VA House of Delegate Caucus Endorses Rob Bell for Attorney General

Leading up to the Republican Advance, the first of many endorsement lists has been released.  One thing stands out.  The House of Delegate GOP Caucus overwhelmingly supports Rob Bell for Attorney General.  His list includes 36 different Delegates who have endorsed him, an overwhelming majority of the House GOP Caucus.  The list includes Speaker Bill Howell and delegates of every stripe from all over the commonwealth.  The list also includes two former delegates, Bill Carrico and Bill Janis.  Two other things that stand out about the list.  Rob Bell has the support of Congressman Rob Hurt.  He also seems to be distancing himself from Jeff Frederick (former Delegate and RPV Chairman) who recently endorsed him by leaving him off the list.  If Bell won't even acknowledge that Jeff Frederick has endorsed him, should Frederick's supporters back Bell?

Mark Obenshain's endorsement list will be interesting to see in the coming days.

The full list from the email is below.

We Endorse Rob Bell!

5^th Congressional District

Congressman Robert Hurt

Albemarle County

Sheriff Chip Harding

Honorable Ken Boyd, Chairman, Board of Supervisors

Honorable Rodney Thomas, County Supervisor

Botetourt County

Delegate Christopher Head

Campbell County

Delegate Matt Fariss

Caroline County

Delegate Robert Orrock

Jeff Sili, Republican Committee Chair

Chesapeake

Honorable Rick West, City Councilor

Chesterfield County

Delegate Roxann Robinson

Danville

Delegate Daniel Marshall III

Sandra Warren, Republican Committee Chair

Fairfax

Delegate David Albo

Delegate Thomas Rust

Honorable John Peterson, Director NOVA SWCD

Fauquier County

Honorable Jim Fisher, Commonwealth’s Attorney

Honorable Lee Sherbeyn, County Supervisor

Fluvanna County

Honorable Jeff Haislip, Commonwealth’s Attorney

Debbie Rittenhouse, Republican Committee Chair

Franklin County

Delegate Charles Poindexter

Grayson County

State Senator Bill Carrico

Greene County

Sheriff Steven Smith

Gary Lowe, Republican Committee Chair

Halifax County

Delegate James Edmunds

Hanover County

Delegate Christopher Peace

Honorable Trip Chalkley, Commonwealth’s Attorney

Sheriff Dave Hines

Honorable Wayne Hazzard, County Supervisor

Henrico County

Delegate John O’Bannon

Former Delegate Bill Janis

Sheriff Mike Wade

Isle of Wight County

Delegate Rick Morris

Bill Coburn, Republican Committee Chair

Lexington/Rockbridge County/Buena Vista

Cher McCoy, Republican Committee Chair

Loudoun County

Delegate Tag Greason

Delegate Joe May

Delegate David Ramadan

Louisa County

State Senator Tom Garrett

Lunenburg County

Delegate Thomas Wright Jr.

Madison County

Delegate Edward Scott

Honorable George Webb, Commonwealth’s Attorney

William Harvill, Republican Committee Chair

Manassas City

Steven Thomas, Republican Committee Chair

Newport News

Delegate David Yancey

Hazel Call, Hampton Roads Republican Women Chair

Orange County

Doug Rogers, Republican Committee Chair

Honorable Diana Wheeler, Commonwealth’s Attorney

Petersburg

Debra Mallory, 1^st Vice Chair Tri-City Republican Women

Pittsylvania County

Delegate Donald Merricks

Poquoson

Delegate Gordon Helsel, Jr.

Paul Keddell, Republican Committee Chair

Powhatan County

Delegate Lee Ware Jr.

