Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA10) is nothing if not dishonest. For instance, her TV ads besmirching the Northern Virginia airwaves right now claim that she’s an “independent voice,” while in reality she votes 98% of the time with Trump…and while in reality she’s always been a right-wing hack.
Another example: Comstock’s allies at the NRCC are running a TV ad on I-66 tolling which is…take a guess…yep, total/complete nonsense. For starters, and this is the key point, not only did Jennifer Wexton not back tolls on I-66, as the NRCC ad claims, she actually fought the tolls on I-66! Now, personally, I’m not against dynamic tolling on I-66 (in fact, I generally like the idea), but this isn’t an argument on the merits of the tolls; this is about Barbara Comstock and her allies LYING about Jennifer Wexton’s record on this issue.
With that, here are some actual FACTS – you know, those pesky things that Barbara Comstock and her Republican pals absolutely DESPISE – about Jennifer Wexton and I-66 tolling.
- Senator Wexton opposed the I-66 Tolls Plan (2015 – Wexton “was among the first to speak out against the tolls and the I-66 plan at a public forum in Ashburn”)
- Senator Wexton cosponsored legislation against tolling on I-66 (S.B. 234 – 2016; “No toll shall be 21 imposed or collected for the use of any existing component of Interstate 66 east of mile marker 67. Toll 22 revenue from additional capacity constructed after January 1, 2017, shall be used only for the 23 construction and maintenance of such additional capacity.”)
- Senator Wexton voted against the “Commonwealth of Virginia Transform I-66 Corridor Outside the Beltway Bond Act of 2016″ (S.B. 60 – 2016, S.B. 60 – 2017)
- Senator Wexton spoke out against the rollout of the tolling plan in December 2017, calling the plan “highway robbery” and the tolls “outrageous” (Facebook video, Washington Post article)
- Wexton voted for the budget which funded the plan, but only after her amendment to strip the tolls out was rejected.
As for the fallacious NRCC ad claiming that Wexton “backed a deal leading to massive tolls on 66,” the NRCC’s footnotes to support this claim are:
- A 2016 press release, the full text of which clearly shows Wexton opposed tolling on I-66: “The revised proposal reflects certain Northern Virginia lawmakers’ argument that tolls should not be imposed on I-66 unless lanes are added inside the Beltway. Notably, Sen. Jeremy McPike (D – Prince William), Sen. Chap Petersen (D – Fairfax), and Sen. Jennifer Wexton (D – Loudoun) have all championed this view — both in a January letter and elsewhere.”
- Minutes from a meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) at which Wexton voted to authorize testimony to be given by the NVTC Executive Director to the Commonwealth Transportation Board [a formality vote taken so the ED could speak about ongoing and upcoming projects]. That approved testimony includes the following language: “The underlined statement does not address the Commonwealth’s decision to impose tolls on I-66 in HOT lanes either Inside or Outside the Beltway. Accordingly, the statement does not endorse the Commonwealth’s tolling decision.”
In sum, Barbara Comstock and her pals at the NRCC are full of it, as usual, and not just distorting Jennifer Wexton’s record on this issue but completely mangling it. To put it another way, whatever your position on I-66 tolling (and personally, I support it), if you actually buy the snake oil and blatantly false narrative that these right-wing Republicans are selling, you’ve been…I dunno, Comstock’ed?!? LOL
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