Virginia Right!

Once again, Bishop E.W. Jackson came away from a Virginia Republican US Senate debate as the winner. His overall performance was perhaps a bit less stellar than the Roanoke Debate, but that was most likely a function of the questions asked, which were so similar that it was not easy to answer without repeating yourself. But Jackson’s closing hit the ball out of the park as you can see in the video below. Jackson’s oratory skills and ability to connect with the audience are an amazing gift, but the substance of his remarks are substantial as is his understanding of the problems facing America today.

George Allen turned in a solid performance with his focus on a positive message and clear understanding that defeating Tim Kaine is the ultimate goal of the Republican Party. As the front runner in this contest for the Republican nomination and the right to run against Democrat Tim Kaine, a steady and solid performance was what Allen needed and exactly what he delivered. Allen proved he has his hand on the pulse of Virginia and understands what the Federal Government is doing to our country and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Bob Marshall is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable of the minute details of an amazing number of bills and has been an effective legislator with enough foresight to pen the right bill at the right time to position Virginia in a way that makes federal intrusion into the Commonwealth fare more difficult on anything from ObamaCare to illegal immigration. The average voter, however, may fail to comprehend Bob Marshall and appreciate his technical prowess and “wonkish”  understanding of the art of governance. Still, for fans and supporters of Bob Marshall, his performance at the debate was solid and he did nothing to hurt his campaign.

The big (and only loser) of the evening was Jamie Radtke. She spent nearly one forth of her time, not answering the questions posed, but instead, attacking George Allen over and over again in one of the most embarrassing and shameful instances of vitriolic and mean-spirited hatred I have witnessed in public. Radtke removed all doubt to anyone not sure before now that she has become the far right fringe of politics most voters would not touch with a ten foot pole. When the attacks began, which was in Radtke’s opening remarks, the audience groaned. But as they continued on and on ad nauseam all but a small cluster of her supporters sat in disbelief at what became a complete breakdown of acceptable behavior within thr Republican Party.

The most bizarre and irrational comment was Radtke’s statement blaming George Allen for ObamaCare because he lost the Senate seat in 2006.

In the writeup of the Roanoke debate a couple of weeks ago I wrote “ If this is the first time someone heard Radtke speak, they might have come away with the perception that she was not as “at ease” with the group and somewhat humorless, which is a complete misconception.”

After this performance, it seems that may not have been accurate. Perhaps a year and a half of full time campaigning and only managing to poll in the low single digits has pushed Radtke over the edge. But she is no longer the calm, rational person I met several years ago who was adamant on keeping the shrill attacks of the far right fringe out of the Richmond TEA Party in order to maintain the credibility of the movement. Radtke has become that fringe element.

The Jamie Radtke I knew when she was the head of the Richmond TEA Party would not even allow the Jamie Radtke that showed up in Virginia Beach to even speak at a RTP event.

It is expected that candidates in Primary battles will disagree with their fellow candidates on issues. It is also expected that Republicans point out these differences in a civil manner. While it became apparent a good while back that Radtke was not going to be able to unite those who preferred someone other than George Allen behind her candidacy, the honorable thing to do would have been to bow out. This “scorched earth” policy and her abhorrent behavior has not only failed to rally anyone to her cause, it has probably eliminated her from this any future run for political office at any level.

None of the candidates deserve the disrespectful treatment Radtke spewed in this debate. All are deserving of respect and Republican voters are sure to drive that message home on June 12.

At least Radtke has done one thing. She has narrowed the choices down to two for those not favoring Allen – Jackson and Marshall. The last thing Virginia Republicans want in Washington is an angry, bitter person unable to win people over with their ideas who feels the need to attack and blame others. We already have enough of that coming from the White House.

A lot of us had high hopes for Radtke and her campaign when she began. Now, she simply scares the hell out of most people. And before the Virginia Beach debate, there was a lot of concern that Radtke was only going to (intentionally) damage Allen and his chances to defeat Tim Kaine. After the debate, most realize that the exuberant “Tweets” from the Kaine campaign echoing every disparaging remark she made about Allen will do them no good in November as Radtke has completely marginalized herself as a fringe, far right candidate with an inexplicable grudge against Allen.

