Michael Steele Wins RNC Chair

In case you haven't heard it yet, Michael Steele won RNC Chairman today on the 6th ballot.  He is an energetic, made for TV speaker, so while I don't see that as the primary role of the RNC Chair, he should be a massive improvement over the former chair on this measure.  He also should help with minority outreach for obvious reasons, and hey he isn't Mike Duncan.  Hopefully today finishes a time of reflection and rebuilding for the GOP, and we can now get about the job of working hard to change this country. 

A picture of me with Michael Steele during his campaign for U.S. Senate.

More Evidence of a Media Double Standard?

Earlier I posted a pro-life add created by catholicvote.com.  Now this group wants to air the add at the Super Bowl.  However NBC is refusing to air the add saying that, "NBC and the NFL are not interested in advertisements involving 'political advocacy or issues.'"  While I can respect this position, it is ludicrous to refuse to air the add when they are simultaneously working with PETA to air an add from that political advocacy group.  When anyone establishes a standard, they mus stick with it.

Speaking of football, this video tells another amazing pro-life story of the success of a man whose mom doctors were advising to abort.

Urgent Pro-Life Action Needed

Just one phone call.   It's quick and easy and it may save a life.

I got this e-mail from the VSHL that needs to be acted on quickly to save unborn human life.

Senate Bill 1338, introduced by Sen. Mark R Herring (D-33 Leesburg), would promote state funding for research in biotechnology companies.

 

This bill has reached the floor of the Senate and contains no ethical safeguards to ensure that proposed funding would not be used for research on enbyonic stem cells or aborted babies. 

 

Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37 Fairfax) will offer floor amendments that would insure that SB1338 would not allow Virginia taxpayers to pay for research that destroys unborn human life. 

 

Action needed now.

 

Please contact your state senator and ask that he or she support any floor amendments to SB1338 that would prohibt Virginia state taxpayers money to be used for research on unborn human life or aborted babies.

 

Please go to the VSHL Virginia General Assembly website http://www.vshl.org/virginia_general_assembly.html  to get further information on SB1338 and to find out who your state senator is.

 

If you need further information, please contact the VSHL office.

 

Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of the unborn!

 

For life,
Maggie Disney
Virginia Society for Human Life, Inc.
6767 Forest Hill Ave., Suite 270
Richmond, VA 23225
804.560.8745 voice
804.560.8746 fax

To look up your state senator click here.

Brownlee's New List of Endorsement

Today seems to officially be AG Candidates Endorsement Announcement Day.  Earlier today Cuccinelli announced a couple more key endorsements, and then this afternoon Brownlee announced that "Almost every Republican leader in Virginia's Fightin' Ninth Congressional District has joined Team Brownlee and endorsed John to be our next Attorney General."  

The following is a list of Brownlee's supporters form the 9th Congressional District copied straight from the e-mail he sent out.

ALLEGHANY / COVINGTON: Loren Newman, Unit Chair   BLAND COUNTY: Jack Morgan, Unit Chair; Rebecca Johnson, Clerk of Court; Sheriff Jerry Thompson    BRISTOL CITY: Joyce Kistner, Unit Chair   BUCHANAN COUNTY: Jerry Lester, Unit Chair; Tamara Neo, Commonwealth's Attorney CARROLL COUNTY: Marion Alderman, former Unit Chair; Gregory Goad, Commonwealth's Attorney   CRAIG COUNTY: Don Bishop, Unit Chair   DICKENSON COUNTY: Randy Davis, Unit Chair   FLOYD COUNTY: Valencia Kurkek, Vice Unit Chair; Bob Smith, Vice Unit Chair   GALAX CITY: Mike Stevens, Unit Chair                             GILES COUNTY: Mae Midkiff, Unit Chair   GRAYSON COUNTY: Delegate Bill Carrico   LEE COUNTY: Damie Carter, Unit Chair   MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Patty Manthe, Unit Chair   NORTON CITY: Carol Caruso, Unit Chair   PATRICK COUNTY: Beth Stanley, Unit Chair   PULASKI COUNTY: Jessee and Debbie Ring   RADFORD CITY: Sheriff Mark Armentrout, Unit Chair   RUSSELL COUNTY: Eugene Compton, Unit Chair   SCOTT COUNTY: John Kilgore, Unit Chair; Delegate Terry Kilgore   SMYTH COUNTY: Adam Tolbert, Unit Chair; Jeff Hutton, Vice Unit Chair   TAZEWELL COUNTY: Aaron Roberts, Unit Chair; T. Shea Cook, former Ninth CD Chair   WASHINGTON COUNTY: Gary Rose; Tricia Phipps Moore, Clerk of Court   WISE COUNTY: Ben Boggs, Unit Chair   WYTHE COUNTY: Gerald Mabe, Commonwealth's Attorney; Sam Crockett, County Treasurer

After reading the e-mail, certain snide comments like the fact that it takes more than one congressional district to win, Ken has a significant number of endorsements from all over the state, not just his home town, endorsements from South West Virginia are nice, but there aren't many delegate votes there, and atleast Ken could get the chair of his own local committee to endorse him.  While these thoughts popped into my head, I won't say them, or maybe Brownlee will release a nother list of endorsements that begins to rival Ken's endorsement list.

