Jim Riley has the Governor’s press release on the ABC privatization plan, along with a helpful reminder that ending the government monopoly on hard liquor is very much a good thing. That said, Jim glosses over a few things – namely the tax increases that the Governor claims aren’t there. The 2.5% “optional convenience fee” [...]

Governor’s Staff Recommendation for ABC Privatization Unveiled Plan Provides Massive New Funding of $500 Million for Transportation 1,000 Retail Licenses to be Auctioned Off RICHMOND- Senior members of Governor Bob McDonnell’s staff today unveiled the official staff recommendation for ABC privatization in the Commonwealth at a meeting of the Simplification and Operations Committee of the [...]

Well it was fun while it lasted.

Two years after the Virginia Republican Party finally freed itself of the tax-hiking label that cost it elections in 2005 and 2007, less than one year after Bob McDonnell rode opposition to tax increases to lead the best Republican year in the history of the Old Dominion, McDonnell himself is about to blow the whole thing sky high today.

Here’s the damage report from the surprisingly subdued Washington Post (I suppose the giddiness will be saved for the editorial page):

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) will unveil a proposal Wednesday to impose a 4 percent tax on restaurants and bars as he tries to make up for $260 million the state could lose in taxes and profit if Virginia privatizes its liquor system, according to several sources familiar with the plan.

Included in the 4 percent is a 2.5 percent tax imposed solely on restaurants’ annual liquor receipts and a 1.5 percent tax imposed on restaurants and all stores that sell alcohol, including grocery stores. Together, they will bring in about $40 million, sources say.

McDonnell’s proposal also includes other fees, including a $17.50-per-gallon excise tax and a 1 percent tax on gross receipts, both charged to wholesalers, said Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington), who was briefed on the plan late Tuesday.

Not one, not two, not three, but four new taxes proposed in one day - this from the man who promised all of us he wouldn’t raise taxes (although his refusal to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge takes on a more poignant meaning).  One of the taxes (the 1.5% tax) is tangential at best to the alcohol-privatization plan (which is not the subject of my rant here; the state should not be in the liquor business).

Already, restaurants are wondering what hit them (see Randy Norton’s quote in the WaPo piece).  Thankfully, Delegate Tom Gear – one of the most consistent defenders of the taxpayer in Richmond – has put up the red-flag on this (end of same piece).

The damage from this will be on several levels.

Economic: what was it Doug Wilder said again last year?  Ah yes, “This is not the time in our Commonwealth to talk about any tax increase” – and that was last September, when it was assumed recovery was on the way.  Now, recovery’s in a race with “double-dip” recession to claim 2011.  If anything, the last twelve months have made tax increases less justifiable. Moreover, whacking restaurants has the added pleasure of indirectly hurting tourism expenses.  All of this, mind you, is coming just as the Obama Administration is preparing to slam small businesses of all stripes with the reversal of the Bush-the-Younger tax cuts.

Finally, they will make the privatization of alcohol a much harder sell, and increase the likelihood that the birthplace of American liberty will remain one of social democracy’s unlikely redoubts in the hard liquor department.

Political: Doesn’t anyone in the McDonnell Administration remember 1990?  That was the year President Bush the Elder broke his “read my lips” pledge on taxes.  Before he broke his word, there was talk of the Republicans breaking the 36-year lock on Congress, and at least one poll had the two parties at parity in voter identification for the first time since World War II.  After the betrayal, the Democrats hammered the GOP, held their lopsided Congressional majorities, and voters drove Bush out of office in 1992 (his 38% remains the worst performance by an incumbent President outside of the Taft-Roosevelt split of 1912).  McDonnell will do less damage nationwide – he is only the Governor of Virginia – but I wouldn’t want to be Morgan Griffith, Keith Fimian, or Scott Rigell right now.  All of them could see whatever chance they had at victory slip away.  Even Robert Hurt could see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Don’t believe me?  Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw called this a tax “on people drinking alcohol” (WaPo) before the details were even leaked. He knows he won his majority by watching the GOP drown under tax increases. He’s already partying like it’s 2007.

So, in short, these tax increases are an unwelcome burden to the quest for a more limited government in the Commonwealth, bad for Virginia’s economy, and terrible for the Republican Party.

Perhaps we should have seen this coming with the manufacturer’s tax increase.

Cross-posted to BD

From FactCheck.org At least five freshman Democratic House members are running ads claiming they voted against the bank “bailout,” when in fact none was in Congress when the bill setting up the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was enacted. . . . Glenn Nye’s ad tells viewers he went “against his own party” and [...]

Just in time for President Reagan’s 100th birthday next year, Hollywood is looking to make a Reagan biography (and they make quick note that they will NOT go the hatchet-job route of the CBS mini-series “The Reagans.”) Hollywood Reporter is running a poll on who should play Ronald Reagan in the film.  So far, the [...]

Well it was fun while it lasted.

Two years after the Virginia Republican Party finally freed itself of the tax-hiking label that cost it elections in 2005 and 2007, less than one year after Bob McDonnell rode opposition to tax increases to lead the best Republican year in the history of the Old Dominion, McDonnell himself is about to blow the whole thing sky high today.

Here’s the damage report from the surprisingly subdued Washington Post (I suppose the giddiness will be saved for the editorial page):

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) will unveil a proposal Wednesday to impose a 4 percent tax on restaurants and bars as he tries to make up for $260 million the state could lose in taxes and profit if Virginia privatizes its liquor system, according to several sources familiar with the plan.

