McDonnell ‘furious’ as fellow Virginia Republicans put Virginia’s credit rating at risk

For Immediate Release 

July 20, 2011

Contact: Brian Coy, 804-644-1966, brian@vademocrats.org

McDonnell ‘furious’ as fellow Virginia Republicans put Virginia’s credit rating at risk

 Cantor, Allen playing politics with national, state economies

Richmond, VA – Governor Bob McDonnell said he was furious yesterday after hearing that the credit-rating agency Moody’s would consider dropping Virginia’s AAA bond-rating if the U.S. government were to default on it’s debt as a result of a failure to raise the debt ceiling.

Despite his anger, McDonnell, who will be responsible for picking up the pieces should the debt ceiling fallout damage Virginia’s economy, did not call fellow Republicans like Eric Cantor and George Allen to task for their roles in pushing this crisis to the brink from inside and outside of the process.  

“Bob McDonnell says he’s furious that Virginia’s bond rating is at risk ‘through no fault of our own,’ but he refuses to use his influence with Republicans in Congress like Eric Cantor for standing in the way of a debt ceiling deal, or to scold candidates like George Allen for using the crisis to score points with the Tea Party,” said DPVA Communications Director Brian Coy.

“Cantor is blocking any debt ceiling deal that doesn’t cut the budget on the backs of the middle class and Allen is cheering him on from the sidelines saying the debt ceiling is a ‘key place where we have leverage.’ Both of them are putting our national and state economies at risk for their own personal gain. If McDonnell really is so furious it shouldn’t be hard for him to call them out.”’

Background:

• McDonnell told reporters yesterday that he is “furious” that “through no fault of our own ... we have been informed just hours ago we may be in jeopardy and put on the watch list because the inability and ineptitude of the president and the Congress to reach a deal on how to fund the obligations of the United States of America.”
  • Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/mcdonnell-furious-virginias-aaa-bond-rating-in-jeopardy-after-failed-federal-deficit-talks/2011/07/19/gIQAf1rOOI_blog.html

• As the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank put it, “in a primacy struggle with House Speaker John Boehner, [Cantor] has done a deft job of aligning himself with Tea Party House members in opposition to any meaningful deal to resolve the debt. If the U.S. government defaults, it will have much to do with Cantor.”
  • Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eric-cantors-slick-upper-lip/2011/07/12/gIQAYqURBI_story.html

• Allen: “This Debt Ceiling Vote is a Key Place Where We Have Leverage.” At a campaign event in Staunton, Allen said: “This debt-ceiling vote is a key place where we have leverage. . . . I think it has to be coupled with truly ironclad reductions in spending. If they don’t, then they’re not going to get the votes. And so I look at this as a really important leverage point.” [George Allen at Staunton Campaign Event, 5/2/11]

• Allen: “Debt Ceiling Vote, As Dangerous as Some People Say It Is, It Is a Great Opportunity.” In an interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business, Allen said, “I actually think that this debt ceiling vote, as dangerous as some people say it is, it is a great opportunity. It is leverage that we conservatives have to say, ‘if you want us to vote for this, there needs to be real cuts, real cuts, not fake cuts, not nice words, not platitudes, real cuts, and if you don’t get it, we’re not going to vote for that debt ceiling increase.’” [Fox Business, 5/13/11]

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