Connolly, Kaine Criticize Sarah Palin's Remarks on Area Economy

Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-Fairfax) and U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine (D) have criticized remarks by Sarah Palin about the area's dependence on the federal government for jobs.

During a speech in Indianola, Iowa on Sunday, Palin said: “For them, business is good; business is very good.  Seven of the 10 wealthiest counties are suburbs of Washington, D.C. Polls there actually—and usually I say polls, eh, they’re for strippers and cross country skiers—but polls in those parts show that some people there believe that the economy has actually improved. See, there may not be a recession in Georgetown, but there is in the rest of America. Yeah, the permanent political class—they’re doing just fine.”

Fairfax County is currently number three in the nation among the wealthiest counties, with a median salary of $104,259. Some of that wealth is from federal government contracting.

Connolly shot back a response this week: “Once again, Sarah Palin has delivered a harmful and hateful message that has little basis in fact," Connolly said in a news release. "If she thinks that Northern Virginia is immune from our current economic recession, I invite her to meet some of our residents who have lost their homes or seen their retirement funds depleted due to the economic policies of the Bush administration."

“As the former Alaska governor and FOX News media star should know so well, Alaskans reap more federal largess than any other Americans, according to several studies and reports in the New York Times and USA Today. ‘Alaska is the top recipient of federal stimulus dollars per capita — with no close second,’ the Times reported; while USA Today also pointed out that Alaska was the biggest recipient of federal pork barrel spending from earmarks,” Connolly said.
“I would suggest that this is the pot calling the kettle black,” he said. 

Former governor Tim Kaine, who is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Jim Webb (D), also reacted to Palin's remarks: "I was disappointed to read Sarah Palin’s recent comments that Northern Virginia hasn’t suffered the consequences of the recession unlike 'the rest of America.' I was Governor of Virginia during the worst years of the downturn and I know first hand that every family and every business in our state suffered a great deal thanks to nearly a decade of economic mismanagement," he said.

"Balancing Virginia’s budget during those years required billions in cuts that impacted every corner of the state," he said. "Today, the vast majority of Virginia’s families still haven’t recovered the savings they lost and their homes haven’t regained their value. Too many Virginians are still without jobs and businesses continue to confront economic uncertainty in the wake of the worst recession since the Great Depression."

"Those families and those businesses are counting on their leaders in Washington to find common ground on solutions that will create jobs and long-term economic stability," Kaine noted. "Instead, Sarah Palin is offering divisive rhetoric that only seeks to further polarize our country at a time when the partisanship in Washington is already at an all-time high."

"Of course this is not the first time politicians have sought to sub-divide Virginia into 'real' and otherwise," he said. "I abhor anything that tries to divide our Commonwealth against itself by region or demographic category. I urge all Virginia leaders – Republicans and Democrats – to join me in rejecting Sarah Palin’s comments, which are neither truthful nor productive."