The press offices for the last three Governors- Gilmore, Warner, and Kaine- regularly sent out releases to the media taking credit for any job that came to Virginia in which the state government may have played a role- either through a recruiting initiative, or the development of an incentive package, or by the use of a community college job training program.
The press release invariably mentioned the precise number of jobs coming to the locality and the role that state government played in making the deal happen.
As you may have guessed, it is rare that a press release is sent when jobs are being lost, with the exception of times when the Governor is making a special effort to meet with company executives, or is lobbying the feds to maintain a base, or is providing special retraining assistance for those who have been displaced.
Tim Craig of The Washington Post (who is leaving the Virginia beat at the end of the week to cover D.C. City Hall) noted on his blog today that Terry McAuliffe now has 98 paid staffers on his campaign.
98 staffers?
No one can recall a campaign staff this large at this point in any previous Virginia campaign.
McAuliffe has been barnstorming the state saying that his first priority as Governor will be jobs, jobs, jobs.
I guess no one can ever accuse him of not putting his money where his mouth is.
But more than anything else, I am looking forward to the press release.
“Governor Kaine announced today that Terry McAuliffe, Inc. has brought 98 new jobs to Virginia. Most of the jobs will be at the Northern Virginia campaign headquarters of McAuliffe, Inc., but there will be up to 25 positions at eight regional McAuliffe offices located throughout the state. Kaine credited a highly competitive political environment in Virginia and the growing attractiveness of a Democratic nomination in the Commonwealth as the reasons for the McAuliffe campaign ’s decision to locate and expand in Virginia. McAuliffe himself noted that “if I obtain the Democratic nomination in June and am elected by the people of Virginia in November, I look forward to filling hundreds of more jobs next January.”
The money, the staff, the field offices not withstanding, the equation Virginia Democrats need to wrap their minds around is this one:
McAuliffe win in June = McDonnell win in November
BKD
Barnie Day, you nailed it. McAwful’s attempt to hire grassroots support shows a serious lack of respect for the real grass roots. And his burn rate in the current economic climate will likely cause the kind of financial meltdown he caused on the HRC campaign. Regardless, the GOP would knock the chicken poop out of him with all his baggage and lack of standing in Virginia.
Here’s the thing–you can buy a primary, but I don’t think you can buy a general. Money won’t be a Democratic advantage in the general. National Republicans will arm McDonnell dollar-for-dollar. The fiscal fiasco is tarnishing some of Obama’s burnish already and that, in my opinion, will factor heavily in this race, the unemployment numbers in particular. Which marquee national Democrat will add throw-weight to McAuliffe? In Virginia? McDonnell has some quirky things to answer to–covenant marriage, the enhanced death penalty (which I took at the time to mean we’d mutilate the corpse after execution!), the Verbena Askew flap, and others, but the fact remains that he has a long, serious elective public service record and he’s already been elected statewide–by a cat’s whisker. Deeds and Moran have long, substantive records too–and better ones, to my thinking. McAuliffe has a checkbook. The Republicans will sort out the Frederick tempest-in-a-teapot by then. That will give Democrats little comfort by November. And finally this point: neither Democrats nor Republicans will elect the next governor–swing voters will–and in this environment I don’t see swing voters giving the governorship to a training-wheel candidate. They’re going to look to a candidate who can ride the bike. Deeds can ride it. Moran can ride it. Anybody who thinks Virginia is a lock for Democrats now, no matter the candidate, needs to get his or her prescription refilled. BKD
[...] Virginia politics and run for governor. He’s already spent a significant amount of money on a large campaign staffand both television and radio ads. With over $4.2 million raised this year, almost three times what [...]