Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling criticizes the economic proposals of both candidates for governor as unrealistic

He may be out of the ‘race’, but Virginia’s Lt. Governor Bill Bolling isn’t holding back his criticism of either candidate running for the executive thrown. On Tuesday, Bolling criticized Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe and his challenger, Ken Cuccinelli, for offering up economic proposals that aren’t realistic.

Last week, McAuliffe suggested that a “handful” of local business taxes could be eliminated or reduced. His opponent, Cuccinelli, proposed a 13 percent reduction in personal income taxes and a 33 percent reduction in corporate income taxes, otherwise known as financial suicide for Virginia’s government. As Bolling pointed out, Cuccinelli and McAuliffe were both a little less than specific about how they would go about replacing the revenue lost vis-à-vis their ‘plans’.

Said Bolling, "In the past week, both Mr. McAuliffe and Mr. Cuccinelli have proposed tax cuts that would benefit Virginia's families and businesses. I think that's great. Unfortunately, neither candidate has yet identified how they would address the significant loss of revenue these tax cuts would create for state and local governments and the corresponding impact they could have on critical government services. As governor, you can't just propose tax cuts willy nilly to score some cheap political points."

Indeed! Why is it that Bolling understands the idea of economics so clearly while so many politicians seem immune? Of course, it would have been nice if Bolling had stayed in the contest for governor and proposed his own comprehensive economic plan (assuming it wouldn’t be a total conservative pipe-dream).

I have a feeling that folks in Virginia annoyed by Bolling’s “arm-chair” criticisms will quickly reject anything that Virginia’s Lt. Gov. has to say, valid or not. But Bolling could turn out to be the purest voice of reason in a political contest that may pull both candidates into a contest of personality and not policy positions.  

Bolling has his own skeletons, of course, and these shouldn’t be forgotten as the Lt. Gov. attempts to rebrand himself as the middle-way of Virginia politics. That said, if this is the ‘true Bolling’, then keep it coming. Virginia, as well as the rest of the country, could use a lot more of the vivid speech that Bolling has continuously injected into the political sphere over the past year.