5:50.
Toms Brook, VA.
A crowd waits outside of a United Methodist Church. Many have just gotten up. Some are getting ready to go to work. Nobody’s dressed too particularly well. There’s about thirty in all.
Idle chit chat takes up the moment, but you can tell there’s a certain anticipation here.
It’s nearly over.
The wait.
After two and a half years, this little town of about 300 (plus about 1,000 residents who live in the surrounding area) gets to have its say in what will surely go down as a legendary contest, where the stakes were never higher and the choices never clearer. It’s been a campaign of twists and turns, some good, some bad. There’s been comebacks. There’s been failures. There’s been the sudden emergence of new political leaders onto the national scene. Once more there’s a deep concern for the direction of this country, an understanding of the issues, and a desire on both sides to do something about. Gone are the days when politics were for the rich or college professors. Everyone’s interested. Everyone’s working.
And it all reminds you about just what’s so great about this country, and what makes it such a special and unique place on this Earth. Is it without fault? No. But America has always learned. And even when she stumbles, she’s always been able to pick herself up and keep on going.
And I have no doubt that that’s what we’ll do after today.
I always feel special on Election Day. Not everyone gets the right. For me, it’s the height of being a citizen. It’s the embodiment of the American spirit. Choice. Self-determination. Freedom of expression. Everything rolled into one package. When I was a young kid something just struck me about the simplicity of the act and how average people could work their way up the ladder to have a shot at leading an extraordinary people.
So, to set aside partisanship for a second, I encourage every to vote, regardless of your politics. This nation is too special and too many young men and women have died to preserve this right for it to be squandered by simple indifference. Even above the smoke and fog of the campaign, there are principles, there are values on both sides. Weigh yours. Weigh theirs. Make a choice.
And vote.
This election year is crucial for the state of Virginia and for our nation.
It is absolutely critical that we elect a candidate to the U.S. Senate who will stand up to the big spending liberals in Congress…someone who will fight for the taxpayers of our state…a person willing to fight to reduce wasteful spending and lower taxes…a U.S. Senator who will protect our families and the working men and women…a man with the courage and honesty who will go to battle for Virginians.
You deserve a U.S. Senator with all of those qualities. You should demand a Senator who is honest and tough and who will work for you. And, my friends I submit that candidate in this election is former Gov. JIM GILMORE, and I hope you will help us elect him as our next U.S. SENATOR!
You may remember that as Virginia’s Governor Jim Gilmore signed into law five different tax cuts for Virginians totaling $1.5 billion, including a 70 percent cut in the Car Tax. Time and again, Jim Gilmore stood his ground against those who wanted to tax and spend and take more money from your pockets. For his courageous stands against wasteful spending and increased taxes, Jim Gilmore was three times awarded the “Friends of the Taxpayer Award” by Americans for Tax Reform.
You may also remember that as Attorney General Jim Gilmore launched successful investigations into Medicaid fraud, government waste, and consumer protection. The fact is that Jim Gilmore is someone who stands up for the working people of Virginia. We MUST elect Jim Gilmore to the United States Senate on November 4th!
Filed under: Election 2008, Election Fraud, Election law and process, Strategy and Tactics, Technology and Politics
The polls haven’t even opened yet, and yet the litigation continues. The NAACP is still pushing to extend polling hours across the Commonwealth. From WVEC:
The NAACP has asked a federal judge to step in to extend Virginia’s voting time by two hours.
The group also alleges there aren’t enough voting machines, especially in minority-heavy districts. And the group wants paper ballots available in case lines are too long.
Gov. Tim Kaine says it’s not necessary to have the extra time and he says he doesn’t have the authority to do it.
The NAACP had withdrawn its request for a hearing on Thursday after receiving new information from state officials about the placement of election day resources. At the time, NAACP officials said a new hearing before the election was unlikely.
But after assessing the updated information, the NAACP concluded preparations were still insufficient and on Friday requested a new hearing.
“We went back and looked at the numbers, and it’s still the same old bad news. We’re still seeing disparities between black and white precincts,” said Ben Jealous, national NAACP president.
State Elections officials have stated anyone in line at the 7:00 p.m. deadline Tuesday will be able to cast a vote.
