OpEd on Cuccinelli

Kudos to Cuccinelli

The global-warming crowd is acting like members of a farcical religion, complete with a priesthood threatening planetary doom on those who refuse to render sacrifice. The sacrifice being demanded of Virginia is her economy, so I'm relieved that state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is asking the priesthood for a little hard science before he binds that offering to the altar ("Cuccinelli fights the EPA," Opinion, Feb. 22).

In December, the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued a finding that global warming poses a threat to human life. In so doing, it opened the door to new regulations that could drop a staggering burden on Virginia's already limping economy.

The EPA based its finding on core data provided by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Not long after the EPA published its findings, "Climategate" broke, and we learned that the research undergirding global warming has long been doctored and scientific dissent silenced.

What's more, the IPCC itself admitted to a "very small number of errors." Among its mistakes: A pronouncement that the Himalayan glaciers will disappear by 2035 is off by about 300 years, and the fear of North African crop production being cut in half by 2020 has no basis in fact.

Mr. Cuccinelli - trained as an engineer as well as a lawyer - has filed a petition requesting that the EPA restart the regulatory process and conduct its own research rather than rely on the IPCC's tainted data. Rather than bashing Mr. Cuccinelli as regressive and anti-science, Virginians should give the attorney general credit for challenging the agency and demanding objective data.

After all, we've got time. The Himalayan glaciers aren't going anywhere for a while.

WILLIAM C. DEUTSCH
Chesterfield, Va.

(A Washington Times Op-Ed written by a friend.)

President Obama’s “Sarcastic Summit”

Today, the President held his "Healthcare Summit" at the White House, inviting Republicans and Democrats to come to the table for discussion on a "bi-partisan" solution to healthcare. However, we are now seeing that the President's pledge to hear both sides of the isle has again not come to fruition. A "talk clock" was kept by GOP aids and they timed the President speaking for 119 minutes – that's 9 minutes more than the 110 minutes Republicans used. The Democrats consumed 114 minutes, giving them a total of 233 minutes.

As the Washington Times puts it –

From the beginning, no one could agree on anything, even how much time each side had used. When a miffed Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, pointed out early on that Democrats had controlled 52 minutes to Republicans' 24, Mr. Obama jumped in to dispute even that.

"I don't think that's quite right," he said.

Sarcastic count #1.

With a twinkle in his eye, he added: "You're right, there was an imbalance on
the opening statements because - I'm the president." Half the room laughed. "I
didn't count my time in terms of dividing it evenly."

Sarcastic count #2.

Each time a Republican sought to break in to rebut a point made by the president or a fellow Democrat, Mr. Obama looked a bit frustrated and made clear who was in
charge of the bipartisan discussion.

"Let me just finish, Lamar," he said during his rebuttal to the senator's opening
statement. "No, no, no, no. Let me - and this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight," he said when Mr. Alexander sought to clarify a point.

Sarcastic count #3.

The bitterness that underlies the contentious health care reform debate burst to the surface fairly quickly, when Sen. John McCain, who lost to Mr. Obama in the 2008 election, lectured the president about what he called a backdoor process to produce the Senate bill.

"John, can I just say -" Mr. Obama interrupted.

"Can I just finish, please?" Mr. McCain said tersely before continuing, refusing to yield the floor.

"Both of us during the campaign promised change in Washington," Mr. McCain said. "In fact, eight times [as a candidate] you said that negotiations on health care
reform would be broadcast on C-SPAN cameras. I'm glad that more than a year
later they are, here. Unfortunately, this product was not produced in that
fashion; it was produced behind closed doors."

Clearly irritated, Mr. Obama furiously flipped through the pages in a briefing book in front of him as Mr. McCain spoke. When he finished, the president teed off on his former adversary.

"Look, let me just make this point, John, because we are not campaigning anymore. The election's over," he said, staring at the Arizona Republican.

"I'm reminded of that every day," Mr. McCain shot back with a tight smile, adding
that despite that fact, "the American people care about what we did and how we
did it."

Mr. Obama didn't smile as he continued to scold the senator. "We can have a debate about process or we can have a debate about how we're actually going to help the American people at this point. And I think that the latter debate is the one that they care about a little bit more."

Annnd the icing on the cake – Sarcastic count #4.

The president also took a swipe at Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican, who sat behind a 3-foot stack of papers - a copy of the legislation produced by the Senate.

"Lemme just guess: That's the 2,400-page health bill," he said, his voice
dripping with sarcasm. "When we do props like this, you know, stack it up, and you repeat 2,400 pages, et cetera, you know, the truth of the matter is that health care is very complicated. And we can try to pretend that it's not, but it is."

Let me just add that Mr. President wasn't the only one playing coy today. Nanci Pelosi pulled it off awfully well –

In hour six, a moment occurred that summed up the bipartisan spirit that existed in the room. Listing the problems with the Senate bill, House Minority Leader John A. Boehner concluded: "I could go on and on and on."

