Filed under: Election 2008, Local Government and Politics, Morning Round-Up, Party Politics
Six stories you should know about:
-Apparently, stores in the Hampton Roads region have been charging sales tax on non-prescription medications. which are supposed to be tax exempt. The Governor’s office called the mistakes “rare,” yet more than 1,200 stores were discovered to be lacking in this practice. Of course, Governor Kaine has never really been considered a friend of the taxpayer, has he?
-The Pocket Park in Strasburg is apparently having some drainage issues.
-E.J. Dionne has thoughts about the sudden thrusting of Virginia into the Electoral map spotlight. However, his analysis seems to rely heavily on the Democratic trope that Virginia is shifting blue due to the wins of Kaine, Warner, and Webb. Most Republicans will note that the Kilgore and Allen campaigns suffered from major tactical and strategic blunders. The Demographic shift is undeniably and led to the closeness of the Allen-Webb affair, but we’ll see what the score really is when Obama and McCain come up for a “clean” fight this fall.
-The County’s volunteer rescue squads are contemplating charging a fee for ambulance service. The reason, amongst others, is decreased donations which is leading to more fundraisers which, in turn is taxing staff.
-Chairman Jeff Frederick at RPV smacks Mark Warner:
Jim Gilmore & Mark Warner: A Tale of Two Taxes
No story is more emblematic of the mainstream media’s love affair for higher taxes than the manner in which Virginia’s two U.S. Senate candidates are portrayed.On the one hand you have Jim Gilmore, who promised to cut taxes for Virginians, and did so with a vengeance. Jim Gilmore fought for and won the largest tax cut in Virginia history, and was still able to oversee a booming Virginia economy, an improvement in public safety, and a balanced budget.
Democrat Mark Warner promised to not raise taxes, but after he was elected, well… who keeps promises anyway? Mark Warner pushed through the largest tax increase in Virginia history – breaking his promise, soaking Virginians to the tune of over $1.3 billion in higher taxes, and winning the love of many in the press to boot.
There is no getting around it; Mark Warner did not tell the voters of Virginia the truth, either before or after his huge tax increase. Yet he gets the kind of favorable press you’d normally see for a politician in the old Soviet Union. Why?
The fact is, the mainstream media (most, not all) love higher taxes and more government. But the people of Virginia are not going to get the truth from most news outlets, which is why it is so important for you – the GOP grassroots – to tell people the truth about the candidates at every opportunity. If we help get Jim Gilmore’s message out and explain the truth to people, this campaign could turn around very quickly!
-Finally, RPV has a new budget team:
Richmond, Virginia (July 15, 2008) – Delegate Jeff Frederick, Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) announced today that he has appointed Anthony Bedell as RPV’s Budget Director and Chairman of the Budget Committee.
The Fairfax native is a longtime Republican activist who led Frederick’s transition and executive director search committees. He currently serves as the Director of Federal and State Government Affairs for a Fortune 500 software company.
“Anthony Bedell is a person whom I have an extremely high level of trust and confidence in,” said Frederick. “He has the perfect background and experience to serve our party as Budget Director and he clearly understands the budget priorities and needs of the Party.”
Bedell has worked on over a dozen Republican campaigns in Virginia and elsewhere, including George Allen’s 1993 gubernatorial campaign, his 2006 senatorial campaign, and Bush-Cheney 2000 and 2004. He also worked for various legislators including Del. Jay O’Brien (Fairfax) and Del. Frank Ruff (Mecklenburg).
“I’m confident and so happy that Anthony Bedell will be providing his energetic, principled leadership to the Republican Party of Virginia.” remarked former Governor George Allen on the news of the appointment.
Bedell also has extensive executive branch experience. In 2001 he was appointed as a Senior Legislative Officer by Secretary Elaine Chao to handle a variety of legislative matters for the U.S. Department of Labor.
In 2003 the White House appointed Bedell as Associate Administrator for the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the U.S. Small Business Administration. There he served as chief advisor to the Administrator on all legislative matters related to Congress and the executive branch.
Bedell is a product of Virginia’s public school system attending and graduating from West Springfield High School and Virginia Commonwealth University. He is also a veteran of the United States Air Force. He currently resides in Falls Church and is married with two children.
In addition, Frederick also named three others to RPV’s Budget Committee: Christopher Oprison, Bryce Reeves, and Scott Sayre.
Christopher Oprison, a former Marine prosecutor, is currently an attorney in private practice, after having recently left White House where he served as an Associate Counsel to the President. He and his wife Jennifer have three children and live in Loudoun County.
Bryce Reeves is Chairman Spotsylvania County Republican Committee and owner of an insurance agency. He has 18 years of government and civilian budget experience, in both law enforcement and active-duty military.
Scott Sayre, a businessman from Lexington, is the Vice Chairman of the Sixth Congressional District Republican Committee. Scott and his wife, Mary, employ over 100 people in their manufacturing operation which they started in their garage.
Filed under: Election 2008
-Gilmore and Warner will face off for the first time this weekend at the Homestead during the Bar Association Conference. Kick-off is 11 A.M.
-Governor Gilmore calls out Warner on another lie to the Virginia people–this time on the hot topic of energy:
Mark Warner Lies to Working Virginians — Again
RICHMOND — Former Virginia Gov. Mark, who lied to the working families of Virginia when he said he would not raise their taxes, unveiled another whopper today when he went on the air on television stations across the state with a 30-second television commercial called “Energy Plan.”The commercial says Warner has proposed a plan to help make America independent of foreign oil including “Expand oil and gas production at home.” And yet, Warner is on the record repeatedly opposing efforts to increase U.S. oil production by drilling in ANWR in Alaska and drilling for oil offshore.
Warner’s so-called Energy Plan, which was announced in Richmond on June 18th, does not include a single mention of increasing oil and gas production. In fact, Warner said in Fredericksburg in May that his goal was to “wean” America from oil.
“There is only one candidate who has been committed from day one to increasing America’s domestic oil and gas production and that candidate is Jim Gilmore who has called for drilling in ANWR, drilling for oil offshore, using more coal and using more nuclear power as well as increasing the use of alternative fuels,” Ana Gamonal, a spokeswoman for former Gov. Jim Gilmore, Warner’s opponent in the race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by U.S. Sen. John Warner.
“When you look at Warner’s disdain for the truth, it makes you think that you are watching the Jim Carrey move “Liar, Liar,” said Gamonal, who pointed out that in 2005 then Gov. Mark Warner vetoed legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly that called for lifting the ban on offshore drilling. Warner was cited by the Sierra Club for the veto of offshore drilling.
“Mark Warner said repeatedly, “I will not raise taxes; I will not raise taxes,” and then pushed through a $1.4 billion tax increase. Now it would appear he is going to talk about expanding oil and gas production, despite the fact that he clearly intends to do just the opposite if elected to the U.S. Senate. As far as Mark Warner is concerned, there apparently is no lie too big to tell to the voters of Virginia when he’s running for election,” Gamonal said.
-The Gilmore campaign has posted video from the Governor’s speech to the State Convention of the American Legion.
-Jim Gilmore has traveled over 2,000 miles since July 2nd.
Shenandoah County GOP 