Prince George County

Barbara Tabb, Republican Committee Chair

Prince William County

Delegate Richard Anderson

Delegate Jackson Miller

Richmond

Jerilynn Grigsby, Tuckahoe Republican Women Chair

Scott County

Delegate Terry Kilgore

Spotsylvania County

Delegate Mark Cole

Stafford County

Delegate Mark Dudenhefer

Delegate William Howell, Speaker, House of Delegates

Tazewell County

Delegate James W. Morefield

Virginia Beach

Delegate Salvatore Iaquinto

Delegate Barry Knight

Delegate Harry Purkey

Delegate Christopher Stolle

Delegate Ronald Villanueva

Washington County

Delegate Israel O’Quinn

Westmoreland County

Delegate Margaret Ransone

   

Jeannemarie Davis Running for Governor?

Now begins the analysis of figuring out the implications of Bolling announcing he wouldn't run for the nomination for Governor of VA.  One thing I began pondering was what would Bolling's supporters do?  Do they sit out? Get behind someone for LG or AG? Something else? Interestingly as I talked to multiple people a fascinating rumor emerged.  Numerous people were talking about Jeanemarie Davis running for Governor.  Nature abhors a vacuum.  There are a number of people who can't stand Cuccinelli, and think he is too extreme for the party.  For them Jeannemarie is an experienced person with a more moderate record.  They think she may be reconsidering running in a crowded Lieutenant Governor field.  When I contacted Davis's campaign they refused to deny the rumors.  Bolling's withdrawal has definitely shaken up the race, and it will be interesting to see if anything else changes as a result.

For my part I am excited Cuccinelli is the nominee, and look forward to seeing him passionately advocate first principles in his bid for governor.


UPDATE:While the original statement from the Davis campaign was rather noncommittal, a response after this post was unequivocal that Davis was not thinking about switching races. We'll see what happens.  As Bolling has shown us, things sure can change in politics.  There are a number of Republicans out there who don't want Ken to get the nomination.  Some of them want Davis to run for Governor..  We'll see what happens.

Ceasefires With Hamas Sure are Bloody

In an expected but tragic move, Iran is using the recent ceasefire between Gaza and Israel as a chance to rearm Hamas.  This means the ceasefire will be rather bloody as it is simply a chance for Hamas to rearm before restarting its attacks on Israel.

According to the report, Iran began preparing the weapons shipment around the same time Israel and Hamas negotiated cease-fire understandings late last week.
The shipment is said to include Iranian-made Fajr-5 medium-range rockets, the same model that was fired into the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas during Operation Pillar of Defense, the Times reported.

Green Businesses Going Bankrupt

Although environmentally-conscious people have been attempting to raise awareness for decades, the ever-popular movement to “Go Green” has only begun to gain attention from the general public in recent years. From conserving water and electricity to recycling plastic and cans to purchasing products that contain natural ingredients versus harmful ones, more and more citizens are making a conscious effort to make a difference.

As always, when something becomes trendy, more and more people want to be a part of it.


Entrepreneurs quickly realized that going green for the planet also offered the possibility of adding green to their bank accounts. Multiple green businesses manufacturing earth-friendly products like solar panels—an alternative energy source—began sprouting up in states across the country, from Colorado to California.  

Solar Energy Companies 
One such green business in Colorado was Abound Solar, a manufacturer of cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic modules used to convert sunlight into electricity. Abound is often compared to Solyndra, a green company based in Fremont, California that also manufactured thin-film solar cells.

It initially appeared that companies like Abound and Solyndra were going green and going strong. After all, the idea of finding a natural alternative to coal is an exciting one! The government thinks solar energy is a good idea, too.  

Businesses Borrowing Green to Go Green
Maybe it’s more accurate to say that the government thought solar energy was a good idea.

Solyndra received a $25.1 million tax break from California’s Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, the majority of which came from the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Abound received a $400 million loan from the U.S. government in 2010. Then Solyndra declared bankruptcy in February 2012. Abound did the same in June 2012 after it laid off roughly 125 workers.

