Tag: terry mcauliffe

Terry McAuliffe tacitly admits that he is not interested in further elected office.

Because he ain’t gonna be elected Senator with this attitude:

Gov. Terry McAuliffe is rejecting calls from Virginia House Republican leaders for an investigation into how Planned Parenthood clinics handle fetal organs.

Republicans called for an investigation Thursday following an anti-abortion group’s release of a video showing a Planned Parenthood official discussing the disposal of body parts from aborted fetuses. The group said the video proves the organization is breaking federal law against selling human fetal tissue.

Continue reading Terry McAuliffe tacitly admits that he is not interested in further elected office.

How Terry McAuliffe failed to impose Medicaid expansion on Virginia.

This Washington Post article on Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe’s futile attempt to sneak Medicaid expansion past his own state legislature is fascinating, but it has several flaws in it.  There are things that are not mentioned enough, things that are mentioned too much, and at least one thing that is not mentioned at all.  Unsurprising, given that the WaPo remains a Democratic cheerleader; but still slightly disappointing.

Quick summary of the article: at the beginning of the saga, Terry McAuliffe was faced with a barely Democratic state Senate and a solidly Republican General Assembly.  This meant that if Gov. McAuliffe wanted to get Medicaid expansion through the legislature, he’d need to sweet-talk the Republicans into going along – HAH!  Who am I kidding?  Nah, his team of trained legislation-breakers found a suitable loophole, in classic Democratic party fashion* – and snuck it into the budget.  Alas, Democrat state Senator Phillip Puckett was made a deal (which apparently had nothing to do with any of this) that flipped the state Senate (despite the frantic deal-making efforts of every Virginia Democrat from McAuliffe on down); that, coupled with conservative watchdogs and Eric Cantor’s remarkable primary loss, scuppered the inclusion of language in the Virginia budget that would have permitted said loophole.  Sic transit gloria McAuliffe. Continue reading How Terry McAuliffe failed to impose Medicaid expansion on Virginia.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D, VA): condemned [Puckett] judgeship deal in public, made his own offer in private.

Let me refresh your memory: once upon a time (well, June) Virginia state Senator (and Democrat) Phillip Puckett suddenly resigned, which essentially handed control of the state Senate back to Republicans (the Senate was previously evenly divided, with the Democratic Lt. Governor breaking all ties). Turns out that said state Senator wanted a nice tobacco commission job for himself and a judgeship for his daughter – and lo! Such things then came to pass.  Horrible, horrible corruption and attempts to evade Virginia nepotism laws, of course – and I had only this thing to say in its defense*:

Besides, the Democrats do it all the time.

Indeed they do.  Indeed, they do.  Via Hot Air comes this report that the Democrats, in fact, tried to do it here: “Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s chief of staff left a voice-mail message for a Democrat who was on the verge of quitting the General Assembly in June, saying that the senator’s daughter might get a top state job if he stayed to support the governor’s push to expand Medicaid, according to descriptions from three people who heard the recording.” Continue reading Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D, VA): condemned [Puckett] judgeship deal in public, made his own offer in private.

Hi? Do you like Uber – and you voted for Terry McAuliffe? Well, THAT was dumb of you.

Because this was inevitable.

Just when you thought you couldn’t despise the Department of Motor Vehicles any more, Virginia’s DMV decided to wage war against popular passenger carrier companies Uber and Lyft, sending cease and desist letters urging them to stop doing business in the commonwealth.

The Virginia DMV, which has already fined Uber and Lyft $26,000 and $9,000, respectively, says Virginia law “requires for-hire passenger carriers to have proper operating authority,” and their business model—a model which allows passengers to conveniently look up driver ratings and connect with one such part-time driver of their choice via smart phone mobile apps—doesn’t fit the bill.

Continue reading Hi? Do you like Uber – and you voted for Terry McAuliffe? Well, THAT was dumb of you.

Terry McAuliffe, would-be dictator of Virginia.

