Cuccinelli Follows the Law, While McDonnell Follows the Polls

Last week it was revealed that Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli sent a directive to the state universtities informing them they were stepping outside the bounds of the law to have non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation. This created an immediate firestorm from both sides of the aisle. All the usual suspects yelled bigot, and turning back the clock, and sadly even Republicans came out against the Attorney General's call to obey the rule of law. A prominent College Republican leader (Cole Usry of Christopher Newport University) organized early protests against the Attorney General, and prominent Republican blogs have come out against the Attorney General. One blog even suggested he could kiss future political aspirations good buy as a result of this. Honestly the reaction to the Attorney General's decision has been heavily based on emotion. To my knowledge no one has made the case that Ken Cuccinelli is incorrect in his interpretation of the law. All this blowback resulted because Ken Cuccinelli made good on his campaign promise to "enforce the rule of law."

In response to this firestorm Governor Bob McDonnell is trying to placate the left by issuing "Executive Directive #1." First of all an executive directive is different from an executive order. This is a legally nonbinding statement reminding state agencies that “employment discrimination for any reason other than merit and ability has no place in state government”. The reaction to the Executive Directive has been generally positive, especially from the left. However the VA Family Foundation sent out an e-mail expressing their concern with the directive and noted as troubling the positive statements the ACLU made about it.

Probably the most stinging rebuke to the Governor came from a long time supporter, and social conservative leader, Dr. Mike Farris. Dr. Farris gave the Washington Post a very blunt statement on the issue.

"I think this action is incredibly disappointing, to the point of being shocking," said Michael P. Farris, the chancellor of Patrick Henry College, a private Christian college in Loudoun County. "The deeper message it sends is that people who think homosexuality is a sin are wrong. They are irrational."

Farris, a lawyer and constitutional scholar who ran for lieutenant governor in 1993, said he thinks McDonnell's policy statement will be used in courts to help challenge Virginia's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which McDonnell supported. "I don't think the people advising him were doing anything other than reading polls," Farris said.

I am proud of Ken Cuccinelli for standing up for the law no matter how politically incorrect it may be. I also have to side with Dr. Farris in expressing my disappointment in Governor McDonnell. If you can't stand up for traditional values when the law is on your side and the General Assembly is with you, when can you?

Let's hope the governor will follow through on his promise to defund Planned Parenthood. That is something he can do single handedly, and if he doesn't do that this year, can social conservatives ever hope he will fight for us?

UPDATE:: As always Tim Boyer, a good friend of this blog, is willing to call it like it is, and has some similar thoughts on this topic along with some thoughts on the possible political reasons for McDonnell's actions.

Major Democrat Donor Endorses Bob McDonnell

Today in a press conference Sheila Crump Johnson a self described lifelong democrat endorsed Bob McDonnell. Sheila Johnson lives in Middleburg, VA is "Co-Founder of Black Entertainment Television, a local business owner, and noted philanthropist and entrepeneur." She is also the world's first female African-American billionaire. One of the causes she has donated heavily to is the Democrat Party. According to VPAP, since 2003 she has donated $654,378 to Democrat candidates. This includes about $600,000 to Tim Kaine and his PAC, and another $1,000 each to Terry McAuliffe and Brian Moran. Her one donation to a Republican so far seems to be part of her effort to defeat Jill Vogel's campaign for State Senate.

In the endorsement, Sheila made it clear that she believed that Bob McDonnell will help bring about the economic recovery this state desperately needs.

“Make no mistake, these are tough economic times for all Virginians. Unemployment is on the rise and families are struggling to stay in their homes. We need bold and innovative leadership to move our state forward and that’s why I’ve chosen to support Bob McDonnell for Governor. He has shown me that he has the right vision and the executive leadership skills that will guide Virginia through these challenging times. He understands that we have to help businesses in our state - both big and small - thrive so that we put Virginians back to work. I’m proud to endorse Bob McDonnell to be our next governor.”

This will help McDonnell among two of his weakest demographics, African-American and NOVA voters. While Sheila courageously took a stand for the good of the commonwealth, it will be interesting to watch Democrat bloggers turn on her.