Radtke has expressed bewilderment that the TEA Party has not united behind her. But she has moved so far “out there” that she scares the hell out of them, too.

Radtke began her opening remarks by saying the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Her irrational attacks have not convinced Republicans that they should hire her to represent the party according to poll data.

Perhaps she should have taken her own advice as far as the attacks. She has attacked Allen over and over, yet her poll numbers continue to lag.

Below is a video of the attacks only and they include Bishop Jackson’s comments attempting to bring honor and respect back to the process. See for yourself.

Kudos to Bishop Jackson for his efforts on behalf of Republicans to keep this process civil.

The first two questions were dealing with helping small businesses grow and thrive.

Jackson wants to get government out  of the way of businesses.

Allen has worked in small businesses and with them. He echoed the statements of Jackson about the regulations and red tape from local, state and federal government. Allen criticized Tim Kaine on his record of thwarting small businesses.

Marshall enumerated several bills he authored that helped protect small businesses avoid unnecessary regulation.

Radtke worked in small businesses and is a Mom. “We need a Mom in Washington.” She again attacked Allen and there was a moan from the audience. She accused Allen of taking money from Freddie and Fannie.

Next question – what can be done to save Social Security?

Radtke again attacks Allen for Fannie and Freddie and called him out for not answering the question she posed on the mortgage giants. However, the forum is not set up for that and Allen answered the question posed.

On the question of saving Medicare and Social Security, Jackson is the only candidate to urge the repeal of Obamacare. Jackson wants to cut the federal budget with an ax.

Next Question – Spending.

Marshall said we need a balanced budget. He would amend appropriations bills to force a vote on tying spending to revenue sources. He would hold the Senate accountable.

Radtke – we need to focus on spending. All revenue will be used to service the debt and pay entitlements. She spoke about her “My 2 Cents” plan.

Jackson said he respects his fellow candidates too much to attack them (an obvious jab at Radtke to stop the attacks.) He said that government has exceeded it’s authority to spend what they are spending.

Allen mentioned his time in the Senate and the attacks on 9/11. (He is obviously answering Radtke here.) He wants a balanced budget with line item veto. Spending the last 3 years has been out of control. National Defense a priority.

Next Question – College tuition processes out of control.

Radtke – we need to get the federal government out of education. Attacks Allen for spending. Accuses him of wasteful spending and dodging. Accused Allen of dodging.

Jackson – When government gets involved, prices go up. Get the feds out of Virginia’s business and enforce the 10th amendment. He worked his way through college.

Allen – agrees with Jackson. Constraints – line item veto – pay check reduction for Congress if they don’t do a budget. Tuition freeze. Trade schools.

Marshall paid his own way. Make the parents responsible for the student loans. He criticizes Radtke’s “My 2 Cents” and says it won’t work without tax increases. No easy way out.

Next Question – Businesses want to provide Health Care. Wants a small business shared risk pool.

Jackson – We need to allow businesses to have the freedom to aggregate health care leverage and get the government out of the way.

Allen – Repeal ObamaCare. Use Health Savings Accounts instead. Allows patients to know the prices – which will force prices down. Groups should be allowed across state lines.

Marshall – Has introduced legislation to buy insurance across state lines. Stop illegal aliens from coming into the US.  Medical ethics.

Radtke – Has a $5,000 deductible. We need competition, not government control. HSA’s. Attacks Allen for losing in 2006 and running a bad campaign that allowed Democrats to win in 2006.

Next Question – Defense Cuts are a problem. How can we fix it?

Allen – No certainty on taxes, military spending and staffing and the cuts will devastate the military. We need a Republican president and Senate. Defense is the top job of the government. Get EPA out of the way and don’t cut Veteran benefits.

Marshall – Saw programs that were implemented only to provide jobs. Waste of money – we need to be smart with our defense dollars.

Radtke – grew up in a military family. Knows the sacrifice. Congress top priority is defense. Stop nation building. Stop getting into wars. Stop borrowing money from China.

