There are two gubernatorial races in the nation this year under intense scrutiny by a national media determined to turn them into referendums on President Barack Obama. But there is another story here that merits serious attention – the potential Jersey-fication of Virginia by former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairman Terry McAuliffe, who hopes to become the Commonwealth’s next governor. McAuliffe has lived in McLean for years, but his brand of Democratic politics is pure Garden State. New Jersey has the highest state tax burden and third largest debt load in the country, plus a well-earned reputation for stem-to-stern political corruption. New Jersey is also Illinois’ sister state for political corruption: When ethics allegations forced former Rep. Robert Torricelli to abandon his 2002 Senate bid, he gave $10,000 to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now accused of trying to sell Obama’s old Senate seat.
Under Gov.Tim Kaine – one of Obama’s earliest supporters for president and his choice as DNC chairman – Virginia became the 18th most taxed state in the U.S. But that would just be the starting point for McAuliffe, who has been busy lining up lots of outside money from his union pals in New Jersey and elsewhere. He was known during the Clinton years for his “soft money” strategy that culminated in the 1996 Lincoln Bedroom sleepover scandals. And at least two of McAuliffe’s private real estate investments in Florida were bankrolled by a union pension fund. A former DNC finance director even testified at the 1999 Manhattan trial of the Teamsters’ former political director that McAuliffe urged him to bypass campaign contribution limits by getting major Democratic donors to give to unions and liberal political groups, which would in turn contribute to various Democratic Party committees.
The same phenomenon appears to be happening in the Old Dominion. Last year, half of the unprecedented $1.3 million Virginia Democrats took in from July to December came from labor union PACs. Last fall, the state party collected $50,000 from the Communications Workers of America, $200K from the Laborers Political League Education Fund, and $100,000 from the United Food and Commercial Workers. In Northern Virginia, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is organizing employees in Fairfax County; about 275 workers joined an SEIU affiliate fighting the proposed elimination of 500 county jobs. Last year, former prosecutor Robert Luskin told the New York Times: “For as long as we’re around, we’re going to have to fight a ground war [against union corruption] in New York and New Jersey.” If McAuliffe has his way, he’ll open another front in Virginia.
