Virginia’s governor, Bob McDonnell, attended a fundraiser Tuesday
evening in northern Virginia to assist Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) raise money for
his reelection bid.[1]
Wolf has been called the “dean” of Virginia’s congressional delegation, first
elected to Congress in 1980.
Wolf is competing against former federal prosecutor, Kristin
Cabral (D).
While McDonnell’s fundraising trip to northern Virginia for
a fellow public representative may be business-as-usual, it should stop in
favor of actual governance on the part of elected officials. That is, political
representatives of every political party should not be allowed to fundraise for
other elected officials while in office.
The point of electing an individual for public office is, of
course, for that individual to “represent” his or her given constituency. However,
it’s difficult to represent anything but the party’s interests when elected
officials take time off of their public duties to fundraise for a fellow party
member.[2]
It isn’t impractical in the least to suggest that elected
officials pay more attention to their constituencies than their party machine
and the individuals who constitute it.
Especially for political figures like McDonnell who opine
about “government waste” at every turn, it’s particularly bothersome that these
individuals would feed off the taxpayer’s dime to raise money for another
political candidate.
Business-as-usual, in this case, is not what’s right for
Virginians. Focusing on issues pertinent to bettering our state is what
governors are hired for, not to fill the coffers of other politicians.
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