Sweet Home Alabama (Political Ad Style)

One of the most recognizable songs in the south is Sweet Home Alabama. The state that brought us this all American song is now bringing us a new breed of political ads.

Two unique tv ads have been released by candidates in Republican primaries in Alabama. The first ad received quite a bit of attention, and the second ad will almost certainly receive a lot of attention in the days to come. They both invoke the founding fathers, and channel a passion for liberty while using creative choreography.

The first ad is from Dale Peterson who ran an unsuccessful campaign for Alabama Agriculture Commission. The second ad is from Rick Barber who is running in a runoff for the congressional nomination in AL-2 on July 13th. Both these ads are for people who were endorsed by a new group called i Caucus.

FRC Responds to Release of First Ever GAO Report on Federal Funding for Abortion Advocates

FRC Responds to Release of First Ever GAO Report on Federal Funding for Abortion Advocates
June 16, 2010

Urges Congress to Move Taxpayer Funding Away from Abortion Industry

WASHINGTON, D.C. - This morning at a Capitol Hill news conference, Family Research Council joined members of Congress including Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX), and Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) as well as other pro-life leaders to discuss the Government Accountability Office's first ever report on federal funding for abortion advocates. The report was requested by Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) and other key members of Congress.

The report revealed that six organizations connected to the abortion agenda received over a billion dollars in federal funds between 2002 and 2009. The six organizations are Planned Parenthood Federation of America, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Population Council of the United States, Guttmacher Institute, Advocates for Youth and Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

Family Research Council Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment Ken Blackwell made the following comments:

"Giving taxpayer money to organizations that promote and provide abortion, even if the money is not used for that purpose, frees up other funds for abortion purposes and gives the government's stamp of approval to their abortion related activities.

"By funding Planned Parenthood and their allies, we are unwittingly supporting an abortion organization and everything they do. When taxpayer money goes to abortion groups for any reason, it supports the work of the abortion industry. We should not let abortion companies benefit financially from taxpayer funds.

"We urge Congress to bring an end to funding for abortion providers by enacting the Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act. We applaud Congressman Mike Pence for introducing this commonsense bill which would simply ensure that funds go to organizations that are not in the abortion business."

The Best Analysis of Obama's Speech

Last night President Obama gave a speech from the Oval Office on the oil spill. Interestingly some of the best analysis comes from MSNBC pundits Keith Olberman and Chris Matthews. When these two people release scathing criticism of Obama, you know Obama is failing.



If you want in depth analysis from the right, go here.

Join AG Cuccinelli for an informational webcast on June 16th

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli filed a lawsuit on behalf of Virginia to overturn the federal health care mandate following the passage of the national health care bill in March. After weeks of waiting for the federal government to respond, federal officials filed a reply in the U.S. District Court on May 24th with a motion to dismiss the suit, which is what the Attorney General's office expected would happen. Cuccinelli's office responded, and is now waiting on the U.S. to file its reply brief by June 22nd, and then the oral arguments on the motion to dismiss will take place on July 1st at 10 a.m. - one hour for each side.

If Virginia's case is not dismissed and moves forward, a summary judgment hearing is scheduled for October 18th.

On June 16th, Attorney General Cuccinelli will hold a webcast to discuss where his team is on the case, what you can expect going forward and the constitutional issues involved. To join the webcast, you must register on the AG's website. The webcast is free and open to the public, but is not paid for at taxpayer expense.

Remember to register and click here for more details on the June 16th webcast!

Republican Party of Virginia
Chairman Pat Mullins
115 East Grace Street
Richmond, VA 23219
www.rpv.org
804-780-0111

Mike Huckabee: Morality Affects Our Economy

In the 2008 presidential race Mike Huckabee was the consistent and unashamed voice for social issues. He championed a right to life amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and strongly believed in the sanctity of marriage. In response to Mitch Daniels comments, he released a missive entitled "Morality Affects Our Economy" which explains why we must not surrender the social issues if we want to rebuild this economy. If only Huck could have convinced Republicans in 2008 that he was a fiscal conservative, we may not be in this situation.

