I have found this from the Daily Paul about the five district conventions held today in the First, Second, Third, Seventh and Eighth Congressional Districts and the word is surprisingly encouraging:

Submitted by Virginian on Sat, 05/12/2012 – 18:26. Permalink

Looks like we got a good number so far.
Adding to the list below:
CD1: 2/3
CD2: 2/3? (Could be 3/3)
CD3: 3/3
CD7: 0/3
CD8: 1/3
Thats so far 10-11 out of 18 which is over half.

This added to these victories in the other districts:

Submitted by valleyforge on Sat, 05/12/2012 – 19:33. Permalink

April 28
CD4 1/3
CD9 3/3

May 5
CD6 3/3

I contacted the NEW THIRD District GOP CHAIRMAN, J. Christopher Stearns, who confirmed the following numbers (as well as his own election!):

CD 1:  2/3 national delegates, sweep of state central committee (3/3)

CD 2:  2/3 national delegates, another SWEEP of state central committee (3/3)

CD 3:  3/3 national delegates, STILL ANOTHER SWEEP of state central committee!  (3/3)

(Our national curling team could use sweepers like this!)

CD 7:  0/3 national delegates, 0/3 state central.

CD 8:   3/3 national delegates and 3/3 state central.

I have not confirmed the other districts as far as RP delegates or state central but just these numbers will reshape the future of the Grand Ol’ Party in the Old Dominion.  It means libertarians will have a seat at the table with the state party.  I am a delegate to that convention and I plan (Lord willing) to be there for that.  Maybe a live blog…

UPDATE:  The new RP members of state central might get to decide the biggest question of 2013:  How is the fight between Lt. Governor Bolling and Attorney General Cuccinelli (Note:  I have endorsed Cuccinelli) for Governor:  Primary or Convention?  Convention is cheaper but also favors Cuccinelli.  Here’s a Virginian-Pilot article on this question.

The groundwork for that possible shift, which could limit broader access to the nomination process, is being laid now even as a fight for party control builds ahead of a likely gubernatorial matchup between Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

Behind it is a roster of Ron Paul loyalists, Cuccinelli supporters, tea partyers and other factions – what one activist called a “perfect storm of odd alliances within the Republican Party.”

They’ve been quietly working to put like-minded people in seats on regional Republican panels that come with votes on the Virginia GOP’s governing body, the State Central Committee.

It is safe to say the staid, steeped in convention (pun intended) Virginia GOP is due for a big change.  I think it is a positive change.  Let’s invite and welcome liberty candidates into the GOP!

I blogged on the possibility of this actually happening last year (Why you should read Virginia Right regularly!) and it did happen:  Former Fifth District Congressman Virgil Goode was nominated on the first ballot by the Constitution Party in their national convention in Nashville Tennessee:

Former Congressman Virgil Goode won the Presidential nomination of the Constitution Party on the first ballot. Winning 203 of 403 possible votes, the former Virginia Representative won on the first ballot with 50.37%. Two less votes would’ve required a second ballot.

“American voters who support limited, constitutional government, traditional American values, the protection of American jobs and preservation of individual liberty can take heart!  They will not be limited to a difficult choice between Obama and Romney as the one likely to be the least threat to their life, liberty, property and other interests,” said Jim Clymer, Constitution Party National Chairman, in a press release.

Goode was born in Richmond and attended the University of Richmond and UVA law school.  I will try for the C-Span video.  Here’s the Constitution Party’s website.

This is in no way an endorsement although in a perfect world, Goode would be preferable to either Romney or President Obama.  He will do the Constitution Party and the Old Dominion proud.

Remember, for political news and commentary ahead of its time (while glorifying Jesus Christ, too!) come to Virginia Right!

Is it in the water?  A time warp?  This is the biggest year for Virginia politics since 1841.  Virginia native (born in Winchester!) and resident Rick Santorum was the first resident of the Old Dominion to win a major party caucus – Iowa.  Then Virginia resident Newt Gingrich wins the SC primary, another first for the Commonwealth.  And our own chief executive, Bob McDonnell, is on some short lists as a running mate on the GOP ticket.  It’s great news!

Now another resident of the Commonwealth has placed his hat in the ring:  Former VA Congressman Virgil Goode apparently will seek the Constitution Party nomination for President.  Here’s the Daily Caller article and a highlight or two:

In a brief interview with The Daily Caller, Goode said that his platform consists of four planks: limited government, border security, rapidly adopting a balanced budget and enacting term limits.