"You have," Mrs. Pelosi said with a tight smile.

Bob McDonnell on Taxes in His Own Words

Last week Bob McDonnell came under fire from the Washington Times for refusing to sign a pledge to not raise taxes. Yesterday his campaign released Bob McDonnell's record on taxes. It is quite an impressive record, and I hope Bob continues to remind people of that record throughout the campaign, and continues to cut taxes as governor. I will say as well that I like the tax cutting regulation cutting Bob better than the new green jobs version.

Here is a video montage of Bob in his own words.



Here are quotes from Bob on the issue.

“McDonnell also rejected taxes, saying lawmakers should cut spending. “The worst thing you can do during a recession is try to tax yourself to prosperity,” he said”

The Virginian-Pilot, December 2, 2008

· McDonnell, who is unopposed for the Republican nomination, pointed out that unemployment is up and consumer confidence is at its lowest point in 30 years — not the time, he said, to place an additional financial burden on Virginia families. Rather than raising new revenue, McDonnell said, his administration would slash state government expenditures.

“We have a spending problem more than we have a taxation problem,” McDonnell said.

The Daily Progress. December 3, 2008

· McDonnell, in turn, said Deeds would be a poor steward to guide the state through a recession. "My philosophy is to keep taxes, regulation and litigation low," he said. "He set a record of doing something different."

The Washington Post (June 11, 2009)

· "The worst thing you can do is to tax your way to prosperity,'' McDonnell said. "That's failed in the United States and abroad."

The Washington Post, December 3, 2008

· "I'm conservative. But conservative means that you believe in limited government and low taxes and keeping regulations to a minimum”

The Washington Post (March 3, 2009)

· The former Virginia attorney general also said he would fight the rebirth of the “death tax” – an inheritance tax that was eliminated a few years ago.
“The federal government wants to reinstate that, and we should do everything we can to make sure it doesn’t,” McDonnell said.

TriCities.com (March 8, 2009)

· “The focus of this campaign is clearly going to be the economic issues--jobs and the economy--will far and away be the top issue in the campaign,” he said. “And there will be a big gulf between my opponents and me about the things I want to do to stimulate the free enterprise system that creates jobs, and they’ll be talking about strengthening the rights of unions and raising taxes.”

CNS News (February 17, 2009)

Bob McDonnell, Please Inspire Us

So today's big news in Virginia politics was a Washington Times oped criticizing Bob McDonnell for not signing the pledge to not raise taxes. In it the Times quotes Bob as saying he didn't believe in signing pledges (even though he signed the same pledge a few years ago) and then he says "...and I will tell you that I have no plans to raise taxes." The Times responded by saying

No plans to raise taxes? That answer has too much wiggle room for us.

The rest of Mr. McDonnell's answer doesn't make sense, either. The anti-tax-increase pledge is a guaranteed vote-getter. That's why office seekers sign it every election. In what everyone expects will be a razor-thin race, it is strange to give away a real political advantage.

This comment by Bob McDonnell seems to have conceded the high ground on taxes. This election gives a good opportunity to debate the merits of high taxes vs. low taxes since Creigh Deeds seems unable to find a tax increase he doesn't like. He even voted to increase the gas tax when gas was at $4.00 a gallon. Instead of taking Deeds head on for raising taxes, our gubernatorial nominee is leaving the possibility of a tax raise open. Which lead Not Larry Sabato to ask the fair question Is Bob McDonnell planning a middle class tax hike? If Bob is open to raising taxes we should find out now which ones he would like to raise. This is ironic because we should be telling our friends and neighbors about the taxes Bob has pledged to cut as we go door knocking this Saturday.

This Washington Times oped is only a symptom of a more fundamental problem. There is a fundamental clash going on right now about the nature of campaigns. Should they be about laying out conservative ideas that will win in the district you are from and persuading people to support those ideals, or should they be about "reaching out" to the elusive independents who "decide elections". In this election Bob McDonnell seems to have chosen to ignore his base and reach out to the independents as he seeks to win the governorship of our commonwealth. Ever since February we've been hearing about how Bob is trying to reach out to the middle. He has been talking about green jobs and bipartisanship and ignored the things that inspire people, taxes, guns, and social issues.

Running as a conservative is the path to victory, not political destruction. When was the last time the GOP won the top race on the ticket in Virginia? When was the last time the top of the ticket won in Virginia? Just in case you will point out the obvious that 2004 is old history, let me point you to a couple of recent polls. In a poll Gallup took a moth ago it found that a majority of Americans consider themselves pro-life. In another Gallup poll taken about a week ago found that conservatives (not liberals or independents) comprise the largest ideological group in America. The poll found that 40% of Americans consider themselves conservative while 21% consider themselves liberal, and 45% of independents consider themselves conservative. While these were national polls, I would think they would transfer pretty well to Virginia if there were a Virginia poll on these issues. Even if you want to disagree on this, explain how the Marriage Amendment was passed on the same ballot that George Allen lost on, or how Ken Cuccinelli won in Fairfax in 2007 when Republicans were getting defeated everywhere else. Running as a conservative is what has worked in Virginia and what will continue to work.

