Virginia Right!

“The bridge back to me supporting Radkte has been burned, blown up and nuked to the stone age. I would vote for her in a primary if she was the only candidate against Allen, but that is how much I loathe an Allen candidacy.”
~ Chip Tarbutton comment on Sara for America blog

It is comments like this that has prompted me to write this post. Actually, I have been mulling this over for sometime, I am “pick your battles” type person, but decide it was time to talk. Here is another comment I received in an email from someone who says they are a patriot and a staunch support of Jamie Radtke.

“[George Allen] voted for new entitlement programs and sat by as spending increased $16,000.00 per second for the six years he served.”

Oddly enough the very next day, after I received this email, the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) was tweeting this exact statistic. Do you REALLY think they are attacking George Allen for spending too much?… more like it was too little.

And then there is constant proclamation, “I don’t understand how a patriot can support George Allen?” and then the name calling of “republican lap dog”. It is o.k. everyone is entitled to their opinion and I can take some name calling. I will probably have a few lobbed at me after this post.

My question is, Why would strong conservatives put out clever sound bite statistic that is touted by the liberal democrat and our ultimate opponent in a general election. I would ask, have you taken the time to figure the “per second” rate of debt that Tim Kaine left in Virginia. It seems to me as a conservative and a patriot that would have made better use on my time. Or if you did not figure that statistic then where did you get it, from Tim Kaine, or worst Radtke’s campaign.

Let me start with the fact the U.S. Senate is not an elected office you want a newbie politician, someone who has never held office. With the exception of Jim Webb, who DID have an extensive career in public service and money, it is usually former Governors who run for, and win the Virginia U.S. Senate. The reason they are intimately familiar with Virginia and Virginia law. As most patriots know the Senate is where our founding fathers intended for the more experienced politician to give a voice to the states. It would be easy for someone who does not have this first hand knowledge to get easily manipulated into supporting something that may seem constitutional or the “right” thing to do in theory, but not good for Virginia at all. None of the other candidates in the republican primary, that I am aware of, had held elected office, but many are claiming “constitutional conservatives”. It is a nice claim to make and it sounds good in speeches, but they have no record or resume’ to back it up.

Last spring when the candidates were starting to make the rounds this article in the American Spectator stated:

[George Allen] is no Mike Castle or Charlie Crist. Instead he’s the governor who reformed welfare and abolished parole, the senator who voted for tax cuts and promoted conservative judges (including, as he is quick to point out, Henry Hudson, the Virginia jurist who ruled against Obamacare). Allen’s campaign pitch is filled with references to balanced budgets and the line-item veto, and he is particularly sharp on energy policy. George Allen’s sins against conservatism were ones widely committed by George W. Bush-era Republicans.

At the end of the article, James Antle ask:

So could the 2006 winner of the Conservative Political Action Conference presidential straw poll now be considered too moderate to nominate for the U.S. Senate? It’s difficult to see that happening, and Allen is working hard to make sure it doesn’t.

Whoa, wait a minute; George Allen won the 2006 CPAC Straw poll for Presidential Candidate in 2008 a full 2 points over John McCain. I would have gladly race to the polls to vote for Allen over McCain any election day. I would also like to add, this happened at the end of Senator Allen’s first term. So conservatives “loathed” Allen so much they wanted him to be president.

George Allen can defend his record against Tim Kaine, but the other republican primary candidates are actually helping Tim Kaine. At this stage in the game, if there was a serious republican primary challenger they would be polling neck and neck with Allen, both in the polls and in fundraising. It is just not happening.

While I did not agree with the timing of the recent senate debate hosted by the A.P. Yes, they should have waited until after the primary. I am not really surprised by it. This thought, from my cynical side, crossed my mind: We all suspect that main stream media of liberal biased, right? Well, what if the timing of the A.P. debate was done on purpose. What do I mean by that? I mean, they knew that the tea party activist who supported the “anti-Allen” candidates would cry fowl and make waves about it. And that is exactly what happened. But the truth is the A.P. knows what most politicos know that is to be a serious contender in this race at this point you need at least here: To get an invite candidates must have averaged at least 15 percent in published polls and raised at least 20 percent of the amount of money raised by their party’s front runner. This was the requirement to be involved in the debate. That is a pretty low bar and none of the other candidates from the republican side or the democrat side were able to meet that. But you did not hear the democrats crying fowl or attacking Tim Kaine, if they did the media sure did not cover it.

