“Gov. Tough Choices”? Not Hardly

The writers at the Roanoke Times‘ political blog “The Blue Ridge Caucus” barely disguise their affection for former congressman Tom Perriello, but as it has become increasingly apparent that Tim Kaine–not Tom Perriello–will be the Democratic Party’s nominee for Virginia’s open Senate seat, the writers could not resist offering the former governor some unsolicited strategic advice: your awesome plan to close Virginia’s rest stops could be just what voters in a budget-cutting mood are searching for in a U.S. Senator.

Another con for Kaine will be those rest stops. That may not be the biggest issue in the world, but it’s one that the public can sure understand.

Except . . . is it possible that Kaine might be able to turn the closing of the rest stops to his advantage? The federal budget will surely be an issue in 2012; politicians always like to say they’re prepared to make “tough choices” — even if they’re not. But is this a case where Kaine can say “see, I really did make tough choices; I did the unpopular thing and closed the state’s rest areas.”

Is it possible the rest stop closing might give Kaine some street cred on spending? Or does the fact that McDonnell found the money to re-open them completely undercut Kaine’s position and make him look bad on the issue? Or will they matter at all?

If that’s all Tim Kaine has going for him, the Democratic Party of Virginia should consider sitting this race out. To pretend that Tim Kaine was a budget hawk is to ignore the reckless fiscal record of the Kaine Administration.

After projecting a record-setting $7 billion budget shortfall in 2009, Gov. Kaine proposed closing 18 of the Commonwealth’s 42 newly renovated rest stops. The move was designed to save approximately $9 million per year. Unfortunately, contrary to the “tough choices” image some wish to project upon the former governor, Kaine’s decision to close the rest stops had more in common with the “Washington Monument Syndrome” than it did with the budget-cutting Republicans were elected to do last November. To add insult to injury, not only did Gov. Kaine promote massive tax increases as the only solution to balance the Commonwealth’s budget, VDOT was sitting on almost $1 billion of unspent reserve funds that could have been reallocated to keep the rest stops open.

The McDonnell Administration has completely repudiated Tim Kaine’s logic by reopening the closed rest stops, discovering the $1 billion of unspent VDOT funds via an audit that Kaine believed was unnecessary and balanced the Commonwealth’s budget without raising taxes. Virginia has a Gov. Hard Choices, but his name is not Tim Kaine; it”s Bob McDonnell. Regardless of the candidate the Republican Party of Virginia eventually nominates to challenge Tim Kaine, the former governor’s fiscal record is sure to be a central issue in the campaign–just not in the way Kaine’s supporters at the Roanoke Times might prefer.

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