Newt Gingrich made this point very well when he said,

Like Reagan, we have to be inclusive, not exclusive. I’m happy Dick Cheney is a Republican. And I’m happy Colin Powell is a Republican

But here’s the key: Being inclusive doesn’t mean going wobbly. It doesn’t mean abandoning our principles.

Reagan called them “first principles.” They are our bedrock beliefs. And in a center-right nation, they are the touchstones that will guide us back into the majority.

I want Bob McDonnell to win this election, and if he is going to do it he needs to do it by winning on first principles. Bob McDonnell has a record as a fiscal and social conservative. However, he is refusing to run on it this cycle. D.J. McGuire theorizes that the western part of the state votes on social issues while the eastern part of the state votes on taxes. I would tend to concur with this theory. If it is true then Bob McDonnell is refusing to run on the two issues that lead to success in Virginia. Even if Bob wants to refuse to talk about taxes and social issues then give us something inspiring. What is the big idea Bob McDonnell is running on? What are the things Bob will do as governor that people can get excited and enthused about? Bob McDonnell I want you to win. Please inspire your base, and since you seem concerned about polls maybe that will help you raise your 78% support among Republicans.

To echo the words of Ronald Reagan, Bob McDonnell please stop running under a banner of pale pastels, but raise the banner of bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all the issues troubling the people.

Since agreeing with Reagan is almost always right...

I don ‘t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party”—when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.

Recent Washington Times Article about Homeschoolers in Politics

In the June 15th edition of the Washington Times on page A17 an article was published about homeschoolers in politics that talked about Generation Joshua. The article is republished below.

Home-schoolers take plunge into politics

Liz Essley THE WASHINGTON TIMES

At 17, home-schooler Tyler Fehrman was the youngest paid member of the John McCain presidential campaign. In the last five years, he's worked on 18 political campaigns in five states. Now, at 18, he is running for an at-large seat on the Mount Vernon, Ohio, City Council.

"My dream for some day is to be the governor of Ohio," he said. "But you gotta start somewhere and take it one stage at a time."

Mr. Fehrman, who finished his schooling in May and plans to attend Mount Vernon Nazarene University this fall, represents the forefront of a growing trend: home-schoolers who are actively involved in politics in their communities.

"I think it's definitely a growing trend," Mr. Fehrman said. "Here in Ohio we have a network of about 200 home-schooled students who are avidly active in politics all the time."

Mr. Fehrman's circle runs even larger. Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, said evidence shows that both home-schooling parents and their children are more civically involved than the general populace. His 2004 study of more than 7,000 home-schooled adults showed that home-schoolers were more likely to vote, volunteer for political campaigns, participate in boycotts or write letters to the editor.

Although there is no way to confirm the numbers, Mr. Ray estimates that growing numbers of students -- about 2 million -- are now learning at home.

Home-school political activism manifests itself in such groups as Christian youth organization Generation Joshua, designed to educate students in civics. Founded in 2004 as an offshoot of the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, the organization now has about 6,000 student members nationwide, an estimated 70 percent of whom are home-educated.

Although Generation Joshua itself is nonpartisan, members often actively campaign for political candidates.

"We consider our mission to be to give the young people the training, knowledge and inspiration to get involved. And then they go and work on the campaigns," said the director of Generation Joshua, William Estrada, also a lawyer and home-school graduate.

Mr. Estrada recognizes political activism as a growing trend in home schooling, but said it was not necessarily new. Both he and Mr. Ray pointed out that many states still outlawed home education at the birth of the modern home-school movement in the 1980s. This forced home-schooling parents to petition state and local government for the freedom to teach their children.

Mr. Ray said the nature of home schooling also draws parents who are firm in their beliefs.

"Just by choosing home education, they're, in a sense, activists. It's not unusual for them to get involved," he said.

He also noted that although home-schoolers' beliefs are important to them, those beliefs are not necessarily uniform -- home-schoolers could not be characterized as liberal or conservative. The most common thread, Mr. Ray said, was a "classical liberal perspective," a government-hands-off attitude.

Mr. Fehrman, who calls himself a Reagan conservative, said home schooling not only gave him the flexibility to be heavily involved in campaigns, but also gave his parents the ability to instill in him a strong biblical worldview.

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Oberlander, a home-schooler in Lovettsville, Va., and a member of Generation Joshua, said his parents raised him to care about politics and the right to vote.

He has helped register voters and made calls for political candidates.

On Election Day last year, Mr. Oberlander stood on a street corner with a group of Generation Joshua students, waving McCain signs.

A car drove up to the stoplight. The driver signaled for Mr. Oberlander and his friend to come over.

"Hey, where are all the Obama kids?" the driver asked from his rolled-down window.

Mr. Oberlander's friend replied: "They probably slept in."