This leads me to my last point, for those who where truly dissatisfied with Allen’s performance as Senator, you have had 6 years to find a primary challenger that was up for the task. Many tea party people were involved with their local republican committees long before the tea party. Who did you have in mind to run against Jim Webb had he not retired? Well that question may have already been answered. My support for Allen is because he can and will do a good job representing me and the state of Virginia in the U.S. Senate. And YES! I am a patriot.

This is a cross post from Richmond Patriots

Do you hear what I hear?… it’s Democrat Senate Candidate Tim Kaine and his campaign staff laughing all the way to elections day.

Today, Mark Lloyd, Chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriot Federation issue this press release,  specifically to call out George Allen because he dare to have people in the tea party people who support him.   In the very first paragraph, Lloyd makes this statement:

The VTPP seeks to challenge George Allen’s assertion that he is a “tea party” conservative, by focusing on the former Senator’s failure to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2005, three years before the 2008 financial crisis.

The rest of the press release makes general accusation about Frm. Senator Allen’s record with no back up detail or supporting links.   If it did not have the VTPPF label on the release I would have thought that Tim Kaine’s campaign put out the press release.  Tim Kaine makes general accusations and clever sound bite statistic, if fact, this would be the second since last Thursday’s debate that Tim Kaine and the VTPPF seem to be in lock step.  See this post.

My question to Mr. Lloyd,

Do you think that Tim Kaine is going to help repeal Obamacare? Did you take Tim Kaine seriously when he said he wanted to court the tea party vote?   You must’ve, it’s the only explanation I can fathom.

Floyd Mays, a local businessman and a Henrico Resident has released a Youtude video in response to the Occupy Richmond and Occupy Wall Street:

He makes an excellent point, “We don’t have to occupy Richmond, but we do have to get involved”.

The recent brouhaha over the Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney post has had a ripple effect into the Virginia House of Delegates. As announced yesterday, Del. Bill Janis (VA 56th) is resigning to run as an independent for the Henrico CA post and with the election two and a half months away the need for a candidate is urgent.

Yesterday,  Dr. David Brat  announced his intention to run for the Janis’s vacated delegate seat with this statement:

Candidate for 56th District House of Delegates

“I have been active in public policy for over 20 years and have served many of those years as special legislative assistant to Senate Majority Emeritus in the Virginia Senate. I have served on higher education and economic development committees under the Governor and General Assembly”, Brat said.

“I am running because I believe that I am prepared personally and professionally to serve the citizens of the 56th House District in the General Assembly. My background in economics and ethics in particularly well suited to many of the conservative principles and ideas which I will share with the voters and in my campaign.

“Personally, I am blessed with a wonderful family, my wife Laura and two great kids. We are long standing residents of the district. After college, I worked for Arthur Anderson as a consultant, then completed a divinity degree at Princeton Seminary and finally a Ph.D. in economics. This path led to a teaching career at Randolph Macon College where I chair the Department of Economics and Business department and have had the pleasure to teach both economics and ethics to our leaders. I recently received a generous grant from BB&T to promote the study of the moral foundations of capitalism. I believe that matter in history and they matter now more than ever.”

“I look forward to the opportunity to use my expertise and experience to represent all of the citizens in the 56th district. Jobs and debt and economic growth are the leading issues of the day. As a strong conservative, I know that the Federal government must be limited in size and scope, and the federal intrusion in the lives of our citizens will result in a much stronger role for leaders in the Commonwealth, as our founders intended. These profound shifts will require a depth of knowledge in economics and ethics and I would be honored to be part of his transformation.”

In addition to his economics background, Brat has served as Special Legislative Assistant to VA. State Senator Walter Stosch.  The 56th District cover Louisa, parts of Goochland, Henrico and Spotsvylvania Counties.   Two other candidates have declared intentions. A decision will be made on who get the nomination on Tuesday, Aug 23 when a Republican Committee meets comprised of representative from each locality.

The new age of civility seems to be getting off to a rocky start. This video was brought to my attention and is both disturbing and a little shocking because I felt that even in Virginia there was still civility with in the political process, but I guess I was being optimistic.