Included in the 4 percent is a 2.5 percent tax imposed solely on restaurants’ annual liquor receipts and a 1.5 percent tax imposed on restaurants and all stores that sell alcohol, including grocery stores (UPDATE-RWL NOTE: the latter is nowhere to be found in the Governor’s proposal; it may have been dropped). Together, they will bring in about $40 million, sources say.

McDonnell’s proposal also includes other fees, including a $17.50-per-gallon excise tax and a 1 percent tax on gross receipts, both charged to wholesalers, said Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington), who was briefed on the plan late Tuesday.

Not one, not two, not three, but four three new taxes and tax increases proposed in one day - this from the man who promised all of us he wouldn’t raise taxes (although his refusal to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge takes on a more poignant meaning). One of the taxes (the 1.5% tax) is tangential at best to the alcohol-privatization plan (which is not the subject of my rant here; the state should not be in the liquor business). UPDATE: As noted above, this one appears to have been left on the cutting room floor.

Already, restaurants are wondering what hit them (see Randy Norton’s quote in the WaPo piece). Thankfully, Delegate Tom Gear – one of the most consistent defenders of the taxpayer in Richmond – has put up the red-flag on this (end of same piece).

UPDATE: The McDonnell Administration played some “linguistic ledgerdemain” with the 2.5% receipts tax, calling it an “optional convenience fee.” The “option” however, is solely the option to sell liquor. “Convenience fee” my foot; that’s a tax.

The 1% tax is being called a “wholesale license charge.” Riiiiiiiiight.

The $17.50/gallon tax is trickier, because it actually replaces a 20% liquor tax. Nice to see the WaPo had no idea about that one. Still, McDonnell is expecting $175.7 million from the new tax, well over the $111.4 million the current one generates. The Governor’s people say they expect higher sales, but their own “license charge” number anticipates sales of $710 million. The current tax would bring in only $142M under that scenario. So this isn’t a new tax, but it is a tax increase.

The damage from this will be on several levels.

Economic: what was it Doug Wilder said again last year? Ah yes, “This is not the time in our Commonwealth to talk about any tax increase” – and that was last September, when it was assumed recovery was on the way. Now, recovery’s in a race with “double-dip” recession to claim 2011. If anything, the last twelve months have made tax increases less justifiable. Moreover, whacking restaurants has the added pleasure of indirectly hurting tourism expenses. All of this, mind you, is coming just as the Obama Administration is preparing to slam small businesses of all stripes with the reversal of the Bush-the-Younger tax cuts.

Finally, they will make the privatization of alcohol a much harder sell, and increase the likelihood that the birthplace of American liberty will remain one of social democracy’s unlikely redoubts in the hard liquor department.

Political: Doesn’t anyone in the McDonnell Administration remember 1990? That was the year President Bush the Elder broke his “read my lips” pledge on taxes. Before he broke his word, there was talk of the Republicans breaking the 36-year lock on Congress, and at least one poll had the two parties at parity in voter identification for the first time since World War II. After the betrayal, the Democrats hammered the GOP, held their lopsided Congressional majorities, and voters drove Bush out of office in 1992 (his 38% remains the worst performance by an incumbent President outside of the Taft-Roosevelt split of 1912). McDonnell will do less damage nationwide – he is only the Governor of Virginia – but I wouldn’t want to be Morgan Griffith, Keith Fimian, or Scott Rigell right now. All of them could see whatever chance they had at victory slip away. Even Robert Hurt could see defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Don’t believe me? Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw called this a tax “on people drinking alcohol” (WaPo) before the details were even leaked. He knows he won his majority by watching the GOP drown under tax increases. He’s already partying like it’s 2007.

So, in short, these tax increases are an unwelcome burden to the quest for a more limited government in the Commonwealth, bad for Virginia’s economy, and terrible for the Republican Party.

Perhaps we should have seen this coming with the manufacturer’s tax increase.

Cross-posted to RWL

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Political Cartoons by Gary Varvel

There seems to be a wave of three-way races this year and the big ones seem to consist of sore-loser moderate Republicans who got beat in primaries fair and square.  Charlie Crist is the biggest self-serving example of this, but CQ is letting us know that perhaps Lisa Murkowski is next.  It cracks me up, when establishment and moderate Republicans win primaries we are told to rally around the team.  That's it.  Now when the conservative actually wins fair and square?  Well, I guess that's  another matter because folks who think party first and principles second tend to care more about their own power than anything else.  Murkowski is more interested in being a senator than actually representing the wishes and needs of her state.

RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that the Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend acceptance of the federally-issued Employment Authorization Document (I-766) as proof of legal presence in the United States, a condition of obtaining a driver's license or identification card in Virginia. This precautionary action is the result of concerns over the document's reliability as evidence of an individual's federal government authorization to be in the country. The card, issued by the U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service arm of the Department of Homeland Security, is obtained by individuals temporarily authorized to work in the U. S., even if the individual is in a pending deportation status.

The concerns surfaced in August after an alleged drunk driver was charged in Prince William County with a fatal crash in which one person died and two others were critically injured. Police say 23-year-old Carlos Martinelly Montano from Bolivia had been reported to ICE after two previous drunk driving convictions in 2007 and 2008, but was released pending a deportation hearing.

Police report that Montano received an Employment Authorization Document in January 2009 while federal deportation actions were pending, and subsequently used the document to prove legal presence while applying for a Virginia ID card in accordance with current Virginia law. It is important to note that Montano did not have a Virginia driver’s license at the time of the crash.

Speaking about the decision to suspend use of I-766 documents, Governor McDonnell commented, “The integrity of the credentials issued by the Commonwealth is of the utmost importance. We must ensure that documents accepted as proof of legal presence are reliable. Virginia law is clear in the requirement that an individual be lawfully in the United States to be eligible for an identification card or to have the privilege to drive.”