New Cuccinelli Unit Chair Endorsements

Yesterday the unit chairs from Roanoke Co, and Chesterfield Co., Graham Leonard, and Donald Williams endorsed Ken Cuccinelli.  If Brownlee can't even get the chairman of his own local committee to endorse him, I wonder who he has endorsing him.  We can only wonder as Brownlee has no list of endorsements on his website.

The campaign now has endorsements from the five units with the most votes at the convention: Fairfax Co, City of Virginia Beach, Chesterfield Co, Henrico Co, and Prince William Co.  The campaign also has endorsements from ten of the fifteen largest units.  Too see a list of Ken's other endorsements, check here.

My Speech at the CRFV State Convention

On Saturday I had the great honor and privilege of being able to speak on behalf of my political hero, Ken Cuccinelli, at the College Republican Federation of Virginia State Convention.  At the start of the convention John Brownlee addressed the assembled delegates, followed by Dave Foster.  Sen. Cuccinelli was unable to attend the meeting so I spoke on his behalf, and shared why I am supporting him in this race.  

In all honesty I was fairly nervous heading into the speech, especially as I only realized what I was supposed to do the previous afternoon.  However many of my friends were praying for me, and God blessed me.  I know I could have delivered it better, but a lot of people really liked the speech.  

After the speech Mr. Brownlee came up to me and congratulated me on giving a good speech.  He also said I have a good speaking voice and should consider becoming a lawyer.  One of his staff members also took the time to compliment me about the speech as well.  I'm thankful that while we can disagree sharply in this race we can still be civil and friendly about it.

Daniel Davies, a fellow PHC student, took a video of the speech, and I will post it as soon as we can get it on You Tube.  The rest of this article is the actual text of the speech.  I hope that after you read it, you will consider supporting Senator Cuccinelli for Attorney General.  (To read about what else happened at the CRFV convention, check here.)

Why I support Sen. Cuccinelli for Attorney General

By: Willie Deutsch

My name is Willie Deutsch, I am the 1^st Vice Chair of the Patrick Henry College Republicans.  Since Ken Cuccinelli was unable to attend this meeting, I am going to share with you the reasons I am supporting Sen. Cuccinelli for Attorney General, and why I hope you will support him as well.  As I begin I want to say that over the course of this campaign I have had the opportunity of interacting with both John Brownlee and Dave Foster.  They are both good men.  I am thankful that as a party we have three fine men running in this nomination contest.  However, I believe that Senator Cuccinelli is by far the best candidate in this race.  I first met Cuccinelli when he was running for reelection in 2007.  One of the things that stood out when I first met Ken was his belief that it is more important to stand for principle than to win elections.  Sadly the political process suffers from a lack of principled people in politics.

As we look at the recent success Democrats have had in Virginia, I believe that Democrats have only won statewide when Republicans forget their principles, and/or run lousy campaigns.  This is why Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling won in 2005 while Jerry Kilgore lost, it also explains why George Allen lost in 2006, why we lost the state senate in 2007, and why Virginia’s electoral college votes went to Obama last year.  In Cuccinelli we have the opportunity to reverse the tide of Democratic wins in Virginia by nominating a proven conservative with a record of winning elections.

Throughout his career in the VA State Senate, Ken has fought for the conservative principles that attracted me to this party: limited government, life, the family, the 2^nd amendment, and the rule of law.  Even though he is the last of a dying breed of Republicans from Fairfax Co, he isn’t afraid to be a conservative leader in the state senate.  When Ken says that he is conservative, he has the record to back it up.

Ken believes in the importance of property rights, and as a result fought to strengthen Virginia’s property rights before Kelo, and was the author of the bill that denied localities the ability to exercise eminent domain simply because a public benefit would result.

Ken believes in the importance of protecting the unborn, and has fought for the unborn at every opportunity, including drafting Virginia’s parental notification law in 2003, and leading the fight to defund planned parenthood last session.

Ken believes in the importance of the family, and as a result sponsored the Virginia Marriage Amendment in the Senate, and actively campaigned for it all over the state.

Ken believes in the 2^nd Amendment and as a result has fought to repeal the ban on carrying a concealed weapon in restaurants, eliminate duplicate local background checks, and has become the point man on gun rights in the senate courts and justice committee.