Jackson – the only Veteran – USMC. He hates to see Veterans challenged on their benefits. Vets deserve every bit of our support.

Closing Statements:

Marshall – Attacks Allen on building an interchange with tax money and attacks Kaine on stimulus money. Never betrayed his oath. Will annoy Liberals in DC as much as he has in Richmond.

Allen – Optimistic. Freedoms are at risk from Federal high tax and high spending by Liberals. We must unleash our free enterprise system without government intervention. Use oil and gas off shore. No health care rationing. No forced unions.

Jackson – Cautions colleagues – WE CANNOT TEAR EACH OTHER APART. One of us must go up against Tim Kaine. Who is suited for the moment at hand? Who can reach blacks and Hispanics? Who can tell them we care? We muse beat Kaine and Obama. They drank Kool-Aid – he did not. Jackson got a standing ovation.

Radtke – Insanity – doing the same thing over and over again. As a Mom knows what it is like to see the government come into your home. Career politicians are destroying the nation. This is about saving people from Washington. We need to restore trust in the government.

Jamie Radtke opened the debate with her opening remarks and used most of the time to attack George Allen on his past votes and call for a smaller government.

Bishop Jackson’s opening remarks focused on the job losses in Hampton Roads and the military status of the area. Jackson lamented the lack of coverage for his campaign from the local media.

George Allen focused on small business and jobs. And the lack of jobs for young people. Allen envisions a better future through better policies that are pro growth. And he also mentioned his campaign cornerstone American Energy.

Bob Marshall focused on his record of never voting for a tax increase and has never been endorsed by the Washington Post. Marshall filed a lawsuit to stop Tim Kaine’s illegal taxes – and won. Filed the Health Care Freedom Act. Author of the Va. Marriage Act.

Indiana Senator Dick Lugar is Barack Obama’s favorite Republican. And Lugar has apparently caused Republican House MAjority Leader Eric Cantor’s heart to go pitter pat as Cantor’s PAC is begging Democrats to jump in and vote for Lugar in the Republican Primary.

Lugar has gone from 5 points down before Cantor’s support to 10 points down since.

Indiana voters are pretty rankled with Lugar after it was discovered he has not owned a home or lived in Indiana in years. And apparently, the Young Guns PAC is seen as meddling by big money from more out of state residents. I soke to a few Hoosiers who happen to be fellow Indy Colt’s fans. I have been assailed (in good humor, of course) about keeping my Virginia Congressman and his out of state money out of Indiana.

I told them it happens all the time. Local Senate Candidate Tim Kaine is getting tons of money from groups like “Majority PAC” who are doing exactly the same thing.

The down side of the out of state money is that it more or less ties the hands of Conservative Bloggers who would love to jump on Kaine for allowing all the out of state money to influence Virginia Politics. But with what is going on with Lugar, it seems that Cantor has pretty much tied our hands on that issue.

It would be hypocritical to jab Kaine and not respect the concerns of my fellow Colt fans.

So let me just, for the record, state that I have come down against out of state money being used to influence elections no matter whose pockets are involved.

Besides, it often backfires and makes the home crowd angry as it obviously has in Indiana.

According to The Hill:

Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) is 10 points behind his primary opponent, according to a new nonpartisan poll, making it highly unlikely he’ll win Tuesday’s contest.

Lugar trails Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) 48 percent to 38, according to a poll released Friday from Howey Politics Indiana and DePauw University. That is Mourdock’s largest lead in any poll conducted of the race, including those by groups backing him.

This is the latest — and biggest — bad sign for the six-term incumbent: The poll is considered the most accurate in the state. Lugar already has seen a major outside group pull funding from his campaign, another sign that even allies of Lugar don’t think he can be saved at this point.

It would appear that Indiana voters have had enough of Lugar and his free spending, Obama supporting ways and are ready to send him home. Although he technically doesn’t have a home in Indiana to go to.

