In Bob McDonnell (R-VA) fashion, the voice of the people, as
represented by the legislature, was shoved aside in order to pull off the $6.5
million Washington Redskins incentive deal[1],
this according to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Lacey Putney
(I-Bedford)[2].
According to Putney, Gov. McDonnell was aware that the legislature
wasn’t in favor of the Redskins incentive deal but proceeded regardless without
notifying Putney or other senior policymakers.
Indeed, senior McDonnell administration officials were
questioned by both Republicans and Democrats on Monday about the deal. At the
end of the period of questions, lawmakers were unable to substantiate claims
that the Redskins would have left its immense Loudoun County facility were it
not for the multi-million dollar incentive.
It’s a rare occasion these days when both parties can come
down so unequivocally on the same side of an issue, but McDonnell’s blatant
crony capitalism and waste of millions of tax-payer dollars has done just that.
Del. Steve Landes (R-Augusta) recalled, “We advised
(McDonnell) five different times that there was no support for this concept
[the Redskins deal].”[3]
What appears to have occurred was that in the wake of the
Exxon announcement of its migration to Houston in 2014, and with it thousands
of employees, McDonnell took the desperate step of “reducing risk” by offering
a juicy incentive for the Redskins to stay in Virginia, even though the
Redskins hardly needed it.[4]
McDonnell took this desperate step to ensure his legacy as governor of Virginia
is not one of complete incompetency.
The irony is, of course, that McDonnell’s move to protect
himself politically has undoubtedly backfired, and the political damage may be
far from over.
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