Still Acting Like a Rookie
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45 responses to “Still Acting Like a Rookie”
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It’s what he learned…. as “Co-CEO”.
But if we’re gonna spend that kind of money to build a sportsplex, can’t we get better teams?
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Maybe it’s Youngkin’s Field of Dreams…
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“We don’t just want a pound of flesh, we want a ton.”
And so they shall have it. Youngkin is popular because he’s been weak and ineffective, essentially, nothing has changed on his watch.
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The one guy who hoped Youngkin would have run for president was John Kerry. He could lose the wishiest-washiest title.
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LOL! SO TRUE!
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If conservatives were true to their stated beliefs, it would be the Republicans fighting against the bloated, inside dealing, pork barrel arena deal.
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Well, consider this then. Almost as many people showed up to watch the Buffalo-Pittsburgh game as caucused in Iowa… and they were outdoors sitting on snow.
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🙂
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But why can’t the private sector be the one that builds and maintains the stadium where 72k people watched a game with most of them sitting on the snow. Many of the Trumpist love to scream “socialism” at everything they dislike while supporting everything from farm subsidies to public funding of arena.
If one wants the state government to spend less, then getting out of pork barrel deals should be a very easy place to start.-
Oh, so NOW they’re going to stop laughing at Obama’s “You didn’t build that”?
Don’t spend less! Spend smarter!
That money could build TWO Potomac River crossings that would benefit 100s of 1000s of commuters in time and money while building 100s of businesses rather than enriching the owners of two teams who’ll just try swinging a better deal elsewhere once they’ve sucked the blood from this one.
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Oh, so NOW they’re going to stop laughing at Obama’s “You didn’t build that”?
Don’t spend less! Spend smarter!
That money could build TWO Potomac River crossings that would benefit 100s of 1000s of commuters in time and money while building 100s of businesses rather than enriching the owners of two teams who’ll just try swinging a better deal elsewhere once they’ve sucked the blood from this one.
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Why did he Northam Administration agree to provide serious financial incentive to Amazon to locate HQ2 in Virginia? How’s that going, by the way?
Virginia should shut down its economic development operations, including those operations in the localities.
No more personnel, no more funding. No more incentives.
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It was a mistake to pander to Amazon and it was a mistake to put money into arenas and stadiums. Those are private sector concerns and the private sector should fit the bill.
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Absolutely!!!
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Most businessmen understand “you have to spend money to make money”. Trumpkin believes it to be “you have to spend money to make influential friends”.
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Youngkin’s problem is easy to solve. Give Louise Lucas exclusive rights to Virginia legal weed market and everything falls into place. I have to chuckle. Lucas co owns the Cannibis Outlet in Portsmouth. It is on High Street.
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You think that is funny but that is pretty much what it will take now. I shudder at the bills he is going to have to sign to get the votes he needs for this now.
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The real winner is going to be Ted Leonsis owner of Monumental Sports. If he moves to Virginia he wins. If he stays in DC he now has leverage to upgrade the lousy Capital One Arena. And he won’t have to spend a dime of his own money.
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What bothers you about the Capital One Arena? It seems fine to me.
Now, FedEx Field … OMG, what a mess!
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It’s a quarter of a century old. Compared to modern arenas it is an antique now. The Capital Center ran into the same problem. Fabulous in 1975. A dungeon in 1995.
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Everybody gotta do something.
Why do Republicans like “exclusive rights” so damned much? Is it because “public rights” smacks of socialism?
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I detect a slight case of Iowa blues this morning.
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Oh Hell no. GOP implosion has begun.
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When I toured the Truman White House in Key West, it was here that Truman’s doctor recommended this for an ailing heart. 1 shot of Old Grand Dad, first thing in the morning. 1 more shot of Old Grand Dad in the evening. Truman sipped that second shot while playing poker with political big wigs of the day. It must have been fun, especially when Sam Rayburn was dealing the cards. Harry made it to age 88.
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Take a little wine for thy stomach’s sake. Not bad advice.
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well, that’s not the only:
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But it’s the one that puts money in her pocket. I think that is what she cares about the most.
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Yes, Dick – you’re right. It must be quite a culture shock to go from a successful, well run entity like the Carlyle Group to a buffoonish clown show like Virginia’s state government.
Youngkin definitely needs to learn how to slow everything down and dumb everything down so the General Assembly can understand and absorb the concepts.
Youngkin’s biggest problem is that this is essentially a regional issue in a region monopolized by Democrats who have no interest in helping a Republican governor. The Democrats of Northern Virginia, in their zeal to build an even more radicalized and reactionary organization, have eliminated middle of the road politicians like Chap Petersen who might have provided some balanced thinking on this matter (or any other matter).
As for the economic impact, I find it interesting that the 100% liberal, Democratic politicians who run DC are in a bit of panic over losing these two teams. If this was such a drain on the city I would think they would be saying, “good riddance”. They’ve had years to study the economic impact of the situation and they definitely want the eams to stay.
Personally, I don’t care if the teams m0ve or not. Unlike those of you from Richmond, people in Northern Virginia don’t see the Potomac River as the cultural equivalent of the Atlantic Ocean. A short drive (or Metro trip) to DC to watch the Wizards and Caps is just fine. Just like a short drive (or Metro trip) to Maryland to legally buy marijuana is no big deal either. In both cases, the economic benefits accrue to a jurisdiction with far more competent politicians.
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Kewsong Lee has left Carlyle. Maybe Trumpkin can hire him as Co-Governor?
