GOP Watch

Howell to America: Stay Out!

Posted by Greg on Friday, September 07

Speaking to the nonpartisan Virginia FREE business group yesterday, Speaker Bill Howell made some stunning statements about new Virginians:

Howell said the state’s newest residents may not embrace the ‘shared values we have in Virginia.’ (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9/7/07)

Howell doesn’t get it. It’s not new voters who are out of touch. It’s the leadership of the Virginia GOP.

Beyond demonstrating once again that his Republican leadership just doesn’t get Virginia, this strikes us as a ridiculous thing to say in front of a business association – whose members, presumably, want more people to move to Virginia.

Would Howell prefer that the Chamber of Commerce remove the “Moving to Virginia“ guide from their website? Would he rather shut down the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and stop trying to draw new companies here?

Keep those comments in mind the next time Republicans try to take credit for Virginia being Forbes magazine’s Best State for Business.

You’ll notice Gov. Kaine doesn’t mention party identification when he announces 250 new jobs in Cheseapeake, 600 in Henrico, or 400 in Fairfax.

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