Many of you saw the comments made by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels last
week when he said the next president “would have to call a truce on the
so-called social issues” so he or she could focus on the fiscal problems facing
the country.

As I’ve made clear, I really like Governor Daniels, and I consider him a
friend and colleague, but his comments mirror those of the GOP establishment who
view values voters dismissively as “single-minded.” The fact is that every value
voter I know is truly committed to fiscal conservatism, but many fiscal
conservatives and libertarians range from disinterest to contempt for social
issues.

I learned a lot during 13 1/2 years as a Governor and Lieutenant Governor
about why government gets big and taxes get higher and what causes and solves
the issues of poverty and crime. I detailed a lot of that in my book “Do the
Right Thing,” but here’s the simple truth: Poverty and crime are the direct
results of broken families and broken values of responsibility, work, marriage,
and respect of others. Prisons are overflowing and government “relief”
programs get traction often because of the breakdown of our social structure. If
we don’t respect the value of each individual life whether in the womb or the
classroom or the living room, we devalue property and intangible qualities of
life. It gets expensive.

I responded to Gov. Daniel’s comments with the following blog post on
HuckPAC.com: “ . . .the issue of life and traditional marriage are not
bargaining chips nor or they political issues. They are moral issues. I didn’t
get involved in politics just to lower taxes and deficit spending though I
believe in both and have done it as a Governor. But I want to stay true to the
basic premises of our civilization.”

Sadly, Gov. Daniels is not alone in his way of thinking and it’s not a new
concept. During the last presidential election – many reporters, Republicans and
Democrats suggested the same moratorium on morality. The political winds began
to whisper of stopping the discussion on morality and starting the discussion on
the “important issues.”

Let me be clear – MORALITY AND THE ECONOMY are inextricably
linked.

• The collapse of morality and ethical business practices preceded the
collapse of Wall Street – unchecked greed caused the downfall;
• A decrease in morality preceded an increase in the prison population –
state budgets via taxes, increase every year to pay for prisons;
and,
• We don’t emphasize character in our public schools, and ignorance is
expensive-- a national high school drop out rate of 1 in 3 students produces
poverty – crippling our economy in countless ways.

I’m not saying Wall Street, prisons and poverty are not the only influences
on our economy – there are countless others – nor am I saying morality solves
every economic crisis we face. But I am saying strong moral fiber would prevent
many of our nation’s economic disasters.

Should we focus on the economy and the staggering and crippling debt?
Absolutely! But I fear that talk of a “truce” means that we are making excuses
for compromise on moral issues, and there is no need to separate economic issues
from the social issues. We can and must focus on both. Now is not the time
to shift focus from moral issues we need to shift focus toward moral
issues.

Sincerely,
Mike Huckabee

Obama's Katrina... or is it his 9-11?

It's day 56. The oil is still gushing. And is starting to come on shore, resulting in dead animals, dead tourism, and a dead economy.

What has the President done about it? Nothing, actually, except use flowery rhetoric (including the ridiculous comparison of the oil spill to 9-11) and draw accusations away from himself. Two months later, has he finally come to his senses???

Well, the President announced yesterday that he will hold a prime time news press conference tomorrow night, after spending two days down in the Gulf. Now, I want you to understand, that his intentions for this press conference will be to spin the story to make it SOUND like he is doing the responsible thing that leaders do. That he has a plan of how to fix this. That he is empathetic to the folks who live in the Gulf. That he is on top of things. But you know what? If he truly was a leader, if he truly was "on top of things", he would have held this press conference on day 3. Not day 57.

This speech will be hailed as the greatest speech ever given - as the second sermon on the mount, or perhaps similar to Martin Luther's "I Have a Dream" - by all the liberal left. He will be cheered on and touted as the man to fix this travesty. But I hope that the American people see that if he truly was "the man", this would have happened weeks ago.