DMV will seek additional guidance from the Attorney General regarding federal documents that should be accepted going forward as proof of legal presence.

Of the 21 documents DMV continues to accept as proof of an applicant's lawful status, 20 are issued by the federal government, including 12 issued by U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

The morning coolness is blowing in the open windows as we go into another nice day with temps in the low- to mid-80s. Skies are overcast at the moment but may clear up as the day progresses.

The mountains are calling so I'm meeting a friend to picnic on the Skyline Drive and catch up on life. That's one of the many nice things about living in the Shenandoah Valley ... 10-15 minutes in just about any direction puts you in the mountains. I've got my camera packed and looking forward to a day in the quiet of the ridges.

It's late summer in the Shenandoah Valley....

While no doubt the pundits in Virginia will be watching Scott Rigell, Robert Hurt, Morgan Griffith, and Keith Fimain, another race to look at is the County Board race in Arlington. While voters in 2010 have important national issues in mind like health care and the economy, there are an abundance of local issues in Arlington that mirror Virginia’s interests.

Mark Kelly, GOP candidate for County Board

In Arlington, the former GOP Chairman Mark Kelly is running against Democrat Chris Zimmerman, who is seeking a forth full term (total of 18 years. He was first elected in 1996 in a special election.)

Even though Arlington hasn’t exactly been on the minds of the statewide GOP in some time, this year is different. With 2010 being such a big GOP year, a strong showing in a place such as Arlington County would really send a message. Arlington and Virginia as a whole face similar problems, but are governed completely differently. In Arlington, there is a debt of $1.12 billion, or about $5,345 for every county resident. While Bob McDonnell was able to turn a deficit into a surplus by cutting spending, Arlington usually responds with various tax hikes.

Another similar problem is transportation. To show you how local government truly impacts your day to day life, let’s use the Metro as an example. One of the reasons that I bring up transportation is the fact that Chris Zimmerman is serving on the Metro Board. It should be noted that he is the longest serving member and that he has been Chairman twice.

Metro, as anyone in the DC area knowns, is no where near perfect. Aside from safety issues, and shady worker contracts, it has horrrible customer service. It just added higher fares, as well as not allowing anyone to leave Metro stations with negative balances on their SmarTrip cards.

Aside from the dynamic issues that face Arlington County, there is a slightly less talked about factor making the race more interesting. During the summer months, I attended several events for Mark Kelly in which I heard people whispering about how they were focusing more time on helping Mark because of disappointment with the GOP nominee for Congress, Patrick Murray. While I am not making that up, whether or not these people are having a significant impact remains to be seen.

Either way, from a combination of all of these issues, it is an interesting race that needs to be looked at. During the first reporting period, Kelly just about caught up to Zimmerman’s cash on hand advantage. That alone is enough to turn heads.

Three and a half hours after Citizen’s time started, the Manassas City Council unanimously decided to refer the issue of porn shops in Old Town to the Land Use Committee, which will engage in an exhaustive review of the secondary effects of sexually oriented businesses in North America and then with those findings draft a zoning ordinance.  Yes, government cannot be be expected to turn on a dime, but the end result will be that K&K Temptations will be allowed to open on Battle Street (with signage that hasn’t been approved by the Architectural Review Board, no less), and there’s nothing the city will try to do immediately to stop it. (more…)

To be blunt – NO!

While District 38-A  candidate Julie Brewington may want you to believe that she has received the much sought after endorsement of the National Rifle Association’s Political Victory Fund (the NRA cannot directly endorse candidates for office), she is misleading voters.  The NRA has not endorsed ANY candidate in the 38-A race.  If they do, it will be after the primary.

Brewington’s website is currently running the banner headline:

Julie Brewington is Endorsed by the NRA

If you read the article, it states:

The Association of Baltimore, Maryland Shall Issue, Citizen’s Defense League of Maryland, Maryland State Rifle & Pistol Association, Maryland State NRA Association, and the Washington County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs announced their recommendations and endorsements for this years midterm primary.

 

Well … that’s a little more accurate.  Brewington was endorsed by a coalition of the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA), the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore, Maryland Shall Issue, and the Washington County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs.  The Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association is an affiliate of the NRA.  However, they are not permitted to endorse candidates on behalf of the NRA, nor are they supposed to imply that the MSRPA’s endorsement is in anyway tied to the NRA.  Claiming the NRA’s endorsement is FALSE!  Don’t take my word for it, call the NRA Political Victory Fund  and ask.  I did.

Some may argue that this isn’t a particularly big deal.  I would differ.  Fist of all, Brewington DID NOT receive the NRA’s endorsement.  Second, let’s assume that Julie didn’t INTEND to deceive or mislead the voters of District 38-A.  This is one more example of Brewington’s inattention to detail.  We have to ask, is Julie really the type of person we need representing us in Annapolis?  Brewington stood in District 37-B and claimed she was “in her district”.  Then she tried to cover it up after the error was made public.  Julie and some her supporters are currently in a snit because Brewington wasn’t allowed to participate in a parade over the weekend.  She wasn’t allowed to participate because she didn’t register!  Was that her fault?  No, of course not.  Somehow it was fault of her leading opponent – John Phoebus!

We’ve got seven days to go until the GOP primary.  If Brewington expects to be taken seriously as a candidate, she needs to quit making these types of mistakes.  To be fair, I really don’t believe that Julie  meant to deceive the voters about this endorsement.  The fact that she received it is something that she should be proud of.  That doesn’t give her permission to make it something that it is not.