This is from VA State Senator George Barker(39th district) public town hall meeting and just to clarify this is from his website:

Sen. Barker will be hosting a series of town hall meetings this month. For many, this will be the first time to meet your “new” Senator since legislative districts were re-drawn a few weeks ago. Joined by members of the General Assembly from both parties, Sen. Barker plans to address the 2011 legislative session, the budget, and redistricting, as well as any other topics constituents wish to discuss. All of the events are free and open to the public.

So here is what Sen. Barker considers a “public town hall meeting”:

While we are at the just at the beginning of what is sure to be a heated GOP primary, a new poll released yesterday gives Herman Cain double digit lead, favored by 24%, over other potential GOP candidates. Coming in second is Mike Huckabee with 12%. The Iowa poll is important because, since 1972 the Iowa Caucuses are the first major electoral event and serve as an early indicator as who will likely get their party nomination.

This is still going to be an uphill battle, even with Cain’s early leaded, there is still great uncertainty about who will be the likely nominee. The 2012 Campaign Report broke it down this way:

Despite Cain’s lead, Iowa conservatives are not convinced he will actually win the nomination and are generally unsure about what the final outcome will be. Just 12% of Iowa conservatives think Cain will win, followed by Huckabee (11.5%) and Romney (10.9%). A full one-third (33.7%) of Iowa conservatives are “not sure” who will win.

Other factors to consider, the poll was taken in early May, Newt Gingrich just announced officially yesterday that he is running. There are still many undeclared potential candidates like Michele Bachmann, a tea party favorite, Tim Pawlenty and Chris Christy. So the question will be, as more candidates enter the race, “Who can beat Barak Obama?”

There are some disturbing numbers being reported on the Public Police Polling website today. Just 4 short months after Republicans in Virginia ousted 3 incumbent democrats congressmen Obama is consider STRONG in Virgina.

Here are the numbers as reported by Public Policy Polling blog, if the election were held today:

Obama leads Mitt Romney by 6 points in the state at 48-42. That’s identical to the size of his victory over John McCain in 2008. After that his leads increase to 8 points over Mike Huckabee at 51-43, 12 over Newt Gingrich at 51-39, and a whooping 19 over Sarah Palin at 54-35.

Additionally, while Rasmussen is reporting that nationally Presidential Approval Rating is -15%. President Obama’s approval rating in Virginia is at 48%.

If that is not scary enough, remember, we also have a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs. The good news is we will no longer have to deal with Senator Webb, but the bad new is Larry Sabato has predicted that if Obama wins Virginia who ever the “un-named” democrat nominee will take the senate seat. I also believe this to be true.

Nationally, Politico has a great article today “GOP Reality Check” which they quote Mike Huckabee:

“The people that are sitting around saying, ‘He’s definitely going to be a one-term president. It’s going to be easy to take him out,’ they’re obviously political illiterates – political idiots, let me be blunt,” said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in an interview.

OUCH! O.k. I am wake and I get the point. This is no time to start resting on our butts assuming that Obama will be defeated, especially in VA. It is imperative that we turn Virgina back to red.

Cross posted from Richmond Patriots

More From Virginia Right!

• MSNBC Continues to Rein in the Left Wing Lunatic Hosts
• BOLLING BACKS ALLEN in U.S. SENATE RACE
• Is DNC Chairman, Tim Kaine, “Stand in” Organizer for Obama in WI

Virginia Right! Recommends

• How Barack Obama Will Ensure Victory In 2012  (WesternFront America)
• Is Hate Growing in America?  (WesternFront America)

Ask Virginia Right! To Recommend Your Posts

All I can say is this is the kind of reporting that SHOULD be done by MSM. This is from WSBTV Channel 2 out of Altanta. Kudos to them for having the guts to report.

Yesterday, Politico’s Ben Smith posted this:

The Democratic National Committee’s Organizing for America arm — the remnant of the 2008 Obama campaign — is playing an active role in organizing protests against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s attempt to strip most public employees of collective bargaining rights.

OfA, as the campaign group is known, has been criticized at times for staying out of local issues like same-sex marriage, but it’s riding to the aide of the public sector unions who hoping to persuade some Republican legislators to oppose Walker’s plan. And while Obama may have his difference with teachers unions, OfA’s engagement with the fight — and Obama’s own clear stance against Walker — mean that he’s remaining loyal to key Democratic Party allies at what is, for them, a very dangerous moment.

