Election 2009

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that a heavily favored Democrat incumbent was defeated by a transplanted Republican in the Washington County Board of Supervisors race. A large reason? A No vote on a proposed truck stop which would have brought jobs to an area of the county that needs them. Joe Straten defeated Jack McCrady by a scant 17 votes.  Straten, originally from Ohio, campaigned on the need for more industrial jobs in the county.

 

Well, we all know the results. We’ve all heard the analysis.

In my very humble opinion,  the GOP had the stronger ticket top to bottom and the Dems had a particularly weak ticket, particularly for Lt. Governor and AG. I honestly thought Creigh Deeds would wage a better and more effective campaign than what he did. While this could serve as a template for future elections for the GOP, I believe that we should take it for what it is, an election. Sure, the base is energized right now, but I believe that we’re seeing a repudiation of the Obama administration right now in 2009. Could this carry over into 2010? Sure, if the economy continues to tank and Obama and Pelosi continue to insist upon governing from the left.

The fact remains that Obama and his cronies can’t be happy about last nights results. Two Democrat controlled Governor’s Mansions went red. Shoot, a Republican even picked up a House of Delegates seat in an extremely safe Democrat district in Southwest Virginia so safe that former UMWA boss Jackie Stump held the 3rd district seat before Dan Bowling. It wasn’t just a victory, but Will Morefield beat Bowling with almost 58 percent of the vote. While McDonnell’s victory was not unforeseen, a GOP victory in a heavily union district is almost unheard of, especially since the man who won is only 25 years old. At least in Southwest Virginia, there is significant indication that not only did the GOP have the stronger ticket, but in fact, this election WAS a referendum on the Obama administration and its socialist policy aims.

The campaign is over. The work begins in earnest now as the transition teams begin to put the pieces together for the inauguration in January. I sincerely hope that the GOP ticket will govern with an eye toward a renewed sense of reclaiming what rightfully belongs at the state and local level. The BHC has this about Morefield:

As delegate, Morefield said his top priority will be standing up for his constituents’ 10th Amendment rights and making sure both the federal and state governments stay out the way of private business owners.

Deeds Wins

Although it will be a barn burner of a campaign, Creigh Deeds will be facing Bob McDonnell in the general election to determine Virginia’s next governor.

Although the conservative hack in me would have liked to have campaigned against THE talking head of the Clinton years, I have to admit that Virginia Democrats did the smart and prudent thing by selecting Senator Deeds. I’ve maintained that he was the most serious and credible of the three candidates and he does not carry the baggage that McAuliffe and Moran does. This sets up a rematch from 4 years ago in which McDonnell defeated Deeds by only a very slim margin.

This election will be difficult by any stretch of the imagination. McDonnell has poll numbers that are consistently high and he has the advantage of being a seasoned winner on the statewide ticket. Congratulations to Senator Deeds.

Deeds on outside looking in?

Since the beginning of the year, I have maintained that if the Democrats were smart, they’d nominate Creigh Deeds for Governor. Deeds has long standing ties to Virginia, he’s the only one with rural ties and does not come with the baggage of being the talking head of the Clinton administration or being Jimbo Moran’s brother. Apparently, some in the DPVA take issue with his “conservative values” stance back from his AG campaign. Creigh Deeds is the ONLY Democrat I could remotely stomach as governor. For no other reason than he does in fact have long standing ties to our Commonwealth and he hails from a rural region of the state.

Lowell, at Blue Virginia, believes that T-Mac has the better shot at beating McDonnell. His reasoning is sound, although I don’t agree with his conclusion.

In this case, I honestly don't believe that either Creigh or Terry is a better man than the other one or clearly more electable against Bob McDonnell. In fact, neither Creigh or Terry will have an easy race against McDonnell, although I certainly believe we can beat that guy if we have the resources to let people know who he really is. (Emphasis mine)

Lowell and I usually don’t agree about anything, but I do agree that neither Deeds nor McAuliffe will have an easy race against McDonnell. In fact, the entire Democrat ticket will have a competitive race on its hands. The fact remains that Bob needs to define himself before the Dems get the chance. He’s got a winning platform and a strong ticket.