True to form, District 38-A candidate Julie Brewington just can’t quit when she’s ahead.  Tuesday’s post regarding her bogus NRA endorsement left her some wiggle room to admit a mistake and back away gracefully.  Did she do that?  Of course not!

What does Julie do instead?  She hits the trifecta!

• Julie is caught in a lie!
• Julie tries to cover up the lie.
• Julie shows that she isn’t bright enough to tell a lie very well, much less represent the voters of 38-A in Annapolis.

Caught In A Lie!

As we previously noted, Brewington was not endorsed by the National Rifle Association.  Attempting to give her the benefit of the doubt, we took her word that she had received an endorsement from the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA), which is an affiliate of the NRA.

However, we like to check our facts.  Earlier we had sent an email to the officers of the MSRPA to verify if Brewington had been endorsed by them.  Here is the exchange:

I just received an email regarding a legislative race here on the Eastern Shore (District 38-A).  One candidate is claiming to have received the endorsement of the NRA and the MSRPA.  The NRA Political Victory Fund hasn’t endorsed any candidate for this particular race yet.  I wasn’t aware that the MSRPA endorsed candidates.  Could you please let me know whether the MSRPA has endorsed candidates running for the Maryland legislature and, if so, where I can get a list of those endorsements?

Thanks for your help.

G. A. Harrison

Mr. Harrison

MSRPA has not endorsed anyone, to the best of my knowledge.

Richard Kussman

President

While Julie doesn’t like to admit mistakes, I will.  We rushed to post and didn’t wait for Mr. Kussman’s response.  As we are finding out now, her “endorsement” from an NRA affiliate doesn’t seem to exist at all.

Cover Up

It’s a lot easier to admit a mistake than have it compound later.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a lesson which Brewington has learned very well.

As in the past, Brewington should have simply admitted to a mistake.  What does she do instead?  Try to cover it up.  Remember, her fist headline read:

Julie Brewington Is Endorsed By the NRA

Her new headline:

Julie Brewington is Endorsed by Maryland’s State NRA Association and the MSRPA 

She adds to her woes by this “update”

For Clarity, this endorsement is by The Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore Inc. legislative Office, Maryland Shall Issue, Citizen’s Defense League of Maryland, Maryland State Rifle & Pistol Association, Maryland State NRA Association, and the Washington County Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs .

It seems it’s important to clarify the difference between the State NRA Association and the National  NRA. The National NRA hasn’t endorse a local state candidate in this race, that we are am aware of, therefore Maryland’s NRA Association would be the local state group that would contribute to making these recommendations

Explaining the myriad mistakes in this moves us right to the third problem -

Too Obtuse, Even for Annapolis

Notice what Brewington states in her “corrected” announcement – “…Endorsed by Maryland’s State NRA Association and the MSRPA”.  Here’s the problem.  There is no “State NRA Association”.  MSRPA is an affiliate of the NRA.  However, Julie seems to think that she’s talking about TWO separate groups.  No.  I would expect a fifth grader to understand from the flyer she linked to that the MSRPA is the closest thing she’ll come to a “State NRA Association”.  However, we now see that all mention of the NRA has been removed.  In addition, the president of MSRPA states that they haven’t endorsed any legislative candidates.

Julie’s not looking too bright and her big “endorsement” is smelling fishier by the minute.

So, it seems that her “clarification” isn’t very clear:

It seems it’s important to clarify the difference between the State NRA Association and the National  NRA. The National NRA hasn’t endorse a local state candidate in this race, that we are am aware of, therefore Maryland’s NRA Association would be the local state group that would contribute to making these recommendations

The NRA hasn’t endorsed anyone.  There is no “Maryland NRA Association”.  The groups that is affiliated with the NRA states that they haven’t endorsed her.  Oh, and the last time I checked there is no “local state group” that contributes to making these recommendations.

———————————————————

The bottom line?  Brewington may be trying to dig a hole to China, but fortunately the primary will be over in a week!

———————————————————

Just in case anyone is curious, the MSRPA is the Maryland affiliate of the NRA that works to inform its members about state and local legislation impacting gun owners as well as organizing shooting competitions throughout the state.  They are an important player in helping to promote the shooting sports AND in protecting our 2nd Amendment rights here in Maryland.

Interested in local government and how they are managing the county? An Augusta County Board of Supervisors meeting will be Wednesday evening, September 8, at 7:00 p.m. at the Government Center in Verona. Follow signs to the public meeting room.

Are they hurting Mr.Gibbs?
What a moron.

The people making 250K a year are not spending as much money. The people making 40K a year are not spending as much money. The 84 million people not in the workforce are not spending as much money. The 14,860,000 unemployed are not spending as much money.

There are many reasons. Many are not spending money because my investment income went into the crapper. They don't have as much to spend. Their annual income has decreased. Many are also not spending because of the uncertainty of the economy. Sooner or later, someone is going to have to pay the piper. Our debt will come due.

Gibbs talks about those with 250K incomes. Those people are not as bad off as someone with a 40K income. That is obvious.
The point he neglects is if someone had a job that pays $250K and had investment income paying $50K in 2006, and their income kept pace with inflation. They would have a $270K income and $0 from investments. Their lifestyle changed dramatically. And a net loss of $30K a year in 2006 dollars. If they bought a house at the height of the market in 2006 for 2 1/2 times their salary, $625K and put 20% down, they had a mortgage of $500,000. Say they were in the booming Phoenix Arizona market. As of March 2009, the Phoenix home market dropped 48%. That means their house is now worth $325,000, and they are still paying $2700 a month on his mortgage. Are they hurting Mr.Gibbs? They still owes $467K on a $325K house. Are they hurting Mr. Gibbs? They are now paying more for their health care, and unsure of what Obamacare will do to the health care costs. Are They hurting Mr. Gibbs? Their kids college tuition grew at 7.1% a year.They were paying $20K in 2006, They are paying $26K now. Are they hurting Mr.Gibbs? Are they pulling back?