Ken believes in fiscal responsibility, and as a result has voted against every tax increase, regularly submits budget cuts, and has never submitted an earmark request without submitting a request for an  equal budget cut.

While Brownlee and Foster are good men, neither of them can give examples of how they have fought to promote such a wide array of conservative values.  Ken has proven that when he is under fire, he stays true to his conservative principles.

Not only do I support Senator Cuccinelli because he is the candidate with a proven conservative record, I also believe our party should nominate him because he has demonstrated regularly that he can win tough campaigns.  It appears that whoever wins this nomination contest will have a tough general election race against Steve Shannon who already has a war chest of about $740,000.  Running against a tough Democrat opponent in a state that seems to be trending Democrat, we need someone who has demonstrated that he knows how to win elections.  That man is Senator Cuccinelli.  Since 2002 he has won 3 state senate races on conservative issues in Fairfax Co. against opponents who had more money than him. 

In 2002 he won his first state senate race while being outspent 2.5-1

In 2003 he won reelection wile being outspent 2-1

And in 2007 he was once again underfunded, and was a top target for the Democratic Party, and still won.

These victories are testaments to Senator Cuccinelli’s ability to run frugal grassroots campaigns with impressive ID and GOTV operations. 

Over the past month and a half Cuccinelli’s Attorney General Campaign has put an impressive grassroots campaign on display.  During the petition drive that concluded n the beginning of December, Cuccinelli’s attorney general campaign turned in more original signatures than any other campaign.  Under a week later Cuccinelli won the Republican Advance straw poll, an event in which John Brownlee enjoyed home field advantage.  Ken took 47% in the poll, 9% more than Brownlee.  A week and a half ago the campaigns turned in their finance reports for the past 6 months and Cuccinelli raised more money than the Brownlee and Foster campaigns combined, and in a true demonstration of the grassroots support for his campaign he had the most donors of the three candidates, over 600 more than Brownlee.       

Senator Cuccinelli has proven that he can win tough elections on state issues, something neither of the two other candidates had to do.  He has won three times running on conservative principles in Fairfax Co. against better funded candidates.  Ken is demonstrating in this nomination contest that he has an army of grassroots supporters who are willing to work tirelessly for him, and if our party nominates Ken, he will use his campaigning abilities and grassroots army to win the Attorney General’s office for the GOP.

By this time some of you are probably thinking, I know Ken is a great guy, so why doesn’t he stay in the senate and keep leading the fight for our values their?  When weighing weather or not to run for Attorney General, Ken realized that he could do more for the idea of limited government as Attorney General than as a state senator.  As a state senator, Ken is one of forty people.  As Attorney General, he is in charge of the office.  One of the important functions of the Attorney’s Generals office is to be the general counsel for other government agencies.  Ken believes that in this position he can use his influence as Attorney General to encourage other state agencies to reduce the unconstitutional layers of regulation and wasteful projects they engage in.  As a partner at Cuccinelli and Day, Ken has served as a general counsel for small and midsized businesses.  He wants to do the same type of work in the Attorney General’s office for state agencies and use that power to reduce the size of government. 

Who occupies the Attorney General’s office became even more important on Tuesday with the inauguration of Barack Obama.  With the Democrats running D.C. we can expect that some of the liberties we hold dear in this state will come under attack.  Our pro-life laws are under attack from the Freedom of Choice Act, and our state marriage amendment, right to work status, and pro-gun laws will all almost certainly come under attack.  It is important that our next Attorney General be a man who we can trust to defend these laws in the courts.  Ken wrote some of the laws that will come under attack, and has fought for these values in the senate.  I know he will fight to defend them through the court system if he becomes Attorney General.

While Ken has accomplished a lot as a state senator, he can accomplish even more as Attorney General.  He can use his role as the legal advisor to other governmental agencies to reduce the size of government.  He is also a man we can trust to defend Virginia’s conservative laws that will almost certainly be attacked by the federal government. 

On May 30^th this party will nominate Virginia’s next Attorney General.  We have the option to nominate a proven conservative who wins tough campaigns and turn the Democratic tide in Virginia.  I hope you will join me over the coming year in pouring your time and energy into making, Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s next Attorney General.  

The New Stimulus Package May not Produce a Single Job

In a recent House Ways and Means Committee meeting, the ranking member, Dave Camp (R-MI), asked the Majority Tax Staff Director a very simple question. How many jobs will the Democrats proposed stimulus package create? The man who is supposedly the expert on this topic was forced to admit that he didn't know that any jobs would necessarily be created. Over $700 billion on a plan that won't necessarily do what it purports to do? Is this really smart?

