Teiro Cuccinelli: A Stay at Home Wife and Mother

In a day and age when our culture pressures women to pursue careers and find a sense of purpose from their job, Teiro Cuccinelli models the opposite for Virginia women. As Ken Cuccinelli's wife and the mother of seven kids, Teiro has dedicated her life to raising the children and supporting her husband. Her home is her "first priority." As a wife and mother she exudes grace and strength. Their children show that she has done quite a job raising them. We need more women like Teiro in our state. One of the many blessings of having Ken as attorney general is that the state can glimpse the value and importance of women who choose to make their home their "first priority."

Remembering the Fallen and the Nation They Died to Protect

Yesterday Americans gathered to remember and honor those who died defending this nation. The words of the Gettysburg Address came to min throughout the day. With this short but powerful speech President Lincoln reminded Americans why this nation existed and honored the memory and sacrifice of those who fell in that great battle. In many ways these words ring just as true today as they did then, and it is worthwhile to reread and ponder President Lincoln's words.

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Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Americans Generally Want Abortion Made Illegal

Gallup released its annual polling on America's views on abortion. While Americans have opposed abortion since the polling began in 1994, this year's level of opposition was higher than it had been for quite a few years. 61% of Americans believe abortion should be illegal in all or most circumstances, while only 37% believe it should be permitted in most or any circumstance. This is a substantial improvement from last year's 56%-39% spread. 51% of Americans believe abortion is morally wrong while only 39% believe it is morally acceptable.

For all the accusations that abortion is a losing Republicans, the polls continue to show the opposite. Republicans need to stay true to their pro-life convictions. We need a presidential candidate who is willing to fight for the unborn. In most districts and states, Republicans should also be very willing to espouse and fight for the cause of the unborn. It is morally right and politically viable to be a pro-life politician. Politicians have no excuse not to fight for the unborn.

Tim Pawlenty: Not a "Fake Christian"

A powerful testimonial about Tim Pawlenty's faith was recently published. It was written by someone who used to go to church with T-Paw, but left the church when he became an atheist. He doesn't have a personal or political interest in building up Tim Pawlenty, but just wanted to relay to a friend his observations. The heart of the message stated,

"In my life, I’ve seen many –far too many– politicians who court the church when they thought it would do their career a favor, but disappear when they achieved the present goal. I can tell you, from personal experience, Governor Pawlenty is not like that... Again: I think all religion is nothing but a shameful way to control people. And I also think the GOP is destroying America. But I want you to know that the one thing people can’t say about Tim Pawlenty is that he’s a fake Christian. Thought you might be interested in an insider’s perspective."

In a day of fake Christians, every Christian should want their atheist friends to look at them and say this person is not a fake. This is even more true of politicians. If Tim Pawlenty can communicate a genuineness about his convictions and beliefs, he may do very well in Iowa and eventually the entire nominating process.

NARAL Enables Pro-Lifers Put Faces to the Movement

As NARAL lobbies the U.S. Senate, they have created a vehicle for pro-lifers to advance their cause. NARAL asked supporters to e-mail in pictures which would be automatically added to their flicker account. Pro-lifers quickly took advantage of this opportunity to spread the message of life, and very quickly the account was flooded with pictures telling a pro-life message. For more information and to take advantage of this effort to help spread the message of life, go to the following link.

Tommy Norment Least "Family-Friendly" Republican in the General Assembly

Last week the Virginia Family Foundation released their report card for the last session of the Virginia General Assembly. The scorecard ranks legislators based on a large number of votes that the Virginia Family Foundation was tracking during the last session. Forty members of the House of Delegates received a 100% and 9 members of the State Senate received the same score. All of these members were Republican. The highest rated Democrat was Del. Joe Johnson with a 95%, an the highest rated Democrat Senator was Sen. Phil Puckett with a 92%. These were the only two Democrats to receive a score above 90%.

On the other hand, the lowest rated Republican was Sen. Tommy Norment with a 65%. If this were a grade in college, he would have scored a solid D. No either Republican in either body scored below 70%. (Del. Morgan Harvey was the second lowest Republican with a 72%.) If Tommy Norment were just a normal senator, this wouldn't be as big a deal. However, he is currently the Republican Leader in the Senate. The prospect of installing Tommy Norment as the majority leader if the Republicans take back the senate should not excite any values voters. Taking back the State Senate is only worth it if we have a pro-life chairman in charge of the Health and Education Committee in the next session. This will not happen if Tommy Norment is the majority leader. As we move forward with the senate races, values voters need to put their efforts behind senate candidates who will work to change the Republican leadership in the Senate. Unless the leadership is conservative it won't matter if we retake the majority, or even if the majority of the caucus will vote as conservatives on legislation.

Robert Sarvis and the Importance of a 40 Seat Plan

Recently I was informed of a new state senate campaign. Robert Sarvis is running for state senate in the 35th district against Dick Saslaw. While there is not a lot of detailed information regarding issues on his website, he seems to have a solid resume. While it is definitely a long shot to unseat Dick Saslaw, we need to be fielding solid candidates in all 40 districts this year. The more districts we contest, the more we have the possibility of winning. We picked up 6 seats in the House of Delegates in 2009 by contesting almost every seat. Winning back the state senate will be much easier this cycle if we give every Democrat a challenge. For the safe ones like Dick Saslaw it will force them to spend money in their own district, and keep them from using their time and resources to help others. There may also be some surprises as the rising wave sweeps supposedly safe Democrats out of office. While his chances may be long, Robert Sarvis deserves our appreciation for being willing to challenge Dick Saslaw.

Tim Pawlenty is Running for President

Tim Pawlenty announced earlier this week he is running for president with a very inspirational video. He has a record of governing as a conservative in a very liberal state, and is one of the few people in the Republican field who has the ability to unite all wings of the Republican Party. It will be interesting to see if this is his moment, and he emerges as the unifier.