Bob McDonnell Flip Flops on Unemployment Relief

Recently, the GOP controlled Virginia House of Delegates in an "let the eat cake" like action rejected federal bail out funds that would have helped the Commonwealth of Virginia to extend additional unemployment benefits to more Virginians. Heavens forbid that they had complained about drunken sailor style spending under the Chimperator who these cretins mindlessly applauded. Now, after first supporting this cold, heartless move, Taliban Bob McDonnell is apparently having second thoughts and trying to find some cover to deflect the wrath from outraged voters. I suspect most Virginians do not subscribe to the extreme anti-tax mantra of the Kool-Aid drinkers some of whom would de-fund public education if given the opportunity. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot on McDonnell's about face:
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Members of Congress have their hands full right now with crises in the financial, housing and automotive industries. They don't have time to bail out Bob McDonnell from a political mess of his own making. But that's what the Republican gubernatorial candidate asked Virginia's congressional representatives to do in a letter last week. McDonnell made a strategic blunder last month when he inserted himself into a partisan fight over whether the state should accept $125 million in federal stimulus aid. In order to collect the money, the state must make two modest adjustments in its eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits.

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McDonnell didn't have a vote in the matter, but he plunged in to defend his recalcitrant Republican colleagues. Now he's sweating alongside the rest of the GOP as public outcry builds, encouraged by gleeful Democrats. Rather than admit their mistake and work with Gov. Tim Kaine to resolve the mess, Republicans are now trying to save face. Toward that end, McDonnell penned a letter asking Congress to rewrite the rules for the stimulus package to make it perfectly, 150 percent, crystal clear that the eligibility changes can be rolled back in future years.

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McDonnell and Republican legislators still won't take yes for an answer. They want the rules to be changed so that Virginia can put an expiration date on legislation enacting the eligibility revisions. It makes no sense to demand an automatic cutoff when Republicans can't agree among themselves on the merits of the proposed eligibility changes.

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The truth is, they're hoping to provoke federal authorities into disqualifying Virginia so someone else can take the blame. But the blame rests squarely on the right people already. McDonnell and Republican legislators have the power to solve this problem now. They should do so immediately and stop asking Congress to save them from their own self-inflicted injuries.

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Voters should get used to this type of behavior from McDonnell. Should he be elected as Governor come November, he will vote and manage the State as dictated by the extreme anti-tax elements in the GOP and the Christianists like Pat Robertson and The Family Foundation. Virginia cannot afford to have McDonnell as Governor.