OfA Wisconsin’s field efforts include filling buses and building turnout for the rallies this week in Madison, organizing 15 rapid response phone banks urging supporters to call their state legislators, and working on planning and producing rallies, a Democratic Party official in Washington said.

The @OFA_WI twitter account has published 54 tweets promoting the rallies, which the group has also plugged on its blog.

President Obama has himself weighed in on the issue as reported by the Washington Post:

Obama accused Scott Walker, the state’s new Republican governor, of unleashing an “assault” on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would change future collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers.

In the same article:

The White House political operation, Organizing for America, got involved Monday, after Democratic National Committee Chairman Timothy M. Kaine, a former Virginia governor, spoke to union leaders in Madison, a party official said.

The group made phone calls, distributed messages via Twitter and Facebook, and sent e-mails to its state and national lists to try to build crowds for rallies Wednesday and Thursday, a party official said.

So connecting the dots Unions = OFA = Democrats = Tim Kaine/Obama.

It is, also, being widely speculated that Tim Kaine will run for the U.S. Senate seat that Sen. Webb will be vacating. So this put Kaine in a interesting situation, work on his track record for the unions or stand up for the taxpayers. The Hill is reporting that Tim Kaine will make his decision to run for the senate until early next month.

This is just wrong on so many levels, were do you even begin. First, a teacher has decided that the Pledge of Allegiance is too difficult for our kids to recite and has revised it to a “kid friendly” version.

This is from the NEA website:

Michael Szewczyk, a fourth grade teacher at Berkeley Terrace School in Irvington, New Jersey

Each morning, public school students have to stand and salute the flag by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. After my students complete the Pledge in its standard form, we repeat it in a kid friendly style that is more understandable and meaningful for them. The following is the student version that we created together. I promise my faithfulness to the banner of the United States of America and to our government, for which it stands, one country under God, for which we will stick together, and freedom and fairness for all.

Secondly, the fact that the principal or school system did not stop this and it rose to the level of getting recognition of the NEA, well it is appalling. If it is so difficult for the teachers to teach the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance well, might I suggest this video of Red Skelton.

Cross posted from Richmond Patriots

More From Virginia Right!

• The Left Wants Sarah Palin DEAD! Tweets Exposed!
• Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee: Representative of the Ignorance of the Democratic Party
• CAN YOU PROMISE the END of the EURO!

Virginia Right! Recommends

• The Resignation of Gordon Brown  (BarkingSpider)
• THE DREAMS OF MY FATHER  (BarkingSpider)

Ask Virginia Right! To Recommend Your Posts

There was an interesting article in Washington Posts blog by Peter Guluszka, “Virginia Tea Parties need to grow up”. His article brings up some interesting points and some things I have pondered myself.

Like this:

The well-organized party movement was riding a wave in the run-up to the midterm elections in November. It was taking on politicians of both stripes for what participants saw as overspending and overreaching by the federal government. On their scopes were health-care reform, the TARP bank bailout, changes in various amendments to give “the people” more power and a range of other things from the right to pack heat in bars and to defy conventional teaching in public schools.

Virginia’s emerging Tea Party leader is Jamie Radtke, a former political aide and William & Mary graduate who spent a number of years as a housewife. So smashing was her political initiation that she’s running for U.S. Senate.

But the hard facts are that the General Assembly session is half over, and the Virginia Tea Partiers haven’t made much of a difference.

and

….Fact is, the average shad- and Brunswick-stew-eating Virginia politician likes the road-spending package. It will create some jobs and give commuters stuck in traffic something better to imagine.

Otherwise, the Tea Party people are showing they have a lot to learn. They didn’t have much to do with McDonnell’s plan to privatize ABC stores, which has gone down in flames. They don’t like a plan to have business pay insurance for families with autistic children.

And, at times, the Tea Party people have displayed themselves at being a little out of their league. Radtke gave a speech blaming the Federal Reserve for hikes in global commodity prices, such as corn, wheat, sugar and gasoline. Once again, she was playing up the notion of those bogeymen in Washington gleefully causing all of our problems.

….. there are a lot of reasons for the global price hikes and not many of them have to do with Fed machinations.

and finally Guluzka last point, I am in total agreement with:

This isn’t to say that the Tea Party movement is dead. It just needs time to grow up.

Today, Senator Webb announced that he would not seek re-election in 2012. George Allen, who had announced his intentions to seek the GOP nomination for the seat issued the following statement.