This post was written by Bob Shannon

The  performances  of  the  Republican  U.S. Senate  Candidates   was  widely  reported  without  much  news  being  made,  the  candidates  stuck  very  close  to  their  platforms.  E. W  Jackson  was  to  have  scored  some  points  with  his  impassioned  and  fiery  delivery. Outside  that  one  note  it  was  not  far  off  from  what  was  expected. To  the  credit  of  all  four  of  the  Republican  candidates  the  major  issues  facing  the  U.S.  and  equally  important  their  proposed  remedies   were  the  focus  of  the  discussions.

Contrast  that  with  the  same  days  news  of  former  Governor  and  Democratic  Senate  candidate  Tim  Kaine  and  the  reports  of  how  he  spent  his  day. First  a  meeting  on  Social  Security  &  Medicare  in  Roanoke,  then  on  to Richmond  to  hold  a  meeting  on  Women’s  Issues.  With  the  “game  on”  for  the  fall  elections  it  is  abundantly  clear  just  what  strategy  the  Democrats  have  in  store  as  their  main  campaign  theme.  Divide  and  conquer  is  the  only  hope  they  have  of  retaining  the  White  House  and  clinging  to  a  narrow  majority  margin  in  the  U.S.  Senate.

Scare  the  seniors  with  stories  on  how  Republicans   will  destroy  the  social  safety  net  and  horrify  women  on  how  the  Republicans  have  a  secret  plan  to  drag  women  back  to  the  turn  of  the  19 th  Century.  Major  issues  such  as  energy  policy,  or the  lack  thereof,  and  entitlement  reform  are  clearly  not  on  their  radar  screen.  Certainly  they  can’t  run  on  the  dismal  record  of  the  last  3 ½  years,  which  leaves  them  with  the  only  tried  and  true  option  that  they  sadly  have  left.

The  Democratic  party  today  is  comprised  of  a  handful  of  well  defined  factions,  identity  politics  all  the  way.  They  refuse  to  address  in  any  meaningful  way  the  real  problems  that  the  nation  faces  starting  with  the  fiscal  insolvency . They  have  only  one  card  left  to  play,  scare  various  identity  groups  and  hope  to  form  just  enough  of  a  coalition  to  guide  themselves  to  election  victory.  “ Pandering  to  fear”  should  be  their  bumper  sticker  ,  it  is  all  they  philosophically  know.

Informed  citizens  can’t   be  that  easily  duped.  The  growing  unease  and  recognition  the  Nation  is  on  the  wrong  path  is  showing  up  in  the  polls  as  a  driving  factor  in  how  people  will  vote.  Republican  candidates  need  to  take  this  grand  lie  strategy  head  on  and  patiently  explain  to  the  very  voters  the  Democrats  are  trying  to  scare  that  left  unchecked  these  programs  will  collapse,  and  soon  if  they  are  not  reformed.  The  phony  women’s  rights  war  is  even  easier.  If  it  comes  up  in  a  debate  just  tell  the  truth,  a  woman  graduating  from  Georgetown  Law  is  expected  to  earn  on  average  $160,000 her  first  year.  She  can  afford  her  own  contraception  without  asking  taxpayers  to  pay  for  it.   God  forbid  she  elect  to  stay  home.

Bob  Shannon

One of the most unsettling bits of news out of Washington DC lately concerns House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and his support for Indiana Senator Dick Lugar.

Normally, we wouldn’t get too concerned over Cantor or any Republican supporting a fellow Republican incumbent.  It is understandable that the decision to support Lugar is not popular to the more Conservative set, but he is a Republican and if Cantor believes he is more of an asset to him, then it is a logical decision for Eric Cantor, albeit

And in the interest of full disclosure, Virginia Right! has endorsed Lugar’s opponent, Richard Mourdock. But that is not important here. (Also, while we are on the subject of full disclosure, Virginia Right! is based in Eric Cantor’s 7th Congressional District. And that is somewhat important here.)

While Cantor does have a primary challenger for the Republican nomination this year, losing his seat in the primary or the general election is considered by most to be highly unlikely.

So, personally, Cantor need not worry about losing his seat, it is safe.

