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A Republican congressman from Virginia who chairs a key appropriations panel lashed out Wednesday over the federal government’s purchase of a vacant Illinois prison, telling Attorney General Eric Holder that he “really created a mess with your bailing out the state of Illinois with the Thomson prison purchase.”
Rep. Frank Wolf, of Vienna, Va., in suburban Washington, chairs a House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Justice Department.
Wolf will be instrumental in approval of money necessary to upgrade and open the prison, where the Obama administration once hoped to send detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Now the administration wants federal prisoners held there.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 11:58 am
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Those cardinals who chair the approps. subcommittees all think they’re the Pope.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 12:10 pm
Let’s buy Thomson back from the Feds for less than we sold it to them, put the difference toward unfunded pension obligations and use this new facility to relieve the stress on the current prison system.
I’m only half-joking here…
Comment by Cincinnatus Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 12:22 pm
The federal government has been “bailing out” suburban Virginia for decades. The Gentleman from Vienna ought to examine all of the federal spending that keeps his town afloat.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 12:26 pm
Judging by Governor Quinn’s high approval rating, the willingness of his lt gov to run with him again, the lack of high profile democrats who’ve floated their names to primary him, the states robust economy, healthy fiscal situation and finances yes, I’m beyond stunned people are “bashing Illinois”.
Springfield is the only place in the country that thinks springfield is doing a good job right now and it’s kind of frustrating to hear the “we should never change the leadership of this town” because someone else is a wacko/extremist/not the establishment.
Comment by shore Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 12:29 pm
What’s really happening: This has everything to do with the GOP national strategy to attack and block Obama’s every move, and nothing to do with budgets or security.
Comment by Newsclown Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 12:34 pm
I think 47th Ward is onto something here. There are few places in the US more screwed by the sequester than northern Virginia.
I predict the spending cuts will get increasingly unpopular, so expect more bashing by Republicans about, “No, no, no, don’t cut here, cut there.” It ties into the somewhat-magical thinking that we can just cut government painlessly with no ramifications for ourselves by getting rid of “waste” that only pays for “something else.”
This isn’t just IL bashing in other words, but expect more targets across the country as GOP argue that Obama has bungled the sequester. It’s cheap politics but it could be very effective.
Comment by ZC Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 1:09 pm
Just spent a few minutes reviewing Wolf’s voting highlights on http://www.ontheissues.org/va/frank_wolf.htm. So far I’m up to about 8 votes that I would qualify as a bailout to a corporation/industry or other stakeholder. Apparently a principled stand against bailouts only matters when the “bailout” is tangentially related to the President.
Comment by Colossus Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 1:10 pm
It was a base idea to sell the prison. The sale made worse by the price being less the. It would cost us to build a replacement. Lets cancel the sale and help wild out and use it ourselves. The. The Feds can just build their own for a lot more money
Comment by Ghost Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 1:48 pm
I agree with Cincinnatus (see–it can happen) and go one further. Let’s build a new Federal facility in this clown’s town and put the Gitmo detainees there.
Comment by Chavez-respecting Obamist Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 2:08 pm
@Ghost:
That state built it and then refused to open it. They are closing prisons. I think we need more prisons given the fact that the prison population far outstrips the capacity of the prisons they reside in. But the state has chosen not to fund that so I don’t see the need to keep a prison that is not going to be used and that is costing the state money to maintain.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 2:44 pm
Chavez-respecting Obamist,
A clock is right twice a day.
Comment by Cincinnatus Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 3:02 pm
–A clock is right twice a day.–
Broken clock, dude.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 3:21 pm
Thanks for being there for me, Wordslinger…
Comment by Cincinnatus Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 3:23 pm
I believe this guy Wolfe began his opposition to buying the prison by a “let’s not coddle the terrorists” rant a couple of years ago, and went on to say that no matter the law or what he said, Obama would be sending Gitmo prisoners to our shores regardless. He’s stuck on that track, more than on financial concerns.
Comment by walkinfool Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 4:16 pm
The entire close Gitmo move was a political move by Obama to find an issue he could use against Clinton in the primaries back in 2008. A trial balloon that floated away, you might say.
Then the guy makes a big stand the first day in office, signing an executive order to close Gitmo, somehow thinking it was that easy.
Thomson was a way to close Gitmo. It is in the President’s home state. It seemed at that time, by a president in way over his head, to be a done deal.
An entire presidential term later, nothing has changed. Reality exposed the close Gitmo idea as the nonsense it had always been. The whole thing stinks and is embarrassing.
You can’t be surprised that the opposing party uses a president’s dumb move against him. That is what’s done with every president who makes a dumb move.
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Apr 25, 13 @ 11:52 pm