McDonnell Shows How Bipartisanship Works

President Obama will approve offshore energy exploration.

Let's remember, it was candidate Bob McDonnell who talked about this when everyone said it was stupid.  It was a major part of his campaign, and while Democrats mocked him, the voters showed their understanding that a new way of revenue was needed. 

As governor, McDonnell worked diligently to win over not only Republicans, the secretary of the Interior, but also Virginia's two Democratic senators.  McDonnell has shown how to really get important things done for Virginia and doing so backed up by his muscle in the House of Delegates and a convincing message. 

Comments

[Dan]

I don't recall anyone mocking McDonnell for proposing to drill off the Virginia coast. It was highly controversial. People expressed many legitimate concerns about it. But they didn't mock it. They questioned the wisdom of it.

What many people DID mock (myself included) was candidate McDonnell's completely ludicrous assertion that his administration was going to pay for the voluminous campaign promises he was making to win votes in Northern Virginia with offshore oil revenue. He promised to build pretty much every transportation project on Northern Virginia's wish list. And he has yet to give an honest answer to the simple straightforward question; how are you going to pay for it?

Even with the favorable action by Washington, and assuming the rosiest of timelines, McDonnell will be long out of office before the state sees a dime from offshore oil. And that is what was mocked. That he would give that as the means of current funding.

Let's not rewrite such recent history. The governor got away with that major league campaign song and dance. He won. Congratulations.

But now we deserve an answer to the question he avoided with such great skill throughout his campaign.

How are you going to pay for it?

The non-answers and total nonsense he gave us during the campaign were what was mocked. And deservedly so.

[local gop]

Gotta say that I agree with Dan on this one. No one mocked the idea of drilling, just the idea that money would be made in less than 10 years off of drilling.

Additionally, let's not shoot ourselves in the foot by not giving credit and a due thank you to the democrats that stood up for the Commonwealth and helped get this done. Sens. Warner, and Webb deserve our thanks and appreciation in this one. It would be wise to show gratitude for bipartisanship if we expect it to continue into the future.

[Janet Payne]

Actually, Obama is mocking the entire nation on this issue. While "allowing" Virginia to drill, Obama is actually closing the most productive reserves to drilling elsewhere in the nation.

And, Obama will order the EPA and other bureaucrats to run the shot clock out on any drilling anyway. The only way Virginia will ever be able to drill is after Obama has been sent home to Chicago.

In the meantime, Obama and all his minions are mocking Virginia and laughing out loud behind closed doors at the rest of the country.

Let's see what happens when the Governor sends the first drilling rig out to the shelf to drill. It will never be allowed.

[200 Grande]

The more lucrative drilling areas in the Gulf have already been sold off to the Chinese.

[local gop]

Janet,
please....

"Let's see what happens when the Governor sends the first drilling rig out to the shelf to drill"

You do realise this wont happen, right? He will have been out of office for nearly 6 years before we reach this point...

[Dan]

"In the meantime, Obama and all his minions are mocking Virginia and laughing out loud behind closed doors at the rest of the country."

Janet, I get the feeling that if God himself came down from heaven and embraced Obama as his son, the reborn Christ, and produced the original birth certificate from the archives in Jerusalem to prove it you would still find fault with him. That is also the sense I got listening to Minority Leader Boehner yesterday as he did his best to find fault with Obama for doing exactly what Republicans had been calling for.

Blind partisanship is an ugly thing. You might want to avoid it.

The president has done a pretty good job of ticking off the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. He escalated troop levels in Afghanistan. He signed a health care bill that does not include (and never seriously considered) the solutions that liberals would have wanted to see in the bill. He has opened offshore oil resources that had remained closed to exploration for decades (through administrations of both parties). He has maintained and defended many of his predecessor's policies with regard to national security that were anathema to the left. But I bet we will continue to hear Republican crazy talkers calling him a "leftist" and a "Marxist".

That sort of talk is going to look mighty silly to the bulk of American voters who are not ideologues of the right or left. It sure won't square with what they are observing.

Our governor wants to drill off our state's coast. The president opens the way for doing just that. He does exactly what you and other Republicans want. And you aren't happy. Just what the devil do you want?

I'm sorry it interrupted your narrative of criticism of the president, but most thinking Virginians who support the governor's offshore drilling initiative are applauding the president's announcement.

But that oil money won't be available to us until long after McDonnell is out of office. And McDonnell made a lot of promises. Which leaves the key question still unanswered.

How is he going to pay for the transportation promises he made during his campaign?

[Janet Payne]

Obama really did play another of his 3 Card Monty card tricks. When you cut through his bovine scat, here is what Obama's announcement added up to:

* Cancelled five lease sales off the Alaska coast that were planned over the next 2 years. One of the areas is estimated to hold up to 77 billion barrels of oil, or more than 3 times US reserves.

