Statewide Predictions

Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli all win, and we pick up 6 or more House of Delegate seats. In order of largest percentages: Bob McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli, and Bill Bolling.

Bill Bolling's First TV Ad

I hope you will join me in working to get this man reelected as our next Lieutenant Governor.

Virginians (Bolling, Periello, Nye, and Chuck Smith) on Cap and Trade

Today during the debate in the House of Representatives on cap and trade, Bill Bolling sent out an e-mail stating his opposition to cap and trade. Good luck to him on trying to get Jody Wagner to oppose cap and trade.

Last week, in response to a letter from American Solutions on the Waxman-Markey national energy tax (also known as "cap and trade"), Bill Bolling joined his running mate Bob McDonnell in opposition to massive new energy taxes on Virginia families and businesses.

In typical fashion, Bill's opponent, former Democratic Party of Virginia Vice-Chair Jody Wagner, refused to take a stand. (Wagner has also refused to take a stand on numerous other issues currently facing Virginia.)

The people of Virginia deserve a Lieutenant Governor who will lead, and you can't lead by ducking the issues that matter most to Virginia.

While Bill Bolling and Bob McDonnell have said "Yes" to More Energy, More Jobs for Virginians, Jody Wagner has said "No" to the development of Virginia's energy resources.

By opposing nuclear power, clean coal and the development of Virginia's offshore energy resources, Jody Wagner is rejecting common sense, job-creating solutions to our energy crisis and siding with the extremist wing of her party in opposing our attempts to create a more prosperous Virginia.

As far as the votes are concerned, while their was a lot of speculation over whether Tom Periello would vote against the bill, the only Virginia Democrat to vote against the bill was Glen Nye. Glen Nye simply voted no because he needed to get reelected. The Republican nominee to run against Glen Nye is Chuck Smith. He is a conservative African American Republican running for congress in the 2nd district and he has come out in opposition to using global warming as an excuse to raise taxes. The 2nd district is an example of the Democrats allowing Democrats to vote no to hel pin close elections. If you live in the 2nd district, don't let Nye fool you. Please elect a Chuck Smith a real conservative in 2010.

Jody Wagner: I failed, Can I have a Promotion?

This is essentially what the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor is doing. She regularly gave innaccurate budget projections, and now wants to become Lieutenant Governor. While Wagner was giving innacurate predictions, Bolling was telling the state these were bad predictions and trying to put the state on a solid financial state inspite of Jody Wagner.

A recent e-mail from Mark Obenshain really makes this clear.

Dear William,

Congratulations to Jody Wagner, who won the nod to be the Democrat's candidate for Lieutenant Governor. You can be sure that she is hoping that Virginians will not notice a certain small blemish on her resume. Ms. Wagner, you see, was Governor Kaine's first Finance Secretary, and under her leadership, the Kaine Administration began to amass a dismal record of projecting the state's revenues. Ms. Wagner left the Administration after so badly missing the revenue projections for the Kaine Administration's first budget that we were running deficits within 3 months of the beginning of the budget cycle. Sadly, the Kaine administration has never recovered and has continued to deliver deeply flawed and politically motivated budget projections. Ms. Wagner, meanwhile, is looking for a promotion.

May revenue reports, out today, show that Virginia is once again in the hole, this time by $288 million, with a month to go in FY 2009. Revenue collection from January through May is down over 15% over the same period the previous year, with no sign of abatement, and the year to date decline is already at 9.3% – worse than the Kaine Administration's revised forecast of 7.3% delivered in February – with a month left to go. In fact, closing the books on a balanced budget will require an 8.1% increase over June 2008 receipts. FY 2010 is rapidly approaching; it begins on July 1, 2009. The budget for FY 2010 relies upon projections of 4.4% annual revenue growth. Sadly, it is all too apparent that rosy revenue projections have failed us yet again, and that the FY 2010 budget is on advanced life support before it even gets out of the gate.

Mark Obenshain
Virginia State Senator

Republican Response to the Democrat Primary.

In response to the Democrat primary results, Bob McDonnell issued the following video message.


Pat Mullins the new RPV chairman also issued a press statement. The following paragraphs are some of the highlights.

“Virginia Democrats have nominated a slate of three candidates that would raise taxes as soon as possible and lead with the people’s checkbook as their weapon. Should they succeed in their mission, these three candidates would increase the financial strain on Virginians and private enterprise, depress economic growth and stifle job creation.

“Given the dismal voter turnout in their primary election, it is clear that there is little excitement in their party and an even smaller appetite for the kind of expansive government their candidates represent. By contrast, our party is enthusiastically behind our excellent ticket of Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli, as proven by the attendance of over 8,000 Republicans at our recent convention. Everywhere I travel in Virginia, local Republican interest is high, which bodes well for our chances in November.

“Finally, the rejection of Terry McAuliffe indicates that even Democrats are disillusioned about the direction their party and leadership have taken. When a wealthy, insider financed, nationally prominent, personal friend of the Clintons is rebuked in such a manner, it is a clear indicator of a party in disarray from top to bottom. On the Republican side, we are energized and look forward to the road ahead.”

As a note on the excitement that is building within the Republican Party, just like on the ticket airport tour, it appears the Republicans had packed attendances at their campaign headquarters openings.

Let's keep up the energy, stay positive, conservative, and issues oriented, and we should win in November.

2009 Convention Results (With CD Breakdowns)

The grand total results for the convention have been available for a while. I first saw them on the AP. Pat Mullins also e-mailed out the final results for each race a few days ago. Also the congressional district breakdown for the attorney general race was first released published by Not Larry Sabato and Shaun Kenney. However here is the results with the congressional district breakdowns for each of the three races. (To the best of my knowledge it is the first time the complete results have been posted online.) I was waiting for a little while on talking about the results in the hope that I could get hold of the results from the different units and analyze that. It seems however that certain members of the executive committee very vehemently opposed releasing these results and they are unavailable.

