Washington Insider Ed Gillespie is up to his old tricks...this time stating that he can't be a leader and chime in on legislative matters out of "respect for lawmakers". Here's an excerpt from the Martinsville Bulletin:
"Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie says he doesn't have detailed strategies yet for handling statewide needs. He says that's because he is waiting to see what the General Assembly does so he can respond accordingly. Out of respect for lawmakers, 'it would be a mistake to inject the gubernatorial campaign' into the current legislative session, Gillespie said Wednesday during a stop in Martinsville while touring Southern Virginia."
The kicker? Gillespie has injected himself into issues in front of the General Assembly - issues, of course, that benefit his cynical political agenda.
Discriminatory voter ID law: "I won’t try to repeal our commonsense voter ID law protecting legal voters while trying to issue IDs to people who are here illegally." [Twitter, 1/14/2017]
Crucial bipartisan legislative improvements to VEDP: "This legislative package, like most of the McAuliffe-Northam economic strategy, was designed to be a press release, not a solution." [Statement, 12/12/2016] Editor's Note: Gillespie apparently missed the irony of criticizing press releases and accusing folks of not providing substantive policy ideas.
Koch Brother-backed 'Red Tape Reduction Act': "Great op-ed on cutting red tape to grow our economy from @AFPVA. Look forward to being at Lobby Day next week!" [Twitter, 1/9/2017]
Aggressive support of charter schools at the expense of public schools: "I also believe Virginia needs to expand access to public charter schools." [Statement, 1/23/2017] Editor's Note: Gillespie has received $100,000 from the family of public school foe Betsy DeVos.
"Virginians want a leader, not a Washington Insider who refuses to say where he stands on legislation that he would be signing or vetoing as Governor," said Emily Bolton of the Democratic Party of Virginia. "While Gillespie waits for poll-testing on the 'right' messages, Virginians are looking for real solutions and real leadership."
Gillespie's Hack Attack #1 can be found here.