In other news, Creigh Deeds talks about horse manure in his stocking when asked about creating jobs in south west Virginia.

(Simultaneously Posted at VASocialConservative, and Off The Trunk.)

New Poll is Great News for Ken Cuccinelli

Today the first poll of all three statewide races was released by Public Policy Polling. On the CRFV Blog I posted about the good news this is for the whole Republican ticket. I would take a moment to analyze what this poll means for Ken Cuccinelli.

The poll reports that Ken Cuccinelli leads Steve Shannon 45%-38% overall and 44%-26% among independents. (Ken also enjoys the support of 85% of Republican voters compared to Shannon who only has 80% from his own party.) While this is great news (especially since Shannon is well funded and had no primary contest) when you analyze the undecideds the poll gets even better. Independents have the largest percentage of undecided voters with 30%. Since Ken seems to do well among these voters there is more room for his lead to grow their. Interestingly 14% of Democrats are undecided. If they are undecided this far into the campaign season their has to be a possibility Ken can pick up some of these votes as well.

The person who some people say is too radical to win in Virginia is leading in the first poll, and even leading among independents. Let's continue to work hard and make sure Ken and the rest of the ticket win this fall.

Details on the CRFV Volunteer Contest

Earlier I posted an announcement from Kate Maxwell about a CRFV volunteer contest. Here are the details on the competition.

CRFV Summer Volunteer Contest

The CRFV Executive Committee is proud to announce the first Summer Volunteer Contest open to all College Republicans statewide. We have teamed up with the McDonnell Campaign to offer incentives for volunteers who are able to give 10 HOURS of work (door-knocking or phone-banking at a local Victory office) between now and August 1st.

Those who complete the most hours will be given individual prizes, including the opportunity to introduce our candidates at local rallies, free access to fundraisers and ticketed events, and much more! All volunteers who meet the minimum 10 hour requirement will be eligible to attend the First Annual CRFV Fall Kick-Off with Bob McDonnell at the end of summer. Music, food, and drinks will be provided, and all guests will have the opportunity to spend time with fellow College Republicans & enjoy a meet and greet with our future governor! A complimentary photo with Bob McDonnell will also be provided.

More details to be announced soon, and we are looking forward to providing a great time and a well-earned reward for our most dedicated volunteers.

To RSVP, send an email pledging to complete the 10 hour minimum requirement to crfvcontest@gmail.com. Include your name, school, and registered voting address. You will be sent a volunteer time log to record your hours. Pledge today so that we can put together the best event possible!
Chapter Chairmen:
Please join us on our CRFV Wiki Page for updates and information about the CRFV. This tool will will enable you to communicate better with your fellow VA CRs, see what events are happening across the state, and stay informed as to the conditions of the CRFV and its chapters.

CHAPTER CHAIRMEN:
Visit www.crfv.pbwiki.com to request access

Let us know about events at your chapter!
Contact: Kate Maxwell (kate.maxwell@crfv.net)
or Cole Usry (administrator@crfv.net)

If you need a list of Victory Centers to volunteer out of, please click here.
(Originally posted at PHC College Republicans.)

College Republican Volunteer Contest

Kate Maxwell the chairman of the CRFV recently made an announcement concerning summer volunteering.

I am so excited about our summer volunteer plans. We will be having a incentives and events for CRs who can accumulate the most volunteer hours. For all College Republicans who can donate 10 hours to door-knocking or phone-banking, we will be having a free event with Bob McDonnell at the end of the summer, so start keeping track with dates and times and a signature from your local Victory Director!

Here is a list of Victory Centers, and I hope to see you on the campaign trail this summer.

Originally posted at PHC College Republican.

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.

How State Central Voted

In case you are interested, here is how the vote went down at the state central committee meeting on April 4th on the question of whether or not to remove Jeff Frederick as RPV chairman.

Note Mickey Mixson's proxy would have voted for Jeff Frederick but was disqualified.