WaPo: The bastion of reliable reporting

Yeah, right. According to this from the Political Wire, the Washington Post there are no polls coming out of Virginia that are reliable. All of a sudden the WaPo gets integrity? All of a sudden, it will steer clear? Please.

RNC: Another good fundraising month

According to The Hill, the RNC raised $5.7 million, of which the vast majority came from individual contributions. This is significant for the GOP for two very important reasons:

1.) The GOP outraised the DNC for another month. This places cash on hand for the RNC at $24.3 million versus $9.8 million for the DNC. This is HUGE. The GOP is putting the full court press on the DNC and Governor “Timmy”.

 

2.) Perhaps as important, the majority of this influx of cash came from individual contributors. This means that the GOP is starting to understand the importance of grassroots fundraising again. Whether this will translate to votes in 2009 for the GOP, that remains to be seen. However, it does indicate a stronger party than what many pundits give it credit for being.

Relieved

Putting partisan politics aside for a moment I’m thankful that Senator Creigh Deeds was not injured and that the occupants in the other vehicle were released after observation. As partisans(unless you happen to think its ok to wish for someone to die), it is sometimes hard to remember that we’re dealing with human beings. My best wishes to Senator Deeds and the occupants of the other vehicle.

Patrick Muldoon

NOTE: I appreciate the comment and the wide variety of blog posts on Mr. Muldoon’s candidacy. I want to reiterate that I support Bill Bolling and that he IS a friend of conservatives across the Commonwealth. I just felt the need to speak my peace about Mr. Muldoon I intended no personal attacks against any who oppose him.

 

I’ve read and heard things said about Mr. Muldoon that range from mean spirited to indifferent. I want to clarify my position.

He’s a hard worker and in some ways, he’s a good campaigner. I worked with his campaign in 1996. I’ve seen him connect with people in Southwest Virginia who don’t even bother with politics. We took the better part of a full day and travelled to Lee County. We attended the morning livestock sale. The man can relate to people. During the whole time we were there, he mentioned that he was running for Congress from the outset and then talked cattle with the farmers there. He knew what they were doing and what they cared about.

I support Bill Bolling. He is the incumbent and carries all the advantages of that.There is no doubt that  he has been a friend to conservatives across the Commonwealth. That said, if Mr. Muldoon were so insignificant, why do all the blogs dedicate posts and pixels to him and his candidacy? How did he gather the petitions to be included on the Convention ballot? I’ve heard the standard line about comic relief, etc. I wonder what really drives this visceral reaction that Patrick Muldoon seems to elicit?

If the man has lied, then call him out on it. Provide proof, like Krystle did at C3.  It is one thing to run the man into the ground with reason, but its totally different to do it when all it is is “comic relief.” Before anyone starts, yes, I do feel a personal loyalty to the man. We worked and campaigned together. Yes, I did consider supporting him in his run. However, I know that the purpose of running candidates for office is to actually WIN those elections. Bill Bolling has won, and will win this time with the grace of God.

Citizen Tom meets Senator Cuccinelli

One of my favorite blogs in Virginia, Citizen Tom, has this post up about his meeting with Attorney General candidate Ken Cuccinelli. I believe that CT has done an excellent job laying the case for Senator Cuccinelli.

 

• Conservative record.  Cuccinelli has a seven year record in the General Assembly.   Cuccinelli emphasized that his record in the General Assembly proves that he means it when he says that as Attorney General he will fight to protect citizen rights and the rights of the Virginia Commonwealth from Federal encroachment.   For example, when his opponents were no where to be found, Cuccinelli backed the Marriage Amendment.  We can count on him to defend it.
• Back to basics campaign.   As our candidate, he would strive to develop a volunteer based grassroots organization/campaign across the state.  How would he attract volunteers?  As our Attorney General, Cuccinelli promised to focus on core principles, defending the basic rights of the citizens of Virginia.
• Winning Northern Virginia.   With a grassroots organization, Cuccinelli has proven he know how to win even in Northern Virginia.  As the Republican nominee for Attorney General, he would bring this capacity to develop such an organization, benefiting Republicans statewide.
• Cuccinelli realizes the job is not about him.  He told a story about a gentlemen who had served as his campaign manager.  After the election victory, he tried to thank the gentleman.  The man curtly refused his thanks.  He said:   “I did not do it for you.”   With that simple statement, the gentleman made it plain that the principles Cuccinelli stood for, not Cuccinelli himself, had earned his support.