The first thing about these results is how well each of the victors did. Bolling, Cuccinelli, and Mullins won by 84%, 57%, and 70% respectively. It was also very gracious of Muldoon, Brownlee, Foster, and Stanley to concede and pledge to work for and with their former opponents. I am confident the success of our nominees and the graciousness of their challengers will unite our party over the summer, and towards victory in the fall.

In the Lieutenant Governor's race a couple things stand out. First off Bolling didn't do poorly in any congressional district. The lowest he received in any cd was 73.3%. Any candidate would love for that to be their lowest return in a district. Another thing that stands out is how poorly Patrick Muldoon did in the 9th district. In his home district he received 11.19% of the vote, and it was his 9th strongest congressional district. There were only two districts where he received a lower percent of the vote: the 8th and 3rd districts. I was honestly shocked as I expected Muldoon would beable to bring a lot of supporters to the convention from the 9th. Either the letter sent out by the 9th district leaders did in Muldoon, or he is just not very popular or well known in his home district. The other interesting thing is that Muldoon took the highest percent in the 10th district. With 202.39 weighted votes he took 26.7%, 10.33% better than he did statewide. I'm not sure exactly why Mulddon did that well in the 10th district, but maybe 10th district voters are itching for a change and are becoming sick of the establishment for some reason.

In the Attorney General race Ken Cuccinelli won eight of the eleven congressional districts, and came in second in the three he lost. John Brownlee won the 9th and the 4th, and Dave Foster won the 8th. There were also only two congressional districts Ken won where he received less than 50%. They were the 3rd and the 5th districts. Keeping Ken below 50% in the congressional districts he won was an essential part of the Brownlee/Foster plan to force a second ballot. They were atleast successful in two of the eight districts Ken won. Ken took over 65% in the 7th, 11th, and 1st districts and over 60% in the 10th and 6th districts. While Ken's home district is the 11th, the 7th gave Ken the highest percentage of the vote based in part on a surprisingly large victory in Chesterfield Co. Both Ken and Dave Foster won their home districts, the 11th, and 8th. John Brownlee only pulled 38.45% in the 6th district where he resides. Ken was able to win Salem and Roanoke cities, and almost took Roanoke county from John Brownlee. While John lives in the 6th district some would consider the 9th his home district since he has worked their as a prosecutor for a while, and he was able to win the 9th with 63.03% of the vote. However a win in the 9th only does you so much when it has about 700 less delegate votes than the 11th district.

From a campaigning perspective one of the important lessons of Ken's convention victory is the importance of building a statewide network. In a primary you can jack up vote totals in high density localities to win. In a convention each locality is assigned a certain number of votes. This forces you to compete in every location if you want to win, and you need to try to get a significant percentage of each localities votes. Ken's statewide network that the convention forced him to create enabled him to compete in every single district, and will hopefully be the backbone that propels him to victory in November. Ken's extensive political connections as an active state senator almost guaranteed him victories in Loudon, Fairfax, and Prince William counties as soon as he announced. Having the political connections heading into the race enabled him to win these three large localities easily. Political connections are something any candidate needs to develop before running an effective campaign for statewide office.

While the chairmanship race was more of a contest than the Lieutenant Governor's race, Pat Mullins and co pretty well swept the floor. There are two things that jump out though. Bill Stanley almost won his home congressional district. He took 48.84% in the 5th district which is a very solid showign for an underdog with only three weeks to campaign. The congressional district where Stanley did second best was the 11th district where he took 36.05%. The 11th district is the district Prince William County votes in, and it was one of the few ways Jeff Frederick's supporters had an opportunity at the convention to protest what happened to Jeff this past spring.

That's as much as I can draw out of the congressional breakdowns for the convention results. I'm hcurious to here what you think the results say. Also it would be very nice in future conventions to have access to unit results so that we can analyze them and see where candidates strengths are in each district, and what correlations and trends the unit results tell us. Hopefully this is something we will have access to after the next convention whenever that may be.

On one final note it will be interesting to see if Deeds and his statewide network and connections can pull of a victory tomorrow.

Sam Nixon Campaign Office Grand Opening

Dear Friend,

This is a reminder of the Grand Opening of the Campaign Headquarters for the Nixon, McDonnell, Bolling and Cuccinelli campaigns for Chesterfield. We are pleased to now have Senator Cuccinelli's campaign on board as part of our team for 2009!

As a reminder, the opening begins at 6:00 PM on Monday, June 8. The address of the office is 9503 Hull Street Road, Suite D, Richmond, VA 23236. I hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Sam Nixon

If you live in CHesterfield Co. I hope you will join Delegate Sam Nixon for the Chesterfield Victory Office grand opening, or atleast frequent the office regularly to volunteer. It is an honor to be represented by Sam Nixon in the Virginia House of Delegates. He cares about his constituents, sticks to his principles (He rceived a perfect score from the Virginia Family Foundation), and is focussed on getting things done in the General Assembly. You can also click here to hear him discuss the state convention and the upcoming election.

If you don't live in Chesterfield please volunteer at your closest victory center as we work to sweep all three executive races this fall and increase our seats in the General Assembly.

GOP Ticket Stops at Dulles

Yesterday the McDonnell/Bolling/Cuccinelli ticket made a six stop tour of the commonwealth. I had the opportunity to attend the rally in Dulles. A group of about 50 people with a couple camera crews packed into a small conference room for the event. Sen. Jill Vogel introduced the candidates and all three of the candidates shared their thoughts on the major issues facing the commonwealth. Just like at the convention, Cuccinelli received the loudest and longest sustained applause. It seems clear that he brings energy and enthusiasm to the ticket. I hope McDonnell sees that and takes advantage of it.