“If I’m fortunate enough to get the nomination of the Constitution Party, I will take as many votes from Obama as I would from the Republican nominee,” he said.

“I expect it will be a fairly close,” he said of the GOP primary in his state. “I think Representative Paul’s fiscal restraint positions will play well in Virginia.” Goode says, however, that he will not cast a ballot for either candidate.

In news that was meant to influence the upcoming Washington State caucuses, but which might have as much influence in the Old Dominion, former Redskin star Clint Didier has come out for Ron Paul for President!  Yes, that Clint Didier!

Here’s the report from the Daily Paul:

“I believe the next President of the United States needs to be a defender of America protecting and maintaining her sovereignty, one who understands the worldwide economic crisis we face and first and foremost demonstrates he has America’s interest at heart. The next president must understand what constitutes a free market, be willing to stand tall against powerful lobbying interests, and have the courage to fight for a sound monetary policy, fiscal sanity, and individual liberty.

“As an American farmer yearning for strong constitutional leadership, I see Ron Paul as a loyal disciple of our founding fathers who gave us the opportunity to experience life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He has displayed integrity and adherence to our Constitution for 30 years. I have found no other presidential candidate so disciplined.”

Here’s confirmation from the Washington Post:

“You know, this is a lot like what has to happen to D.C.,” Clint Didier once said while fiddling with a tractor, when he was attempting to secure the Republication nomination for U.S. Senate candidate from Washington. “We’ve got to clean the crap out.”  *  *  * [S]o it perhaps should not be a surprise that the former Skins tight end endorsed Ron Paul for President this week.

My hardcore Redskin fan readers need not have this introduction to Didier but others might!  Here from the Daily Paul:

Mr. Didier was born and raised on a farm in Eltopia in Franklin County, Washington. Raised with a strong work ethic he carried onto the football field, he joined the NFL to play for the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers. His football career brought him to the field of Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XXII. In Super Bowl XXII, he scored the final touchdown for the Redskins in the second quarter of their 35-point game, and was the leading receiver in Super Bowl XVIII.

You heard the man, vote Ron Paul in Virginia March 6!

I am excited and thrilled that Ron Paul got enough signatures to be on the Virginia ballot on March 6.  That is a personal tribute to the hard work of volunteers and the campaign to collect the 10,000 signatures (with 400 from each congressional district as part of that effort) needed to get on the ballot. But Perry and Gingrich will not be on the ballot in Virginia.

And some of those RP folks will be mad at me a bit but I seek something more important:  Electoral fairness and integrity.  I cannot in principle say this is acceptable.  Thousands who wanted to vote for other candidates cannot do so (except as a write-in); Virginia will be irrelevant in the election.

BUT there are two (maybe more) possible scenarios:

ONE:  The General Assembly can by special legislation authorize the Republican Party of Virginia to place more candidates on the Old Dominion’s ballot.  Serious candidate can be defined as a person who has an active national campaign committee, has raised more than $1 million, on the ballot in say ten other states.  Romney and Paul would be rewarded for all their efforts by being one and two in the ballot.  The primary is March 6, legislation can surely be drawn up by then and signed by Gov. McDonnell.

TWO:  The RPV or an candidate or a voter who signed a petition (I signed one but it was alas for Herman Cain) could sue the Commonwealth of Virginia in Federal Court and allege the process is unconstitutional per se and/or as applied to this election and the results show it.   There are two kinds of unconstitutionality:  A statute can be unconstitutional per se (in all cases) or as applied to a given factual situation.  I recommend the AG agree that this one time this result is indeed unconstitutional and ask the court to enter an order allowing the RPV to place all serious candidates on the VA ballot.  (Of course I believe that the 10,000 signature requirement is too much anyway – maybe 5000 or 2500 is acceptable for state wide office and/or President but that is best cured by legislation.)

I suppose if the Romney and Paul campaigns agree not to sue and nor does the AG, the RPV could simply declare (at least) Perry and Gingrich to be eligible for the VA ballot.  This would defy the statutes but if no one challenges it, it will stand.

But SOMETHING must be done; the Old Dominion is in danger of becoming a national joke.  If nothing is done, I will root for and help Ron Paul win here in our state (supporters of the other candidates should vote for Paul!) but the process will be less than legitimate.

