I frequently disagree with Mark Warner, but I strongly agree with his take on the whole Greentech Automotive “issue” (in quotes because I think it’s mostly ginned-up nonsense by Republicans to try and convince “Obama coalition” voters to stay home on November 5): “I’ve invested in businesses. Not all of them have gone well. Being an entrepreneur, especially in the auto industry, is a tough thing.” Bingo. What boggles my mind is to see Republicans – supposedly a party which champions new business development/entrepreneurship, bash Terry McAuliffe for…working to start a new business and be an entrepreneur. It would be funny if it weren’t so weird.
In other news, I’m not surprised that Warner’s steering clear of commenting much on Bob McDonnell, as it doesn’t fit his bipartisan/above-the-partisan-fray “shtick” to wade into stuff like this. I do agree with Warner that “whenever the legislature is back in session, I hope we see some stronger disclosure laws because this also needs to be in the past.” I’d just say that “whenever the legislature is back in session” should be changed to “immediately,” when the public’s actually paying (at least some) attention. We certainly should NOT wait until next year, when Gov. McDonnell will be out of office and the pressure will largely be off the General Assembly to enact a deep, broad, truly serious ethics reform package. Of course, that’s exactly what a lot of Virginia’s legislators (and the lobbyists and corporations who largely control them) want…to pass a feel-good “ethics reform” package that doesn’t really do much of anything, certainly that doesn’t change the cozy, crony capitalist little system they’ve got going.
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