Meanwhile, both parties are gearing up for a fight once the votes are counted. From the Washington Post:
Lawyers could be present at almost all of Virginia’s 2,349 precincts to monitor the process, protect voters’ rights and challenge voters suspected of fraud, officials said. They also will be involved in extraordinary attempts to identify party supporters who have already voted so that those who have not can be contacted and urged to do so.
Lawyers have long played a part in the electoral process. But given the heightened intensity of the race and the unprecedented turnout expected, voter protection has taken on added importance, even attracting lawyers to Virginia from out of state, officials said. That is especially true, they say, in the wake of the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida, when Bush vs. Gore moved from the voting booth to the docket of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We’ve never done anything like this before where it’s been this comprehensive,” said Gerry Scimeca, spokesman for the Virginia Republican Party. “With the heightened number of new registrants, Election Day poll watching is taking on an added urgency.”
A training manual that the Virginia Democratic Party distributed to hundreds of lawyer volunteers instructs them on the Obama campaign’s get-out-the-vote effort, called the “Houdini Project.” Lawyers will periodically enter into a database the names of those who have cast ballots so that campaign staff can contact those who have not voted, almost in real time.
It’s going to be a fight folks, and we have to fight in. Join us at our Strasburg Headquarters or at United Country Real Estate in Mt. Jackson tomorrow for phone banking from 10 until 6:45.
Every. Vote. Counts.
Filed under: Election 2008, State Government and Politics, The Important Things
America is a great country and we are at a crossroads that will determine our future. Like you, I know the spirit that built our country was bold, not timid. It was a spirit of pride, confidence and courage that we could do anything. I’m proud of America – all that it is and all that it can be.
Ronald Reagan often spoke of the “shining city on a hill” as the ideal embodied by America. When we think of that city and our friends and neighbors across Virginia, what often comes to mind are the values that we cherish – family, hope, opportunity, patriotism and, most of all, freedom.
Of course, freedom comes at a price.
Even now, Americans from every walk of life are in harm’s way defending the very freedoms people sometimes take for granted. Indeed, many generations of Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice so you and I might enjoy the blessings of liberty – including the right to vote.
My purpose in writing is to urge you to vote in this coming Tuesday’s election.
Please do so not because I asked, but because a son or a daughter of an American generation died to ensure that all of us continued to have our freedoms, including your right to vote.
If you’ve already voted, thank you for exercising this civic obligation. If you haven’t, I hope you’ll think about the sacrifices made so all of us have the right to choose our elected leaders.
Yes, voting is a constitutional right. But it is also a patriotic duty – one thing we can do to give back to our wonderful country in which we are so blessed to live.
If you haven’t already, please vote on November 4.
Why should I tell you when Obama himself put it so eloquently?
Hear the full interview here. Obama thinks “assault weapons” are only for crime. Sure, and nobody ever enjoys target shooting in this country, and certainly there’s no need to maintain the balance of power between the people and their government. They’ll always protect us!
Sure. And no one ever gets attacked outside of their homes either.
Filed under: Congress, Election 2008, Foreign Affairs, State Government and Politics
Bob McDonnell on Jim Gilmore:
FOR OUR NATION’S SECURITY…VOTE JIM GILMORE FOR SENATE
Dear Virginia Voter:
Although America’s national security isn’t the number one issue in the headlines right now, it is a topic paramount to the future of our children and grandchildren. Who we elect to the United States Senate from Virginia is going to help determine which direction our nation takes to defend America’s national interests around the world and at home.
Because of his experience and his principles, I strongly recommend Jim Gilmore for the United States Senate.
Jim and I are both Army Veterans, and as you can imagine, I have a deep appreciation for the service of the men and women of our armed forces. Jim Gilmore volunteered for the U.S. Army and played an important role in counter-intelligence for the U.S. Army, safeguarding the security of American bases in Europe.
As you may know, Congress chose Virginia’s Jim Gilmore to chair a national commission charged with making recommendations on methods to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks on the United States. The Gilmore Commission warned in 1999 and in 2000 that America was facing a possible terrorist attack. After 9/11 Congress adopted 146 of the Gilmore Commission’s 164 recommendations.
Jim Gilmore has the experience in homeland security I know must be possessed by Virginia’s next United States Senator. Virginia and our nation must elect Jim Gilmore to the U.S. Senate.