Obama said himself that this will shape how we think about the environment and energy for years to come, but not only will it do that, it will DRAMATICALLY impact the Gulf and the people who live in the Gulf for years to come.

If the President was really set on fixing the problem, perhaps he would have accepted the numerous offers that have come his way in order to help him solve this crisis. We have smart, energetic, and willing entrepreneurs who are offering their ideas and services to both the federal government and BP. We have the Dutch, who offered their skimmers, ON DAY 3, that pumps 50 MILLION gallons of oil a day! That totals removal of over 20,000 tons of oil and sludge. And instead of accepting their help, there was this response:

“The embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,'” said Geert Visser, consul general for the Netherlands in Houston.

So tomorrow, as you watch the press conference, keep in mind what Sean Hannity said on the air today, "It's all a little too late, and a little too phony."

Mitch Daniels Surrenders the Social Issues

Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana, has been widely touted as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2012. He intrigued me because of his ability to cut spending and reform the Indiana state government. However, this weekend he made comments that will hopefully keep his presidential bid from gaining momentum. In an interview with the Weekly Standard, Mitch Daniels made it clear he sees America's fiscal crisis as the biggest challenge facing the nation, and therefore must be the focus of the next president. While this may be true, he believes that to solve America's fiscal crisis the next president "would have to call a truce on the so-called social issues." He is even unsure whether he would issue an executive order to reinstate Reagan's "Mexico City Policy." Choosing not to engage the enemy is not calling a truce, it is surrender.

Mike Pence was asked about these comments, and while he refused to criticize Mitch Daniels, he said he, "believes with all [his] heart that the Republicans need to continue the fight for the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage with everything [they've] got in 2010 and in 2012." America's next president must be someone who understands the important of both fiscal and social conservativism. Mike Pence understands and has been fighting for both of those principles. Mike Pence is the kind of president America needs.

In Which I Agree With Tom Davis...

While I tend not to agree with Tom Davis, he understands Virginia politics very well, and his analysis of last week's primary was spot on. When asked by Politico what the most important election result was, and what we can learn, Davis made the point that the establishment is in trouble and even pointed to Virginia as an example of this.

"It's a political revolt out there. Jane Harman's numbers were down. Gary Miller's under 50 percent. Even the establishment Republicans in Virginia who run, they had multiple candidates against them and they were well under 50."

In VA-2, VA-5, and VA-11 there were very clear establishment candidates in Scott Rigell, Robert Hurt, and Pat Herrity. Scott, had the full backing of Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling, Robert Hurt had the support of most Republican officials because of his electability as opposed to his positions, and Herrity had the support of almost every party leader and elected official in the 11th district including Becky Stoeckel and Anthony Bedell. With all this support all three of these candidates failed to top 50% of the vote, and in probably the biggest surprise of the night, Herrity lost to Fimian by double digits. The only reason the establishment won in the 2nd and 5th is that the opposition was very disorganized and self centered and split the vote at least 5 ways in each race. When you combine these results with Howie Lind and Bill Stanley's victories in the 10th and 5th District Chair races, combined with victories in a number of unit chair races, this has to be a discouraging year for the establishment in VA. When the grassroots organizes and works together it can win any race. As a result we now have a much stronger party as we work together to win every congressional district in the state this fall.

Rep. Bob Etheridge Assaults a College Student

In a demonstration of the self control with which Democrats spend your taxes, Rep. Bob Etheridge (D, NC-2) physically assaulted a college student who asked him if he "fully supported the Obama agenda." Instead of walking on and saying I don't have time to talk about it, he took the time to grab the kid and try to force him to tell him who he was. He even claimed to have a "right" to know who the person was...

If his reelection wasn't competitive before, it probably is now. Hopefully Renee Elmers defeats him in the fall. I'm 99% sure she doesn't fully support the Obama agenda. It will be interesting to see what else happens over the summer as town hall events start up.