McDonnell made the point that this is the most experienced ticket in Virginia history and detailed the combined number of elections won and years in public office served by the ticket. All the candidates focused on energy and jobs (with a special focus on cardcheck) and acknowledged that those issues would play a major role in the campaign. McDonnell used the "Just Say Yes" portion of his convention speech. (Something that seems a little forced.) He also emphasized the importance of results over rhetoric. Bolling brought up the importance of school choice, and Cuccinelli mentioned the importance of doing everything in accordance with the constitution. He made the point that we should have solutions the founding fathers could support if they were here today and understood 21st century America.

It was an energetic event with people excited about winning in November and working hard to make sure we win. Please check out these reports on the Weyers Cave and Norfolk events.

More Good News for McDonnell/Bolling

Only three days after claiming the nomination today has been full of good news for McDonnell/Bolling.

A recent Survey USA poll of Northern Virginia (Fairfax, Loudon, Prince William, and Arlington counties) has McDonnell tied with McAuliffe and Deeds and only 5 points behind Moran. For McDonnell to be competitive in an area Democrats need todominate is a very good sign.

McDonnell: 44%
McAuliffe: 44%

McDonnell: 43%
Deeds: 43%

McDonnell: 42%
Moran: 47%

The new fundraising numbers also are very good. The latest financial reports cover April 1st through May 27th. PWConservative sifted through the reports and McDonnell raised $3.7 million in that period and has $4.9 million cash on hand. He raised more than all the other Democrats combined in that period, and has over double the cash on hand than the Democrats combined.

Bolling has also enjoyed similar success fundraising over the past two months. He raised $448,000 over this period and has $928,000 cash on hand over three times more than the nearest candidate.

The RPV had a very energetic and unifying convention last weekend and the top of the ticket is polling well and fundraising well. Let's go door to door these weekends and make sure the GOP succeeds this fall.

Also Ken Cuccinelli has a significant fundraising gap to make up with Democrat Steve Shannon. Pleas consider donating to the Cuccinelli for Attorney General campaign.

Ken Cuccinelli
for Attorney General of Virginia
$

Convention Day One

Today was honestly fairly boring. the convention convened shortly after 2:00 and we heard from Bob Whitman, Bob Goodlatte, and the chairmen of the CRFV and YRFV. Lauren Giere (daughter of state central member from the 8th district Mike Giere) sang a beautiful rendition of the national anthem. The only votes that took place were on the rules and the temporary chair for the convention. There was no contest on either issue. The rules were approved unammended, and Kay Cole James was elected without opposition by voice vote as chairman of the convention.

I finished the day off by helping put Cuccinelli literature on all the chairs, and then went over to the Cuccinelli Hospitality Suite and had some delicious homemade Cuccinelli canolis.

I also had the opportunity to view the Executive Committee meeting, State Central roundtable, and rules committee meeting. It was nice to beable to watch the internal workings of our party. The Executive Committee was interesting because their was some confusion as to whether or not I could watch. Mike Thomas kindly let me in and I watched until they needed to go into executive session. I don't think they are used to other people watching them.

The other highlight is the fact that the RNC has already sent almost 30 staff to Virginia to help out with all the elections this November. These energetic young political veterans will be a huge asset to the effort this year and will also help run the 14 campaign offices that will be opening up across the commonwealth soon.

Hopefully tomorrow runs smoothly and there aren't any questions about credentials or voting. I plan on voting for Bolling, Cuccinelli, and Stanley. My confidence of them winning is in that order as well. If Bollign loses it will be one of the most unexpected upsets in political history. I am very confident Cuccinelli will win, though maybe Foster will sneak through. The chairmans race is a complete tossup as it is only three weeks old. Last year the chairman candidate with all the establishment endorsements lost overwhelmingly. While Bill Stanley does not have Frederick's name recognition, a lot of people are upset about what happened in April. Hopefully tomorrow delegates will realize they want a chairman who is elected by them and not selected by the executive committee, and vote accordingly.

Tomorrow should be an interesting and fun day, and after it is all over it is on to winning in November. The convention starts tomorrow at 10:00 am. Be sure to come early to the Leigh St. entrance to pick up your credentials.

New Bolling Endorsements

A few days ago the Bolling campaign sent out an e-mail in which the Republican leaders in the 9th Congressional District came out in support of Bill Bolling. These are the people who know Patrick Muldoon best. They called on Patrick Muldoon to stop his "slash and burn" campaign tactics. By this they mean that Muldoon never lays out his record on the issues but simply attacks Bolling. Nomination contests are meant to be a clash of ideas not an opportunity to attack a party leader.

Today, exactly two weeks out from the convention, Bill Bolling announced a new set of endorsements. The e-mail included endorsements from Mike Farris, the NRA, Virginia Society for Human Life, and a quote by Victoria Cobb of the VA Family Foundation.