But the dynamics in Virginia this year are unlike any other. The threat from the Progressives is substantial. Defeating these Democrats is the highest priority if the country is to survive.

We will need all hands on deck to defeat Barack Obama and Tim Kaine. Both of these races are dead heats according to the polls. And it is hard to argue with the fact that these are close races, or that Barack Obama will pull out all the stops to elect Tim Kaine who would be an Obama rubber stamp.

But on the ground in Virginia, a number of TEA Party groups stand ready to pitch in and make calls and knock on doors to help persuade voters to vote out Obama and prevent Tim Kaine from becoming Virginia’s Junior Senator.

And despite the mainstream media’s claim that the TEA Party has taken over the Republican Party, which is not even close to the truth, both camps realize that they have a mutual enemy in 2012 – the Progressives. And only by working together can Virginia and the country begin to recover from the loss of liberty and federal power grab by the Obama Administration.

But the TEA Party and Republicans have, in many areas of Virginia, formed a tenuous and fragile alliance for 2012. Without this alliance, Obama and Kaine will most likely win.

Whether deserved or not, Cantor’s recent actions to support candidates like Lugar, Adam Kinzinger in Illinois and Richard Hudson in North Carolina have been perceived by the TEA Party as an effort to keep the more conservative candidates out of government and a direct affront to the TEA Party.

But the thing that TEA Party groups are finding most egregious was a mailing from Cantor’s Super PAC Young Guns that encouraged Democrats to vote for Lugar in the Republican Primary.

According to Politico:

A lit piece that the YG Network dropped focuses, as they’d said it would, on energy policy – but it is targeted to non-Republicans, as it reminds voters that Indiana’s GOP primary is an open one in which Democrats and independents can vote.

“Indiana does not have party registration,” the mail piece says over a picture of a smiling child giving a thumbs-up sign. “You simply need to show up at your polling location on May 8, 2012 to vote for Senator Dick Lugar in the Republican Primary.”

In case anyone didn’t get the point, the piece adds, “You can vote in the May 8th Republican Primary election! The May 8th Election is open to all voters.”

Back home in Virginia, that is not playing well. The Republican Party of Virginia is quite fond of using a “loyalty oath” to prevent crossover votes by Democrats in primary elections. Yet we have Cantor’s PAC pushing Democrats to invade the Republican primary and support Lugar in Indiana.

That has enraged a number of TEA Party members who are now telling me that they are reconsidering knocking on doors and manning Republican phone banks to aid Mitt Romney and presumptive Senate candidate George Allen to a Virginia victory in November.

There may well be few, if any, repercussions to Cantor’s actions in his own reelection bid, but Virginia will need every vote they can muster to keep Tim Kaine and Barack Obama from power. Alienating a large group of grassroots activists who stand ready to help, even if some feel the necessity to hold their nose while doing so, is not particularly helpful, especially in the 2012 election.

And it is hard to imagine that many Virginia Republicans would be willing to accept the election of Dick Lugar if it costs Republicans the Virginia Senate seat. Or worse, the presidency.

On the surface, Cantor’s support of Dick Lugar may seem inconsequential to the elections in Virginia, but there are substantial consequences.

If Tim Kaine and Barack Obama are to be defeated in Virginia, Republicans will need all the help they can get. Independents are important, but the TEA Party and more Libertarian minded voters are the key to victory for Republicans.

The Young Guns are shooting George Allen and Mitt Romney in the foot in Virginia.

ROANOKE, VA – Republican Candidate for US Senate Bishop E.W. Jackson won the first of three debates that the Republican Party of Virginia has planned between now and the Republican Primary on June 12, 2012.

Jackson’s enthusiasm and charisma was in full display as this man of humble beginnings has gone from a foster child to candidate for the United States Senate.

The other candidates, George Allen, Bob Marshall and Jamie Radtke all did well, but we are unable to pick a second place winner from the rest of the field. So we will call it a three way tie for second.

