Joe Stanley

barticles:

Virginia has a budget — almost, anyway — after yet another long, drawn-out battle. Some might say this year’s fight doesn’t help Democrats, since they were the obstructionists who kept moving the goalposts. Au contraire!

By dragging out the already dragged-out stalemate over the state’s budget in order to fight for funding for the Dulles rail project, Senate Democrats have done some brilliant political positioning.

Whenever I visit Lynchburg, Norfolk, Danville, Charlottesville, Hanover, Blacksburg, or just about any other locale in our fair commonwealth, all I ever hear from Joe Sixpack and Susie Soccermom is how they lie awake at night, fretting over the fate of Dulles Rail and praying to God for its continued good fortune. It’s pretty much the first, last, and only thing on their minds. And I’m sure they’ll reward Senate Democrats for making such a big deal out of their chief concern…

If you can find a Joe Sixpack or Susie Soccermom who has cared enough to not only watch the ongoing budget negotiations, but to also discern the various actors at play beyond the Governor, I’ll buy you a beer. Heck, I’ll buy you ALL the beers. Even as public as it may have seemed to those inundated with reports, it was still insider baseball. And since it requires more than a handbill to explain its importance, it won’t be included in campaign messaging.