"I am pleased to endorse Bill Bolling's re-election as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Bill has been a clear and consistent voice for the conservative values we believe in. Bill knows that we need to improve the quality of the educational opportunities we provide to our children, and he has been a strong supporter of educational choice and the rights of parents to home school their children. I am pleased to give Bill my support, and I encourage you to do the same." Mike Farris, Homeschool Lawyer

“On behalf of the over 100,000 members of the National Rifle Association in Virginia, I am pleased to announce your NRA-PVF endorsement for the 2009 Virginia Republican Convention. Your exemplary record of past service in the Virginia Senate and as Lieutenant Governor clearly illustrates your commitment to protecting the rights of law-abiding firearm owners and sportsmen. Based upon your proven record and firm pledge to continue to serve as an advocate for Virginia’s law-abiding gun owners, you have earned an “A+” rating from the NRA-PVF.” Andrew Jennison, NRA-ILA Virginia State Liaison (May 11, 2009 Letter to Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling)

“The Virginia Society for Human Life Political Action Committee (VSHL PAC) is pleased to endorse you for reelection to the office of Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
During your term as Lieutenant Governor, you have advanced and defended pro-life principles. We particularly appreciate the deciding vote you cast on the amendment to the 2008 Virginia budget that would have banned taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, which operates the largest chain of abortion facilities in the United States.” Holly Smith, Chairman, Virginia Society for Human Life PAC (May 14, 2009 Letter to Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling)

“I can honestly say that no elected official in Virginia did more to encourage the passage of the [Marriage] Amendment than you. Your willingness to participate in va4marriage.org events and fundraisers was critical to our success, as was your personal contribution of radio ads across Virginia. Your passionate advocacy for traditional marriage clearly contributed to our victory.” Victoria Cobb, Executive Director, Family Foundation of Virginia (Nov 10, 2006 Letter to Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. The Family Foundation does not endorse candidates for elected office.)

It is great to see these conservative groups and leaders coming out in strong support for Bill Bolling. I hope you will join the conservatives from across this state in supporting Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor at the convention, and throughout the long campaign season afterwards.

Bolling for Lieutenant Governor - Setting the Record Straight on the Life Issue

Earlier I wrote about the attacks on Bolling's record and why I support Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor. Attorney General. In a recent e-mail, Mark Obenshain responds to yet another e-mail from the Muldoon campaign and lays out Bolling's record on social issues. Coming from someone who has worked with Bolling for years in the state senate I think it is definitely a must read article. I hope you will join with me in voting for Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor at the RPV state convention on May 30th.

Friends,

You may have recently received an email from Patrick Muldoon, who is running against Bill Bolling for the nomination for Lieutenant Governor. That email is full of so much inaccurate information that I felt compelled to write and set the record straight.

While I always welcome competition as a method to strengthen our party, and
while I believe that we must hold our public officials accountable for their stances, it cannot be at the expense of the truth.

I’m sad to say that a small group, determined to derail our victory in November, appear to be attempting to smear and falsely attack a man who has been a faithful friend to our conservative cause, Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling.

I have known Bill Bolling and served with him in the Senate for years, and I can tell you that his opponent is not telling the truth about Bill’s record.

Let me set the record straight, point by point.

Claim: Bill did not oppose making the Plan B Morning After pill available to minors.

Truth: Bill Bolling has consistently opposed making the morning
after pill available to minors.

While his opponent has no record on Plan B, as a member of the State Senate
Bill Bolling:

• Voted to require parental consent before minors can get Plan B
• Voted against allowing Plan B to be distributed over the counter without a
  physician's prescription
• Voted against allowing Plan B to be distributed on Virginia's college
  campuses

Claim: Bill supported mandatory HPV vaccinations for grade-schoolers.

Truth: Bill Bolling has never supported mandating HPV vaccinations
for grade-schoolers, or anyone else for that matter.

In fact, when legislation to mandate the HPV vaccine was introduced in the General Assembly Bill publicly stated his opposition to that legislation and he fought for the no-cause parental opt-out that was ultimately included in the legislation that passed the Senate 40-0. Bill’s position was consistent with the position of The Family Foundation and the Catholic Diocese of Virginia: that parents should be made aware of the link between HPV and cervical cancer, but the vaccination should be a choice that each parent makes for themselves.

Claim: Bill campaigned around the state supporting the HPV vaccine in exchange for contributions from its manufacturer, Merck Pharmaceuticals.

Truth: Bill has never encouraged anyone to get the HPV vaccine.

In 2007, Lieutenant Governor Bolling and his wife, Jean Ann, participated in a bi-partisan national effort called “Ending Cervical Cancer in Our Lifetime.” This program was sponsored by the National Lieutenant Governor’s Association and was aimed at helping women make the connection between the HPV virus and cervical cancer. The program encouraged women to go to their doctors for regular cervical cancer screenings. It did not encourage anyone to get the HPV vaccine. And by the way, the last campaign contribution Bill recieved from Merck was $500, and that was six years ago!

Claim: Bill supports a “hook-up cultural agenda” of promiscuity and unprotected sex, and he is a “favorite Republican” of Planned Parenthood.

Truth: This one is simply laughable.

Bill Bolling is one of our most consistent conservative leaders. He is a family man, a dedicated Christian and a Sunday School teacher. He fought Tim Kaine’s attempts to eliminate state funding for abstinence education. He cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of denying state funds to Planned Parenthood. But there are probably two statistics that sum it up best:

Bill Bolling has a 100% lifetime rating from the Virginia Society for
Human Life.

Bill Bolling has a 0% lifetime rating from NARAL/Planned
Parenthood.

It is unfortunate that Patrick Muldoon feels the need to mangle the record of a good man in order to further his campaign, but the sad truth is that he has no positive record to stand on. By contrast, Bill Bolling’s record speaks for itself:

• 100% pro-family voting record from The Family Foundation
• Endorsed by the Virginia Society for Human Life (2005)
• Supported parental notification and consent legislationSupported a ban on
  partial birth abortions
• Supported higher patient safety standards for abortion clinics
• Cast the tie-breaking vote to deny state funding to Planned Parenthood
• Fought to restore abstinence education funding that Governor Kaine stripped
  from the budget
• Led the fight to pass the Marriage Amendment

That’s a solid conservative record that we can be proud of.

