Style Weekly
McDonnell Touts Jobs, Says He’s Aware of Federal Dependency
by Peter Galuszka
It could rain Virginia Republicans in upcoming elections.
Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli now says that he might consider a run against Mark Warner, the state’s popular Democratic U.S. senator, in 2014. Previously, Cuccinelli, who has led a legal charge against Obamacare, said he might run for re-election or for governor in 2013.
Elsewhere on Capitol grounds, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell is setting himself up as a possible vice presidential candidate on a Republican ticket next year. The newly named head of the Republican Governor’s Association, McDonnell said on CNN’s “State of the Union” this weekend that President Barack Obama has failed to deal with deficits and debts and — most importantly — has failed to create jobs.
McDonnell says Obama should take a page from Virginia, where McDonnell’s leadership has created so many jobs that the state’s unemployment is only 6 percent (although that figure’s increased a little in recent days).
What McDonnell failed to mention is that Virginia is No. 3 nationally in government jobs because of its proximity to Washington and many military bases. Some 27 percent of the jobs in the Old Dominion are government slots. Leading the list nationally are the District of Columbia and Alaska, according to Gallup Daily.
McDonnell didn’t say how cutting the federal debt potentially would affect jobs in his home state and, perhaps, raise the unemployment rate. But in an email to Style Weekly, McDonnell’s chief spokesman, Tucker Martin, says that while the governor wants to cut federal spending, he’s aware of the potential pain it may cause Virginia workers. He says McDonnell plans to establish a special fund to ease coming federal job cuts and will expand his jobs commission to address future government employment cutbacks.
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