Over at the
independent/moderate-Republican-leaning blog, Bacon's Rebellion, Jim Bacon rebels (ha, get it?) against Bob McDonnell's transportation plan (note: in fairness, he also slams Creigh Deeds for supposedly having "little useful to say on the subject of transportation"). Check this out.
In a nutshell, McDonnell would indiscriminately raise new transportation revenues from a variety of sources, sever the connection between those who use a transportation asset and those who pay for it, increase state indebtedness, make the system even more political than it is now, and plow billions into mega-projects favored by regional elites.
The nation is careening toward fiscal insolvency, and rather than tightening criteria for taxing and spending, McDonnell would open the money sluices for transportation. The globe is transitioning to an energy-scarce era of peak oil, and McDonnell would dump billions into projects conceived during an era of energy abundance. This isn't mere Business As Usual, as bad as that would be -- this is Business As Usual on steroids.
In short, according to Jim Bacon, Bob McDonnell's transportation plan has "nothing to do with market-based principles whatsoever." In other words - to use a transportation metaphor - it's fiery car wreck.