We do not know who will win, but the loser of the Virginia primary is already in:  The voters of the Old Dominion.

Should all of us interested in true transparency in politics let this go by because it helps my candidate (For those readers of my blog from Mars, that is Ron Paul)?  Igot to speak up.

Several of the GOP candidates will not be on the Virginia ballot.  Paul and former Massachusetts Governor Romney are confirmed by the state GOP to have a ballot place and Texas Governor Rick Perry is definitely out.  Former Speaker Newt Gingrich may or may not be on the ballot.  Three other candidates, all serious, did not even try to file for the Virginia ballot:  Minnesota Cong. Michele Bachmann, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.  Here is the R T-D report:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has failed to qualify for Virginia’s March 6 Republican presidential primary, according to the Republican Party of Virginia.

Volunteers at state GOP headquarters are continuing to assess whether former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has amassed the required 10,000 signatures of registered voters.

What can be done?

Virginia law is clear:  Va. Code 24.2-545 gives the state Republican party no choice:

 Any person seeking the nomination of the national political party for the office of President of the United States, or any group organized in this Commonwealth on behalf of, and with the consent of such person, may file with the State Board petitions signed by at least 10,000 qualified voters, including at least 400 qualified voters from each congressional district in the Commonwealth, who attest that they intend to participate in the primary of the same political party as the candidate for whom the petitions are filed. Such petitions shall be filed with the State Board by the primary filing deadline. (emphasis added)

The Virginia Code thus requires the 10,000 signatures if there is a primary.  But the party can decide if there is a party primary or another selection vehicle.

The duly constituted authorities of the state political party shall have the right to determine the method by which the state party will select its delegates to the national convention to choose the party’s nominees for President and Vice President of the United States including a presidential primary or another method determined by the party.   (Va. Code 24.2-545[A])

In fact the delegates and alternatives will be selected by congressional district conventions and the state convention.  But it may be too late to prevent a primary at this date.

I am no election lawyer.  I am not stating a legal opinion as what to do.  But we need to look into some other solution.  It is not fair to have a system that most of the candidates are excluded.  I urge both the Virginia Republican Party and the Attorney General’s office to try to find a way around this mess.  Thousands of voters will be disenfranchised.  Maybe have the conventions select the delegates and instruct them as well for the first ballot at the national convention.  The primary becomes meaningless.   The primary will be meaningless if this development is not addressed as soon as possible.

I was privileged to attend the Ron Paul Meetup party last evening at the River City Diner North.  There were 35-40 excited RP supporters, ranging from livelong libertarians to GOP stalwarts to even a blogger for a leading political blog in the Old Dominion!

We heard some great advice from the state chairman of the RP campaign and the whole idea of the folks for RP in VA was contagious.

I hope we’ll have more such meetings.  Remember:  Try to get petition signatures for RP for the VA ballot!  Here‘s where to go!

Here’s the text of the form email I got from the RP campaign in re the petition drive in the Old Dominion:

Dear Sandy,

Virginia’s filing deadline is coming up fast, and Ron Paul needs your help to make sure he has enough signatures to get on the ballot.

Can you help us make one final push by gathering some signatures for Dr. Paul?

You see, Virginia requires 10,000 signatures.  I know that is a lot of signatures.  But we actually need more than that to be safe.  Officials will ultimately throw some out because they are unreadable or don’t match the voter files.

So please, if you can help us in any way, download either the letter size or legal size form and gather some signatures.

It can be as simple as getting your family, friends, and co-workers to sign the form.  If there is a Republican Party meeting in your area, please go and get as many people as possible to sign.

Other public places, such as the subway, bus transfer stations, shopping malls, and gun shows, are also great places to gather signatures.

After you have gathered the signatures, please don’t forget to have the forms notarized.  You can get this done at almost any bank.

Once they are notarized, please send your forms to our campaign headquarters at the following address:

Ron Paul 2012
Attn:  Chris Younce
8000 Forbes Place, Ste. 200
Springfield, VA 22151

If you have already been gathering signatures, please keep up your efforts – but don’t forget to send them to the campaign.  We need these signatures by December 17th so we can get them organized and ready to file.

Thank you for all you do to help Dr. Paul win this election!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at chris.younce@ronpaul2012.com or by phone at 703.563.6129.

