Birds in flight... or, fright?

Breaking precedents of governors of both parties, Bob McDonnell has embarked on a new strategy designed to cover his backside from blame for budget cuts. Instead of offering his own budget amendments, McDonnell is recruiting fellow Republicans in the General Assembly to introduce bills and suggest the cuts. His conversations with the flock are behind-the-scenes and keep his chicken scratch off the record of cuts, many of which will prove to be unpopular.

For his part, the governor says it is a "different strategy" and predicts it will be productive. Could be, I suppose... at least for his political purposes. In this environment deep cuts are inevitable and he will eventually get (as required by the Virginia Constitution) a balanced budget. But, McDonnell's fingerprints won't be on the cleaver as it hacks to the bone. Good strategy for him, but it may leave some GOP delegates and senators with uneasy questions to answer. Still I gotta think he's getting Valley legislators to suggests cuts in NOVA or Tidewater and vice versa. And, many of those cuts may hit Democratic districts harder than those with a Republican legislator.

Because all this is behind closed doors, how are we to know what specific spending cuts the governor supports or doesn't? Government operates best in bright sunlight. But, like a fox in the hen house, the governor's strategy is one of stealth carried out in the shadows. When the broken eggs are discovered by Virginians, he'll simply say "why ya lookin' at me?"