Virginians Prefer Welfare to Work? Ally of Gov. Candidate Says So

by Seth Michaels, Aug 4, 2009

In a meeting with Republicans on Thursday, Virginia Republican Party Chairman Pat Mullins—a key ally of gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell—audaciously claimed that Virginia businesses are closing because Virginians “preferred welfare to work.”

As the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports, in a conversation with Republican leaders in western Virginia, Mullins claimed a Wise County insurance company closed two offices because it couldn’t recruit enough employees from a local community college. Mullins contended it was because Virginians would rather be on welfare than get a job.

What news has Mullins been reading? Is this the kind of cluelessness Virginia can expect from Republican leaders?

Virginia’s workers are demanding an apology from Mullins and McDonnell. Mullins’ comments are an insult to hard-working Virginians who are facing the toughest economic crisis in decades—a crisis brought about by stagnant wages, disappearing jobs and rapidly rising inequality.

According to the Recorder, Mullins made another absurd claim. Although the nation’s economic crisis resulted from eight years of Bush administration mismanagement, he had this to say to Virginia voters:

If you’re not better off now than you were eight years ago, you had better vote Republican straight ticket.

Mullins is flat-wrong about Virginia’s workers. Virginia voters are sick of this out-of-touch attitude toward the economy, and they chose change last year. They need leaders who are going to work to fix the economic crisis, not dismiss it.

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