Rather than take the opportunity to change the tenor and direction of the debate on the state budget and Medicaid expansion, Gov. McAuliffe has decided to turn the screws [1] on the GOP:
Citing the absence of a state budget adopted by the General Assembly, Gov. Terry McAuliffe is refusing to sign nearly a dozen bills that contain spending provisions.
Instead, McAuliffe has amended the bills — which pay for everything from judgeships to studies of economic incentives — to say that they will not take effect unless the new budget contains appropriations to fund them.
None of the amended bills is vital to the future health and welfare of the commonwealth. But the tactic amounts to sticking a thumb in the GOP’s eye as 10 of the eleven bills McAuliffe amended has Republican sponsors.
It’s well-known inside Capitol Square that McAuliffe & Co. aren’t feeling very confident about their chances of forcing a Republican capitulation. This move does nothing to improve their lot.
If anything, it needlessly sets them back 11 steps.