I'm sure a lot of you might disagree with this, but I have to say that the most ugly, un-American, anti-American activity you could possibly participate in is book burning.

Book burning has no place in America. Americans DO NOT BURN BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Communists burn books. Nazis burn books. Maoists burn books. Terrorists burn books.
Chavez burns books. Fidel burns books. Kim Jong Il burns books.

AMERICANS DO NOT BURN BOOKS!!!

What does that make that dimwitted neanderthal that claims to be a preacher down in Gainesville Florida?

An idiot. Has this knucklehead lost his feeble mind?

Have I died and woke up in the film "Fahrenheit 451"?

I sent an email to my Rolling Thunder buds down in Fla. I asked them to show up with fire extingushers and not let this monumental idiocy happen. This so-called preacher is inciting violence. He is endangering the lives of our men and women fighting radical islamic terrorists. He is playing right into their hands.

Water trucks with 2" hoses should be stationed around this so-called "church" on Saturday. One match and everyone gets washed in the agua.

(click on photo to enlarge) The above graphics and information provided by James Renwick Manship Sr. who is portraying one of our great Presidents in George Washington below... . Had the opportunity to speak with him at the Buena Vista Labor Day parade and hope to talk with him again soon....

H/T to Chris Saxman for passing this along. Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) entertains the troops by having them join in with him and the band to honor each branch of the military. This is seriously a wonderful tribute for the troops ... by the troops. Video is about 4:30.

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." -- Isaiah 55:12-13

It is a tribute to Dick Dudley that the chapel at Reynolds-Hamrick Funeral Home in Waynesboro was overflowing today with friends and family who were there to honor him. The chapel filled up, a side room filled, and overflow was standing at the back of the chapel and in the hallway.

Such was this gentleman ... rich in friends ... rich in family ... rich in his love of God and country.

As the pastor spoke, he recalled all that was Dick Dudley ... his passion for planning down to the nth detail, his expectation of a day's work for a day's pay, his never expecting something out of others that he himself would not do; his love of hunting and the outdoors and UVA and his wife and children. Some stories made one weep ... others made one laugh.

Those attending joined in singing "How Great Thou Art," a song that made me think of my grandmother's funeral many years ago when I was a teenager ... the awesomeness of that beautiful song.

A gentleman who was there who had worked Republican HQs with me in the past asked how I knew Mr. Dudley, and I told about how he would come into HQs or be at some event, and how he emailed jokes and political info. He was nice and he was funny, and it was a long time before I even realized he was Mrs. Betty Landes' brother and Del. Steve Landes' uncle.

Two things really stuck with me as I left after the funeral. One was the verse at the beginning of this post. The second was based on Proverbs 18:24 that speaks of the love of Christ: "... there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

If there is such a thing, it was a beautiful day for a funeral. Mr. Dudley was buried this afternoon at Thornrose Cemetery in Staunton.

A local Democrat – David Hill – penned an LTE to the Free Lance Star backing Krystal Ball, the Democrat who wants to defeat and replace Congressman Rob Wittman.

Hill (a genuinely decent fellow, BTW), opens his letter thusly:

Rep. Rob Wittman, a strong conservative, is in direct opposition to positions taken by Sens. Warner and Webb.  If you agree with the senators and disagree with Rep. Wittman, vote for Krystal Ball.

Read that last sentence again, carefully, “If you agree with the senators and disagree with Rep. Wittman, vote for Krystal Ball.”

Lest we forget, Warner (as a candidate) supported TARP, and Webb voted for it.  Wittman opposed it.  Warner and Webb voted for Democare; Wittman opposed it.  Warner and Webb voted to let the EPA impose anti-carbon “global warming” regulations; Wittman voted against cap-and-trade.

So by all means, “If you agree with the senators and disagree with Rep. Wittman, vote for Krystal Ball.”  I suspect most voters in the 1st District will, like me, vote to re-elect Wittman.

Cross-posted to VV and the Real Krystal Ball

The Mayor and Council are having an emergency meeting this evening concerning the porn shop that wants to open in Old Town this evening, which will include time for citizens to offer their thoughts.  Immediately following will be Delegate Jackson Miller’s town hall meeting, if the two don’t get merged into one event.  I’d suggest  interested citizens to get to Council Chambers by 7:00 if they want to participate in Citizen’s Time and the town hall meeting.

UPDATE: The emergency council session will be a closed session, but Citizen’s time and the town hall will be open to the public.

From the better-late-then-never department comes the stunning revelation that DMV is going to suspend giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens with an Employment Authorization Card.  So far no one has identified the complete and utter idiot who thought Virginia law permitted issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens under any circumstance. (more…)

Here’s another one of those wonderful illegal aliens, working at the jobs Americans apparently don’t want to do:

Eric Alexander Barahona-Rivas, 19, of no fixed address, is charged with forcible sodomy, robbery and abduction, said Perok.

He is being held without bond at the Prince William-Manassas regional jail.

Officers checked the immigration status of Barahona-Rivas after his arrest and discovered that he is in the U.S. illegally, said Prince William police 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was notified, she said.