Jaws dropped, and DenverPost.com reported that angry Republicans had launched an attack on the Obama administration and how they handled federal loan guarantees for Abound and other green Colorado businesses. Some even went as far as claiming that Abound knowingly sold defective panels, which were essentially manufactured with government dollars. Abound and other companies claim that they could no longer compete with Chinese competitors.

Ironically, all of this bad press has given the now-defunct green businesses more attention after filing for bankruptcy than they had while they were still in business.  
Green Businesses Causing Taxpayers to Lose Green
Solyndra and Abound Solar were not the only greenbusinesses to receive government assistance, and unfortunately, they were not the only ones to file bankruptcy or appear to be heading in that direction. Others include:

• Evergreen Solar
• SpectraWatt
• Beacon Power
• Nevada Geothermal
• SunPower
• First Solar
• Babcock and Brown
• EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1
• Amonix

Some people remain optimistic for green businesses despite the Colorado situation and other green business bankruptcies. “For this to become a political issue is ridiculous. Every business startup goes through a metamorphosis. Unfortunately, some fail. But renewable energy should be a bipartisan initiative,” Claudine Schneider of Boulder, Colorado—a Republican and former five-term congresswoman from Rhode Island—told DenverPost.com.

This article was guest written by Jon Reiter.  He is a marketing agent for www.jonbclarke.com/ an experienced Denver bankruptcy attorney.

Finding Agreement Between the Left and Right

If the election has accomplished anything it has show us just how bitter and divided of a nation we are.  No parties exchanged power in either house of Congress, and a president who was elected overwhelmingly 4 years ago barely won the popular vote as he won a tight reelection in which he received barely more votes than his opponent in 2008 received.  Both sides are still pitted against each other refusing to give an inch as we face the nation's difficult economical and fiscal problems.

Before the election I saw something very humorous on facebook.  Two people from very different backgrounds liked the same article about a political issue, and both had almost identical sentiments about the article.  The first is my good friend Pat Hall.  She has worked tirelessly for many liberal candidates on the local level.  She strongly supported Barack Obama in 2008, and 2012.  She supported the Occupy Wall Street movement from the beginning, and can't stand the Tea Party, Fox News, et al... because they are too conservative and destroying the country.

On the other hand is Donna Holt.  She was Tea Party before Tea Party existed.  She lead the Campaign 4 Liberty movement in VA from the beginning as she has worked tirelessly to promote help Ron Paul win the nomination in both the 2008 and 2012 election cycles.  She was under 1% away from unseating someone endorsed by practically every Republican leader in the state in the race for Republican National Committeewoman this summer.  While I don't know this, I wouldn't be surprised if Fox News is too liberal for her.

While both these are tireless political activists as a result of their deep love for their country, they are seemingly on opposite ends of the political spectrum.  Last month they both shared an article entitled 10 Bankers Thrown Behind Bars.  Pat Hall commented, "let's keep this up but I don't see any of the biggies yet."  Similarly Donna Holt commented, "Too little, too late if you ask me."   



While there will always be disagreement in a political world, seeing this made me wonder what other issues could the left and right find common ground on.  Only by working together can anything be accomplished.  I bet there are a number of issues where 60+% of the nation agree.  What issues can be found where people from both sides can work together?  What solutions to problems can we put forth that a broad spectrum of people would agree with?    We will always have differences, but when we can focus politically on what we agree about instead, we will be able to accomplish things and reduce the bitter partisanship that is destroying the present political climate.

Domestic Oil Production Up - Thanks to Obama?

As you may know, domestic oil production has risen steadily the past couple years under Obama. But does he deserve credit as he has claimed? Actually the opposite is the case. Obama and his administration may actually soon hurt our domestic oil production. US oil production is up due to oil from the Bakken Oilfield (northern plains) and the Eagle Ford Oilfield (south Texas). This article from NewsMax summarizes the story well. In short a new technique called "fracturing" is making this oil production possible. More on fracturing and the Bakken Oilfield below:
Via: BakkenResidenceSuites.com