“I respect Senator Webb’s service to our country and the very personal decision that he and his family have made. I did not enter into this race to run against any one person, but to fight for the families of Virginia to improve their opportunities in life. My campaign will continue to focus on achievable reforms that will help reinvigorate our economy, end reckless, runaway spending, and unleash our plentiful energy resources.”

Tomorrow, February 6th is not only Super Bowl Sunday will mark the anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday. Conservatives everywhere have been taking time to remember and pay tribute to one of the great Presidents of our life time. This includes Former Gov. and Senator George Allen, who recently announced that he was indeed going to be running for the U.S. Senate.

In his weekly update Allen noted: “the man who drew me to public service: President Ronald Wilson Reagan.” . Allen had an opportunity to meet Reagan when he was Governor of California. Reagan would visit practices session of the L.A. Rams, when Allen’s dad was the coach, it was there that Allen recognized Reagan for his sound beliefs and principals:

As I grew older, I understood better the principles that he stood for, the faith in America’s greatness and the belief in the freedom of people to live their lives and prosper. At Governor Reagan’s request, I was proud to serve as Chairman of Young Virginians for Reagan during his first run for the presidency in 1976.

Just over thirty years ago, newly sworn in President Reagan identified that the high unemployment, human misery, high taxes and high debt had to be turned around. He proclaimed ‘we are going to begin to act, beginning today.’ We should adhere to Reagan’s words and philosophy today as we face similar difficulties. He knew that to unleash America’s potential, people must be unburdened by government interference, unrestricted by onerous taxes and obstacles to innovation and creativity, and unobstructed by incentive-sapping laws and regulation

Cross-posted at Richmond Patriots

… as soon as tomorrow!

The momentum is really picking up to stop this law.  The Republican controlled house passed H.R. 2. just a few weeks into the 112th congress.  Yesterday, Federal Judge Roger Vinson became the second federal judge to rule Obamacare as unconstitutional.   In the U.S. Senate, Sen Jim DeMint was able to rally all the Republican Senators to support the repeal.    This is all setting the stage for a possible vote tomorrow.

Heritage Foundation explains how the procedural rules can be used to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

Once the Senate receives the bill, any Senator can use Rule 14 to object to the second reading of the bill. This procedural objection will “hold at the desk” the House-passed bill and allow the Senate to act on the full repeal measure.

Rule 14 would simply “hold the bill at the desk” it would be up to Senator Reid to schedule the vote. So fortunately, there is another rule. Rule 22 which allows “any Senator can use Rule 22 to commence debate on H.R. 2 if they have held the bill at the desk.”

Tomorrow, what will happen, as the Senate begins debating on the FAA re-authorization bill, Senator McConnell, who used rule 14 to hold the bill, will walk on the floor to offer S. 192 (senate version) as an amendment. But don’t rejoice yet, this is still an uphill battle. We still need to get 60 votes, however with two federal judges ruling the law unconstitutional, the pressure is on the democrats. What this vote will do is put every senator on record as being for or against.

Yesterday,  Tom White posted about the Virginia Senate Democrats disregard for the rules. So, today I was not the least bit surprised when a friend in Sen. Stosch’s (R-12th) district call to tell me she just got a robo call from a group called Commonwealth Victory Fund, which is a Democratic Party 527 group. The calls apparently were targeting Sen. Stosch and Sen. Norment for their positions on gun rights and business legislation. Although, according to Sen. Stosch, the calls were completely misleading constituents on his position.

[Stosch's] office had to deal with and respond to the calls of our constituents who were mislead. Many were angry when they learned of the sponsor of the robo calls ….. Commonwealth Victory Fund.

and the games continue.

At a press conference on January 18th the Senate Republican Caucus announced their Legislative Agenda.  It includes measures to increase transparency and strengthen accountability in Virginia’s budget process, to oppose tax increases, to protect Virginia’s status as a Right-to-Work state and prevent the implementation of Card Check.

Some of the legislation that the Senate is featuring this year are Sponsored by Thomas K. Norment, Jr, Walter Stosch, Stephen H. Martin and Ryan T. McDougle.

SB 1353 General Assembly; general appropriation bills. Thomas K. Norment, Jr.