Investigators are still searching for the two other men thought to be involved.

(more…)

Two years ago, national Democrats were feting Tom Periello’s 727-vote victory over popular incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode as evidence that, with the right candidate, Democrats can compete in even the reddest districts. Today, with scores of vulnerable incumbents to defend (even some senior incumbents in longtime Democratic districts) and fewer donors, the Democratic Party’s leadership is starting to rethink how it will allocate scarce resources in a manner to minimize its losses on November 2. Down 26-points in the most recent public poll, Rep. Tom Perriello is reportedly one of the candidates from whom the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is considering withdrawing its financial support. The reasons are not necessarily surprising.

This summer Rep. Perriello embarked on a townhall tour of every county in the 5th District that was plagued with missteps. Rep. Perriello initially refused to allow signs of any form to be brought into his townhall meetings citing the chilling effect signs have on civil discourse. The Charlottesville-based Jefferson Area Tea Party protested the congressman’s sign ban and, after threats of legal action from the Rutherford Institute, Rep. Perriello relented. Next, at a stop at Ferrum College, Rep. Perriello insisted that his vote for “Stimulus II” was necessary to prevent the Virginia General Assembly from imposing “a very costly tax hike” to keep teachers employed. Now, at a recent Perriello rally, Sen. Jim Webb publicly stated his opposition to Rep. Perriello’s position on Cap-and-Trade.

Perhaps sensing that the townhalls and campaign rallies were not going as well as expected, Rep. Perriello attempted to re-brand himself as a “[Ross] Perot-style Democrat” while formally calling for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s resignation.

Though he has changed the rhetoric, Treasury Secretary Geithner has too often championed President Bush’s economic priorities…. …The change many of us fought for in 2008 runs a lot deeper than changing the name plate on the door from Paulson to Geithner. I hope that President Obama will find the Arne Duncan of economic development, a visionary with ‘on the ground’ experience creating jobs.

Rep. Perriello’s statement on Sec. Geithner goes on to tout his dedication to rebuilding Main Street via “reinvestment” (a.k.a. the stimulus), which he asserts created–not saved or created but created–3 million jobs. Unfortunately, while supporting the Stimulus, Cap-and-Trade and Obamacare (which, unlike state Sen. Robert Hurt, Rep. Perriello still refuses to defund), Rep. Perriello does not appear to share Ross Perot’s concern for the deficit, which will soon affect everyone who still works on Main Street.

When you make numerous missteps during the summer and your state’s senior senator publicly disagrees with you while campaigning for you, the DCCC’s decision to divest only gets easier.

A local Democrat – David Hill – penned an LTE to the Free Lance Star backing Krystal Ball, the Democrat who wants to defeat and replace Congressman Rob Wittman. Hill (a genuinely decent fellow, BTW), opens his letter thusly: Rep. Rob Wittman, a strong conservative, is in direct opposition to positions taken by Sens. Warner [...]

The VMI Bagpipes started off the 2010 Buena Vista Labor Day Parade....



Governor Bob McDonnell along the parade route was well welcomed by those that came to this annual event...





Delegate Ben Cline....








Congressman Bob Goodlatte spent much time along the parade route talking with constituents from the 6th district....



General George Washington (James Renwick Manship, Sr)

The best place to learn the truth of the First Navy Flag, the Evergreen Tree of Liberty Flag, the Washington Cruisers Flag with the motto "Appeal To Heaven" from John Locke that is a "Call to War".
The First Navy Flag is NOT the fictional flag of the "Snake Over Stripes"
"Retreating Rattler" with its plaintive plea (Please) "Don't Tread On Me" created from legends and lies,
and sadly, on United States Navy ships currently flies.






















.

Man, after an armed robbery of a Subway a couple weeks ago, we now have another fast food joint and innocent apartments under attack.  What’s in the water there these days?

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See some more here

They want 8 Million votes for the "Progressive" movement.
That is what illegal immigration reform is really all about.

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Labor Day was yesterday. Election Day is November 2nd. We now have less than two months to get out the vote! If you want to get involved, it is now or never.  

In the 11th Congressional District, our congressman is Gerald E. ”Gerry” Connolly. If you have been paying any attention at all, you know Connolly votes with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Connolly voted for Obamacare and all the rest of Obama’s wasteful spending (see here). The National Republican Congressional Committee put it this way.  

Independent-minded Republican Rep. Tom Davis represented this district until the beginning of 2009, winning by solid margins cycle after cycle. By contrast, freshman Democrat Gerry Connolly is one of the most partisan members of the freshman class. Despite campaigning for this open seat last year as a pragmatic moderate, he’s supported every major piece of his party’s liberal agenda – the stimulus, the budget, cap-and-trade and government healthcare. (from here)  

Thus, the 11th Congressional District went from a representative who occasionally skirted the Constitution (a moderate) to one actively ignores it (a Liberal Democrat).  

And the Federal Budget

EXPLODED!!!!

in RED ink

Folks, we can do better. Who is Connolly running against? Connolly’s opponent is Keith Fimian.  Fimian is a successful businessman, someone who knows from personal experience how to create jobs and how government gets in the way. In 2008, Fimian launched his first foray into politics; he ran against Connolly. Although Fimian ran a good race, Connolly won the election by grabbing onto Obama’s coattails.  

In his last attempt to be our congressmen, Fimian ran as a Conservative opposing wasteful government spending. When it was still relatively unpopular, Fimian spoke out against putting our children and grandchildren in debt to foreign creditors. NOW is your opportunity to give spendoholic Connolly the boot and elect someone who can and will cut spending.  

