McDonnell has finally gotten his way and line itemed $424,000 in state funding for NPR, the right-wing bug-a-boo that conservatives claim gets public money for its pinko views, but in fact is a great teaching tool for pre-schoolers and helps their parents and grand parents make sense of a world the rest of the Big Media, like Clear Channel and its army of radio stations, ignores.
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But one does have to question McDonnell’s priorities [in subsidizing billionaire Steven Spielberg with $3.5 million of Virginia taxpayers’ money, and in subsidizing GE – $14.2 billion in profits last year, paid no taxes]. Spielberg is a huge cinematic success. GE is a gigantic and powerful and rich company. Why do they need handouts courtesy of the Virginia taxpayers which a trying useful and sustainable service like NPR goes wanting?
Any answers? No good ones, that’s for sure, except that McDonnell is exactly as we suspected all along: a Regent University-“educated” right wingnut who pretends to be a moderate, a guy who makes promises and breaks them every time (e.g., nonpartisan redistricting). McDonnell’s also a master of the Big Lie, such as that he “balanced the budget” and that his policies are leading to a resurgence of Virginia’s economy. Both of those, of course, are wildly untrue (is PolitiFact ever going to take a look at this?!?). On the budget, McDonnell raided the pension fund, borrowed heavily, feasted off of the very same “stimulus” money he demonized, and used a variety of additional gimmicks to pretend he “balanced” it, when he actually didn’t. On the Virginia economy, the fact is that the vast majority is driven by federal – including military – spending, both direct and indirect (e.g., federal employees who live in Virginia purchasing goods and services).
In the end, the real question isn’t so much “Why, Bob, Why?” — we know the answer to that one — as “Why Does Anyone Believe This Guy?”
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