I really wanted to title this post "Virginia Republicans have their heads up their asses." Today, Virginia's Republican controlled House voted 53-46 against changing the unemployment standards in Virginia to permit $125 million in federal stimulus money for laid off Virginia workers.
That's right. Even though Virginia has a Democrat as governor and two Democratic U.S. Senators, our legislature is still controlled by Republicans. Virginia has state elections on "off" years. We will elect a new Governor this year, a new House, and a nice new chunk of the Senate. Can you guess what Democrats are focusing on in Virginia right now? Yes, the "Party of No" is in our sights.
Governor Kaine spoke emotionally about the highly contentious vote and it's a video worth watching. Kaine has it right. This vote shouldn't have been about taking an ideological stand against federal spending. It should have been about the people in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
This vote explains why so many of us in Virginia will do whatever we can to ensure that we get as many as possible of those 53 Republicans out of office over the next 2 years.
Stephanie also blogs at Lawyer Mama, VB Dems, and Raising Moran.
We have a similar problem in Utah. Our GOP controlled legislature is all No, no, no. Here, they had a chance to bridge a funding gap with our rather large "rainy day" fund. Instead they voted to cut spending by 15%. Guess who bears the brunt of it? Less fortunate folks in need of service and education. The priorities are all messed up.
Posted by: Miranda | April 09, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Miranda, I hear you. Same problem we're having here. They just really don't care. Making a point is more important to them than people's lives.
Posted by: Lawyer Mama | April 09, 2009 at 07:52 PM