Virginia House Dems put ‘Jobs First’
The Virginia House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday launched a campaign to put job creation first in Virginia. The Caucus launched a website, www.VAJobsFirst.com, designed to highlight their focus on Jobs First and make the public aware of the Republican’s dismal job creation record in Virginia.
“Virginia needs strong leadership to create the high-paying jobs that Virginians need and deserve. Neither the Governor nor Republicans in the House of Delegates have met this challenge”, said Democratic Caucus Chair Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston). Instead of advancing a jobs agenda, Speaker Howell and his Republican colleagues bowed to the Tea Party and offered a radical agenda more concerned with repealing federal laws than putting people back to work.”
Plum pointed to a report by the non-partisan Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis which showed that job growth has not kept pace with population growth¹. The report indicated that Virginia still faces significant future challenges in job growth. Between May and August 2011 Virginia had already lost 38 percent of the jobs created since February 2010. Plum also noted that in August, Virginia lost over 9,500 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 6.3 percent.
Plum continued: “We encourage Virginians to visit ‘VAJobsFirst.com’ to learn more about how Democratic Delegates have stood up to the “anything but jobs” agenda of the Republican Party and offer their ideas on how we can create jobs in Virginia. Now is the time for real leadership and House Democrats are ready to get our Commonwealth back to work.”
Unemployment up in Va.; Dems blame McDonnell
The Virginia Employment Commission announced on Friday that the number of unemployed Virginians grew considerably in the month of August even as national unemployment rates declined.
“It’s disappointing to see Virginia’s unemployment rate head in the wrong direction, particularly when the national rate decreased over the same amount of time,” said DPVA Executive Director David Mills. “With more than 9,500 Virginians newly out of work, it’s a shame that Gov. Bob McDonnell declined to meet with President Obama when he came to Richmond last week to talk about putting Americans back on the job.”
“It is worth asking whether Governor Bob McDonnell’s focus on boosting his own national profile is distracting him from creating new jobs for unemployed Virginians and doing everything he can to keep companies from laying people off. If ever there was a time for the governor to put his political ambitions aside and devote himself to getting Virginians back to work the time is now.”
The number of unemployed Virginians grew by 9,535 in the month of August. The unadjusted Virginia unemployment rate increased by .03 percent in August while the national rate fell by .02 percent. The seasonally adjusted rate in Virginia rose by .02 percent in August while the seasonally adjusted national rate remained stable.
Last week President Obama came to Richmond to talk about putting more Americans back to work. McDonnell declined to meet with the president to talk about jobs due to a pre-standing political fundraiser.
WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com: Virginia Dems mum on NYC mosque
Democrats are falling over themselves to comment on the proposed Muslim community center in New York City two blocks from the former World Trade Center. Just not, to their credit, Virginia Democrats.
Chris Graham reports on the WhenVirginiaWasBlue.com blog.
Daily Rant | Play Fair, Dems
Posted by afp on October 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with bob mcdonnell, creigh deeds, virginia, virginia democrats