Closed rest areas come back to bite Dem Tim Kaine

Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine played politics with Virginia citizens ... and lost. Instead of making interstate rest areas a political pawn, he should have found the $9 million to keep them open and played politics in another way.

Bob Holsworth wrote on his Virginia Tomorrow blog that Kaine tried to blame Rep. Eric Cantor ... but that blame belongs squarely on Tim Kaine's shoulders. The issue of rest areas should never have reached the point where federal intervention was needed. The last-ditch effort did not work and "CLOSED" has been splashed across rest area signs throughout the Commonwealth.

What a sad commentary. We ask visitors to come see Virginia. Tourists arrive and see, "CLOSED."

Billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent on laptop computers ... $14 million was announced earlier this week by Kaine for land to put in a nature preserve ... yet a measly $9 couldn't be found to keep rest areas open, something used by thousands of Virginians and out-of-state visitors. To close them in July at the height of summer vacation season was added insult and made more people take notice and realize it was a political move more than an economic savings.
Mr. Holsworth, political commentator and former political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, wrote in Virginia Tomorrow:

The problem is that the issue should have never reached the stage where keeping the rest stops open depended on an eleventh hour reprieve from Congress.

By not allocating the funds to keep the rest stops open, I think that the administration miscalculated public sentiment and misunderstood the powerful (and negative) visual symbolism that the CLOSED signs send about Virginia. It also served up an issue to Bob McDonnell on a silver platter.
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Let’s get the rest stops reopened- the sooner the better.

Republican legislators tried to avoid closings from the time it was announced last winter.

* Rep. Frank Wolfe (R-10th Congressional) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Todd Gilbert (R-15th) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Chris Saxman (R-20th) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Steve Landes (R-25th) said the rest areas should be reopened.
* Del. Bob Marshall (R-13th) said the rest areas should be reopened.

So why are the Democrats keeping the rest areas closed?

H/T to CM