* A study of the southern Atlantic OCS, with the findings due back next year....no leasing.

* Delayed a planned lease sale off Virginia until at least 2012.

He's mocking the nation, and Virginia. No wonder his ratings are in the toilet. He's not fooling anyone, except maybe Dan and Local GOP.

[Dan]

Janet, you are dutifully spouting your right wing talking points which bear little resemblance to the truth. Responsible conservatives who have a bit more concern with telling the truth and who care about their country have a much different take on this.

I'm sure you believe the sources that have fed you this nonsense. You probably got the viral e-mail that told you that 20 billion dollars has been appropriated to resettle Hamas in the United States and you believed that one too.

I have listened to the crazies peddling this stuff on the radio too. And one thing even they admit is that it opens the way for drilling off the Virginia coast. Which is the subject of this thread.

That offshore drilling won't produce a dime for the Commonwealth for at least ten years. Likely longer. So I repeat the question that Bob McDonnell refused to answer as a candidate and which he has yet to answer as governor. How is he going to pay for all the transportation projects he promised Northern Virginia? Not how is some future governor going to pay for transportation a decade or more from now. How is he going to pay for these things?

How long do you think a reasonable citizen should have to wait for a direct answer to a very simple and reasonable question?

[Dan]

"No wonder his ratings are in the toilet."

The Real Clear Politics composite average of polls of presidential approval currently has it as:

Approve 48.4%
Disapprove 46.4%

Rasmussen (which most objective folks will acknowledge has a pretty consistent Republican lean to their numbers) has the lowest numbers of any poll included in that RCP average.

Approve 47%
Disapprove 53%

Hardly numbers that could objectively be called "in the toilet" as you describe them. In fact, following the bruising battle with Republican obstructionism over HCR and given the current economic situation it would be fair to say that those are pretty good numbers.

Of course, if you think that the current economic situation is all to be laid at Obama's doorstep and that the mismanagement and irresponsibility of the eight years prior to Obama's inauguration played no part in where we find ourselves today you might expect the president's numbers to be "in the toilet". But the bulk of the American people don't share that delusion. Hence the president's relatively strong numbers under the circumstances.

[Boris Blankman]

Dan,
What are you talking about? This President is in serious trouble. The majority of likely voters will not vote to re-elect him. The vast majority of Americans disapprove of his foreign policy, his economic policy, and his domestic policies. His numbers are tanking and will only get worse. That is no delusion.

[Terry Hanratty]

Dan,
You were the subject of our pub poll yesterday. The choices were brown shirt or useful idiot.

Idiot won in a 5-4 decision. Losers bought the round.

We'll do this again next week. The group changes each week as some folks work late and many of us travel. But, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Dan]

Boris, step out of the echo chamber that simply repeats what you want to hear and look at some objective facts. Those facts simply don't support what you say.

Maybe delusion was too strong a word. Inspired perhaps by Janet's rather silly statement that Obama is "mocking" America. What does one do with such a bizarre statement that assumes the president hates America because he doesn't share Janet's political views? What does one do with the breathtaking arrogance of her comments?

But your assertion that his numbers are tanking is totally unsupported by the facts. I didn't make up the numbers I posted above. You can visit the websites. I even separated out the one with the worst numbers for Obama in order to be scrupulously fair in what I was saying. And even the worst aren't that bad under the current circumstances.

Truth be told, the unemployment rate and consumer confidence will play a far greater role in the results this November than anything else. Though the highly paid political "consultants" are loath to admit that obvious truth. It marginalizes their importance.

If I may be permitted the arrogance of unsolicited advice, don't bet too heavily on Obama losing in 2012.

[Dan]

Terry Hanratty, I'll never forget your championship year at Notre Dame. Thanks for the memories.

You were a lot better football player than you are a political commenter. You offer nothing except to call those you disagree with brown shirts and idiots.

No one is ever going to accuse you of being an intellectual giant are they?

Please talk to as many undecided voters as you can between now and November. The Democratic Party can use all the help you can provide.

Thank you.

[local gop]

Janet,
This is what happened: you had something to attack the President on before he lifted the ban, now that he has you are struggling to find something else. Nice try. Give credit where credit is due. And post links to your claims.

[Terry Hanratty]

OK folks, listen up. Every Thursday the crew meets at a local pub to knock back a pint. Those who can't make it call or text in.

We read Dan's posts on MC for the week. Then, we take a poll. We know what Dan is, but we'll vote to see if he was useless of useful. As always, the short straws will buy the next round. We'll publish the results right here on MC sometime Thursday evening. Most of us travel and we've got folks checking in from several cities. So, Dan, keep those comments coming! And stay tuned. Don't touch that dial.