For those not familiar with the candidates, or all of the candidates, we will take a look at the basic issues each presented as the strong suit of their platform and critique the performance of each candidate. After speaking with and listening to all of the candidates on many occasions over the last few years, we will try to present an unbiased review of the four remaining candidates performance at yesterday’s debate and the main points of their individual platforms.

The four candidates have a great deal more in common than they do differences. All are Conservative, passionate about fixing America’s problems and any one of these candidates are far more qualified than the Democratic opponent Tim Kaine who is a puppet at the bidding of Barack Obama.

(In alphabetical order.)

George Allen

Platform – The basic tenets of George Allen’s platform is perhaps the most unique of the group. Allen has made the main foundation of his platform Energy. Specifically, low cost, abundant American Energy. And this includes oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear as well as the newer, less mature “green” energies and emerging renewable energy technologies. And specifically, Virginia’s abundant wealth of cheap energy such as coal and off shore petroleum, which the Obama Administration has failed to take advantage of, and worse, has essentially shut down.

Allen’s platform realizes that abundant, low cost clean energy is the basic foundation of jobs and economic growth. And as a Virginia US Senator, Allen plans to push the natural resources of Virginia as well as the rest of the nation in the quest for energy independence. With the Obama Administration insisting on technologies that drive up the cost of energy already killing jobs, many of our other problems, like the debt, are directly related to the loss of jobs as government has to spend more and more for basic American welfare needs and collects less and less in taxes with the high rate of unemployment.

Allen believes that with full development of the energy resources we have that the debt and other problems facing the country will be dramatically different with the jobs that will come from American Energy.

Debate Performance – George Allen is the most well known of the candidates having served in the Virginia Legislature, as Governor of the Commonwealth and as US Senator. Over the years, Allen has been a strong Conservative and he has compiled a history that is well known to most Virginians. Allen came off in the debate as he always does. He is the person you are comfortable sitting down with and discussing the problems facing the world. Allen presented his argument for energy as the likable neighbor who has been a friend for many years. His delivery is heavy on common sense and focused on the future and the role energy must play if America is to recover. Allen had the greatest focus on defeating Tim Kain in yesterday’s debate and it was clear his main focus was on two things. Fixing America and defeating Kaine. His answers to most questions were based both on what he has done in the past and what he plans to do in the future as a Senator. His strong suit is his experience and his knowledge of the evolution of America’s problems. And knowing how we arrived in the mess we find ourselves is an important consideration in how to fix the problems.

Negative Remarks – Allen had nothing negative to say about any of the other Candidates (unless you count Tim Kaine). He was the recipient of several “barbs” from candidate Jamie Radtke and only used his allotted time to respond to one of the negative remarks which was about his 4 votes to raise the debt ceiling. He defended the votes as necessary to properly equip the troops involved in the wars overseas and pointed out that the votes were for increases of a far smaller scale than what has occurred under the current Administration.

Summary – Allen did not “knock the ball out of the park” on any question, gave full answers and did not “dodge” or fail to answer any of the questions. His performance was exactly as most expected: steady and well considered. He was very comfortable with the venue and did nothing to hurt his standing as the front runner and would not have hurt his chances among the undecided in the room, but probably did not do much to persuade undecided to move his way. In all, a good, solid performance in which he communicated his platform well.

Bishop E.W. Jackson

Platform – E.W. Jackson’s platform as he explained it yesterday is fully TEA Party compatible. Jackson is a strong advocate of smaller government and less federal intervention in our lives. He is an opponent of tax increases and favors major spending cuts including eliminating several departments including the EPA and the Department of Education and others. Smaller government, lower taxes and a strict adherence to the Constitution. He supports Social Security reform and was the only candidate to offer models by Chile and other places as potential remedies to our broken system.

Debate Performance – As previously stated, Jackson won the debate with his fiery charisma and a rock solid performance. Of the four candidates, Jackson is the only one that word “charisma” even springs to mind. His passion for America is infectious and he never hesitates or searches for words. His speeches (and I have seen many) are well received in both TEA Party circles as well as Republican groups. Instantly likable and quickly relates to the audience. He begins by letting the group know that he is not an African-American, he is an American. Jackson is the least experienced of the group in politics, but presents a strong case and is impossible to scratch off of the list. He is no “novelty” as a writer for the Times Dispatch described him. He leaves no doubt that he would be a force to contend with if elected.