An Amazing Pro-Life Add

Tomorrow Americans all across the country will recognize the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  Many of us will rally and march across the country tomorrow to show our support for the unborn.  As we do prepare for tomorrow, and remember the sin our nation is committing, I thought this was an amazing add produced by CatholicVote.com.

Let us join together to help end abortion, and realize the full potential of people born in difficult situations.

The Best Part of the Inauguration

Amid all the festivities, speaking, and political events that happened today, I have to say this was the best part of the inauguration.

Also I love watching inaugurations as they display the greatness of the American political system.  We can peacefully transfer power from one party to another.

What was Wrong is Now Right

In 2005 as we approached President Bush's inauguration Democrats criticized President Bush for spending about $42 million on his inauguration and the surrounding festivities.  Those criticizing the president believed that during a time of war, and economic difficulty the president needed to tone down the occasion.

In 2005, Reps. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., and Jim McDermott, D-Wash., asked Bush to show a little less pomp and be a little more circumspect at his party.

"President Roosevelt held his 1945 inaugural at the White House, making a short speech and serving guests cold chicken salad and plain pound cake," the two lawmakers wrote in a letter. "During World War I, President Wilson did not have any parties at his 1917 inaugural, saying that such festivities would be undignified."

The thinking was that, with the nation at war, excessive celebration was inappropriate.

These two representative were just the tip of the iceberg.  Here is an extensive list of liberals who criticized the "extravagance" of President Bush's inauguration.  The BBC even took the time to criticize President Bush on this point as well.  

Now as we look forward to the inauguration of the first black president, Barack Obama, it is expected to cost over $150 million.  This is four times what President Bush's 2005 inauguration cost.  If there ever was a time for the American people to be more frugal, it is now.  Unemployment is on the rise, financial institutions are failing, the stock market is in a bad shape, and the congress is working on its second massive bailout package.  In addition to this $150 million the federal government was forced to declare the event a federal emergency because of the number of people coming to D.C.  This opens up even more federal money to help cover the security costs of the event.

In response to criticism that the inauguration may be too costly, the inaugural committee spokeswoman said, "That is probably not the way the country is going to be looking at it.  It is not a celebration of an election. It is a celebration of our common values."  Is it really possible that if the country opposed a $42 million inauguration four years ago, it loves the idea of a $150 million inauguration in the present economic condition?

Maybe part of the change we can believe in this 21st century presidency is that what was wrong is now right.  If that is true though, how can you believe in something if it might be wrong a couple years down the road? 

Bush Commutes the Sentences of Ramos and Campean

Amid the discussion of the Bush legacy, one thing that will regularly come up is his position on illegal immigration.  While many have disagreed with the president's support for amnesty, it is encouragin that on his last day in office he chose to commute the sentences of Ramos and Campean.  Sadly these men who were defending America were not pardoned.  Atleast their sentences were commuted, and for that I thank the president.

Patrick Henry College Dominates Moot Court Nationals

After two years of not winning the Moot Court National Tournament, the Patrick Henry College Moot Court team won it again, and dominated Moot Court all year long.  

In the American Collegiate Moot Court Association, schools are not allowed to send any more than 8 teams to the national tournament.  This was a difficulty for Patrick Henry College since in the four regional tournaments, PHC won 1st place speaker in all of them, won first place team in three of the tournaments, and ended up qualifying 14 teams to nationals.  No other school in this league qualified more than 8 teams for the national tournament this year.

Coaches Dr. Farris, and Dr. Guliuzza had the difficult task of choosing who would represent PHC at the national tournament.  

Guliuzza and Dr. Michael Farris (PHC Chancellor), made their final pick based on students’ comparative performances at the qualifying tournaments. In no particular order, the final, eight-team roster selected to attend the national tournament are: Rachel Heflin, Aidan Grano, James Mieding, Robert Kelly, Brianna Edelblut, Joseph Alm, Aaron Kamakawiwoole, Joshua Kamakawiwoole, Evan Mantel, John Miller, Jenna Lorence, Paul Sellers, Rachel Blum, Noah Oberlander, Carmen Pettus, and Ben Sayre. 

After dominating the regional tournaments Patrick Henry College did the same at the national tournament.  Seven of our eight teams broke into elimination rounds.  Four of the eight teams in the quarter final rounds were from PHC, the semifinal round included three PHC teams, and the final round was comprised of two PHC teams.  In a rematch of the Fitchburg tournament Aidan Grano and Rachel Heflin defeated Joey Alm and Brianna Edelblut to becoME the new national moot court champions.  Robert Kelly and James Mieding placed third as PHC took 1st 2nd and 3rd at the tournament.

Patrick Henry College also won in other awards categories.  PHC took five of the top ten speakers including Aidan Grano winning 1st place speaker.  Rachel Blum and Noah Oberlander's brief won 3rd place petitioner brief, and Aaron and Joshua Kamakawiwoole won 1st place respondent brief as PHC took first, second, and third in that category.