Thomas for 2012???

The Washington Post had an interesting article out today speculating that Justice Clarence Thomas might be a potential Presidential candidate for 2012!

The end of the Supreme Court term later this month marks a milestone: four years in which Justice Clarence Thomas hasn't spoken during oral arguments. That's more than 250 cases heard, and not one word from Thomas, the longest silence of his nearly 19 years on the bench. Is he unhappy? Bored? Restless?

The Republican Party is in disarray, with no clear message -- as shown in last week's primaries -- and with no obvious candidate to challenge President Obama in 2012. Thomas could be the GOP's new standard-bearer. He has enviable name recognition, both as a long-serving justice and as the author of the bestselling 2007 autobiography "My Grandfather's Son." And he has already survived the nasty political attacks that marked his 1991 confirmation hearings.

A Thomas candidacy would bring racial diversity and a moving personal story to the Republican ticket.

Thoughts?

Baldwin/McCullough Fundraiser for Phillips for Senate

Come support Patricia Phillips as she seeks to unseat Mark Herring in the 33rd Senate District.

Keith Fimian Beltway Blast

Now that Keith Fimian has won the nomination in the 11th District, he needs to raise a lot of money to take on Gerry Connolly. While it may be immediately after the primary, he needs to raise early to set his strategy for the fall. Please help Keith Fimian raise $20,000 this weekend with a donation of any amount so he can defeat Gerry Connolly.

VA Primary Results

As of right now (8:49pm), pretty much everything is called for VA:

1-Rob Wittman (88%)
2-Scott Rigell (39.3%)
5-Robert Hurt (48.1%)
8-Patrick Murray (51.3%)
11-Keith Fimian (57.3%)

Unless there are any surprises, that's the gist. Put that along with -

3 - Chuck Smith
4- Randy Forbes
6 - Bob Goodlatte
7 - Eric Cantor
9 - Morgan Griffith
10 - Frank Wolf

And there you have your Republican Ballot for the general this November.

Virginia 2010 Primary Election Results

As polls close at 7 pm in Virginia, all eyes turn to the watch the results. Everyone is saying that voter turnout is very low, so maybe there will be a surprise.

The best places to track Virginia returns are the VA State Board of Elections website, and Bearing Drift. Bearing Drift will be tracking the results in real time starting at 8 pm.

Hopefully the true conservative wins these primaries, and the party can unite quickly no matter who the nominee is. In November we have to beat the Democrats, and we have to focus on that immediately after the results are in.

To watch returns from across the country I recommend Politico 2010.

I would also like to welcome back to the blogosphere my friend Will Burton of Roanoke on the Right.

UPDATE:: Here are the results for VA's congressional primaries.

Rob Wittman for Congress

Since his election in 2007, Rob Wittman has quickly become a young conservative star in Virginia. On the important issues of our day, Wittman has been a voice for conservativism in congress. His greatest moment came in the summer of 2008 when President Bush and the Republican House Leadership was shoving the TARP bailout down our throats. Rob Wittman realized that for a Republican to vote for that legislation would be a betrayal of capitalism. He was willing to buck his party, and vote against it twice. Having the courage to do the right thing on the TARP vote should guarantee any congressman he doesn't have to face a primary challenge from a "Tea Party activist."

When Republicans passed TARP under President Bush they lost the ability to oppose President Obama's bank bailouts for any reason other than partisan politics. If you can support TARP, you can support Obama's bailouts. Thankfully Wittman understood this and made the principled stand. Hopefully 1st District voters will thank him for that by nominating him overwhelmingly tomorrow.

Sadly the Virginia who did the most to make TARP and by extension the Obama bailouts a reality is not the one, while a congressman who opposed both. Maybe in a later election cycle Tea Party activists will primary the right congressman.

Keith Fimian for Congress

I was beginning to write an article on Keith Fimian when I saw the post by Black Velvet. It pretty well summarizes why 11th District Republicans should elect Keith Fimian tomorrow.

