Spank That Donkey

 Vivian Page pointed out to me in my comments that Bob Lewis is an AP Reporter, and that his work is then distributed to newspapers such as the Daily Press.  Thank You Vivian, and I guess this fact further begs to ask, exactly how many editors at the AP and each individual newspaper just accept this notion from Governor Mark Warner:

"He similarly blasted Warner for promising not to increase taxes if elected, a pledge Warner had to abandon in 2004 when the state faced a $6 billion revenue shortfall that got its start under Gilmore's watch. "

I guess the only conclusion you can draw is that they are too lazy or on the shill to even question Governor Warner on the statement?  Again, this is the second time it has appeared, first in Lewis's hit piece trying to tie Governor Gilmore to Bear Stearns:

"By 2003, Gilmore's Democratic successor, Mark Warner, set the revenue shortfall at $6 billion, and the following year, Warner pushed a $1.4 billion-per-year tax increase through a Republican legislature."

, and here it is again in the Shad Planking article:

"He similarly blasted Warner for promising not to increase taxes if elected, a pledge Warner had to abandon in 2004 when the state faced a $6 billion revenue shortfall that got its start under Gilmore's watch. "

I have to ask, is this not unlike a Goebbells type tactic whereby if you tell a lie enough times everyone will believe it?  What is even better in the Bear Stearns piece is the juxtaposition of the $6 Billion dollar short fall, and the $1.4 Billion-per-year tax increase.

Help me Bob, since you are splaying about the facts here, did our good Governor Warner quantify how many years constitute the $6 Billion dollar shortfall?  Maybe it was $1.5 Billion a year for four years?  I don't know, bet you don't know, that number was just thrown out there, by maybe someone, on the Warner Campaign staff?

Meanwhile, didn't we have a $300 million dollar revenue surplus regardless of the tax increase, because Governor Warner was stating down revenues to push for his tax increase?

Is there a pattern here?

• I will not raise taxes.
• I will phase out the Car Tax in my first or second year of my administration.
• We will have a revenue short fall therefore need a large tax increase to balance the budget.
• My successor left me a $6 billion dollar revenue deficit.

Governor Warner is a piece of work I tell ya.  We are supposed to believe anything he says on the campaign trail? This is a guy who tells you what you want to hear, and at the first excuse goes back on it.  I tell you what, Senator John Warner was at least straight with us in his positions, and stuck to his beliefs.

That is what I respect most about Governor Gilmore, he isn't changing his positions just because that is what people want to hear.  There couldn't be a more diametrically opposed pair of candidates running against each other this year.

(Wheeee! I made tuition Fly High!)

 Sadly, the Virginia Tech tragedy has our focus again this week, but another tragedy is our citizens who want to get a higher education, but the expense is too great an obstacle.  Amazingly, Democratic Governors always talk a good game on higher education, but in just four years under Governor's Mark Warner, and two years of Tim Kaine tuition at Virginia Tech has gone from $3,620 in FY 2000* to $7,397 in FY 2007^.

Governor Jim Gilmore,  a real honest to goodness man of the people addressed this by using his first act as a governor to form a Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education.  He assembled College Deans, Presidents, and other experts on higher education, and had them hammer out a  four year plan that not only met the needs of the colleges financially; but the needs of the students and their parents also.

His plan lowered tuition 20% across the board and froze it for four years.

When it comes to making college affordable for Virginians, Governor Jim Gilmore gets an 'A', and Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine get a 'F'.

* See pg 28 Blue Ribbon Commission

^ See pg 11 SCHEV Report

(Ha, Ha, Ha, I majored in Washington DC!)

Sadly, More ugly truth that it only took one term under Governor Mark Warner, and two years of Governor Tim Kaine to raise tuition at George Mason University from $3,756 in FY2000, to $6,408 FY 2007.

Please reference Governor Jim Gilmore's Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education, pg 28, and GMU's Executive Budget summary, Pg 21.

I am quickly begining to understand Warner's mantra of 'Forward Together'.  All of our Colleges need to begin doubling tuition at our institutions 'Forward, at a very high rate, Together! '  Our students need to carry big, fat student loan balances/burdens, Forward, but Together.