For Liberty,

Chris Younce
Director of Ballot Access

P.S.  The deadline to turn in signatures to get Ron Paul on the Virginia ballot is coming up fast, so I hope you’ll help us make one final push to gather names.

You can download the forms in either letter size or legal size.

Once you have your signatures, make sure to get them notarized (almost any bank will take care of this for you) and send them to the address listed above by December 17th.

Thanks for your help!

Here are the petition forms in letter size and legal size.  Feel free to copy as needed.

This is OUTRAGEOUS!  An AMERICAN pressure group is complaining to the UNITED NATIONS about a domestic policy issue:  Alleged threat to the right to vote by state legislatures:

The largest civil rights group in America, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is petitioning the UN over what it sees as a concerted efforted to disenfranchise black and Latino voters ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The organisation will this week present evidence to the UN high commissioner on human rights of what it contends is a conscious attempt to “block the vote” on the part of state legislatures across the US. Next March the NAACP will send a delegation of legal experts to Geneva to enlist the support of the UN human rights council.

Complain to the UN?  The Human Rights Council?  That one that Libya, China and Cuba was on?  Right that one.

First, Thurgood Marshall did not appeal to the United Nations for equal rights.  He went to the courts here in the USA instead.  And he won!

Second, this sort of thing gives a propaganda victory to globalists and our enemies.

Third, it leads to inaccurate information in foreign media:

Four states – Florida, Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia – continue to withhold the vote from anyone convicted of a criminal offence. In Florida, offenders who have completed their sentences have to wait at least five years before they can even apply to restore their right to register to vote.  (emphasis added)

The fact is:  You have to be convicted of a FELONY not a CRIMINAL OFFENSE to lose your right to vote in Virginia!  There are two types of criminal offenses in the Old Dominion, felonies and misdemeanors (We got it from England by the way!) and misdemeanors do not affect the right to vote.

(Now, for the record, I think felons who are released and complete probation should be allowed to vote.  In the UK, the European Court for Human Rights wants incarcerated felons to be able to vote!  We are obviously not enlightened.)

One of the big bugbears is voter ID.  But it seems reasonable to the Supreme Court that voters ought to get proper ID to vote and the comparison cited here is simply not compelling:

In Texas, a law has been passed that prevents students from voting on the basis of their college ID cards, while allowing anyone to cast their ballot if they can show a permit to carry a concealed handgun.

But a student ID card has nowhere near the authority of an officially given concealed weapons permit and can be easily forged.  This is an extreme exaggeration:

Studies have showed that the proportion of voters who do not have access to valid photo ID cards is much higher among older African-Americans because they were not given birth certificates in the days of segregation. Students and young voters also often lack identification and are thus in danger of being stripped of their right to vote.

How about that right of passage for teens:  A Drivers License.  That is a valid ID.

This is outrageous:

Benjamin Jealous, the NAACP’s president, said the moves amounted to “a massive attempt at state-sponsored voter suppression.” He added that the association will be urging the UN “to look at what is a co-ordinated campaign to disenfranchise persons of colour.”

Withdraw your complaint to the UN, I urge the NAACP.  Don’t give our enemies ammunition.  What do you hope to accomplish if you win?  We’ll be in danger of losing our sovereignty.  I want to remind the NAACP that our sovereignty protects the Constitution as the supreme law of the land.  Losing our sovereignty puts at risk all the hard won gains for African-Americans (and others) under our Constitution. Sovereignty minded Americans should reconsider their membership in the NAACP.

In the meantime, what the US should say:  None of your business!

If the NAACP is concerned about the loss of constitutional rights, there’s a place to go and African-Americans are welcome:  Your local Tea Party group.

I wrote on this some time ago:  How Newt Gingrich is actually resident of Virginia.  When he set up his campaign, Georgia is his base of operations but he is legally a resident of Virginia.This ought to cause some soul searching among Virginia GOPers.  But it begs the question:

Who might be Speaker Gingrich’s running mate?  He spoke with Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell earlier asking for support.  Governor McDonnell called the former Speaker the “most significant Republican” (other than Ronald Reagan) of the last half-century!

Would Speaker Gingirch actually select our governor?  (For the record, I think Governor McDonnell would be a great VP for any of the GOP candidates!)