Congratulations to the PHC Moot Court Team, and to Dr. Farris an Dr. Guliuzza.  With much of the team returning next year, and a lot of good people potentially joining next year, maybe we can repeat this success next year.

Farewell President Bush

For better or for worse, the Bush presidency is coming to an end.  While there are many things to criticize about the Bush Presidency, like the sellout of capitalism, one of his strengths has been the moral clarity.  Having a man with this kind of moral clarity is especially important when we see the relativistic thinking of our nation.  President Bush's moral clarity came through in one of the highlights of his farewell speech the other night.   

At the same time, we must continue to engage the world with confidence and clear purpose. In the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. But we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. Retreating behind our borders would only invite danger. In the 21st century, security and prosperity at home depend on the expansion of liberty abroad. If America does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.

As we address these challenges - and others we cannot foresee tonight - America must maintain our moral clarity. I have often spoken to you about good and evil. This has made some uncomfortable. But good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. Murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. Freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. This Nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. We must always be willing to act in their defense and to advance the cause of peace.

Cuccinelli Outraises Brownlee

The filing reports for money raised by candidates for executive office between July 30th and December 31st were due last night.  During a fundraising period that included both the 2008 elections, and a recession, Ken Cuccinelli outraised John Brownlee.

During that period, Cuccinelli raised $225,244 and has $220,536.  In that same period, John Brownlee raised $111,714 and now has $116,589 cash on hand.  While $30,000 of Cuccinelli's total was a transfer from his state senate account, Cuccinelli still significantly outraised Brownlee. 

Not only did Cuccinelli out raise Brownlee, but in another demonstration of his strong grass roots support, he also outperformed in sheer number of donors.  Cuccinelli had a total of 939 donors while Brownlee had 277 donors.  Cuccinelli also outraised Brownlee 724 to 158 in donations under $100.  

These numbers are important for at least two reasons.  Cuccinelli's strong fundraising performance will be important for the general election since Steve Shannon is waiting on the Democratic ticket with a war chest that currently sits at $740,000.  The grassroots strength reflected in these numbers will help Ken overcome a financial deficit in the general election as it has in past elections.  These new fundraising numbers reflect just how strong the Cuccinelli campaign is.

Ken is 3-0 in demonstrations of the strengths of the Cuccinelli campaign.  He had the best showing in the petition drive in the beginning of December, won the Republican Advance strawpoll, and now had the best showing in this past financial period.  Now it is on to the delegate elections.    

Sources for this article include the Bearing Drift article, AP article, and VPAP reports for both Brownlee and Cuccinelli.

Senator Cuccinelli's Response to the State of the Commonwealth Address

Tonight Governor Tim Kaine gave his final State of the Commonwealth Address.  The speech focussed on the economic crisis facing the nation, and the resulting budget crisis facing the state.

The following is Senator Cuccinelli's response to the speech.

(Richmond, VA) – State Senator Ken Cuccinelli’s statement on Governor Tim Kaine’s “State of the Commonwealth” address tonight:

Governor Kaine’s speech about the budget shortfalls facing Virginia was heavy on specific problems, but light on workable solutions.  Effectively bringing back parole and raising taxes will only hurt Virginia businesses, employees and taxpayers.  

The size of Virginia’s government has doubled in the last ten years, and yet I haven’t met many Virginia families whose income has doubled in that time.  I hope that the legislature will see fit to roll back the last few years spending increases, preserving transportation and not releasing criminals early.

Joe Murray Almost Wins Inside the Beltway and Huck PAC Announces it's VA Endorsements

Last night in Virginia's special election to replace retiring Delegate Brian Moran in the 46th district Republican Joe Murray only lost by 16 votes.  He ran a smart and competitive campaign inside the beltway and almost won.  People are already analyzing the impacts of the Democrats almost losing a seat in Northern Virginia that Obama carried with 75% of the vote in November.  At the very least the Democrats will have to think twice when they think about picking up and holding seats in NOVA this year.  Also Delegate Moran, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Governor, will have to work extra hard to convince Democrats that he can win in NOVA since he hardly held onto his own seat.

One thing I noticed while following the race for Brian Moran's seat was that the Democrats seemed to be taking the race for granted.  The Democratic Party of Virginia's website spent all its time celebrating its 2008 victories and never prominently mentioned any of the past three special elections on its website.  On the other hand, the RPV was promoting the race on its homepage as well as on its networking site.  The next time the state Democratic Party ignores a race in NOVA the consequences may be even more severe.   