Having discovered that it’s much harder to convince somebody of something when you can’t buy them off, Terry McAuliffe is now thinking of ignoring this pesky ‘democracy’ thing entirely:

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is considering expanding health coverage for the poor without the approval of the state legislature, a move that would muscle his top priority past Republican opponents but also throw his young administration into a partisan firestorm and uncertain legal territory.

McAuliffe and his top advisers have consulted lawyers, health-care experts and legislators on how to bypass the GOP-dominated House of Delegates, according to three people familiar with the discussions. A fourth, who like the others spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal private strategy, said the office of Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) has been researching the matter.

Continue reading Terry McAuliffe, would-be dictator of Virginia.

Medicaid expansion may be starting to retreat in Virginia.

This is a remarkable shift in the polling: “A majority of Virginians oppose using federal Medicaid funds to expand health coverage, according to a new poll that finds public opinion has rapidly soured on Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s top priority. The Wason Center at Christopher Newport University poll found that 53 percent of the state’s voters oppose enrolling more Virginians in the federal-state health program for the poor, a sharp reversal from February, when the center found that 56 percent backed expansion.” The basic problem is that when Terry McAuliffe ran for Governor of Virginia he promised to push Medicaid expansion if it meant starting a budget crisis. McAuliffe got elected: he pushed Medicaid expansion; Virginia is getting ready to have a budget crisis.

And Virginians aren’t actually happy about that: “Sixty-five percent said both parties would be equally responsible, and 78 percent said McAuliffe would share some or a lot of the blame.” What McAuliffe is currently discovering here is that that sort thing translates to the electorate is going to be equally mad at one specific person, and an entire group of people who are all worthless anyway (except for their own representatives). Guess who ends up with the bigger headache? Continue reading Medicaid expansion may be starting to retreat in Virginia.

Quote of the Day, SIT DOWN And SHUT UP, Washington Post edition.

You don’t get to complain.

IT’S HARD to think of a more tone-deaf political move lately than Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s unveiling of his Common Good Virginia PAC, which peddles dinners and sit downs with Mr. McAuliffe, a Democrat, his wife and unnamed “policy experts” for fat cats with a policy agenda for fees reaching $100,000.

This is what the Washington Post actively connived to get, so live with it.  And nobody gives a [expletive deleted] whether you’re upset or not. Continue reading Quote of the Day, SIT DOWN And SHUT UP, Washington Post edition.

So, Virginia’s new commerce secretary Maurice Jones comes pre-‘under investigation’ed.

Efficiency!

My first reaction? “Well, that was quick.”

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s commerce secretary Maurice Jones improperly lobbied Congress as a member of the Obama administration, according to an internal federal investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

…Oh, wait, it happened last year.  Apparently the guy thought that it was OK to use his position as a HUD deputy secretary to lobby against upcoming legislation.  Naturally, the Department of Justice decided not to prosecute – squashing internal investigations is what Eric Holder is there to do* – but one wonders why Terry McAuliffe didn’t vet his appointees bettHAHAHAAHAAHAAAAAHAAAA :snort: sorry, I couldn’t maintain a straight face for long enough.

Moe Lane (crosspost) Continue reading So, Virginia’s new commerce secretary Maurice Jones comes pre-‘under investigation’ed.

Terry McAuliffe allegedly sold ABC board seat to ‘Republican’ Boyd Marcus.

Before we go any further, though… the Washington Post may tell us the details: they may not display any moral indignation. The Washington Post endorsed that corrupt suckweasel Terry McAuliffe for Governor of Virginia: the below is exactly the sort of thing that we all expected McAuliffe to do.  Anybody who thought otherwise is a natural-born d*mned fool.

Moving along: here is the timeline.

  • Boyd Marcus, Virginia Republican consultant, emails Ken Cuccinelli campaign, looking for a fat consulting fee (up to $100K). The Cuccinelli campaign says no.
  • Boyd turns around and publicly supports Terry McAuliffe.
  • McAuliffe pays Boyd about $40K in consulting fees.

Wait! It gets better! Or worse. Continue reading Terry McAuliffe allegedly sold ABC board seat to ‘Republican’ Boyd Marcus.