So, the most interesting thing will be:  Will Gingrich change that residence to Georgia?  The Twelth Amendment prohibits both the President and the VP from the same state (technically it does not but it says both cannot get the electoral votes of their home state):

“The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves;…”

 

Hence Gingrich would have to change his legal residence to Georgia to select Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell as his running mate. (The problem briefly arose when George W. Bush selected Dick Cheney as his VP in 2000.  Cheney had represented Wyoming in Congress but was in 2000 a resident of Texas.  Cheney promptly changed his residence back to Wyoming.  Problem solved!)  Romney had hinted that McDonnell would be a great choice for running mate recently.

With Gingrich surging in the polls (this will be, if it happens, one of the most remarkable political stories of the last half-century!) the question might not be moot.  There is that place in our capitol under the dome with the busts of the Presidents from the Old Dominion – will Newt Gingrich join them?

I am informed by Catherine Turner of the SWVA Tea Party that Abingdon has decided NOT to renew their ICLEI membership!

<image001.jpg>

Gregory W. Kelly

Town Manager

Turner had these people to thank:

Just goes to show ya what a few relentlessly politically incorrect people Who Refuse To Sit Down And SHUT UP can do—-whether or not the credit goes to us, (see below) or ICLEI’s very user-unfriendly software! We CLAIM THE VICTORY!!!!

Thank you to Rich Macbeth and the 10th Amendment Foundation, for joining the SWVA Tea Party in this fight!

Thank you to Phil Spence and the 2nd Tuesday Constitution Group, for hosting Donna Holt—-who forever rocked our world!!

Thank you to Donna Holt, for firing the shot heard around the great Commonwealth of VA!!!

Thank you to Don Casey, for being the surprise guest on the Abingdon Go Green Committee agenda!!!

Thank you, Col Scotty, for your encouraging words on the way to that meeting when I was so nervous I thought I might just throw up….!!!

Above all, thank you God, from whom our liberties originate.

 

I happen to especially like that last one!  It only takes a few patriots to organize and keep at it until we win!  GREAT AWESOME job in beautiful SW Virginia!  I would also mention the fact that the SW Tea Party was one of the first to cite the unconstitutionality of ICLEI right here!  Let me also cite the Beware the Green Menace blog!

Let’s make sure we hug a Tea Party activist (or Town Manager Kelly) this week in Abingdon!

The Commonwealth of Virginia has had several Presidents:  Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe (This was 24 YEARS – six terms of Virginia Chief Executives!), William Harry Harrison, Tyler, Taylor and Wilson.  [Yes, Harrison was born in VA and ran from Ohio and so did Taylor (KY) and Wilson (NJ) but they were born here!]

It appeared there might be a promising Virginia revival in 2008 when BOTH Senator Allen and Governor Warner got a serious look for the White House but both said no, Warner voluntarily and Allen by defeat in the 2006 Senate election.  Governor Gilmore did run briefly in 2008 but was one of the first casualties before the primaries.

But now, we do have “skin in the game” once again:  Former Speaker Newt Gingrich.  Yes Newt Gingrich.  But isn’t Newt from Georgia?  Well, he WAS from the Peach State when he ran for Congress but he resides in our Commonwealth. Here’s the proof:

The Gingriches reside in McLean, Virginia. Their family includes two daughters and two grandchildren.

Here’s more:

Former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced Wednesday his bid for U.S. president. The ex-Georgia resident, now living in Virginia, has set up his campaign headquarters in Buckhead, where his daughter, Jackie Cushman, and grandchildren live.

I’m not switching – I’m for Ron Paul – but Speaker Gingrich is a formidable candidate who will force all the other candidates to talk ideas.  Since Ron Paul already has ideas galore, he will just have to watch for the quick repartee and make sure he is not lured into a debate situation that is not favorable.   But if you are a hard core Old Dominion fan, you can now root for a fellow Virginian – Newt Gingrich!

It would appear so. HB 1604 introduced by Delegate Dave Albo (R-Fairfax) seeks to tax out of state businesses that perform services outside of the state for Virginians “if the taxpayer has exploited the market provided by the Commonwealth to the extent that any benefit or use of such sale is to a person or location in the Commonwealth.”