A little over a year ago Bill Bolling put aside his personal ambitions and decided not to seek the Governor’s Mansion. Our party has benefited greatly from Bill’s sacrifice. Perhaps others should follow his example.

If we are going to win in November, we have no time for the politics
of negativity and personal destruction.

I’m proud to support Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and I urge you to do so as well.

Senator Mark Obenshain

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor

Recently Patrick McSweeney made the headlines by sending out an e-mail urging delegates to support Patrick Muldoon for Lieutenant Governor at the RPV State Convention. So far the entire "case" for Patrick Muldoon has been comprised of nothing but criticisms of Bill Bolling. I have repeatedly asked Muldoon supporters to tell me the reason I should vote FOR Muldoon as opposed to just why I should just vote against Bolling. The only response I have heard is a deafening silence.

There are two things I like to find in an ideal candidate: a commitment to conservative principles, and an ability to get elected. No case can be made that Muldoon has a better chance of being elected than Bill Bolling. Bolling has already shown he can win the Lieutenant Governorship, and has posted solid fundraising numbers (especially when compared to Muldoon). Muldoon has yet to win a single election. He lost bis bid for VA's 9th Congressional seat, lost in a race for Commonwealth Attorney, and his highest elected office is alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Since Muldoon can not try to win on electability all he can try to win on is ideological purity. I am definitely an conservative who believes people should be true conservatives not just suddenly conservative during election season. That is why I have worked hard for Cuccinelli, Jeff Frederick, and Mike Huckabee among others. However Muldoon is just as ideologically impure as he claims Bolling is and does not have the long record of accomplishments that Bolling has. Earlier his connections to Barr Labs and the gambling industry were brought to light. Now Bearing Drift is reporting that Muldoon received over $10,000 from a group that has Barr Labs as a client, and has made donations to Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and others pro-choice Democrats. If Patrick Muldoon wants to have the audacity to criticize Bill Bolling for not being ideologically pure, he needs to make sure his own house is in order first.

Bolling has a record of voting pro-life. He opposed the Warner tax increase when most Republican senators supported it. He actively opposed Tim Kaine's tax hikes and has actively supported Republicans across the commonwealth. He also had the wisdom to not step into the Jeff Frederick fight. Bolling has a proven record on the issues. He has proven his conservative credentials time and again and as a result I am proud to support him. If you are a conservative then please support one of your own, over a political unknown with huge question marks. This is our opportunity to create a strong ticket, sweep the executive offices, and increase our majority in the House of Delegates along the way.

Patrick (McSweeney) on Patrick (Muldoon)

The day after the state central committee removed Jeff Frederick, Patrick McSweeney issued a letter supporting Patrick Muldoon for Lieutenant Governor in what appeared to be an attempt to capitalize on the growing discontent in many conservatives. While Patrick McSweeney went to far, he definitely turned heads with his letter. Mason Conservative came out very strongly against McSweeney on this issue, and Tertium Quids agreed with McSweeney in part and disagreed with him in part.

McSweeney made some good points about the new direction of the RPV, especially it's lack of support for social issues. However Mason Conservative very accurately pointed out that going after Bolling for these problems and with Muldoon seems rather counterproductive.

While the RPV definitely has problems, Bolling has proven himself time and again to be a true conservative, and he has a very good chance at winning in the fall. Patrick Muldoon on the other hand has never been able to win an election, and has few real accomplishments and achievements that could make him a better nominee than Bolling. Honestly I have yet to see a real reason to vote for Muldoon. The only reason I see is that someone has a nitpicky problem with Bolling, or is trying to lodge a protest vote against McDonnell. Neither of those reasons though are reasons to support Muldoon only possible reasons to oppose Bolling.

NOMINATION OF PATRICK MULDOON

I make no pretense that this is the usual nomination speech. Frankly, I’m tired of the usual political speech.

As a party, we simply must begin to talk in a very different way than we have in recent campaigns or we will continue to lose ground.

We all know that the Republican Party today has no clear brand. The choice
is whether to develop a new one or to rediscover our tradition, but abandoned
brand.

That is not the only choice. The more important choice is whether incumbents and their consultants or the grassroots should decide what our brand should be instead of the grassroots.

I nominate Patrick Muldoon for Lieutenant Governor because he is committed
to the Party’s principles; to building a grassroots party and to having the
grassroots decide the most important questions facing us.

Patrick is an exceptionally capable, intelligent and hardworking fellow. Born and raised in Southwest Virginia on a family farm, he has earned both an engineering degree and law degree. In 1996 and 1998, he ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Democrat Rick Boucher in the 9th District. It also took George Washington and Vance Wilkins three tries each to win their first elections.

Patrick’s opponent is the incumbent Lieutenant Governor, Bill Bolling, who has forgotten that having a strong grassroots party means that elected officials must be accountable to the grassroots. After the 2008 Republican State Convention, Patrick’s opponent and an elite few decided that this convention should be as closed and restricted as possible. They decided that they, not the grassroots, would decide who our standbearers would be in 2009.

During the summer of 2008, this group of elites devised a Call for the 2009 convention that would make it very difficult for any candidates to enter the field who had not already announced. They used the only meeting of the State Central committee during the 2008 campaigns between May and November to push through the Call. Instead of planning to help our 2008 candidates, the Central Committee devoted almost its entirety of its September 2008 meeting to controversial procedural issues that had nothing to do with the 2008 elections.

As a result, a great deal of the Party’s energy and focus during the closing weeks of the 2008 campaigns was diverted from the essential tasks of enhancing turnout and promoting our candidates to organizing for the 2009 nomination contests. Lining up petition drives for 2009 candidates, raising money for 2009 candidates and generally speculating about 2009 had never before been allowed to interfere with the immediate challenge of winning the elections only weeks away.