Huck PAC just recently made its first endorsements for the 2009 election cycle.  It endorsed Bob McDonnell for Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General.  With its new National Volunteer Team it will be interesting to see how much of an impact these endorsements have on the race.  If nothing else these endorsements should help activate the Virginia grassroots supporters who campaigned for Mike Huckabee, and get them campaigning for Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli.  With the recent endorsements from Bobby Jondal and Rudy Giuliani for Bob McDonnell it is also great to see national Republican figures rallying around Bob McDonnell.

Dr. Paul on the Gaza Conflict

Normally I wouldn't care what Dr. Paul says.  He has some good points to make about our financial mess, and it is good to have his opinions voiced in the 435 member House of Representatives.  However Dr. Paul and the Campaign for Liberty were a topic of conversation at the RNC Chairman Candidates Debate on Monday.

Only two days before the debate, the Campaign for Liberty posted a video on YouTube of Dr. Paul's thoughts on the current Israeli/Gaza conflict.

Essentially Dr. Paul says that America is antagonizing the Muslims in the Middle East by not stopping Israel, says there is no benefit to supporting Israel.  He also argues we should not side with Israel in its fight with terrorists, says that Israel is fighting a preemptive war by invading Gaza after Gaza had refused to stop firing missiles at Israel, and while criticizing what America has done in this conflict, refused to offer a possible solution and simply says it is a hopeless mess.  He also questions why a nuclear power would attack a bunch of poor people who just have missiles.  Maybe the same reason America invaded Afghanistan.  We were under attack from people in that country.  If a countries sovereignty is to be upheld, it must defend itself, and if   

The candidates for RNC Chair were asked how they plan on reaching out to the Ron Paul supporters and the Campaign for Liberty.  In all seriousness though, how can the Republican Party reach out to Ron Paul and his supporters and still be the party of a strong national defense?

That said, I wish Ron Paul weren't so naive about foreign policy, because he has some really good things to say about inflation, especially the threat of inflation.  The things he says about our foreign policy turn people off to what he has to say about our financial mess so that that important message is not heard.

President-Elect Obama's Economy Speech: A True Piece of Eleoquence

Today President-Elect Obama delivered a speech on the economy in Fairfax Virginia to advocate his American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.  It was a speech of contradictions.  

The speech was all about the need for big government programs.

If nothing is done (by the federal government), this recession could linger for years.  

It  closed by talking about how this plan will result in increased personal responsibility.

That is why the time has come to build a 21st century economy in which hard work and responsibility are once again rewarded.

It began by talking about how the federal government needs to solve the plan immediately.  

Now, the very fact that this crisis is largely of our (the U.S. Government's) own making means that it is not beyond our (the U.S. Government's) ability to solve. 

It ended by saying that this proposal will not solve the problem addressed.

Now, this recovery plan alone will not solve all the problems that led us into this crisis.

While advocating a bill estimated to cost over 800 billion, Obama talked about the importance of being fiscally responsible.

We cannot have a solid recovery if our people and our businesses don't have confidence that we're getting our fiscal house in order.... Politicians spent taxpayer money without wisdom or discipline, and too often focused on scoring political points instead of the problems they were sent here to solve. 

However he also admitted that there is a considerable short term cost.

There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short-term. 

In other news, China may be unwilling to buy even more U.S. debt.

Senate Seating Update

Only yesterday Harry Reid was saying that Burris was not going to be a U.S. Senator.  After he refused to let Richard Burris into the Senate, Senator Feinstein broke ranks and offered her support for Burris, and the Congressional Black Caucus unanimously voted to support seating Burris.  The Senate leadership also came under pressure as Americans watched an old black man, who would be the only black Senator, forced to stay in the rain by a group of white guys.  Suddenly today after a Richard Burris, Dick Durbin, and Harry Reid met, Harry Reid and Dick Durbin reversed their positions.  They now say they see a way for Richard Burris to join the senate.

In other news, Harry Reid that Norm Coleman "will never serve in the senate."  I wonder how long it will be before he has to reverse himself on this statement as well.

Upcoming Huckabee Interview

Tomorrow 12/7 at 1:00 PM, Leigh Bortins the founder and director of a network of homeschool coops, Classical Conversations, will be interviewing Governor Mike Huckabee on her blogtalkradio show.  It should be an opportunity to hear what Governor Huckabee is up to recently, his plans, and views on the current political situation.  There will be time in the show for listeners to call in and talk to the governor.  If you are interested in listening to the show it will be airing on Leigh's blogtalkradio account.

Congress Starts a New Session Today

Reagan famously said, "The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help."  Today the government is starting a news session for the 111th time and is intent on helping YOU during this session.  You are permitted to be terrified.

Today is largely a ceremonial day with the swearing in ceremonies taking place.  (This means Virginia has a new junior senator today.)  However there are two stories of note on the senate side of congress.  

