avoid tax penalties. Yet it likely will have to borrow more — perhaps another quarter-billion — as joblessness lingers.” [The Richmond Times Dispatch "State Budget: Surplusterisk II" Sept. 12, 2011] HTTP://WWW2.TIMESDISPATCH.COM/NEWS/RTD-OPINION/2011/SEP/12/TDOPIN01-SURPLUSTERISK-II-AR-1301541/
So small and large businesses will be bailing out Gov McDonnell…smoke and mirrors, anyone?
#45 Hillary, several folks on this blog, including Dan (and probably you) have been pointing out Bobby McD’s smoke and mirrors game for quite a while now. Meanwhile, the easily fooled and the blindly partisan have been praising him. The public in general seems to believe the McD PR machine lies and remains blissfully unaware of all the money that was borrowed, all the fees that were raised, and all the expenditures that were forced off on localities (with more to come) while the essential infrastructure continues to crumble. The dishonesty is breathtaking.
Gdad
I’m hoping for a little outrage by business owners when they have to belly up and pony up to McDonnell’s “shortfall” bar, and be forced to send in more money per employee – which was clearly the result of the governor’s mismanagement of funds.
Hope springs eternal…
#47 Well, you won’t see any outrage from the likes of troll suzie even though she’d be ranting if a Dem had done this. She licks the ground Bobby McD walks on.
I’ve had two Fords. Each got me where I needed to go. Each always had something broken. A wiper motor, hood release cable, seat position stuck, etc.