Va. Gov Bob McDonnell credits Republicans, not Obama for low state unemployment rates

Republican governors’ business friendly policies, not President Barack Obama, are responsible for low state unemployment rates, said Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell this morning on CNN’s State of the Union.

 “I think that there’s something going on with Republican governed states. Seven out of the ten states that have the lowest unemployment rates are Republican governed states,” said McDonnell, who chairs the Republican Governor’s Association (RGA).

Additionally, in February, which was one of the best months for job growth since Obama took office, 71.2 percentof the jobs created were in states with Republican Governors, as Red Alert Politics’ Allen Ginzburg previously reported.

McDonnell repeated Romney’s “F across the board” performance, refusing to give Obama credit for any of Virginia’s “good fortune” when the show’s host Candy Crowley suggested Obama was at least partially responsible for Virginia’s success.

“What would you point to that would lead you to say that that unemployment – ,” McDonnell exclaimed, before launching into an explanation of why the President’s failed Stimulus did not help Virginia in the long-term.

“Does [the Stimulus] help us in the long-term to cut the unemployment rate? I’d say no,” McDonnell said. “I’d say Republican governors are doing some things that are making a difference, and that’s why I’m trying to get more of them this year.”

After being pushed a third time by Crowley to give “just a tiny bit of credit to the president,” McDonnell finally agreed that “there’s national policies that have had some impact,” but he declined to say which ones.

Instead, McDonnell opted to point out how Obama’s policies are hurting his state.

“I can tell you this, if we didn’t have all these attacks on Virginia’s energy industry we’d be in a lot better place,” he said. “This President on coal, natural gas, nuclear, not letting us drill offshore … the Environmental Protection Agency’s over-burdensome regulations on coal and natural gas has made it much more difficult for us. We’d be lower on the unemployment rate if we didn’t have these policies.”

McDonnell is rumored to be on GOP Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s list of potential running mates. On State of the Union McDonnell neither confirmed or denied the speculations, saying only that Romney’s campaign staff had asked for his schedule to determine when and where he could help them in the future.

By /// June 3, 2012
Francesca Chambers About Francesca Chambers

Francesca is the Editor of Red Alert Politics - an online publication written by and for young conservatives. Red Alert Politics is a product of Clarity Media Group, the parent company of The Washington Examiner and The Weekly Standard. She is also a contributor to The Washington Examiner.

Francesca is a veteran of several political campaigns and political organizations. She has also worked in new media and communications at The Leadership Institute, at the Republican National Committee and on Capitol Hill. She has been featured as a speaker at Leadership Institute, Cato Institute, Americans for Prosperity's "Defending the American Dream Summit," the State Policy Network's annual conference and CPAC, in addition to appearing as a regular guest on the "Big Picture" with Thom Hartmann on Russia Today.

She has also appeared on ABC's "Nightline", PBS' 'NewsHour', PBS' "To the Contrary", MSNBC, CNN, on TheBlazeTV (aka Glenn Beck TV) and had radio segments on Take Action News with David Shuster, NPR and "The Michael Koolidge Show."

In 2012 she was named to the DC GOP's first ever "35 under 35" list.

Francesca graduated from the University of Kansas with BAs in Political Science and Journalism. At KU she was an editor of the University Daily Kansan and an active member of Student Senate.

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