Roland Burris, the man Governor Blagojevich nominated to take Barack Obama's senate seat has been rejected by the senate, and while he is working with senate leaders to resolve the issue, he may take it to court.

Also the Minnesota certified that Al Franken won the Minnesota Senate recount yesterday.  Norm Coleman is challenging this in court as this was a very fishy recount process.  The Senate Republican leadership have vowed to keep Al Franken from taking his seat until the the legal battle is concluded in Minnesota.  Minnesota law will not issue a certificate of election until the litigation process has ended, however some Democrat senators including Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid are pushing for Franken to be seated immediately.

The irony in all of this is that Reid is refusing to seat Burris because he doesn't have an election certificate but talking of seating Franken without one.  

Reid Spokesman Says There Will "Likely Be An Attempt To Seat" Franken. 

"Jim Manley, the spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday that there 'likely will be an attempt to seat [Franken] this week.' A senior Democratic aide confirmed that Senate Democrats hoped to swear Franken in Tuesday, along with the rest of the freshman senators." (Emily Cadei and Kathleen Hunter, "Senate Democrats May Try To Seat Franken," CQPolitics.com, January 5, 2009)

FLASHBACK: Reid Spokesman Says Roland Burris Could Not Be Seated Unless He Has An Election Certificate. 

"'Until he gets a certificate he is not a senator,' said Jim Manley, spokesman for Reid, D-Nev." (Catharine Richert, "Challenges Could Keep Two Senate Seats Open For Weeks,"Congressional Quarterly, January 1, 2009)

Now that is what I would call fair and open government.

In other senate news we still don't have a replacement for Hillary Clinton's senate seat.

Tim Kaine for DNC Chair

As we prepare for today's debate between the Republican candidates for party chair, the media is buzzing with the news that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine has been nominated by Barack Obama to be the new Democratic Party Chair.  This should be very interesting.  

When you think of Governor Tim Kaine, what do you think of as his accomplishments?  Honestly it seems to be the national media attention he has received.  It began with the Democratic rebuttal to the State of the Union Address in 2006, and then this year has been round the clock media coverage with Kaine's support for Obama.  

It appears this is simply a pay back by Obama for political support during the presidential race.  Governor Kaine has accomplished very little as governor.  One of the biggest issues of his campaign was solving the transportation issue.  Governor Kaine has failed on that front, and spent this year campaigning instead of solving that issues, and now he faces a multi million budget shortfall and will be only a part time governor now.  

Even on the political front Kaine has failed.  He has failed to defeat some of his top targets in the general assembly: Ken Cuccinelli, and Jeff Frederick.  He has failed to unite his party heading into this year's executive elections in Virginia, and even with the nationwide destruction of the Republican brand he was only able to take a slim lead in the senate, and failed to take control in the house.  Honestly most of the Democrats recent success in Virginia is due to Mark Warner and not Tim Kaine.  If Kaine brings that kind of success to the DNC, the Republicans might really have a chance in 2010.

The other interesting thing with Tim Kaine as Democratic Chair is his arched left eyebrow.  Tim Kaine's arched left eyebrow has earned him such nicknames as "Tim Eyebrow Kaine" and "Unibrow."  

Seriously, how does a picture like that not make you laugh?  

On a more substantive note Governor Kaine can also be something of a loose cannon.  When he was basically campaigning for the vice presidential nod, Governor Kaine received a lot of flack over comments he made during the Georgia/Russian conflict over the summer while talking about Barack Obama's diplomatic abilities.

“It was a bad crisis for the world. It required tough words but also a smart approach to call on the international community to step in. And I’m very, very happy that the Senator's request for a ceasefire has been complied with by President Medvedev.”

The problem with this quote was that the Russians did not agree to a ceasefire at that time, McCain had called for one earlier, and it reveals a certain sense of pompous arrogance to think that just because Obama called for it, it happened.  I was going to post a You Tube video of the comment so you could see the eyebrow in action, but all the videos of it I could find said "This video has been moved due to terms of use violation."  I wonder why You Tube really removed that video...

After the election, Kaine also made another revealing statement.  It didn't receive anywhere near as much flack since it wasn't said till after the election.

“Let’s be realistic,” Kaine said, using the words “challenging times” several times in his remarks to VSU officials, faculty and students. “You don’t run for governor to make budget cuts.”

If only this statement was made before the election it might have been interesting.

I have also noticed a general inability for Kaine to accurately use historical references in major speeches including his inaugural address, the Tech shooting speech, and his state of the commonwealth addresses.  I wonder if the national media will pick up on that as Governor Kaine receives more national attention.

It should be very interesting and a lot of fun having Governor Kaine as Democratic Party Chair, hopefully we can win big in Virginia in 2009, and then in the midterms.  Meanwhile, for the good of the commonwealth, I hope we can fix the financial state of the commonwealth and the transportation issue in the upcoming session.

