Democrats-Northam Take a Wild Swing at Gillespie

The Democratic Party of Virginia and, by their standards, apparently Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam too, stated yesterday that wanting to work with elected officials in Washington is somehow scandalous.

With a breathless headline “Caught on Camera: Ed Gillespie Again Brags About His Close Relationship With the Trump Administration”, DPVA spokesperson Kevin Donahoe virtually pees himself in a screed that says “See! See! Gillespie does want to work with Trump!”

Well, thanks for that blinding flash of the obvious. And, for the benefit of Virginia, quite frankly, so should Northam. I don’t see McAuliffe giving DC the finger every chance he gets.

Of course, we all know what Northam thinks of the president, repeatedly calling him a “narcissistic maniac.”

“We want to be medically correct,” Northam, a pediatric neurologist, recently quipped on WAMU’s “Kojo Nnamdi Show” when asked about his use of the term. (Washington Post)

Nice. I’m sure this behavior will certainly help would-be relations between the Commonwealth under Northam and the present Federal administration.

Instead, Gillespie stated in an interview to Mike Gooding of WVEC-13 (ABC-Norfolk) following his Veterans plan rollout yesterday in Norfolk that he is “uniquely qualified” to address the myriad of issues affecting national defense and, hence, the state economy.

“I think to the extent that Virginia is affected very directly by federal spending and programs, 20 cents out of every dollar in GDP is a federal dollar. Having a governor who can work with a Republican House, a Republican Senate, President Trump, Vice President Pence, the Trump administration, I think is an asset for us in Virginia and would be a good thing or the people of the Commonwealth,” he said.

This is, apparently, enough for Donohoe to go apoplectic.

“If Ed Gillespie has a direct line to the White House, why isn’t he using it to stand up for Virginia?”

Well, he kind of is. And, today, Hampton Roads state Senators Frank Wagner and John Cosgrove – both Navy veterans, rightfully pointed it out.

“We are dismayed to see a candidate, especially one from Hampton Roads, attack Ed Gillespie for saying he will work with President Trump to ensure Norfolk remains the largest Naval base in the world, secure approval to dredge the channel in our port, and build more ships and submarines in Newport News.

“Virginians should be deeply concerned that Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam has put his campaign ahead of the policies that are in the best interest of Virginians. Virginia needs a governor who is eager to work with President Trump, not be at odds with him. Lieutenant Governor Northam has not only made clear he is unwilling to work with President Trump but his relentless name calling and hyper-partisan rhetoric has all but assured any working relationship between Northam and the federal government would be inconceivable. That’s bad for Virginia, plain and simple. Someone from Hampton Roads should know better.”

The reality is that while efforts are being made to reduce the Commonwealth’s dependency on federal spending, JLARC states that “federal spending accounts for about 20 percent of the state’s economy…Military spending was by far the largest category of federal spending.”

Why on earth would Northam and Democrats be so eager to not work with DC?