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Remember
back when former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder tried to
broker a deal to move the Washington Redskins to the
old Alexandria rail yards? Locals balked about the
traffic concerns and government padding that bill.
That
was a bad move, politically speaking.
Not
to be outdone... The
Warner administration tried in vain to broker a
Major League Baseball deal to bring baseball to the
Northern Virginia region.
That's
bad public policy as well.
Warner
lost that political battle when sparring with
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams for the rights to
the Montreal Expos franchise.
The
Associated Press reported that Warner said the
Virginia Stadium Authority "tried to put
together a deal that was financially sound and did
not place an undue burden on Virginia taxpayers who
were not going to directly benefit from this."
Undue
tax burden, you say ...
Who
is Gov. Mark "Mollycoddle" Warner kidding?
Back
in June, according to radio station WTOP's taped
broadcast of the "Ask the Governor,"
Warner said, "We’re, I think, further down
the path in terms of a financing plan in place, in
Northern Virginia."
"There
is still a gap, albeit a small one."
Plain
and simply stated, Warner missed out on the
financial bidding war by a few dollars. But the
Virginia public will never know exactly how many
taxpayer dollars Warner actually wanted to spend.
Well,
let's do the dumb math for him because Warner will
never admit publicly that cost.
The
Metro-area media reported the Washington, D.C.,
government plans to sell $410 million in tax-exempt
and taxable bonds to entice MLB owners and to
finance the new DC stadium.
Total
cost for the land, stadium and renovations to RFK
Stadium in the interim are roughly estimated at
$435.2 million for the D.C. taxpayers.
The
Blue Dog estimates Gov. Warner's bid was around
$435.1 million.
(Heck,
Warner's the public official who said "small
financial gap," not the Blue Dog!)
Admit
it, Mark, you just didn't sweeten that pot enough,
and now you're playing role reversal with the media
and public as Virginia's newest taxpayer savior, Mr.
Tax Miser.
After
duping the Virginia public last year with the
largest tax increase in Virginia's history, while
calling it "tax reform."
Northern
Virginia baseball fans that are registered voters
will deal with Warner in future elections. Baseball
fans hold grudges for a long time - just ask an old
Senators' fan.
It’s
good news that Northern Virginia's busy roads are
not in danger of becoming more crowded due to
another thoughtless government giveaway. It's a
victory for smart growth.
The
MLB stadium plans for Northern Virginia were a prime
example of dumb growth.
And
for the moment, that Virginia taxpayers will remain
unburdened financially from another campaign stunt
by probable Democratic U.S. Senate wannabe Warner.
Enough
said there.
Take
me out to the ballgame
Aside
from the endless government money pit, the Blue Dog
is thrilled that Major League Baseball is finally
returning to Dee-Cee.
As
a youngster in the 1960s, the Blue Dog can remembers
attending a Senators baseball game at RFK with my
father and local Cub Scout pack. Our seats were
behind first base.
That
was the first MLB game for me as a child, and the
last baseball game that I have attended at a D.C.
stadium.
The
Blue Dog recalls the hot dog and peanut vendors
selling their goods along with the crack of the bats
and the fly balls landing in the stadium seats. Our
Cub Scout troop members brought our baseball gloves
that day, hoping we might be lucky enough to catch a
ball.
In
that game, Frank Howard hit a home run to win the
game, and we celebrated with a stop at Mickey D's
after the game.
As
far as childhood memories, that was simply a
wonderful day.
After
the Senators' demise, the Baltimore Orioles became
the local team for most.
So,
this recent announcement was a great day for the
nation's capital. Baseball in D.C. It's hard to
believe. And it's like manna from heaven after a
30-year famine.
That's
good news out of Washington for once.
--
October 18, 2004
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