RNC Candidates debate

Tomorrow at 1 PM Americans for Tax Reform will host a debate between the candidates for RNC Chair.  You can watch it live online.  This is an important debate as it is the only debate, and will hopefully show differences between the candidates.  It is also important because some of the committee members, including Jeff Frederick--The RPV Chairman--, have not yet decided who to vote for.  

The chair is elected by the 168 Republican National Committee members and the election is slated to take place on January 28th.  The current list of candidates is incumbent Mike Duncan, Saul Anuzis, Ken Blackwell, Katon Dawson, Chip Saltsman, and Michael Steele.  Hopefully whoever is elected will work hard and successfully rebuild the party in time for the midterm elections.  We need a chairman who can raise money and create a strategy that engages and builds the grassroots while using new technology, and developing more useful technology.  

If you are interested in my thoughts on the race for RNC chair you can read an article I wrote earlier relating to the RNC Chair race.  Hopefully the committee members make a wise choice on behalf of the party.

What do you think about the race?  Please vote in my poll which will be up till the new chair is chosen, and comment and let everyone know who you support and why.

Hucks Army 2.0?

In a recent e-mail sent out by Huck PAC, Mike Huckabee announces the launch of a National Volunteer Team. The heart of the e-mail says, 

I wanted to email you today to announce the launch of our National Volunteer Team. Our goal is to identify volunteers nationwide, organize into local groups in every county of the United States and then assist Huck PAC endorsed candidates.

We have divided the country into regions and will begin recruiting leadership in every state and county. Ultimately, these leaders will be responsible for building local volunteer teams, setting up events, organizing phone banks, knocking on doors and much more. Our goal is to have at least one Huck PAC group leader in every county in the nation by the end of 2009.

This is one part of our plans but is a very important part. We want to make a difference locally in the races of the candidates we are supporting (as we did with Saxby) and we believe having a volunteer team in place will make a big difference. We had a strong record of candidate support in 2008 but we weren't satisfied with the results.

The rest of the e-mail included specific ways to get involved, and further explanation of the program.

Many indicators point to the fact that Mike Huckabee will run for president again down the road.  Among all this talk though, many wonder how Huckabee will continue to stay relevant over the next few years.  The National Volunteer Team seems like a creative way to strengthen Governor Huckabee's bid to run for the Republican nomination for president down the road.  If this initiative is anywhere near close to successful and the National Volunteer Team is able to have teams in most of the counties in America by the 2010 midterm elections, it could become a powerful force for the Republican Party during those crucial elections.  If Governor Huckabee can create a force that helps elect conservative Republicans he could portray himself as a party builder, and someone who has expanded the conservative movement.

While creating a national network of volunteers who will support conservative candidates in a year seems extraordinarily difficult, Mike Huckabee and his team are probably uniquely positioned to create this group.  His presidential bid took him from being an unknown to receiving the second most delegate votes in the Republican primary.  His electoral victories included a win in Iowa and an impressive second place finish in states won on Super Tuesday.  Much of this success was the result of a passionate and well organized grassroots comprised of Fair Taxers, homeschoolers, social conservatives, and others.  These supporters formed a highly organized grassroots force known as Hucks Army.  Governor Huckabee often referred to this group as his "secret weapon" and attributed much of the success for his campaign to this group.  With a whole year to organize and create this grassroots army instead of a matter of months, it will be interesting to see how well this group does.  If they could somehow be even more effective in the midterms than Hucks Army was in the primary, that could be quite a feather in the cap of the former governor from Hope.

U.S. Military on High Alert?

So admittedly this is only a caller calling into a radio show, but it is definitely intriguing. 

In the last quarter before the 11:00 hour today, a caller called into the Glenn Beck program, and said he had insider information that the military was going on high alert in light of the new incoming president.  He also said it was a higher alert than normally done during transitions between administrations.  Again, I recognize this is basically just an unsubstantiated rumor based on the source, but it is still interesting.  We will see if other reports confirm this rumor.

If it is true, I pray the military is successful in protecting.  It is generally recognized that it takes an administration a couple months to transition in, and get everything running at the White House.  Not only do the terrorists understand this fact as they did in 2001, but Obama is perceived as a weak president.  His talks of reducing nuclear activities, and diplomacy must encourage the terrorists.  Hopefully the military is successful, and America is kept safe during this especially vulnerable year.

Announcing the PHC College Republicans Blog

I would like to announce the beginning of the PHC College Republicans blog. Please stop on over, check it out, and give us some feed back. This blog should keep you posted on different activities the club is involved in as well as wrapups of our events. You can also keep an eye on another aspect of my life there as I am 1st Vice Chair of the club.