Filed under: Election 2008, Election law and process, Local Government and Politics, State Government and Politics
As reported on Monday, Attorney General Bob McDonnell has been working on making sure that every military absentee ballot is counted. He delivered on his promise yesterday with his ruling on the matter. From the Virginian Pilot:
The state should count the absentee votes of military members and other Virginians overseas even if they do not provide the address of the person who witnessed their vote, state Attorney General Bob McDonnell said Monday.
In an opinion to the State Board of Elections, McDonnell said a federal law designed to lower barriers to overseas voting effectively overrules a state law that requires the listing of a witness address on some absentee ballots.
“The conduct of federal elections is a federal function and states have no inherent or reserved powers over federal elections,” McDonnell wrote.
The State Board of Elections agrees. From the Virginian Pilot:
The three-member state board unanimously agreed to allow those votes to be counted; they amount to about 130 ballots across the state, said Secretary Nancy Rodrigues.
Noting that the flap has generated considerable attention, Rodrigues defended local registrars, who had been criticized for “carrying out the law.”
I think it should be pointed out that the Obama campaign issued a press release Monday stating that they felt these ballots should be counted. Kudos to them for also believing that our soldiers sacrifice far too much to not have their vote for commander in chief counted.
On the way home from Mt. Jackson today (where I was hoping to have a phone bank, but alas), I heard an advertisement from Senator Jim Webb, informing me that he was a proud NRA member, that his father had given him a rifle, and that he had given his son a rifle. From this, plus his heartfelt assurances, I was supposed to believe that Barack Obama is not going to fight to strip away our Second Amendment rights.
Putting aside the fact that Obama has already shared his thoughts that the Constitution is an outmoded document that is halting “progress,” I was struck by how I was supposed to believe that because Jim Webb is good on guns Obama is too.
Well, I’m touched that Jim Webb believes in sharing the tradition of hunting and the shooting sports with his son. It’s pretty common, if not downright universal, for one generation to find something to leave to the next. My father is still on this earth, but by far the best thing he’s ever given me is his advice. Alot of them are great nuggets, like “Dance with the one that brung you,” “You can judge a man by the company he keeps,” and “It’s not the number of friends but their quality.”
Perhaps the one rule that pops up again and again in politics that my father gave me is “A man should be judge by his actions, not his words.” And so that’s why I have so much trouble when, although Barack Obama keeps telling me that he believes in my fundamental right to self-protection and the balance of power through the freedom to bear arms, his record as an Illinois State Senator tells a much different tale:
- Voted to limit handgun purchases to one a month while a State Senator (Illinois Senate, HB2579, vote 34, 5/16/2003)
- Proposed raising taxes on guns and ammunition over 500% (Chicago Defender, 12/13/1999)
- Voted for a bill that would have banned most target rifles, semi-automatic shotguns and even muzzleloaders and would have allowed law enforcement to enter homes to retrieve the guns (SB 1195, 3/13/03)
- Voted against saving homeowners from prosecution when they used a firearm to stop a home invasion (SB2165, 3/25/04)
As a United States Senator, he continued to leave a trail of anti-gun actions, even as he carefully parsed his words while running for the nomination:
- Refused to sign, with over 300 other members of Congress, an amicus curiae brief supporting gun rights during DC vs. Heller
- Supported Senator Edward Kennedy’s bill that would have banned numerous popular center-fire cartridges on the grounds that they are “armor piercing ammunition”
- Voted to allow reckless lawsuits that do little more than bankrupt honest gun manufacturers (United State Senate, S 397, Vote 219, 7/29/05)
I’m sorry, but those simply are not the actions of someone who respects either the balance of power the second amendment ensures or the rights of millions of Americans to enjoy pastimes that have been handed down through generations.
I think I’ll stick with Dad instead of Jim Webb on this one.