How can Fimian win? Real Clear Politics already calls the race a toss up (Virginia 11th District – Fimian vs. Connolly). With your help, with volunteers and an advertising budget, Fimian can continue getting his message out to the public. He can inform the voters in the 11th District where he stands on the issues. With your help, Fimian can compete against a well-funded incumbent. With your help, we can get out the vote on election day!

On September 25th, Brentsville Republicans will be holding a fundraiser for Fimian. That is an opportunity for you to meet with other Republicans, hear Fimian’s message, meet Governor/Senator George Allen, and to decide how you want to help. The details are the invitation below.    

Click on the links below for an invitation and a map.

Invitation,_September_25,_Keith_Fimian_for_Congress_with_Hon._George_Allen  

Saturday, September 25, 2010

4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

8676 Trenton Chapel Way
Manassas, Virginia 20109

Filed under: candidate support

The September Issue of Virginia Politics on Demand takes a look at Education in Virginia. Education often is seen as a national issue, represented through a debate on whether the federal government has the right to set policy, and to what extent. Often lost is the role of the states in determining how best to educate our children. It’s ironic that states and localities generally have the most direct control over public education, yet they are often neglected when we discuss education.

Read all the articles online at our magazine page.

Now that we are past the Labor Day traditional start of the fall campaign swing, it is evident to me that it’s time Kenny Golden made the race for the Second District a one-on-one race.

Let’s get the easy questions out of the way. Will Golden win? No. Not even close. Will Golden win enough to play spoiler? If the current wave sustains, and I think it most assuredly will grow, Glenn Nye is toast no matter what Golden does.

Golden isn’t hurting Rigell, and he isn’t hurting the Second District. But his being in the race is keeping Democratic Party interest and money in this seat, and thus more Republican Party money spent to win it.

At this point, money is a zero sum game. Money spent here means some other district gets less. Virginia House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith is within striking distance of entrenched incumbent Rep. Rick Boucher. The second the Democrats see a poll of Rigell vs. Nye alone, they’ll triage Nye right off a cliff, and Republicans can give Griffith the resources to pick up that seat.

If not Griffith, then some other seat that could be a GOP pickup with the right amount of resources will get help.

Bottom line: If we’re interested in taking back Congress and stopping Obama’s agenda cold, these are things that need to happen.

I’ve liked Kenny Golden a long time. There was a rough and tumble primary that he should’ve stayed a part of, and he has a good resume on defense issues. But the bottom line is most voters will never know it because Golden can’t afford to tell them about it. He’s doing a disservice to voters by courting their support with so insufficient a message machine.

Golden made his point. But compared to what’s going on in the nation, and what his point-making is costing us in not just this race, but in others that could turn the tide, Golden’s point is comparatively rather dull.

In two debates, he truly added no real reason for him to be there. Democrats have enough trouble wondering why they have Nye. Kenny’s assertion that they’ll vote for a former GOP chairman who still holds the same views he always had in the GOP camp is simply silly.

But as long as Golden’s impact was restricted to the Second District race, I bit my tongue. If Golden wanted to end his career saying “nyah, nyah” to people who didn’t endorse him by spoiling things for the guy they did, it’s his career.

But Golden’s windmill charge is now not only folly, but damaging to good Republicans in other districts who did nothing to Golden or anyone else.

That’s wrong, and it should give Golden pause to reflect and, I hope, to decide to exit the race and help recapture Congress.

Someone please tell Krystal Ball’s campaign to stop digging the hole that they are in.  We’re getting ready to invoke the mercy rule it is getting so bad.  (Okay, we won’t do that, but this is definitely becoming cringe-worthy.) So now they are on their FOURTH explanation of where and how Ball received the $1 [...]

Labor Day is the traditional start to the fall campaigns in America, and in Virginia the main event(s) are congressional races across the commonwealth.  Historically congressional seats in Virginia have swung to and fro based on presidential and big statewide races.  This year, they are all on their own and the prime talks are the Class of '08 - Glenn Nye, Tom Periello, and Gerry Connolly, swept in by one of those statewide presidential elections.

• 1st District:  Rob Wittman (R) vs. Krystal Ball (D) - Republican Hold
• 2nd District:  Glenn Nye (D) vs. Scott Rigell (R) - Toss Up
• 3rd District:  Bobby Scott (D) vs. Chuck Smith (R) - Democrat Hold
• 4th District:  Randy Forbes (R) vs. Wynne LeGrow (D) - Republican Hold
• 5th District:  Tom Periello (D) vs. Robert Hurt (R) - Republican Pick Up
• 6th District:  Bob Goodlatte (R) vs. No Democrat - Republican Hold
• 7th District:  Eric Cantor (R) vs. Rick Waugh - Republican Hold
• 8th District:  Jim Moran (D) vs. Patrick Murray - Likely Democrat Hold
• 9th District:  Rick Boucher (D) vs. Morgan Griffith - Leans Democrat Hold
• 10th District:  Frank Wolf (R) vs. Jeff Barnett (D) - Republican Hold
• 11th District:  Gerry Connolly (D) vs. Keith Fimian (R) - Toss Up

For me, the real show of strength of this GOP wave is if they can take both the 11th and the 2nd.  Gerry Connolly is a street fighter, but his punches aren't landing this year because before he got to run as the assumption that Democrats were right and that is gone this year.  The 11th is considered Democratic, but Bob McDonnell won it in 2009.  Connolly has never been personally popular, but generally rode the wave of Democrats being popular.  He's never had to stand on his own at this level before on his record in the face of a skeptical public.  Fimian is no longer a rookie candidate.  He's tangled with Connolly two years ago and learned from it, and gained confidence and momentum in coming from behind to beat Pat Herrity in the primary.  Connolly won last time by painting Fimian as an out-of-touch social conservative, hitting him with robocalls about abortion.  But voters aren't having that this year with a bad economy.  Fimian learned in his primary with Herrity the importance of striking first and staying on message.  Connolly has been sloppy - complaining about "spilling buckets of blood" for Obama, saying the Bush tax cuts are bad but saying he'll vote for them.  Connolly has been on the defensive so far.  But he's still never lost an election in Fairfax County, ever.  The question will be how hard can Fimian get Prince William out and how much can he penetrate in Fairfax?  He won the primary by firing up the Tea Party base in Prince William, he needs to replicate that and work Fairfax hard.  Its a complete toss-up.