Two things to add, while much of the discussion in the race has been over the tax issue, Fimian is a man who wants to balance the budget, ban earmarks, and fight illegal immigration. He will stand and fight for our conservative values in congress.

When the electability discussion comes up, remember these days people with a message based on conviction and courage to stand for liberty are more electable than people with huge name id, and the ability to appeal to the elusive middle.

Fimian has stood shoulder to shoulder with Tea Party activists to oppose the healthcare monstrosity. Tomorrow it is time for lovers of liberty to stand with Keith Fimian.

Feda Morton: A Conservative Fighter Running for Congress

Tomorrow Virginians in the 5th Congressional District have the opportunity to capture the fighting spirit of the 9th District by nominating Feda Morton. Feda is a principled conservative who has been active in the party for years at all levels. She has been endorsed by conservative leaders including Morton Blackwell, Patrick McSweeney, Mike Farris, and Del. Brenda Pogge.

Below is the speech Feda gave at the 5th District Congressional Convention. (The nerve of someone filming a congressional district convention...) The speech is a passionate commitment to fight for our conservative principles. We need people with this kind of passion, and clear understanding of our conservative principles in congress. We need the 5th District to nominate Feda Morton to run for congress tomorrow.

In Honor of D-Day

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''

Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Ronald Reagan - June 6, 1984

Super Tuesday Primary 2010 Preview

This Tuesday is being called Super Tuesday. Ten states are holding their primary , and Arkansas is holding its runoff on Tuesday. Before Tuesday let's take a look at the big races.

AR-Sen

Will Bill Halter be able to pull off the third primary defeat of an incumbent senator of the year and defeat Blanche Lincoln, as both parties seem to want nothing to do with moderates?

CA-Sen

Carly Fiorina is leading in the polls, but will low voter turnout enable Chuck Devore and conservative activists to win another Senate primary contest? We have a great opportunity to defeat Barbara Boxer. Let's nominate a conservative fighter to take her on.

NV-Sen

Even if Chuck Devore doesn't win in CA it appears tea partiers will win a nomination contest Tuesday when Sharon Angle earns the right to take on Harry Reid in November. Unlike KY, the tea party candidate is not the gaffe machine in the race.

IA-Gov

Sarah Palin endorsed Terry Branstad, but will Chuck Norris's endorsement of Bob Vander Plaats prove more valuable? Chuck helped beat the pundits in Iowa two years ago. Can he do it again?

SC-Gov

South Carolina seem to be repulsed at one of the dirtiest smear attacks ever, let's see how big of a win Nikki Haley garners in SC.

If you live in California vote for Chuck Devore.
If you live in Nevada vote for Sharon Angle.
If you live in Iowa vote for Bob Vander Plaats.
If you live in South Carolina vote for Nikki Haley.

They are all proven conservatives who will fight for our principles, and they need our support on Tuesday.

(The VA House races are very important and as such deserve a longer post of their own. Don't worry I didn't forget about them.)

The Controversial Sarah Palin Endorsement

Today, Sarah Palin released another endorsement via her Facebook page that is causing not-so-abnormal-controversy. Terry Branstad for Iowa Governor?

Her post:

Iowa, your great state’s motto is “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.” That motto will be well served by voting for Terry Branstad for governor next Tuesday!

Please join me in supporting Governor Branstad’s campaign. Visit his website here, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

- Sarah Palin

Followed by almost 400 comments, the opinions seem to range from exited approval to vehement disapproval, however, disapproval makes up the overwhelming majority.

"Big mistake endorsing Branstad. He is part of the good ole boys club (RINO) who masquerades as a conservative. I think you forgot to do your homework on his one. The other 2 candidates running against him are true conservatives. We HAD Terry Branstad before; we don't need him again."