Assuming everything in this article is correct and this is not a partisan shot, the consequence of not having a professional politician full of bureaucrats in your staff is this kind of rookie mistake. Ok fine, I’ll take it over a Kaine or McAuliffe any day. I’ll never forget how Kaine closed interstate restrooms because he couldn’t get a budget deal with Republicans, that stunk…..
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Governors don’t have “bureaucrats” on their staffs. Their staff, Cabinet, and sub-Cabinet are chosen by the governor and serve at his pleasure. If the Governor is not a professional politician or has not had any experience in government, it would be wise for him to have some people around him who are familiar with the legislature and its culture. That is, if he wants to get stuff done. That is why Youngkin had Frank Atkinson around at the beginnig of his term. Furthermore, after two GA sessions, one would think that Youngkin had learned that a governor needs to do some groundwork on his priorities, recruit support from the legislature, anticipate questions, and have answers for those questions. I suspect that his being ill-prepared on this issue is another consequence of his assumption that the Republicans were going to win majorities in both houses, giving him a compliant legislature.
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Fair point. . I will not pretend to know the inner workings of a Governor office. I just think you can expect to get some of this kind of stuff when a governor or politician comes in from the outside and consider these weaknesses the lesser of two evils
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Youngkin actually has potential to do significant things if he is willing to
work with both aisles of the GA and put
aside the culture war stuff.
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“I’ll never forget how Kaine closed interstate restrooms”
I remember that! When driving on 95 you would see vehicles pulled over to the median for reasons other than changing a tire. -
At the risk of rehashing old history (usually dangerous), I want to set the record straight.
1. Kaine did not close the rest areas in a fit of pique over a budget dispute with Republicans. VDOT began closing rest areas in the summer of 2009. The 2009 General Assembly passed the budget on time and it was signed by Kaine on April 8, 2009.
2. The state budget was facing major revenue shortfalls as a result of the recession that began in the fall of 2008. That included transportation funds, which were projected to decline by almost $200 million.
3. Not all the rest areas were closed, only 19 out of 42. VDOT projected annual savings from the closures at $9 million.
4. Virginia was not the only state to close interstate rest areas in order to cut back on expenses. The list included New York, Maine, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Louisiana.When revenues decline, choices have to be made. Many times, the folks who complain about high taxes and excessive spending are the ones who complain the loudest when a service they like is cut.
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one way to pay for the interstate rest rooms and such is to allow retail sales at them like some other states do.
Alas, the private sector off the interchanges want that money
for themselves and let the state figure out how to fund them.-
Kaine indicated that he would be amenable to private operation of rest areas, but federal law places strict limits on privatization of rest areas. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2018/rpt/pdf/2018-R-0052.pdf
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I vividly remember Republican delegates and senators publicly trying to get them back open and Kaine used it as a negotiating tool.
You are correct that not all were closed, but one in particular I went by regularly was which p#$$*d me off.
Larry and I frequently disagree on things but I second his suggestion.
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Oh, you are taking me down memory lane! I was marginally involved in some of this when I was at DPB.
Del. Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) did complain about the closing of the rest areas and accused Kaine of using that as a bargaining chip for raising transportation taxes. There had been concerns raised for several years about how funding for transportation was falling behind the needs. Kaine had pushed a modest package in 2007 that affected primarily NoVa and Hampton Roads. Gilbert voted for it.
http://www.senatorjillvogel.com/news/nextpage.htm?postdate=2009-07
Moreover, Kaine was in the last six months of his term in the summer of 2009. He was not going to be around to bargain for higher gas taxes. Both gubernatorial candidates that year–Deeds (D) and McDonnell (R) promised to open the rest areas if elected.
McDonnell did open the rest areas soon after he was inaugurated. He also proposed amendments in 2013 to what started out as a modest transportation bill. His amendments made significant changes in the way gasoline was taxed and resulted in greatly increased revenues. It was called in some quarters “landmark legislation.” Gilbert voted against the amended bill. In summary, it was not a simple squabble between Democrats and Republicans.
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I recall that it was called the biggest tax increase in Va history!
Between McDonnell and now… VDOT has completely diversified their funding by adding .6 to the sales tax and now charging a “highway user fee HUF” for cars that get really good gas mileage , hybrid, EV, etc.
You can see the funding streams at:
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/sites/default/files/documents/tracking_oct23.pdf
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Thanks for the history and links.
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The BIG question is WHY Youngkin wants to do this.
IF this were a Dem GOv trying to do this, the Va GOP would
probably go APE-crap!
Does Youngkin think this would get him a legacy or perhaps get him in the “Art of the Deal” club or what?
Does Youngkin think this is truly a good deal for NoVa and Virginia?
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Well it does seem like owner Ted Leonsis wants to get out of DC. The announcement was a surprise to me with rambling speeches by both Leonsis and Youngkin gushing over the each other and the idea.
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Well it does seem like owner Ted Leonsis wants to get out of DC. The announcement was a surprise to me with rambling speeches by both Leonsis and Youngkin gushing over the each other and the idea.
It is the same story as with the tax package. The groundwork should have started last summer, and maybe it did. No announcement should have been made until an army of stakeholders, including at least some leading Democrats from that region, was willing to stand by him at the news conference. I’d have told the boosters, go get me that army and find me a strong bill patron from the other party, and then I’ll be part of the effort.
Somebody shared the handout his staff was using with potential allies (it hasn’t been sent to me) and it was just promotional talking point, no financial details. Even among the Dems there are still people who can decipher a financial analysis (fewer of them with the recent departures. Saslaw sure could.)
Old rule. You can get anything done down there if you don’t care who gets the credit.
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