Audio: Gov. McAuliffe Says “do not go on the roads;” GOP charges on Justice Roush “totally false”; Serious Ramifications to GA Rejecting I-66 Tolling Plan

by Lowell

Key points by Gov. Terry Mculiffe on the Kojo Nnamdi Show’s Politics Hour earlier this afternoon.

• Lots of talk about what a “state of emergency” means, and how Virginia has prepared for the Blizzard-geddon.zilla-whatever. McAuliffe said he has canceled his travel plans (unlike NJ Gov. Chris Christie – lol) and will be “hunkered down” in the “command center.” McAuliffe says “we’re on top of it.”
• McAuliffe’s advice for what to do during this storm: “grab a cold beer, sit at home and watch some sporting events; do not go on the roads.”
• On the GSA formal request for design ideas on the new FBI headquarters, McAuliffe says “we’d love it in Virginia…most of the FBI agents today live in Virginia…the FBI has a massive operation already in Quantico…it makes sense.”
• On Republican Virginia State Sen. Glen Sturtevant saying he won’t vote to boot Justice Jane Roush off the Virginia Supreme Court, McAuliffe says, “I give this guy a lot of credit…I respect people who stand up, do the right thing, put the political consquences aside…We need more people like Glen Sturtevant…Politics shouldn’t be so ideologically driven like it is today; we need to get things done.” 
• McAuliffe said that Republicans charges about not being consulted on Jane Roush’s appointment are “totally false, that’s political spin, we had an open and transparent process…We reached out specifically to the [Republican] leadership in both the Senate and the House, and they basically said it is the governor’s pick…They can’t dicate to me whom they want; it’s my pick… I’ve got to do what I’m constitutionally required to do…[This] fussing political temper tantrum that they threw has nothing to do about who consulted who, they wanted to get the pick. But you know what, the law allows me to do it when they’re not in session, I’m sorry.”
• On gun legislation, McAuliffe said he will veto anything that loosens Virgnia’s gun laws. He guaranteed that the General Assembly will not be able to override any of his vetoes of these bills.
• On I-66 tolling, McAuliffe said: “We’re not proposing new tolls for anyone; if you’re driving for free today on HOV, it stays that way. The only thing we’ve changed inside the Beltway is a single driver during rush hour is prohibited today from going on 66. All we’re saying is we will give that single driver an option; instead of getting off on 50 and 29 and causing local congestion, you can stay on 66 if you want to pay to stay on it. This is a choice.”
• The “ramifications” of the House and Senate voting down Gov. McAuliffe’s tolling plan are that “if we don’t do inside the Beltway, it’s highly unlikely that outside the Beltway will happen, so you can go for another 15 years with no action on the most congested road in the most congested region in the country….They have no plan…But if we don’t move forward on 66, let me be very clear, that is not my responsibility, I put a plan out. It is YOUR legislators who have said no. They will own this; so we will be stuck in traffic once again for a very very long time…I have a solution, they’re trying to hide and duck.”
• On national politics, McAuliffe said “I think [Hillary Clinton’s] going to win Iowa. He also said “we’ve got two great [Senators] who would be great VPs. He also said “I think [Bernie Sanders]  would have a very hard time carrying Virginia” if he’s the 2016 Democratic nominee.