Bill Stanley for State Senate

Bill Stanley is a rising conservative star in Virginia. He passionately believes in our core conservative principles, and will fight for them in whatever position he holds. Whether it was as Franklin Co. or 5th District Chair, or in his run for Party Chairman, Bill Stanley has a record marked by accomplishment and conviction. His hard work as Franklin Co. Chair lead to overwhelming support in his bid for 5th District Chairman. As chairman of the 5th District Bill Stanley was able to unite conservatives around Robert Hurt as Republicans took back the 5th District. In his bid for Party Chairman in 2009, Bill Stanley showed that he was willing to fight for things that looked impossible, and was not willing to be bought off.

Most importantly as a pro-lifer and a fiscal conservative, Bill Stanley will work make a pro-lifer chairman of the Senate Health and Education Committee, and will not vote to raise taxes.

Conservative State Senators Mark Obenshain, Steve Newman, Steve Martin, Ralph Smith, and Jill Vogel all endorsed Bill Stanley as they look forward to another conservative coming to the state senate. Ken Cuccinelli, Bob Marshall, The Lynchburg Tea Party, Gun Owners of America, and Bearing Drift have also endorsed Bill Stanley.

If you live in the 19th Senate District, help put a conservative majority in the state senate by voting for Bill Stanley on November 23rd.

Virginia First State in the Nation to Pass Ban on Mandated Health Care Insurance

While Congress is caught up in a tumultuous debate over whether or not to undertake sweeping reform that would make it illegal to be without health insurance, Virginia this week made its stance on government health care mandates crystal clear: NO! The answer came in the form of HB 10, introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall, R-Manassas, and mirroring SB 417, patroned by Senator Jill Vogel, R- Upperville, which would block any government mandate that would require Virginia residents to have health insurance. Both received overwhelming bipartisan support. The Senate bill passed into law, while the House version is headed to Governor McDonnell's desk for his signature.

Virginia is the first state in the nation to pass any type of ban on mandated coverage, but more than thirty other states are following our lead with similar legislation pending.

These votes send a clear message to local Congressmen Boucher, D-9th, Nye, D-2nd, and Perriello, D-5th who are standing by to support Obama's healthcare legislation: the people back home in your district don't want Washington bureaucrats in charge of their health care. They also don't want the Commonwealth on the hook for one of the largest unfunded mandates in history.

(From Pat Mullins March 12th, Chairman's Update)

Stephens Miller ignores reality, attacks Rust's support for autism treatment

Delegate Tom Rust (R-86) was an advocate for a bill that would have required insurers to pay for therapy for children diagnosed with autism-spectrum disorders. So why is Stephens Miller distorting Tom Rust's record?

Does Tom hate puppies too? And lollipops? Maybe rainbows?

Miller's attack would be a lot more funny if it wasn't so desperately false. Consider the facts:

Rust attended a rally organized by the Autism Help Network in July to push for the legislation.

In February, the Washington Post's Loudoun Extra noted that "Many politicians representing Loudoun have been vocal in support of this legislation, including delegates Bob Marshall (R-13), David Poisson (D-32), Chuck Caputo (D-67), Tom Rust (R-86) and Joe T. May (R-33) and state senators Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-27) and Mark Herring (D-33)."

This month, the Virginia Autism Project just named Delegate Rust as a friend of their past and future efforts.

The kicker? Miller's name was not included on the list.

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.