Also this is just being provided for the sake of full and open disclosure, and transparency, etc... Please do not use this to blackmail anyone. While we may need to remove some people from positions of party leadership, we also need to keep foccused on winning in the general election this fall. If you do not plan on at least voting for our amazing ticket in the general election, I must question why you are getting involved in the party fights of a party you don't seem to actually support.

April 4, 2009
State Central Committee
One vacancy: 77 eligible to vote
75% Votes needed to Remove Chairman
Votes cast in Motion to Remove Jeff Frederick as Chairman

Officers – 11 Voting Members
NO Jeff Frederick, State Chairman
NO David Rensin, Finance Chairman
YES Mike Thomas, Vice- Chairman
YES Paulina Campbell, Secretary
* Morton Blackwell, National Committeeman .
YES Kathy Hayden Terry, National Committeewoman
YES Kevin Gentry, Eastern Vice-Chairman - Absent - Proxy carried by Anthony
Bedell
YES Juanita Balenger, Eastern Vice-Chairwoman
_---___ Vacant, Eastern Vice-Chairman
YES Trixie Averill, Eastern Vice-Chairwoman
YES Rick Neel,Treasurer

* Note: Morton Blackwell presided as Chairman and would only vote if his vote would
make a difference. One proxy was not allowed, ,and Blackwell’s vote would not have
made a difference.

General Assembly – 4 members
NO Hon. Morgan Griffith, Majority Leader, House of Delegates
YES Hon. John Cosgrove, Member of the House of Delegates
YES Hon. Frank Ruff, State Senator
YES Hon. Emmett Hanger, State Senator—Absent - Proxy carried by Sen. Stosch

1st Congressional District – 6 Members
NO Jim Bowden
YES Carol Dawson
YES Michael Lowe
YES John Van Hoy
YES Allen Webb
YES Tom Foley, Congressional District Chairman

2nd District – 4 Members
NO Gary Byler, Congressional District Chairman
NO Roger Miles
YES David O’Kelley
YES Chester “Chuck” Smith

3rd District – 4 Members
YES Bryan Meals
YES Cortland Putbrese
YES Chris Woodfin – Absent - Proxy carried by Aaron Gulbranson
YES Mike Wade, Congressional District Chairman

4th District – 5 Members
YES Bill Flanangan
YES Irene Hurst - Absent - Proxy carried by Wayne Ozmore
YES Linas Kogelis
YES Bob Wheeler
YES Jack Wilson, Congressional District Chairman

5th District – 5 Members
NO Renee Trent Maxey
NO Chris Shores
YES Rachel Schoenewald
YES Rayburn Gene Smith
YES Tucker Watkins, Congressional District Chairman


6th Congressional District – 6 Members
NO Jim Crosby
NO Mickey Mixon – Absent - Proxy carried by Andrew Jones was challenged and
not accepted
YES Lynn Mitchell
YES Matthew Braud
YES Wendell Walker
YES Fred Anderson, Congressional District Chairman

7th District – 6 Members
YES David Fuller
YES Brian Plum
YES Marie Quinn
YES Kristi Way - Absent – Proxy carried by Davis Rennolds
YES John D. Tucker – Absent – Proxy carried by Edward Eddens
YES Linwood Cobb, Congressional District Chairman

8th District – 4 Members
NO Vellie Dietrich-Hall
NO Mike Giere
NO Mark Kelly
YES Mike Ginsberg, Congressional District Chairman

9th District – 5 Members
YES John Kilgore
YES Jerry Lester
YES Dr. Judi Lynch
YES Jack Morgan
YES Michelle Jenkins, Congressional District Chairman

10th District – 5 Members
NO Elizabeth Kay Gunter
NO JoAnn Chase
NO Howie Lind
YES Mary Gail Swenson
YES Jim Rich, Congressional District Chairman


11th District – 4 Members
NO David Ray
NO Patsy Drain
NO Keith Damon
YES Becky Stoeckel, Congressional District Chairman

Virginia Federation of Republican Women – 3 Members
YES Brenda Campbell, President
YES Carol Ford, SCC Representative – Absent - Proxy carried by Faye
Williamson
YES Angie Hall, SCC Representative