Filed under: Domestic Policy, Election 2008, Election Fraud, Election law and process, State Government and Politics, Uncategorized
Earlier this month I wrote that Fairfax County General Registrar was engaging in some questionable behavior by targeting jails over other locations for on-site absentee ballot registration. Now, some even more disturbing news is emerging from Fairfax, this time in the form of absenstee ballots from our men and women in uniform being thrown out en masse. From Human Events:
Fairfax County Registrar Rokey Suleman is disqualifying an overwhelming majority of the military federal write-in absentee ballots received in his county on the basis that no address had been given for those witnessing the voter signatures on the ballots. According to Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity and four former members of the military who held a press conference on Thursday, over 98 percent of these military absentee ballots in Fairfax County are being rejected.
“The federal write-in absentee ballot is a federally mandated ballot that allows military service members and their dependents to cast an absentee ballot when they haven’t received a [state] ballot before the election,” Herrity said. “For them it’s a safety net. It allows them to vote if the mail truck hasn’t reached his or her remote base in Iran or Afghanistan in time to cast a regular absentee ballot.”
When asked how many ballots had been rejected, Herrity responded, “Out of the 260 military federal write-in ballots received to date, only five included an address for the witness. The other 255 have been set aside for rejection.”
Fortunately, Attorney General Bob McDonnell, a veteran himself, is doing his best to make sure that every vote cast by our country’s finest is counted. From the Virginian Pilot (based out of Hampton Roads, where even more people will be on the lookout for this sort of behavior due to the region’s large military population):
State elections officials and Attorney General Bob McDonnell are taking a new look at a thicket of state and federal voting laws that threaten to invalidate some of the thousands of absentee votes being cast by military members and other Virginians overseas.
“Every eligible vote will be counted,” David Clementson, a McDonnell spokesman, said Friday.
The review by the State Board of Elections and McDonnell’s office comes amid calls from some of the attorney general’s fellow Republicans for the state to count all votes submitted using a federal write-in absentee ballot.
In a conference call arranged by the McCain for President campaign, former Attorney General Jerry Kilgore said Friday that federal law should “trump” a state statute that the elections board has said would require it to set aside some votes submitted on the federal ballot.
At issue is a state requirement that the completed federal ballot provide both the name and address of a witness to the absentee vote – unless the voter has also requested a separate, state-furnished ballot. The federal form, used for voting in all 50 states, does not provide a space for the address and does not specify which states, such as Virginia, require it.
The federal ballot is intended as a backup, for use when voters have applied for, but not yet received, a Virginia ballot. The state form requires the witness’s signature but not an address.
More from the Waynesboro News Virginian:
State Board of Elections Spokeswoman Susan Pollard said the 100 ballots in the Northern Virginia area are under investigation by Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.
Under state law, Pollard said, the ballots must be witnessed and also include a signature of the witness and the witness’ printed name and address.
She said the 100 ballots in question lack all the witness requirements of the state law.
She said McDonnell’s office is working to review both federal and state law and said the status of the 100 ballots is uncertain.
“We are also looking to see if this is occurring elsewhere in Virginia,” Pollard said of the witness information problem.
Back in July Delegate Todd Gilbert, former chairman of this very committee, caught alot of flack for suggesting that Barack Obama was a “borderline communist” and that he held “Marxist views.” Putting aside for a moment the complex arguments that could be held about whether or not Obama’s views fit into Marxist thinking (and the far simpler and petty argument that this is simply race or red baiting), the comments indicated how many conservatives view Obama as a radical, even dangerous, departure from the norm of American politics and conversely just how fiercely the left will defend their guy after losing many elections over these sorts of issues.
So it came as no surprise when Joe Biden chose to simply laugh off a serious question from a Florida reporter about how Obama’s views might be viewed by some as fitting into the mold of Marxist thinking:
What was the campaign’s response? From the Orlando Sentinel:
Biden so disliked West’s line of questioning that the Obama campaign canceled a WFTV interview with Jill Biden, the candidate’s wife.
“This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election,” wrote Laura K. McGinnis, Central Florida communications director for the Obama campaign.
McGinnis said the Biden cancellation was “a result of her husband’s experience yesterday during the satellite interview with Barbara West.”
And yet, as a State Senator in 2001, Barack Obama didn’t seem to want to shy away at all from questions about the redistribution of wealth. Or rather, just what the best way to do it is:
That’s the Democratic nominee for President agreeing, in principle, that the redistribution of wealth needs to occur in this country and that the civil rights movement didn’t go far enough towards that ends.
Shenandoah County GOP 