Today’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.
