Robert McDonnell is sworn in as Virginia governor

Source: Washington Post

RICHMOND -- Robert Francis McDonnell was sworn in as Virginia's 71st governor on Saturday and immediately laid out his vision of a new Republicanism. He affirmed that government has a role in creating opportunity, but a limited one; pledged to drill offshore for oil, but in an environmentally friendly way; and urged all Virginians to contribute their cultures and traditions to the state's increasing diversity.

McDonnell said that creating jobs was the "obligation of our time" and that he would ease regulations and lower taxes on businesses. He promised to put more money into classrooms, try to add 100,000 college degrees during the next 15 years, improve the state's transportation network and use what he described as Virginia's God-given wealth of resources to make it the "Energy Capital of the East Coast."

In a 22-minute speech that evoked the legacies of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, McDonnell said that it is the rightful role of government to create opportunity for all Virginians but that it is up to individuals to fulfill that opportunity.

"The circumstances of our time demand that we reconsider and restore the proper and efficient role of government," McDonnell said before a crowd of thousands at the South Portico of the state's historic Capitol. . . .

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/16/AR2010011601187.html?hpid=topnews

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So are you ready, my Virginian friends? Ready for an all out assault on a woman's right to choose, on gay people (not just marriage), on the poor and middle class while the rich make out like bandits?

Because from what I can see of McDonnell, he is no "new Republican." And there is no such thing, by the way. There is only the bleakness and the Rushness of what we see from all of them out there now.

All the best to you Virginians. You will need it.

as Scott Brown (who has much support by the angry left) is no new republican either.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

:hi:

I hope you support Martha Coakley for Senate on Tuesday.

But I would vote for her if I did even though I don't think she's the best candidate. I also think she's ran a horrible campaign. Still, I would rather have her than Brown. Good Luck to her.

With a Republican Governor here after our now Democratic Governor Granholm term limited in 2010. Besides my State Representative-Alma Wheeler Smith (who is running for Governor but some So-Called Democrats are upset at her regarding comments made about Governor Granholm when frankly I held my nose both times I voted for Jenny Granholm) and with Lt. Gov. Cherry dropping out of the race....I do not see any Democrat candidate left that can take on or connect with the angry right teabaggers, the pissed off crying failure on the health care bill Democrats and the disconnected unemployed folks in-between. Besides Representative Wheeler-Smith, the only Democrat might could pull this election off is former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer....but I heard he is not interested.

Know him personally. What a class act; he's been forgotten in all the Kwame dustup. But Dennis is 68 now, and entitled to slow down and enjoy his life.

Thanks for the memories. I hope to retire to Traverse City in about seven years, from here in DC. But I can't think of a nicer or classier guy I ever worked with than Dennis Archer.

I'm back to being embarrassed to admit I live in VA.

elected?

I am so glad I was smart enough not to move to VA when I was asked to relocate.

Well, I guess we have to believe this of Virgina --

but I'm having trouble believing a lot of these elections --!!

Bob McDonnell is going to make it up almost exclusively from cuts in the state budget. This means drastic cuts to public education, public safety, and mental health services. I am a teacher and my school will now have 6 million dollar shortfall. We may have 78 jobs cut and 43 of them could be teachers. The budget isn't done, and we're praying it won't be that bad, but that is what we're expecting. At the same time, he praised the idea of charter schools. That will divert money from underfunded public schools and will leave rural Virginia high and dry, because there won't be a charter schools there. For those of us that have jobs, I am estimating that our take home pay will decrease by at least 3-4% because of reductions in state funding for our retirement and an increase in our healthcare contributions. He wants to get the economy going again, but leaves us in a situation where there will be thousands of teachers left unemployed and more with less income which means they won't be able to spend any money. On top of that, he says this is the wrong time to tax, but with increased state cuts, local taxes will need to be raised. It's how he gets to do it without his fingerprints being on it! It's infuriating!

You will need it. Because McDonnell is going to govern from Rushland.

According to the National Council of State Legislatures:



Grounds for recall:



http://www.ncsl.org/LegislaturesElections/ElectionsCampaigns/RecallofStateOfficials/tabid/16581/Default.aspx

There are 49 other states to live if you feel that McDonnell is being a jerk.

friendly way"????

I grew up in Virginia. The coastline and the Chesapeake Bay were considered practically sacred natural resources, every bit
as defining of Virginia as the Shenandoah Valley or the many historical sites. We all read "Misty of Chincoteague" in elementary
school. If this clown allows drilling off the coast abd there is a spill, I hereby sentence him (in effigy, anyway) to vacate the
Governor's chair and spend the rest of his days, from dawn to dusk, cleaning it up with his bare hands.

Eco friendly oil drilling, and, less regulation.. RIGHT!

And a plurality of a people bought this.

So stupid, they can't even feel how badly the stupid hurts.