"It seems like you are aligning yourself with Mitt Romney and the GOP establishment more and more these days instead of with the Tea Partiers. I think I will stick with Mike Huckabe, Chuck Norris, Dr. James Dobson, Michael Farris and David Barton, the Des Moine and Dubuque Tea Partiers and vote for the true Conservative, Bob Vander Plaats."

She hasn't responded to the comments on her page yet, but will soon, I am certain. I'll pass it on as soon as it's up.

The reason, it seems, for conservatives lack of approval in this endorsement, is found in the fact that conservatives in Iowa are scared of what Branstad will do if he becomes Governor. Likewise, a lack of trust is starting to develope in the relationship between conservatives/tea party people and Palin. Her CA Senate endorsement, along with ID-1, is giving the impression that she may not be as strategic in her endorsements as we would like her to be. But it begs the question: who is advising her to make these endorsements?

The final consensus of one sums it up nicely: "She is a good person, but she, at bare minimum, is surrounded with incompetent advisors."

The primary this Tuesday should be a doozy. Stay tuned!

Botetourt: Larry Ceola is Republican Nominee For Fincastle District Supervisor

Larry Ceola is the Botetourt County Republican Committee nominee in the Fincastle District Supervisors Race. A special election will be held this November to fill the position vacated by the death of Don Meredith. Ceola and his wife Terry raised two sons and his family has lived in Botetourt County over three decades. As the owner of Cavalier Automotive in Troutville, he has been a business owner for over 30 years. Ceola states he is concerned with the expansion of government. “Big Government on the federal and state levels has impacted our county and our citizens in negative ways,” said Ceola, “That is why I have chosen to run for Fincastle Supervisor.” Ceola stated, “When elected, I want to re-establish the concept of being a public servant.”

Ceola said “There are two things that I find to be of great importance in Botetourt County: 1. Preserving the unique character of Botetourt County’s rural environment; 2. Growing intelligently to keep that character intact while ensuring that Botetourt has the business, financial, and recreational resources necessary to ensure that it remains a wonderful place to live. Botetourt is a special and important place to me and I want nothing but the best for the County and its residents.”

Ceola said, “My years of business budget experience has given me a commonsense approach to separating wants from needs. I would like to see our government start to think outside the box and see if the “wants” can be reduced or eliminated, and some of the “needs” be built and paid for by private donations, grants, or endowments.”

Ceola said “I believe that our county government is well run and the services provided are as good if not better than many of the surrounding counties in Southwest Virginia. My concern is for the future.”

Ceola is a fiscal conservative. “I advocate avoiding deficit spending, size of government, encourage local trade, attracting new business and promoting current business both small and large.” Ceola elaborated, “I am a small business owner who appreciates that most small businesses in Botetourt County remain loyal to their location in this county.” Take a look at the county and ask, “Can we continue to sustain our lifestyle? Like many residents and business owners in the county, “Ceola continued, “I have had to cut back in my personal and business expenses. I think it only prudent that our local, government do the same in order to maintain a low debt ratio and insure the future for the next generation.”

Ceola stated “I’ve tried to do my part to preserve the untouched parts of Botetourt while developing in a responsible manner. When I relocated my business to Troutville in 2002, I built in the 604 corridor, an area that is already home to business and development. On the opposite end, I am a member of the American Tree Farm System and the State of Virginia Stewardship Program.

“Change is inevitable and almost on a daily basis the face of Botetourt is changing from rural to suburban,” Ceola said, “As a business owner, I do welcome responsible growth and development as these are necessary to provide our citizens with the services they require: our excellent schools and recreational systems, responsive police and fire departments and low taxes.”

“My hope that Botetourt grows and develops intelligently while retaining its unique country atmosphere isn’t just a convenient slogan; it has been my way of life for years.”

To offer support in his campaign, contact Ceola at 540-588-4350. Visit the Ceola for Fincastle District Supervisor website www.CEOLALLC.com and join the Facebook group for dates and times of his town hall meetings and gatherings.