Now, I will say that I was not aware of this bill until I received an email from Delegate Albo concerning my post on the subject at Old Dominion Blogs – a blog aggregator I run to allow readers to view a short sample of (presently) 76 Virginia Political Blogs from across the political spectrum. Obviously, as ODB is a blog aggregator, it was not my post, but one written by another blog carried on ODB. Perhaps The Mason Conservative, although other Conservative Blogs have expressed opinions on the matter.

In the email, Albo stated:

Saw your article on my corporate tax bill. It implied it was a tax increase when it does not increase taxes on any Va Corp. In fact it is a tax cut on many. Current law charges a Corp tax on a va business providing a service in Va. But if an out of state Corp provides the same service it pays zero. How is that fair? My bill fixes this by applying the Corp tax on services equally to all. Some more facts. States like MD GA and CA charges out of state corps. So currently if a Va Corp like AOL performs a service in MD, it pays an MD tax. But if an MD Corp performs that same service in VA it pays zero.

(Note: I am including the text of the email to be sure Delegate Albo’s explanation is included.)

Well, after receiving that, I read several articles on the Web concerning this issue. Namely, the Washington Post, which said:

A trio of moderate Republican legislators from Northern Virginia has proposed taxing out-of-state corporations that sell services in Virginia as a way to raise up to $200 million for the state’s traffic-clogged roads.

Dels. David B. Albo, Thomas Davis Rust and Joe T. May consider their bill, which is expected to be introduced Friday, a compromise that could pass both the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-led Senate.

Out-of-state corporations that could be taxed include law firms, computer programming companies and those that provide Web site design services. Most other states, including Maryland, already tax those corporations.

Albo sent the proposal to his Republican colleagues in the House Wednesday with a note explaining that it is not a tax increase.

“This is not a tax increase on Virginians,” Albo said. “They’ve got to vote for this. I can get 51 votes in the House and I’ll get every reasonable Republican.”

And the same article quoted Ben Marchi of Americans for Prosperity:

Ben Marchi, state director for Americans for Prosperity, said the proposal will reduce the state’s competitive edge and put Virginia’s transportation problems on non-Virginians.

“This is a disgusting display of arrogance from tone-deaf politicians who clearly did not hear the voters this past November,” Marchi said.

Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw (D-Fairfax), who had not yet seen the proposal, predicted it would receive a chilly reception from the Republicans’ conservative colleagues.

“I’d be shocked if they got it out House,” Saslaw said.

The Washington Examiner said:

Corporations affected could include those that employ lawyers or computer programmers who work in the state. The bill would close a loophole that allows certain corporations that provide such services in Virginia to escape paying state income tax on earnings from the sales.

 

Charles Kelley, Deputy State Director for AFP-Virginia summarized the objections quite succinctly:

Del. Albo’s idea to tax companies outside of the state conducting commerce in Virginia is exactly the wrong approach. We ought to be encouraging those from outside Virginia to come here for business, not discouraging them. Whether operating in-state or out-of-state, a tax increase on a business is just that…a tax increase.

If Delegate Albo says he will seek the votes of ‘reasonable’ legislators to support his idea, and some of those same legislators are already questioning the Governor’s extensive plan for Virginia to take on more debt to fund transportation, what makes him think there are legislators that will be ‘reasonable’ enough to vote for a tax increase, especially in an election year and after such a mandate from the people to cut spending in the 2010 elections??

However, if the goal of Del. Albo’s legislation is to generate a revenue stream for transportation in Northern Virginia, this is the complete wrong way to go about it. There are over a billion dollars in “mystery” funds just found in the VDOT coffers that haven’t yet been fully allocated, a plan on the table from the Governor to fund transportation projects by increasing Virginia’s debt, and numerous budget reduction suggestions put out by us last year available at: http://bit.ly/g2tah0. With that said, a tax increase should be the very last resort, if even one at all, when there are a myriad of other options available.

Understandably, citizens in Northern Virginia may be more amicable to a tax increase but a majority of the rest of the state will not be, especially when the tax increase ends up costing them more out-of-pocket and presumably will go to fund transportation in another region of the state. While this may pad the pockets of VDOT and pave the roads of NOVA, it ends up hurting the end users, who are consumers and businesses in Virginia who utilize the products and services these out-of-state business provide statewide. It would seem that a top priority for all elected officials ought to be finding ways to ease the burden on citizens and the businesses from which they buy services, not adding to it, which is a hands-down, textbook example of exactly what Del. Albo is suggesting we do here.