The 2nd worries me as well, I think Glenn Nye is a stronger incumbent than other people think.  Rigell did not exactly get a resounding win coming out of his primary, not even breaking 40%.  It sounds like he's done a good job of winning over all the Republicans but Nye knocked off a pretty strong incumbent who did not have the verbal gaffes that others did in 2008 and it was not an open seat.  But again, Bob McDonnell made serious gains in the 2nd - his home district - including picking up some delegate seats that were lost in the Democrats ascendancy in the 2000s.  Rigell, like Fimian, has a lot of personal wealth and is preaching the Republican doctrine.  But Nye voted no on key Democrat initiatives that Periello and Connolly are currently dealing with.  I'm also worried Rigell is as 100& enthused by the grassroots, but I think sending a message to Obama is enough to wrap them around Rigell.  But as the 11th is perhaps generically Democratic, the 2nd is Republican and I think Rigell has a good chance of taking this.  But Nye is strong and I hear has a very good on the ground operation year round. 

I think Periello is TOAST.  His victory was always a fluke, and anyone who pretends to think otherwise is crazy.  Virgil Goode lost not only because he had a habit of saying the wrong thing and picking the wrong fights, but he lost track of his own district.  Periello was a perfect foil for him, a young happy warrior with roots in non-profit and humanitarian work that couldn't have been more attractive in comparison to the old, angry Goode.  The weakness of Republicans in the 5th is perhaps many of the perspective candidates were too conservative that could be painted with the Goode brush.  But in nominating state Sen. Robert Hurt, Republicans have found a local politician with deep roots in the district and a past of a bit of bipartisanship.  In essence, he is the perfect foil for Periello.  Periello was counting on another out-of-touch fire breathing conservative to fire up his liberal base around UVA and win over independents.  But with Hurt, he can't do that.

People are making noises about Morgan Griffith cutting deep in Rick Boucher's lead, and he is.  But this is seriously uncharted territory for Republicans.  Its hard to knock off an institution in Southwest Virginia.  The latest polls suggest that Boucher has over 30% Republican support and it still up by ten, even if that is a 10 and falling.  Griffith has a real chance here because the national agenda of the Democratic Congress is an attack on how Southwest makes it living in coal and gas.  Griffith is working like hell to tag Boucher with the national party agenda and the more tough votes Boucher is forced to eat by the party leadership, the further he might sink.  This is a winnable seat, no doubt about it but a lot of things will need to come together.

Forbes, Scott, Cantor, and Wolf are all locks.  The only thing that keeps me from putting Moran as a lock is his propensity to shoot his mouth off and saying outrageous things and one of these days it'll catch up to him.  In an atmosphere like this, it could happen.  But we'll see. 

Happy Labor Day!

I’ve used this weekend to catch up on some much need rest, housekeeping chores, and go hiking and to the theater with my date. And, of course, there was the traditional picnic: hot-dogs, cheeseburgers, potato salad, coleslaw, brownies and banana pudding.

For many of us who are employed, Labor Day is a welcome break from our work routines. Some may even remember the achievements of organized laborers, who fought for more humane working conditions and reasonable hours in a time before standard labor laws, the EEOC, OSHA, and Workman’s Compensation. Others look forward to football games and the kids being back in school.

But for many Virginians, Labor Day is just one more day without a paycheck and without any meaningful work to do. In August, unemployment nationwide climbed to 9.6%. Virginia’s unemployment rate stood at 7% in July. Our better condition is partly due to the high availability of stable government and government-dependent jobs, particularly in Northern Virginia and partly due to Governor McDonnell’s business friendly policies.

Even for those who are employed, times are hard. Housing values are down and many owe more than their house is worth. Some have taken foregone raises in order to keep their jobs and others are underemployed. We know because economic hardship affects our neighbors… and us.

More have to depend on charity – or government assistance. Yet private charities are struggling to get by on less too.

Small government conservatives believe charity begins at home – caring for your family – and then in the community, caring for those who are less able to care for themselves. What better place to start than with local food banks.

September is National Hunger Action month and there are plenty of inexpensive ways we can help families in need.

One of the best ways you can help is by finding your local food bank and volunteer or donate a meal.
Check out:
Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia
Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Capital Area Food Bank (Northern Virginia and DC)
Central Virginia Food Bank
Fredericksburg Area Food Bank
Foodbank of the Virginia Penninsula
Feeding America: Southwest Virginia

Many corporations and businesses are also participating in hunger relief drives this month.

Wal-Mart is donating $2 billion dollars and they have plenty of ways you can help them fight hunger – even on Facebook.

Your local grocery store may also provide easy ways for you to help feed the hungry.

Share how you are helping in the comments or let us know what your Virginia business is doing!

Pea Island Lifesaving Station ... Outer Banks


Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
2010