What this group of elites never acknowledged was that they were abandoning
an unspoken, but reasonable and longstanding rule that all of our energy and focus be devoted to the elections at hand. Candidates for nomination in future races generally honored that rule. Patrick’s opponent and others in this group of elites put personal ambition and other concerns ahead of the best interests of our 2008 candidates and the best interests of the Party.

What is equally troublesome is that Bill Bolling and others in the elite group do not believe that Bolling should be required to account either for his past actions and positions or for the positions he intends to take during the 2009 campaign if he is nominated. The obvious conclusion is this: Patrick’s opponent and his elite group don’t want a public discussion about what our brand should be. They and only they will decide.

I am impressed with Patrick’s background and ability. Even more, I am impressed with his commitment to our principles and his willingness to hold fast to them in the face of vigorous opposition. I am impressed that he wants to rebuild this Party as a true grassroots party.

I am greatly disturbed that Bill Bolling has decided to abandon, downplay or remain silent about the principled positions that the grassroots of this Party has repeatedly
endorsed. His consultants have advised him that he cannot win the general election by advocating our well-established positions on social issues, limited government and individual liberty.

The new Republican message, we are told, must be that Republicans are better equipped than Democrats to solve people’s everyday problems.

Please take a moment to reflect on this new message. It necessarily means that ours has become a radically different party. We are no longer committed to encouraging individuals, families, religious organizations, voluntary associations and the free market to solve our problems. We will now look first to government to solve our problems, just as Democrats do. Our new brand is that Republicans can give people better government and maybe just a little bit less government than the Democrats. No matter how it is dressed up, that means expanding government.

This new brand is not one that the grassroots of the Party has ever embraced. Why should we blindly accept the brand chosen by Party elites?

Bill Bolling has decided that Republicans should either hide or compromise their positions on social issues. He never consulted the grassroots about that. We want candidates who will unapologetically defend those positions, not act as if they are afraid of them.

President Obama has reversed executive orders issued by President Bush to protect human life. Where are the Republican leaders who should be challenging President Obama for his actions?

Because many of our elected officials went along with higher government debt and spending while Republicans controlled the General Assembly, Congress and the White House, the Party has little credibility now when it calls for limiting government. The grassroots never endorsed this abandonment of the central principle of our Party, but we have not held our elected officials accountable for doing so.

At a time when the Democrats are further diminishing the role of the states in our federal system, where are our Republican leaders? Where is Bill Bolling? Is federal stimulus money so precious that Virginia should meekly accept any conditions that President Obama and Congress attach to the receipt of that money?

At a time when we face a serious threat of being disarmed by our government, where is Bill Bolling?

Because so few of our Republican elected officials and candidates actually understand or are willing to stand up for our principles, voters fail to appreciate the role that individuals, families, religious organizations, voluntary groups and the free market should play in solving problems. This has meant that the debate has been reduced to whether Republicans or Democrats are better suited to providing government solutions. Is it any wonder our Party is losing ground?

When we most need committed, articulate and principled candidates, too many of our candidates are listening to consultants who tell them not to tie themselves to controversial social issues or to advocate limited government because polls indicate that voters are opposed to those positions. Our candidates should be changing public opinion, not compromising our principles to placate public opinion.

The contest for the nomination for Lieutenant Governor offers a clear
choice.
· Patrick will campaign to
protect human life from conception to natural death.
· Bill Bolling has said that
Republicans must downplay their traditional positions on social issues in order
to win.
· Patrick wants to return to
traditional conservative principles of personal responsibility, community
self-help, parental control and reliance on private initiative and enterprise to
solve our everyday problems.
· Bill Bolling has a platform
that proposes new legislation to solve the citizens’ everyday problems and has
supported intrusive measures such as the human papillomavirus vaccination
legislation.
· Patrick opposes legislation,
such as the 2007 transportation statute (H.B. 3202), that provides for the
imposition of taxes by unelected bodies, abusive driver fees and billions of
tax-backed debt without voter approval.
· Bolling supported H.B. 3202 in
2007.

The grassroots should choose candidates who will change minds, not change our principles. Patrick’s opponent has already decided that he will not be that kind of candidate.

That is why I am nominating a courageous young man who is fully prepared to defend our principles, even when the public appears to oppose them. I ask you support Patrick Muldoon. Let’s restore the proper, traditional conservative Republican brand that has brought us statewide victories in the past.

Thank you.

Patrick McSweeney

Bob McDonnell Kickoff Tour

As many of you know by now, Bob McDonnell will be kicking off his campaign with a tour of the state this weekend. If you can make any of these events, please do, and I hope you will join me in working to elect a true social conservative the next governor of Virginia in November.

Also if you are supporting Jeff Frederick as RPV chairman, you should definitely be there as well.  Here are a couple articles from Spank that Donkey, and Bearing Drift about what Frederick supporters will be trying to do at these events.