Charles Kelley
Deputy State Director, AFP-Virginia

And fellow blogger Chris at The Mason Conservative was not too thrilled with the bill, either:

Albo has always been looking to get other people to pay for bigger government and the mistakes made by both parties in Virginia.  Instead of fixing the problems, I guess we just want to perpetuate them and have non-Virignians pay for them?  And I can’t wait for Albo to explain what makes a “reasonable Republican.”

The biggest problem with this change to the Corporate Tax Laws of Virginia is that the taxes will simply be passed along to Virginians in the form of higher fees for the services provided. Most Conservatives understand this basic reality. In addition, it will create some legal questions that will no doubt enrich the pockets of Virginia’s attorney’s.

Consider this situation: An out of state Internet Design Company, PowerAdvocates, Inc. in St. Louis, Mo. provides web site design services for Dave Albo’s law firm.

They designed Albo’s site in St. Louis and host the website on a server in Scottsdale, AZ. The only Virginia connection is a check from Albo.
And when you consider that the work is done from another state, loaded on a server in a third state, Delegate Albo still thinks his web designer, PowerAdvocates, Inc. should pay Virginia taxes? I am sure Albo can afford to pay a bit more to cover the higher costs PowerAdvocates will be passing on to his law firm. But what of Virginia’s struggling businesses?

And if Arizona decides to follow Virginia’s lead and require Virginia Businesses to pay taxes for web sites hosted in Arizona and doing business in Virginia, wouldn’t this be fair? After all, businesses located in Arizona must pay taxes.

Albo’s main point, in a subsequent email was that this does not raise taxes on Virginians. Unfortunately, the taxes will equate to higher fees for the services Albo proposes we tax. That is not debatable.

This bill is simply bad for Virginia. Albo is to be commended for at least attempting to create additional revenue for Virginia, but there are far more cuts that need to be made before we resort to increasing taxes on anyone, Virginian or not.

And the General Assembly should kill this bill at first opportunity.

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Ask Virginia Right! To Recommend Your Posts

One of the things that has been missing from the Virginia Political Blogosphere for a while is a method of ranking the political blogs. The now defunct blog aggregator BNN had a weekly ranking, but many questioned the validity of the weekly rankings, their objectivity and exactly what was being considered in these rankings. There have been no head to head measurements by which to gauge the impact and reach of political blogs.

Until now!

After digging around to find a fair way to measure blogs, I looked a a number of free websites that attempt to do just that. On problem with most of these sites is the fact that they fail to calculate a value for the blogs that are not self hosted. Those using Typepad.com, blogger.com or wordpress.com are rated on the ranking of the entire hosting site, not the individual blog.

I ran across WebAribiter and this actually gave rankings and dollar values for almost all of the Political Blogs tracked at Old Dominion Blogs aggregator, which has about 75 blogs that it tracks. Only two of those failed to track individually. This site actually gives a pretty good synopsis of each blog (or site) you enter.

I wrote a bot to fetch the data for each of the 73 Virginia Blogs, enter the data in a database (right now it is an access database, but it will be moved to a MySQL soon) and wrote a front end program to mine the data. The result is, I am able to rank blogs by Political leaning by Dollar Value, Local and Global ranking and order them in a head to head way so a comparison is now possible.

I believe the dollar ranking to be the best overall measure as to the reach of a blog. I also believe the dollar values should be taken with a grain of salt as to the actual monetary value, but if taken as “points” as opposed to dollars, it looks to be a pretty good measure.

Any Virginia blog ranking that fails show Not Larry Sabato and Bearing Drift at the top of the charts is, in my opinion, suspect, and fails the sanity check.

These rankings are not intended to offend anyone and are simply reflective of measurements and algorithms developed by someone with no interest in Virginia Politics and completely objective in their calculations.

I intend to put these rankings up on a weekly basis, hopefully on Sunday. How much variation there will be week to week remains to be seen, but these statistics will likely not change by any great amount week to week, but as I collect data, we shall see.

Below is a list by the three category groups: All Virginia Political Blogs, Right Leaning Blogs and Left Leaning Blogs. These use the dollar value and there ARE TIES!

First, the All Virginia Political Blogs for Week 1 – January 2, 2011:

And the ranking of the Right Leaning Blogs:

And the Left Leaning Blogs:

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