John Fredericks on McAuliffe's poor debate performance

If you like music, circus ring ponies and a light show than you were likely enamored by Terry McAuliffe’s gamesmanship performance last night at the nationally televised Virginia gubernatorial debate hosted by the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce in Northern Virginia.

McAuliffe’s all show and not much go brusque debate exhibition highlighted his one major vulnerability as this tiresome campaign’s final six weeks ticks down: he’s heavy on pizazz and light on substance.

This reality was present all night as the grand presenter used his prime time showcase to do little more than drive his relentless campaign message home with familiar flamboyant themes accusing Republican rival Ken Cuccinelli as being anti-everything.

The debate could be recast as the Easter Bunny Vs. your dentist. One says eat candy and be happy – no worries, the Federal government will pay for anything that might result -- the other wants you to brush and floss three times a day, go light on the sweets and exercise daily.

Here’s one example of the McAuliffe mantra: "Gridlock, driven by the Tea Party, is once again risking a government shutdown that would be devastating to the Virginia economy," he said. "My opponent has spent most of his career on a social ideological agenda. He has pushed person-hood legislation that would outlaw most forms of contraception, would make the pill illegal in Virginia. He bullied the Board of Health that would shut down the woman's health centers. Women are 50 percent of the workforce of the United States of America. You cannot grow an economy by putting walls up around Virginia."

Cuccinelli responded by refuting the allegations and then emphasized a litany of his pro-Virginia business documented accomplishments while reminding voters he helped to free Thomas Haynesworth, an innocent man, from prison.

While the debate did not produce a game-changing performance by either candidate, it propelled the Cuccinelli campaign’s new narrative: that McAuliffe is not really a serious contender, but rather a pretender in search of something fun to do, like being a governor of a big state. It’ll be happy hour on steroids in the Mansion.

McAuliffe offered little substance outside of his call for Medicaid expansion that conveniently serves as his tonic cash panacea for everything wrong with Virginia. He came up woefully short in demonstrating an understanding of Virginia’s legislative process or how the governance process actually works.

HOWELL NOT IMPRESSED WITH T-MAC Here is what Republican Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Bill Howell had to say: "Ken Cuccinelli is the clear winner in tonight's debate. On every issue Ken demonstrated that he has the experience and policy depth that Virginians want and deserve in their Governor. Beyond that, he laid out a positive, pro-growth vision for creating jobs, reforming government and improving Virginia's quality of life.

Terry McAuliffe, on the other hand, gave us a painful reminder that he is not a serious candidate. All he has to offer are platitudes and promises. He doesn't understand the issues and isn't prepared to be Governor of our Commonwealth.

Based on what we all saw tonight, it's no wonder that members of the Northern Virginia business community find Terry ‘uninformed and superficial’ and it's no wonder why the Washington Post calls his spending plan "unrealistic."

8/2/13--WASH/TIMES---SEC investigating company co-founded by Terry McAuliffe / By David Sherfinski

The SEC is investigating the green car company founded by Va gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe over concerns that it allegedly guaranteed returns for its investors.The SEC has subpoenaed bank records of GreenTech’s funding arm, the McLean-based financing company Gulf Coast Funds Management, LLC.

Documents attached to a July 31 letter from Sen. Charles E. Grassley also raise more questions on the extent of the interaction between officials at the two companies and Alejandro Mayorkas, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in DHS.

DHS is investigating whether Mr. Mayorkas assisted in approving an investor visa application submitted by Gulf Coast, even after the application was denied and an appeal was rejected.

Mr. Mayorkas, Obama’s pick to be the next No. 2 at DHS, testified last week that the extent of his interaction with Mr. McAuliffe was one meeting in which he heard his complaints about investor visas being held up.

Mr. Grassley said it went further than that.“Contrary to the impression left by your answer, documents indicate that both before and after that meeting, you actually engaged in nearly a dozen contacts with Gulf Coast Funds Management between 2010 and 2013, including direct communications with Gulf Coast’s attorneys,” the Iowa Republican wrote to Mr. Mayorkas. “That one meeting with Mr. McAuliffe was clearly not the extent of your interaction on that matter.”

Officials at the two companies and did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. A spokesman for the McAuliffe campaign noted that Mr. McAuliffe left GreenTech in 2012 and that he has no knowledge of any investigation. News of the SEC investigation was first reported Friday by The Wash/Post.

The documents include forwarded e-mails from Mr. McAuliffe to Douglas Smith, an official in DHS’s office of the Private Sector, that were forwarded to Mr. Mayorkas and an e-mail from Mr. Mayorkas himself saying that face-to-face meetings for particular cases are not appropriate.”As the Director of this Agency, I do not adjudicate cases and am not the proper audience for a telephone call or a meeting about a particular case,” he wrote to Gulf Coast’s general counsel earlier this year. “I will forward your e-mail to the appropriate individual in the Agency.”

USCIS handles cases involved in the EB-5 program, where foreign investors put up between $500,000 and $1 million for American companies in exchange for legal status.

Govt attorneys wrote that such a meeting would violate the Administrative Procedures Act. “I think it also raises an impartiality issue if we entertain pre-decisional meetings of this sort with particular applicants and petitioners,” USCIS’s Ethics Officer wrote. “It is not a concern to have meetings with particular industries, trade groups, bar associations, etc., on systemic issues that are not case specific, so long as we are willing to meet with all.”

Gulf Coast is run by Anthony Rodham, the brother of former Secy of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and is the finance arm of GreenTech Automotive Inc. Mr. McAuliffe founded GreenTech in 2009 and quietly stepped down as chairman in Dec — a fact only revealed in April in response to an inquiry from a Politico reporter.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/2/sec-investigating-company-co-founded-terry-mcaulif/

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<><> Wall to wall coverage about an $18K gift to Cuccinelli, but this corrupt scumbag carpetbagger McAuful has skimmed tens of millions of dollars from corrupt deal after corrupt deal (Global Crossing is just the start) and not a peep from the press.

Yeah, no debating skills---but McAwful worships abortion (sob).

McAuliffe made a campaign promise to exempt existing abortion clinics from having to comply with state health and safety standards. Recently, a number of clinics in the state were closed after they failed to live up to state standards.

Last year, according to Women Speak Out, more than 80 violations were discovered inside Virginia abortion facilities. But that doesn't seem to stop McAuliffe from defending them. This clearly shows his concern is for the well being of the abortion industry and not women.

Here's what he said: "I can do what I talked about, issue a guidance opinion by March to keep the remaining health centers open. I can do that myself as Governor. That's why I said I'll do that by March to keep the remaining, uh, Norfolk is closed. Fairfax is closed, or closing, so there will be 18 left. Only one of those 18 actually meet the, the requirements so they'll all close if I don't do that. "

"But I will issue what's called a guidance opinion by mid-March which will say that these regulations, I have, the General Assembly wasn't definitive with the Board of Health as to the rules, I can give a guidance opinion to the Board of Health to grandfather in those remaining clinics to keep them open. That's why this election is so important, and I will do that."

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