Former Gov. Douglas Wilder endorses Terry McAuliffe

Former Democratic Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder is respected by many for his lack of blind party loyalty, sometimes leaving people hanging on to the edge of their seats wondering whether he will be endorsing Democrats or Republicans in any given election. This year's gubernatorial election was no exception.

Today Governor Wilder endorsed Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe who expressed his gratitude in a statement:

"I am honored to have the support of Governor Doug Wilder. Governor Wilder has a long record of responsible budgeting and working with members of both parties to get things done, exactly the opposite of what we are seeing happen in Washington where Ted Cruz and Ken Cuccinelli's extreme Tea Party allies have held the government hostage to drive their extreme ideological agenda. As governor, I will work in a bipartisan way to focus on growing and diversifying the Commonwealth's economy and creating more opportunities for all Virginians."

Wilder shared his reasons for the endorsement with the Washington Post:

Wilder told The Post Thursday that the federal government shutdown, and the polarized Washington politics behind it, have helped convince him that McAuliffe is the right man to lead Virginia.

“The thing that’s going on at the national level — we’re so close to it — we could show that we are not affected by it and we are going to move forward,” Wilder said. “We are not going to separate into enclaves — this group, that group. It’s not a matter of pitting one group against the other group.”

Read the entire article here. This is a solid endorsement for McAuliffe.

Governor Wilder, a Richmond attorney who began serving his district in the Virginia General Assembly in 1969, was elected governor of Virginia in 1990, the first African-American governor since Reconstruction.

WaTimes: "Wilder to Deeds ... 'That's not leadership' "

Doug Wilder's resistance to endorse his Party's candidate took a dramatic turn Thursday when he publicly announced he would not be endorsing anyone for the gubernatorial race:

Spurning pleas from the president and the leader of his party, former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder refused to endorse Democrat R. Creigh Deeds for Virginia governor, taking issue with the candidate's willingness to raise taxes in a weak economy.

"That doesn't show leadership and responsibility to me," Mr. Wilder told The Washington Times on Thursday after he announced that he would not endorse either Mr. Deeds or Republican candidate Robert F. McDonnell.

Mr. Wilder objected to statements by Mr. Deeds indicating that he would not rule out new taxes if they were part of a bipartisan bill that contained a dedicated funding mechanism for transportation.

"We are in the toughest economic times that we've had. I think the most driving thing to do now is to be a part of fiscal sanity and restoring accountability," Mr. Wilder said in a telephone interview.

Meanwhile, Politico headlined, "Wilder whacks Deeds," and wrote:

Former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder announced Thursday that he will not be endorsing a candidate in the Virginia gubernatorial race, while mounting some sharp criticism at Democrat Creigh Deeds over his stance on taxes and guns.

They added:

Wilder also indirectly attacked Deeds for supporting tax increases to help fund transportation projects in the commonwealth. Deeds wrote an op-ed in yesterday’s Washington Post declaring his support for a “dedicated funding mechanism for transportation -- even if it includes new taxes.”

Wilder’s response? “This is not the time in our Commonwealth to talk about any kind of tax increase, especially those that are fundamentally regressive and will hit hardest those who are struggling."

The first African-American governor in America, Doug Wilder's word carries weight and obviously was much sought-after by the Deeds campaign:

Wilder’s announcement is a significant blow to the Deeds campaign, which had been aggressively courting his support in recent weeks. Even President Obama got involved in the lobbying campaign, making a personal call to Wilder earlier this month asking him to endorse Deeds.

Isn't that what it's all about? Being more interested in the state and her citizens than politics?

I tip my hat to Mr. Wilder.

No endorsement for Deeds from Wilder

In what may be a bomb shell in Virginia politics, former Democrat Governor Doug Wilder announced today that he would not be endorsing either candidate for the gubernatorial contest.

His endorsement of Democrat Creigh Deeds was talked about around office water coolers and probably expected but did not materialize and, indeed, he even disagreed with Mr. Deeds about a couple of issues.

On Bob Holsworth's "Virginia Tomorrow" blog, Mr. Wilder said:

The requests, made of me, have been to endorse Mr. Deeds, the Democratic Candidate, for Governor. I refrain from doing so and will leave that choice to the voters.

He talked issues and made a number of points including this one:

This is not the time in our Commonwealth to talk about any kind of tax increase, especially those that are fundamentally regressive and will hit hardest those who are struggling.

Creigh Deeds has made it clear he will raise taxes in Virginia. Maybe I could get Mr. Wilder to talk with the Augusta County Board of Supervisors about their wild spending spree this year.

Mr. Douglas disagrees with Mr. Deeds about 2nd Amendment rights:

In my conversations with the people across the state, I have not encountered anyone who has listed as their priority the need for them to have more handguns. The present law permits anyone of sufficient age, who is not a felon, to be able to buy one gun a month; twelve a year, twenty four a year for couples etc..

Mr. Deeds thinks that’s not enough and signed a pledge to repeal that law.

Ouch.

So there was no endorsement of the Democrat candidate from the former Democrat governor. I kind of count that as a backhanded endorsement of Bob McDonnell or, at the very least, a nod that Mr. McDonnell would do well as Governor of the Commonwealth.