Take heart VA College students, if you can survive the Kaine Administration, 2009 will bring about McDonnell - Bolling- Harris.  You can bet that if you are a freshman or sophomore in high school they'd like a shot at being registered for that election, so they can bring sanity back to government & Higher Education tuitions in Virginia.

Governor Jim Gilmore, Leadership that we can count on to reinvest excess tax revenues back to help the citizens.  The record is clear, we need a Senator Jim Gilmore to fight for the average citizen in the US Senate!

 (Hussein sets himself apart... from the USA)

I seem to remember the Dems bringing up Senator George Allen's middle name, Felix.

What's good for the Goose is good for the Gander isn't it?

When are we Republicans going to stop letting the Liberal Leftists in this nation set the rules?

Any opening to attack a Republican, they do it.  When Republicans fight back they squeal it's not fair.  Live by the sword, die by the sword.

My Good Friend DJ has done some posts, here, and here with his opinion on why Gov. Jim Gilmore can not win the up coming US Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. John Warner. My rebuttals to them can be found in the comments sections on DJ's posts.

• Raising the quality of academic and research programs at Virginia's public colleges and universities;


• Keeping a college education affordable for students and their families; and


• Ensuring accountability for the care and use of public resources.

further from the report:

"As you know, the commission's Interim Report, which I submitted to you in 1998, contained a comprehensive and unprecedented examination of 15 years of funding and spending in Virginia Higher Education. On the basis of the findings in the Interim Report, you recommended, and the General Assembly adopted, a 20% tuition roll back. Tied to the tuition reduction was the committment of sufficient general fund dollars to replace those revenues. As a result, a college education is more affordable today for Virginia Students and their parents."

Notice the similarities? Gov. Gilmore recognized that our economy was growing at a fantastic rate due to a booming economy resulting from the Republican take over in Congress in 1994. Under the Leadership of Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Congress enacted and President Clinton signed legislation that lowered taxes, gave greater incentives for business large and small, reformed Federal Welfare programs, and restrained Federal Spending.

Another factor to this economic boom were the reforms along the same lines by the preceeding VA Republican Gov. Allen. He set the stage for Gov. Gilmore, and in a nutshell with Wall Street and the Virginia economy sending more and more revenue into the Commonwealth's coffers, the Governor had a choice. He could have sat back and said happy times, and gleefully signed into effect any and every spending bill sent to him by the VA General Assembly; or he could look to help the average citizens who sent the money in the first place.

Gov. Gilmore wisely took note of this and formulated a plan to do what? Let the Higher Education system just spend and spend as usual? No, He devised a plan to use these extra revenues to enhance Higher Education, while opening the door for more and more Virginians to afford to get a College Degree!

He simply laid the ground work, then executed a plan that saved those seeking a college degree thousands of dollars in up front tuition's costs, and possibly thousands of dollars in interest on student loans....

Just as his excellent plan of diverting this extra tax revenue back to localities to replace personal property taxes on cars, he diverted General Fund revenue to actually cut, by 20% existing college tuition across the board, and freeze it for four years!

How will this help Gov. Gilmore's electability in NOVA? Last time I checked a lot of college graduates live in NOVA, along with the parents of those kids they helped put through college. What about current college students, how did this help them? Well, obviously their tuition is lower now by 20% over what it could be before Gov. Warner's administration opened the flood gates for tuition increases again.

Oh, you say... Gov. Warner had to do it, because Gov. Gilmore left office with a the General Assembly facing a deficit. Really, how can there be a deficit when spending went up?

• 2000Fiscal year $21,368,967,256
  
• 2001 Fiscal year $23,322,749,017
  
• 2002 Fiscal year $23,483,212,825


• 2003 Fiscal year $24,982,910,876


• 2004 Fiscal year $26,379,372,090


• 2005 Fiscal year $29,257,674,193

Gov. Gilmore served from 1998 to 2002.

h/t DJ McGuire to budget links.

cross posted to B4G