Virginia's Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell has been making the rounds this week. Today, his office announced he was out touring Virginia's eastern shore, where he helped break ground a new seafood packing plant in Melfa. McDonnell said:
"Virginia's seafood industry is one of the oldest industries in the United States and one of the Commonwealth's most economically important. We are the nation's fourth largest producer of marine products, trailing only Alaska, Louisiana and Washington. The annual economic impact of the industry is over half a billion dollars a year, and there are approximately 11,000 full and part-time jobs in Virginia connected to the seafood industry. It is a vital part of the Virginia economy of today and tomorrow. And it is with a focus on tomorrow that we are breaking ground on this new facility –it will meet the needs of our seafood industry well into the 21st century. It will also encourage the further development of one of Virginia's greatest natural resources, our fisheries, as well as the expansion of statewide, regional, domestic, and international markets for these great products."
Clearly, seafood is important to Virginians and their governor. Which must be why, with the BP's Deepwater Horizon well still pouring 210,000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico every day and that region's seafood industry on the ropes, McDonnell went to a BP-sponsored oil conference in Houston on Monday and said he wants to start drilling off Virginia -- maybe as early as next year.
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He just may succeeed in turning Virginia blue for a generation. Let him go.
Now you know why Virginians don't let their governors serve more than one 4-year term.
Why would anyone jeopardize our food supply? Does this make any sense at all?
This creep is certainly doing his best to push Virginia back to the Stone Ages.
McDonnell had a well, here a spill there a spill, everywhere a spill. Lets just all take the GOP pill to cure all our ills. Old McDonnell selling Va, to the highest bidder .
He's a Republican; of course it doesn't make sense.
what a )(#&$(#&$(#% IDIOT!!!!
Was this guy and his sidekick attr Gen like this BEFORE they elected him in VA? If so and they elected him anyway, remind me to stay OUT of virginia! These people are nuts!
I'm from Va and didn't vote for him HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I believe that we must wait a while before deciding if we will continue the off shore drilling so deep and with no idea how to stop large spills like this present one. If they can't come up with good and competant plans for controlling spills, then none should be approved. We can't afford spills like this with the massive clean up costs and the loss of human and marine life.
you know, of all the cooking oils, "crude" is perhaps the most under appreciated. a little garlic... :MWAH:
Another day, another embarrassment for the thinking residents of VA who did NOT vote to elect these clowns! Unfortunately, we had an abysmal Democratic gubernatorial candidate last time around, and a sufficient number of unthinking voters who were swayed by the GOP campaign, regardless of substance. I'm at that crossroads in life when I need to decide where I want to retire, and if this is any indication of the political trends in VA, I can guarantee it won't be here! It's either back home to my New England roots (maybe in or near Rachel's beloved western MA, where I went to college), or further South, or possibly off-shore in a warmer tropical climate. VA is feeling less & less like 'home' to me.
I'm a Virginian and these people are CRAZY. I agree with Carole...definitely time to think about an exit from this place. Beautiful state, insane state legislators. C'mon, Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner....make us proud..please.
Keep in mind this is the genius who cut more money for schools so that he could open the rest stops back up. GOP priorities.....
We should go back to horses and buggies,just forget about buying or drilling for oil. Would be fine with me.