Bob Kicks-off in Virginia Beach with Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Date/Time
Saturday, March 28 at 5:30 P.M
Location
Princess Anne High School4400 Virginia Beach BlvdVirginia Beach, VA 23462(757) 618-9339
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Richmond with Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Date/Time
Saturday, March 28 at 3:00 P.M.
Location
John Randolph Tucker High School2910 N Parham RdRichmond, VA 23294(804) 527-4600
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in NOVA with Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling
Date/Time
Saturday, March 28 at 10:00 A.M
Location
Annandale Firehouse7128 Columbia PikeAnnandale, VA 22003
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Bristol
Date/Time
Monday, March 30 2009 at 5:00 PM
Location
101 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.Bristol, VA
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Cedar Bluff
Date/Time
March 30 2009 at 3:45 PM
Location
Tazewell County Airport 100 Airport Rd Cedar Bluff, VA 24609
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Charlottesville
Date/Time
Tuesday, March 31 2009 at 1:00 PM
Location
400 Emmet St SCharlottesville, VA 22903
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Lynchburg
Date/Time
Tuesday, March 31 2009 at 7:00 PM
Location
The Swann Group724 Commerce St.Lynchburg, VA 24503
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Harrisonburg
Date/Time
Tuesday, March 31 2009 at 4:15 PM
Location
James Madison UniversityTaylor Hall, Room TBD800 South Main StreetHarrisonburg, VA 22807
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Blacksburg
Date/Time
Tuesday, March 31 2009 at 10:00 PM
Location
Montgomery County GOP HQ215 Draper RdBlacksburg, VA 24060
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Petersburg
Date/Time
Tuesday, March 31 2009 at 10:45 AM
Location
Java Mio Coffeehouse322 N Sycamore StreetPetersburg, VA 23803Website: http://www.javamiocoffeehouse.com
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Fredericksburg/Mary Washington
Date/Time
Wednesday, April 1, 7:30 PM
Location
Location TBD
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Winchester
Date/Time
Wednesday, April 1 2009 at 8:00 AM
Location
Jimmy’s Restaurant (at the Quality Inn)1019 Millwood PikeWinchester, VA 22602
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Culpeper
Date/Time
Wednesday, April 1 2009 at 12:30 PM
Location
Raven’s Nest Coffee House254 E Davis StCulpeper, VA 22701
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Onley (Eastern Shore)
Date/Time
Wednesday, April 1, 5:00 PM
Location
Sunrise Restaurant Bar & Grill25345 Lankford HwyOnley, VA 23418
Form
RSVP Here!

Bob Kicks-off in Emporia
Date/Time
Thursday, April 2, 1:00 PM
Location
Location TBD
Form
RSVP Here!

If you would like to get involved in the We Support Chairman Jeff Frederick movement, please join us on facebook, or the RPVNetwork, sign the petition, and contact your state central members and theMcDonnell campaign.

Is the Executive Committee Pushing this, and not State Central?

During the beginning of this week, two of Jeff's most vitriolic detractors on the blogosphere, The Contemporary Conservative, and Loudoun Insider, referred to an article they believed was the best case for why Jeff Frederick should resign as RPV Chairman. As someone who reads most of what is being said about the issue online, I read the article. Even without comparing the piece to the vitriolic things that have been written by those leading the effort to remove Jeff, this was a very well written article.

The article is written by Col. William Flanagan, a party activist and RPV state central member from the 4th district. In it he responds to some of the reasons people have used when e-mailing him in support of Jeff Frederick. In the second paragraph he details how he came to sign the letter. He states that he didn't vote for Jeff at the convention, but tried to work with him afterwards. Here is the money quote describing the pressure used to get him to sign the letter.

In late November, just before the Republican Advance, I was asked to support his removal. I declined and advised against it. Since that time, more things have been brought to my attention. Only after separate meetings at the end of February, with three members of the Executive Committee and detailed questions and answers, did I sign on to ask the Chairman to step down or to be removed.

As a member of state central this party activist didn't see anything to justify removing Jeff by the Republican Advance in December. This was months after the website and budget issues had occurred, and a month after the general election. As a member of state central who wasn't predisposed to Jeff Frederick who couldn't find anythign worth removing him as chairman. It took three meetings with executive committee members, and the disclosure of things presumably not included on the letter to convince a former Hager supporter to sign the letter to remove Jeff.

State Central members have responded indignantly to the accusation that the effort to remove Jeff isn't a grassroots effort by saying that state central members are elected as well. However this story begs the question, are they acting independently, and how many of them originally wanted Jeff to resign? Is this really an effort by state central or a move by the executive committee? If these people were agressively talking and persuading people to help them remove Jeff, did it take a couple meetings with our elected officials to bring them on board?

Those trying to remove Chairman Frederick are insistent that this is a grassroots effort. If they believe this, I dare them to prove it. How many people did y'all have to persuade with unreleased information in private meetings to gather the support? How many people joined the effort of their own free will? Since Bob McDonnell was the first elected official to call for Jeff to resign, was he involved in any of the persuading?

These are all questions that need to come out as the RPV decides whether or not the man who was overwhelmingly elected by the grassroots will remain the party chairman. If this information is released soon, it will be found out eventually and released, and I can only pray it doesn't further destroy the party the McDonnell/Bolling ticket was supposed to unite.

If you would like to get involved in the We Support Chairman Jeff Frederick movement, please join us on facebook, or the RPVNetwork, sign the petition, and contact your state central members and the McDonnell campaign.

Removing Frederick is More Important Than a McDonnell - Bolling Win?

An excellent article by Spank that Donkey on the insanity that is the attempt to oust Jeff Frederick.

_____________________________________________________

If we all just kick back for a minute, and try and understand the current political situation of the VA GOP...

Yes, it's Ugly... Lost both US Senators, elected a Democrat President for the first time in over four decades, and lost the VA General Assembly Senate...

The only glimmer of hope is that LG Bill Bolling decided to work with AG Bob McDonnell instead of against him... to unify Republicans.... yet who is Chairman of the Party is reason for a group of folks to send the party back into nuclear meltdown?

Chairman? Oh, I forgot, Chairman are supposed be lapdogs... Sitting around waiting on their masters to hand feed them an agenda, and words to repeat...

Maybe it's even a little more.... maybe there are some tax increases, or other party planks that need bending in our future? Maybe having a strong chairman to protest against them would be embarrassing, or just flatout inconvenient?

If you would like to get involved in the We Support Chairman Jeff Frederick movement, please join us on facebook, or the RPVNetwork, sign the petition, and contact your state central members and theMcDonnell campaign.