 

With three candidates in this race, the nomination will come down to grassroots organizational skills. I believe Senator Cuccinelli has the advantage with this. It’s about to wind up and start getting ready for the General Election campaign.

Bill Bolling: Not the right time

Bill Bolling’s post at Bob McDonnell’s blog shows a dedication to not only his own re-election but to electing Bob McDonnell as our next Governor.  Check out the campaign’s blog and donate to his campaign here.

Cuccinelli picks up Townhall.com endorsement

See the endorsement here!!!

Cuccinelli – For the Record

Click here for the link:

Also, here for a thorough take on the situation by Greg at BVBL

 

John Brownlee's Inaccurate Rhectoric
VS.
The Cuccinelli Record

Dear Delegate,

As I have stated numerous times in previous emails - at some point in this campaign, one of my opponents would launch mischaracterizations of my record. I expected as much. Given the record of the last year I'm not surprised that such attacks would come from John Brownlee. John has on more than one occasion taken inaccurate liberties with the truth in mischaracterizing my record.

John is out of bounds in his attack that I am somehow against E-Verify (a program established to ensure illegal aliens don't get hired). His attack is patently false - and like other attacks, John Brownlee also implies that I'm somehow soft on illegal immigration.

It's pathetic especially since it's aimed at me, the one State Senator in Virginia who has been more successful than any other State Senator in getting legislation passed at curbing illegal immigration - but folks - desperate campaigns in desperate situations - well, they do desperate things. It sure would be nice to run positive, issue oriented campaigns and when you have issue differences, to accurately state them. Unfortunately, John Brownlee isnt doing that.

For the record - I do not oppose any effort to verify the status of someone's legal residency. Unlike John Brownlee, I have a proven record in the State Senate opposing illegal immigration.  No where in my comments did I say I opposed E-Verify. But don't believe me - long time party activist, VFRW member and party leader Helen Blackwell was there - and this is what she said: 

"No where in Ken's comments Saturday did he say he opposed E-Verify.  In fact, he recited his record supporting E-Verify in the State Senate. Ken said that they have not yet been able to get E-Verify out of Committee in the State Senate, and he suggested that an approach he would support would be to have the state government go first, then require private employers to use E-Verify. Ken said generally that he believes that the government should first impose requirements on itself before imposing those requirements on business."

Amazingly, John Brownlee's lack of research has missed an important point. Working with then Attorney General Bob McDonnell, I actually PASSED legislation REQUIRING that all state government contractors hire only legal residents of the United States and for the first time, giving the Commonwealth the ability to FIRE contractors not in compliance. As simple and straight forward as that sounds - this was an enormously difficult bill to pass in the Senate. John didn't mention that in his email. Another case of false rhetoric versus the actual record.

Our campaign is moving into an unbelievable level of activity with growing support statewide (hence the attacks). We are focused on our winning message - a message for conservatives, and a message for all Virginians. I'm in this race to protect Virginia's families from the continued oppressive federal government that seeks to rule every aspect of our lives - and our pocket books. To stop the waste in Washington from trickling down to Richmond. To end the tax and spend - and spend and tax - and to keep Virginia's working families safe.

To learn more on my record, and the facts, explore this website.
Sincerely,

Ken Cuccinelli II  

 

I have known Helen Blackwell (a woman of integrity) for over a decade now. I’ll wager if Helen said Ken didn’t oppose it, he doesn’t oppose it. I’m sorry, but playing a little fast and loose with the truth is no way to get elected in my book!!!

Bob McDonnell on the campaign trail

Courtesy of Bob’s website here’s video of Bob campaigning in Winchester.