Requires the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee to issue reports concurrently with the budget conference report that specifically identify (i) any nonstate appropriation, (ii) any item in the conference report that was not included in a general appropriation bill as passed by either the House or the Senate, and (iii) any item that represents legislation that failed in either house during the regular or a special session.

SB 1125 Labor organization; employees have right to vote by secret ballot. Walter A. Stosch

Declares that in any procedure providing for the designation, selection, or authorization of a labor organization to represent employees, the right of an individual employee to vote by secret ballot is a fundamental right that shall be guaranteed from infringement.

SJ 301 Constitutional amendment; right to a secret ballot (first reference). Stephen H. Martin

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); the right to a secret ballot.  Adds a provision to the Bill of Rights to preserve and protect the right to a secret ballot in elections for office, votes on ballot measures, and votes to designate or authorize employee representation.

SJ 323 Constitutional amendment (first resolution); right to work. Ryan T. McDougle

Constitutional amendment (first resolution); right to work.  Provides that any agreement or combination between any employer and any labor union or labor organization whereby persons not members of such union or organization shall be denied the right to work for the employer, or whereby such membership is made a condition of employment or continuation of employment by such employer, or whereby any such union or organization acquires an employment monopoly in any enterprise, is against public policy and an illegal combination or conspiracy.

 

SB 1288 Public Procurement Act; verification of legal presence. Jeffrey L. McWaters

Public Procurement Act; verification of legal presence. Requires all public contractors and their subcontractors to register and participate in a federal Electronic Work Verification Program or similar electronic verification of work authorization program to determine that their employees and individual independent contractors are legally eligible for employment in the United States. Contractors and subcontractors are required to verify the employment status of their employees and independent contractors, and are prohibited from employing or contracting with an individual who is not determined to be legally eligible for employment in the United States as determined through the verification of the individual’s status. Contractors who do not register and participate in the registration program are ineligible for prequalification.

SB 1202 Health benefits exchanges; abortion coverage not permitted. Mark D. Obenshain

Health benefits exchanges; abortion coverage not permitted.  Prohibits any qualified health insurance plan that is sold or offered for sale through a health benefits exchange established or operating in the Commonwealth pursuant to federal health care reform legislation from providing coverage for abortions. The prohibition does not apply to an abortion performed (i) when the life of the mother is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or (ii) when the pregnancy is the result of an alleged act of rape or inces

There has been much buzz lately about the possibility of a proposed Repeal Amendment that Speaker Howell has co-patrons in the Virginia General Assembly. (HJR 542) The problem it wishes to address is the over reaching power of the federal government is a real problem, but this amendment is not the right answer.

I came to this conclusion for a couple of reasons. First, not all conservatives are on board with this, Del. Bob Marshall who sponsored the Va Health Care Freedom bill last year wrote this op-ed in the Richmond Times Dispatch were he sited:

The Repeal Amendment, which surfaced in The Wall Street Journal, and a similar version unveiled at the Tea Party convention both speak of repealing federal “law,” not simply statutes or treaties. Article VI of our U.S. Constitution states: “This Constitution and the laws of the United States . . . and all Treaties shall be the supreme Law of the Land.” Our Constitution, ordinary statutes, and treaties are all defined as “law” according to our Constitution.

Repeal Amendment advocates want the p ower to “repeal any provision of  law” now on the books or passed in the future. If this amendment is passed by Congress and ratified by the states, then two-thirds of the states could repeal treaties, parts or all of our Constitution, military appropriations bills, Social Security, declarations of war, civil rights laws, and more

This statement only confirmed what I was thinking, as I wrote in a previous post. The “simple” amendment is also a vague amendment with no boundaries and seems to conflict with the Supremacy Clause. But seeking additional information I found this on the Tenth Amendment Center website about the repeal amendment.

First, the repeal process, outlined in the amendment, does not consider one of the fundamental
aspects of federalism our founders developed. It was a part of Article VI, Clause 2 and it was a necessary part for both vertical separations of powers and sound checks to work.
…..
What about laws passed by the general government that are constitutional, based on the original meaning? If enough states can rise against constitutional laws they too can be overturned, whether passed
‘in Pursuance thereof’ or not. This amendment truly alters the vertical checks and balance provided under the original meaning. In theory this amendment could weaken the federal level to a point of it being little
more than it was under the Articles of Confederation.