Bill Bolling "New Ideas for a Better Virginia"

Today, the Bolling for Lieutenant Governor Campaign sent out their Bolling promo video to supporters.  It is a well done inspiring video that emphasizes Bollings record of accomplishments, the bipartisan way he has solved problems, and his "New Ideas for a Better Virginia".  I hope you watch the video and support Bill Bolling at the Virginia RPV State Convention, and McDonnell/Bolling in the general election.

VCDL Endorses Bolling and Cuccinelli

The Virginia Civil Defense League (VCDL) just issued their endorsements for the RPV 2009 State Convention. They endorsed Bill Bolling for Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General. While these two men are traditionally thought of as social conservatives, they have proven themselves over their careers as people who fight for our second amendment rights. The VCDL did not endrose Bob McDonnell simply because he is not in a nomination contest at the convention.

The Republican Party is holding a Convention on May 29-30, 2009, to select
candidates to run for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General in the General
Election. VCDL-PAC is endorsing a candidate for each of these positions at the
Republican Convention:

LT. GOVERNOR: William T. "Bill" Bolling. This endorsement is based on the
excellent record Lt Governor Bolling established representing the interests of
Virginia gun owners during his career in the Virginia General Assembly, as well
as his forthright and unequivocal 100% pro-gunanswers to the VCDL Candidate
Survey. The Bolling campaign website is:http://www.billbolling.com/

ATTORNEY GENERAL: Kenneth T. "Ken" Cuccinelli, II. Despite being from
Northern Virginia, Senator Cuccinelli has been among the stalwart leaders in
protecting the 2nd Amendment in the Virginia State Senate year after year –-
even when he is viciously attacked for such stands in his home district. In
addition, he has answered the VCDL candidate survey strongly pro-gun. Senator
Cuccinelli has supported us in very tough circumstances, now here’s your chance
to return the favor. The Cuccinelli campaign website is: http://www.cuccinelli.com/

This Convention provides supporters of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
(RKBA) in Virginia the opportunity to select pro-gun candidates for the
Republican Party. Fewer than 5,000 activists will decide the nominations, so
those who care about the issues will make all the difference. I highly
encourage you to register as a Delegate at the Republican Convention to ensure
that the RKBA is strongly represented.

A link to the Convention filing deadlines and forms is:http://www.cuccinelli.com/meetings.htm

Contact your family, friends, and fellow 2nd Amendment activists and get
them to sign up to attend the Convention TODAY.

Sincerely,
Kenneth M. Elliott, Jr.Chairman, VCDL-PAC

---------------------------------------------------
Authorized by the Chairman, VCDL-PAC, VA 01-042 NOT authorized by any
candidate or political party
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.(VCDL).
VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to
defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is
a fundamental human right. VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org/

Cuccinelli Declares Victory in Three Key Localities

In today's Cuccinelli Compass Sen. Cuccinelli declared victory in Chesterfield County, Virginia Beach, and Hampton Roads. Also related to my last post about how this year's RPV state convention will be larger than last year's, in all these localities there was a significant increase in delegates signed up over last year. I think the appeal that Sen. Cuccinelli is enjoying throughout enjoying throughout Virginia in this attorney general nomination contest is evidence of the fact that Virginia Republicans like social conservatives with a record on the issues. I also think that Ken's record in the senate will complement Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling's campaign of being a ticket with a record of getting things done for Virginians very well.

March 2, 2009

Dear Fellow Virginians,

I sent a Compass yesterday, so this will be short.

Today was the convention filing deadline for, among others, Chesterfield
and Virginia Beach. We VASTLY out-filed our nearest competitor in BOTH
units. And folks, these are the 2nd and 3rd biggest voting blocks at the
convention - over 10% of the total vote at the convention. Together, they
may account for more votes than all other filings up to this point!

Tonight was also the Hampton City mass meeting, and we lead here too... and
this one is particularly interesting... read on to find out why!

Chesterfield

There were 704 delegates filed in Chesterfield County for the 2009
convention - that's more than four times as many delegates as showed up in
2008. The GOP ain't dead yet!

Of those 704 delegates, Cuccinelli folks walked in the door with 396
(56%)! As of Sunday night, the next closest A.G. candidate had only filed
about 100 delegates. We have more than tripled the second place candidate
in Chesterfield. There is also a significant chunk of undecideds.

Have you heard anything this specific from any other candidate in this
race? No, you haven't. We read their emails too. Why do you
suppose they haven't been more specific? Hmmmm... I
wonder...

Virginia Beach

And now it starts to get interesting ... Dave Foster's campaign claimed
victory in Virginia Beach four hours after the filing deadline today -
Woops!

Last year, only 75 delegates went to the convention from Va. Beach.
438 delegates filed by today. Our party is coming back to life with so
many grassroots activists!

Of the 438 delegates filed by today, our folks walked in with 192 forms -
more than double any other A.G. candidate. Of course, many of the others
are our supporters too (we just didn't turn in all of their forms - they did it
themselves). Again, the next largest block after our block of delegates
appears to be the undecided block.

So much for that other campaign's victory claim!

Last But Not Least, Hampton City

And speaking of false victory claims, our other competitor, John Brownlee,
claimed a huge victory in Hampton today. Again, Woops!

63 delegates were elected at their mass meeting tonight. Over half of
these delegates are committed to our campaign. But Brownlee claimed he
leads all other candidates by a 3 to 1 margin.

How can this be? It can't. Someone either can't count or hopes
you won't!

Did you notice that they didn't provide any specific numbers - seeing a
pattern here?

Any reporters want to test this one to see who "counts better?"
Bloggers? We'll give you the list of our supporters - will our competitor
do the same?