Virginia Federation of Young Republicans – 3 Members
YES Lori Ann Miller, President
YES Neil Miller, Representative
YES Andrew Vehorn – Absent – Proxy carried by Sara Rose Cavalli

Federation of College Republicans – 3 Members
YES Kate Maxwell, President
YES Matthew Wolking – Absent – Proxy carried by Dale Dye
YES Ray Boyce

My Speech at the CRFV State Convention

On Saturday I had the great honor and privilege of being able to speak on behalf of my political hero, Ken Cuccinelli, at the College Republican Federation of Virginia State Convention.  At the start of the convention John Brownlee addressed the assembled delegates, followed by Dave Foster.  Sen. Cuccinelli was unable to attend the meeting so I spoke on his behalf, and shared why I am supporting him in this race.  

In all honesty I was fairly nervous heading into the speech, especially as I only realized what I was supposed to do the previous afternoon.  However many of my friends were praying for me, and God blessed me.  I know I could have delivered it better, but a lot of people really liked the speech.  

After the speech Mr. Brownlee came up to me and congratulated me on giving a good speech.  He also said I have a good speaking voice and should consider becoming a lawyer.  One of his staff members also took the time to compliment me about the speech as well.  I'm thankful that while we can disagree sharply in this race we can still be civil and friendly about it.

Daniel Davies, a fellow PHC student, took a video of the speech, and I will post it as soon as we can get it on You Tube.  The rest of this article is the actual text of the speech.  I hope that after you read it, you will consider supporting Senator Cuccinelli for Attorney General.  (To read about what else happened at the CRFV convention, check here.)

Why I support Sen. Cuccinelli for Attorney General

By: Willie Deutsch

My name is Willie Deutsch, I am the 1^st Vice Chair of the Patrick Henry College Republicans.  Since Ken Cuccinelli was unable to attend this meeting, I am going to share with you the reasons I am supporting Sen. Cuccinelli for Attorney General, and why I hope you will support him as well.  As I begin I want to say that over the course of this campaign I have had the opportunity of interacting with both John Brownlee and Dave Foster.  They are both good men.  I am thankful that as a party we have three fine men running in this nomination contest.  However, I believe that Senator Cuccinelli is by far the best candidate in this race.  I first met Cuccinelli when he was running for reelection in 2007.  One of the things that stood out when I first met Ken was his belief that it is more important to stand for principle than to win elections.  Sadly the political process suffers from a lack of principled people in politics.

As we look at the recent success Democrats have had in Virginia, I believe that Democrats have only won statewide when Republicans forget their principles, and/or run lousy campaigns.  This is why Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling won in 2005 while Jerry Kilgore lost, it also explains why George Allen lost in 2006, why we lost the state senate in 2007, and why Virginia’s electoral college votes went to Obama last year.  In Cuccinelli we have the opportunity to reverse the tide of Democratic wins in Virginia by nominating a proven conservative with a record of winning elections.

Throughout his career in the VA State Senate, Ken has fought for the conservative principles that attracted me to this party: limited government, life, the family, the 2^nd amendment, and the rule of law.  Even though he is the last of a dying breed of Republicans from Fairfax Co, he isn’t afraid to be a conservative leader in the state senate.  When Ken says that he is conservative, he has the record to back it up.

Ken believes in the importance of property rights, and as a result fought to strengthen Virginia’s property rights before Kelo, and was the author of the bill that denied localities the ability to exercise eminent domain simply because a public benefit would result.

Ken believes in the importance of protecting the unborn, and has fought for the unborn at every opportunity, including drafting Virginia’s parental notification law in 2003, and leading the fight to defund planned parenthood last session.

Ken believes in the importance of the family, and as a result sponsored the Virginia Marriage Amendment in the Senate, and actively campaigned for it all over the state.

Ken believes in the 2^nd Amendment and as a result has fought to repeal the ban on carrying a concealed weapon in restaurants, eliminate duplicate local background checks, and has become the point man on gun rights in the senate courts and justice committee.

Ken believes in fiscal responsibility, and as a result has voted against every tax increase, regularly submits budget cuts, and has never submitted an earmark request without submitting a request for an  equal budget cut.