This amendment, while well intended, is just not the right solution. If we are going to go to all this trouble to
amend the Constitution why not amendment it with something that will restore its power not revise it. A better solution would be to repeal the 17th amendment the way the 18th amendment (alcohol prohibition) was
repealed by adding an amendment repealing it.

Therefore, after considering all side to this issue, the Richmond Patriots will not support the efforts of this amendment and will encourage our legislators not to support it as well.

This is cross posted at RichmondPatriots.com

Thanks to Rep. Goodlatte’s (VA-06) idea with some help from our VA A.G. Cuccinelli (according to his press release), Republican are starting to walk the talk.   Is this a result of the “shellacking”?  Could be.  The grass root movement loud Nov 2 message was just as much for Republican as it was to Pres. Obama and the Democrats.  Anyway, I am pleased to see this and here is the press release from Rep. Goodlatte:

Goodlatte’s Efforts to Focus on U.S. Constitution Successful

Washington, D.C.: Today, at the urging of Congressman Bob Goodlatte (VA-06), the House Republican Leadership released House Rules for the 112th Congress that recommit the Congress to the text of the
U.S. Constitution.

As part of the new Rules for the 112th Congress, all Members of the House will be required to submit a formal statement pointing to the exact Constitutional provision that authorizes each bill they introduce. In addition, as a further demonstration of its commitment to hold true to the fundamental principles upon which this country was founded, the new Rules include Rep. Goodlatte’s recommendation that the U.S. Constitution will be read aloud on the House Floor during the first week of the 112th Congress.

“One of the resounding themes I have heard from my constituents is that Congress should adhere to the Constitution and the finite list of powers it granted to the federal government,” said Congressman
Goodlatte. “I am very pleased that the Republican Leadership included my recommendation that the U.S. Constitution be read aloud on the House Floor during the first week of session. This historic and symbolic
reading is long overdue and shows that the new majority in the House of Representatives truly is dedicated to the U.S. Constitution and the principles for which it stands. Additionally, I would like to thank
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli for his efforts to advance this initiative.”

As the written expression of the consent the American people gave to their government – a consent with restrictions and boundaries – the public reading of the Constitution will set the tone for the 112th
Congress.

Goodlatte is a senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over Constitutional amendments and other issues pertaining to the U.S. Constitution.

Even with the GOP landslide on Nov 2, the mood of the country is still one of skeptic and distrust. That was pretty evident this afternoon when a article in The Hill proclaimed that Rep. Cantor wanted to keep certain parts of the current Health Care Law. This, of course, went completely against what the Republican have been saying, to quote Rep. Mike Pence..“to repeal the health care law lock, stock and barrel”

The Hill later corrected the article:

Editor’s note: This article was changed at 1:57 p.m.. The Hill incorrectly reported in the initial version that Cantor wants to keep certain provisions of the healthcare law intact. The article was revised to emphasize that Cantor and House Republicans are pursuing a full repeal of healthcare reform while addressing issues in the law, such as pre-existing conditions and allowing young people to stay on their parents’ insurance plan, in their replacement bill. Both provisions are in current law, but Republicans would deal with them differently than Democrats did in the bill that passed earlier this year.

In the meantime, even Rush Limbaugh weighed in on the report and Doc Thompson from WRVA started the “pile on Cantor” on his facebook. The feeding frenzy continued with a series of articles like this and this. Laura Alcorn, Co-Founder of Richmond Patriots made this comment on the Virginia 7th Watch Dog Group:

I have to admit that I had a hissy when I heard it from Rush who read it from The Hill that Cantor would not repeal Obamacare…… I had to wait until tonight to write my nasty email to Cantor and his staff. Good thing, because now we know that The Hill had to [correct] their first blog. In the meantime, I have received 5 or 6 emails from different groups that sound something like this:

We already know that repealing the national healthcare plan is needed, but the Republican solution to the problem is not good enough. Today, in The American Spectator, it was noted that Majority Leader-elect Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) has a Republican plan that could replace the current Obama plan, but it is not aggressive enough nor is it is a free-market alternative to what has already been put in place by the Democrats.

Contact Congressman Cantor and let him know that we need a better solution!

In fairness, the GOP deserves some of the pile on that this error caused. But at the same time we must NOT be distracted from our real problem, which is President Obama and the progressive liberals. The republican Health Care Bill has been posted on line since June 2009. As far as, I know this will be the bill that will be the republican alternative to Obama care.