Ed Gillespie was paid $75,000 a month by Enron to lobby Congress and the White House against energy price controls. "At the height of the California energy crisis, Gillespie formed the 21st Century Energy Project. It was generally acknowledged that Gillespie initiated this project in conjunction with the Bush White House." Newsweek claims that ATR laundered $50,000 from Enron to Gillespie, who used the money to run ads in July 2001 "attacking Jimmy Carter and environmentalists and supporting the Enron-supported proposals found in Bush's energy plan."

http://www.preemptiv...

This is part of an op-ed Brian Moran wrote for the RTD:
http://www.timesdisp...

They plan to cut nearly $200 million from education, health care, and pubic safety to pay the bill for roads. That is as much as the entire general fund budget of the University of Virginia or all of the State Police. That raid could drive tuition up and teachers' salaries down, and gut funding for long-term care. In the 21st century's global economy, Virginia graduates will compete against students from India and China for good, high-paying jobs. We must recommit and reinvest in education to produce a top-quality workforce, not spend the college fund on election-year gimmicks. Leadership may not be easy, but you cannot solve difficult problems by robbing Peter to pay Paul.

After they divert the money from schools and police, Republicans want to max out the credit card, too. Their plan borrows $300 million a year for eight years and spends the next 20 years paying it back. This leaves us with no long-term funding for what is certainly a long-term problem. And our kids will be stuck with the bill.

Even with raiding and borrowing, the Republican plan is inadequate for the state's needs. It doesn't provide enough statewide funding for each region to build more than two new highway interchanges. It meets less than one-half of existing deficits in maintenance, leaving unsafe bridges and potholed roads. There isn't enough new and sustainable money in the legislation to build any of the commonwealth's major transportation projects -- such as the Third Crossing, I-81, U.S. 460, or I-73.