While Brownlee and Foster are good men, neither of them can give examples of how they have fought to promote such a wide array of conservative values.  Ken has proven that when he is under fire, he stays true to his conservative principles.

Not only do I support Senator Cuccinelli because he is the candidate with a proven conservative record, I also believe our party should nominate him because he has demonstrated regularly that he can win tough campaigns.  It appears that whoever wins this nomination contest will have a tough general election race against Steve Shannon who already has a war chest of about $740,000.  Running against a tough Democrat opponent in a state that seems to be trending Democrat, we need someone who has demonstrated that he knows how to win elections.  That man is Senator Cuccinelli.  Since 2002 he has won 3 state senate races on conservative issues in Fairfax Co. against opponents who had more money than him. 

In 2002 he won his first state senate race while being outspent 2.5-1

In 2003 he won reelection wile being outspent 2-1

And in 2007 he was once again underfunded, and was a top target for the Democratic Party, and still won.

These victories are testaments to Senator Cuccinelli’s ability to run frugal grassroots campaigns with impressive ID and GOTV operations. 

Over the past month and a half Cuccinelli’s Attorney General Campaign has put an impressive grassroots campaign on display.  During the petition drive that concluded n the beginning of December, Cuccinelli’s attorney general campaign turned in more original signatures than any other campaign.  Under a week later Cuccinelli won the Republican Advance straw poll, an event in which John Brownlee enjoyed home field advantage.  Ken took 47% in the poll, 9% more than Brownlee.  A week and a half ago the campaigns turned in their finance reports for the past 6 months and Cuccinelli raised more money than the Brownlee and Foster campaigns combined, and in a true demonstration of the grassroots support for his campaign he had the most donors of the three candidates, over 600 more than Brownlee.       

Senator Cuccinelli has proven that he can win tough elections on state issues, something neither of the two other candidates had to do.  He has won three times running on conservative principles in Fairfax Co. against better funded candidates.  Ken is demonstrating in this nomination contest that he has an army of grassroots supporters who are willing to work tirelessly for him, and if our party nominates Ken, he will use his campaigning abilities and grassroots army to win the Attorney General’s office for the GOP.

By this time some of you are probably thinking, I know Ken is a great guy, so why doesn’t he stay in the senate and keep leading the fight for our values their?  When weighing weather or not to run for Attorney General, Ken realized that he could do more for the idea of limited government as Attorney General than as a state senator.  As a state senator, Ken is one of forty people.  As Attorney General, he is in charge of the office.  One of the important functions of the Attorney’s Generals office is to be the general counsel for other government agencies.  Ken believes that in this position he can use his influence as Attorney General to encourage other state agencies to reduce the unconstitutional layers of regulation and wasteful projects they engage in.  As a partner at Cuccinelli and Day, Ken has served as a general counsel for small and midsized businesses.  He wants to do the same type of work in the Attorney General’s office for state agencies and use that power to reduce the size of government. 

Who occupies the Attorney General’s office became even more important on Tuesday with the inauguration of Barack Obama.  With the Democrats running D.C. we can expect that some of the liberties we hold dear in this state will come under attack.  Our pro-life laws are under attack from the Freedom of Choice Act, and our state marriage amendment, right to work status, and pro-gun laws will all almost certainly come under attack.  It is important that our next Attorney General be a man who we can trust to defend these laws in the courts.  Ken wrote some of the laws that will come under attack, and has fought for these values in the senate.  I know he will fight to defend them through the court system if he becomes Attorney General.

While Ken has accomplished a lot as a state senator, he can accomplish even more as Attorney General.  He can use his role as the legal advisor to other governmental agencies to reduce the size of government.  He is also a man we can trust to defend Virginia’s conservative laws that will almost certainly be attacked by the federal government. 

On May 30^th this party will nominate Virginia’s next Attorney General.  We have the option to nominate a proven conservative who wins tough campaigns and turn the Democratic tide in Virginia.  I hope you will join me over the coming year in pouring your time and energy into making, Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s next Attorney General.