VDOT Audit Solidifies Kaine’s Inept Legacy
By D.J. Spiker | Friday, September 24th, 2010 | PolicyToday’s announcement of a $1.45 billion discovery of misappropriated and unused VDOT funds in a long called for audit delivers what may or may not be the final nail in the coffin of Tim Kaine’s legacy as a failed governor of the Commonwealth. Despite Kaine’s hilarious comments after the audit that somehow forgetting $500 million is true fiscal management, Virginians today are thanking the legislature and Governor McDonnell for delivering on a campaign promise to a third-party audit of VDOT, something that Tim Kaine resisted vehemently during his unproductive four years as governor.
Consider, what exactly did Tim Kaine accomplish as Governor? With the exception of his exemplary conduct in the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, there is little else he has to rest on. This latest blunder regarding transportation is hardly his first error with VDOT. Kaine was publicly ridiculed by Congress for coming in 51st out of 51 states (including DC) in using federal funds. Kaine’s bids for high-speed rail funding were ignored by his cronies in the Democratic party. On his way out of office, he laid a $4.2 billion tax hike on the legislature. These tax hikes were rejected by a unanimous vote, both Republicans and Democrats. He failed to do ANYTHING to solve transportation issues that continue plaguing the Commonwealth.
The Virginian-Pilot’s post-Kaine editorial is still, eight months after leaving office, proving to be true.
The recession and partisan politics share in the blame, but Kaine’s own missteps contributed to the stumbling parade of failures.
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Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...entrenched on the right as a member of the Establishment, proudly tattooed member of the Republican Party, bartender by trade serving both sides the libations needed to continue the debate and discourse. College student, ten years late, majoring in Public Policy and Administration with an eye to serving the conservative and Republican movement in the public or private sector. ducit amor patriae You can find D.J.on facebook, Twitter, or contact via email at gosport.conservative@gmail.com. You can find D.J.on facebook, Twitter, or contact via email at gosport.conservative@gmail.com.
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9 Responses to "VDOT Audit Solidifies Kaine’s Inept Legacy"
Please don’t talk bad about Kaine they might remove him as DNC chairman and that would be really bad.
Dave,
Not to worry, failure in the Democrat party is a resume enhancer. His job is safe.
Keep spinning D.J., it makes you look like the party hack that you really must be. Bloggers that ignore the facts and post their prejudices don’t usually last long on a forum that aspires to become influential. Clearly, you have not actually bothered to read the performance audit, apparently deciding to believe the fairy tale released by the Governor’s PR staff. This press release is similar to the one announcing the Governor’s transportation plan, which is dead as a door nail, and his plan for the sale of the ABC operation that will suffer a similar fate. Fact is, the only rational conclusion is if the Governor’s staff releases a press release, it is wrong.
Economic recovery ? Who does the “spin” about being in an economic recovery ?
I will believe Warren Buffett.
“Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy remains in recession, disputing this week’s assessment by a leading arbiter of economic activity that the downturn ended more than a year ago.”
The economic recovery starts when Obama loses his job.
While I have a great deal of respect for the Wizard of Wallstreet’s opinion I have to disagree with him.
I have previously shared how as a truck driver I had my second best month this past July measured as far back as 8 years ago, the time frame which certainly encompasses pre-recession.
Since then? How about this:
The North American Freight Index achieved its highest level for the month of August since 2005. Spot market freight availability in August increased 75 percent over August 2009.
Not only do official government statistics point to a slowly improving economy, real world life experiences point to the same. 2010 is shaping up to be a pretty good year for me after a disastrous 2009.
“We’re still in a recession,” Buffett told CNBC television in an interview broadcast on Thursday. “We’re not gonna be out of it for a while, but we will get out.”
Buffett said he defines a recession differently from the NBER, saying it ends when real per capita gross domestic product returns to its pre-downturn level.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68M2TZ20100923
Who says the U.S. recession is over? Not Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. And not legendary investor Warren Buffett.
“I’m not an economist, and I’m not an academic,” Geithner said on Wednesday when a Republican lawmaker tried to pin him down on whether he thought the recession was over. “And I would just say the following: This is still a very tough economy.”
That answer didn’t satisfy Representative Bill Posey, who at one point told Geithner to “man up” and give a clear yes or no answer.
“Let me try one more time,” Geithner said after a lengthy exchange with Posey. “We are absolutely out of the worst stage, worst, most graded, most severe, most at-risk point of this crisis, absolutely, absolutely.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39324685/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/
Please, stop arguing. In the run up to an election, words have different meaning. Technically, we are out of recession as defined by economists; however, politicians always have their own definitions which requires us all to suspend rational knowledge and simply agree to shout at each other. Frankly, after the irrational exhuberance of the past decade, a period of slow and sustained growth based upon fundamental concrete economic factors sounds pretty good to me.
LittleDavid is exchanging info with me. I think that it is great that July was the 2nd best month that he has had in the last 8 years and that 2010 will be a much better year for him then 2009.
He will pay more taxes in 2010 then in 2009.
Everyone who has a better financial year in 2010 will pay more taxes.
If we have the larger tax increase since WW2 in 3 months, then the economy will sink faster then the demo’s poll numbers.
The refusal of the food stamp democrats to vote now on extending the Current tax rates is one of the reasons why the democrats and their Obama wing-nut allies are now facing a political disaster of truly EPIC scale.
LittleDavid said “The North American Freight Index achieved its highest level for the month of August since 2005. Spot market freight availability in August increased 75 percent over August 2009.”
That sounds great to me.
However look at
http://www.pr-inside.com/transcore-s-north-american-freight-index-r2121608.htm
“Year-over-year comparisons are expected to be progressively less dramatic in the coming months, as this year’s spot market freight volume will be compared to the improving levels of freight volume seen in the second half of 2009.On a month-over-month basis, load volume was 14 percent lower in August than in July. This follows the seasonal pattern of the past five years, when spot market loads : declined by an average of 5 percent from July to August. Counter to historical trends, however, freight designated for vans on the spot market declined by the same 14 percent, month-over-month. In the years 2005-09, van loads increased by an average of 5 percent in August, compared to July.
The month-over-month dip in van freight may have resulted from an acceleration in shipments of imported goods. TransCore’s spot market analysts have heard from multiple sources that container traffic arrived early this year, to avoid down time in busy West Coast ports. Rail traffic was unusually strong in July, and those imported goods may have also moved onto trucks in July instead of August, leading to a shift in spot market freight volume.”
Perhaps that is why LittleDavid has such an outstanding July.
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