Negative Remarks – Unless you count Obama, Jackson did not attack any of the other candidates and none attacked him.

Summary – Jackson answered every question fully and did not dodge any. By far the most consistently positive of the candidates. Stayed on message and clearly articulated his position on every question. Used humor, fire and knowledge to make his case. For the undecided in the room, Jackson probably picked up the most voters who were looking for a good, solid candidate to support.

Bob Marshall

Platform – Bob Marshall’s platform is clearly the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. If it is not in the Constitution, Marshall does not support the Federal Government doing it – whatever “it” is. And Marshall is also running on his record as a Virginia Delegate and there is no argument or ambiguity about his consistent adherence to the Constitution and limited government. Marshall will not go along with the status quo  and walk the line for anyone, his party or not, if he believes something is unconstitutional in the strictest sense. And his record proves it.

Debate Performance – If you have never heard Bob Marshall speak, you really need to at some point. At first blush, you will probably think him a bit “off the wall” and some even say “out there” but as you listen, you will find that Bob Marshall has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things government. The Constitution is one of his strong suits, but he has a depth of understanding of Parliamentarian Procedures and laws. He is like a wizard that can pull a long forgotten rule or law out of his hat in an instant. He has an amazing memory for these things and will (and has) confounded friend and foe with this knowledge. Marshall used examples of bills he has written and pushed through as his strongest argument for why voters should send him to Washington. He tossed in a few jokes like “I thought the TSA was a jobs program for out of work urologists” and a few others. He came off as knowledgeable and likable. And perhaps the most eccentric of the bunch, but in a good way.

Negative Remarks – Marshall struck a doubtful chord about Jamie Radtke’s “My 2 Cents” plan to balance the Federal Budget and jokingly poked George Allen saying “this may be the first time I have ever been to the left of George Allen” referencing his position on the platform and leaving open the political meaning. Not really negative in a “bad” way.

Summary – Bob Marshall is what Ron Paul would be if Paul were an Evangelical. Marshall is both fiscally and socially conservative. He advocates impeaching any Federal Judge that upholds same sex marriage. Marshall is a deeply religious man with a profound love for the Constitution. His social stance would probably turn off Libertarians, but Marshall is very much in line with the Libertarian line of thought in all things except the social issues. His lone jab at Radtke is a tell that he sees her supporters as most likely to move to him, if they were to move at all. And to be sure, his entry into the race has seen some Radtke supporters considering Marshall’s experience as a plus as the two have nearly identical positions on the Constitution, however Radtke is less “enthusiastic” on the social issues. (But she is definitely a social conservative.) Marshall may have made a case to undecided voters who had not heard him speak and who may have been leaning to Radtke. However, Jackson probably come out on top with the “leaning” undecided.

Jamie Radtke

Platform – Having heard Jamie Radtke speak dozens of times going back to her days leading the Richmond TEA Party, she has not wavered or changed a thing. She is truly consistent in her message that federal spending and the debt are the most pressing issues facing America today. As previously mentioned, she is a Social Conservative but sees the debt as the most imminent threat to the country. Cutting spending and balancing the budget are her top platform priorities. Her “My 2 Cents” economic plan will balance the budget in 5 years.

Debate Performance – Radtke is a good public speaker. She has a focused and clear message about government spending and articulated that well. She is passionate about this and left no doubt in the minds of those in attendance. She is a Mom and connected with parents in the crowd who share her concern for their children’s future. Her comments about the Federal Government using fear of losing Social Security year after year as a reason to move to a “self-directed” system for younger people was well received by both the young as well as the more “seasoned” attendees. She predicted that the government run student loan program would fail and that the free market was a better option. She was the only candidate to mention the importance of the second amendment, although there was no question specifically asking about gun rights. She emphasized that she came from a military family growing up and the senate needs the kind of discipline that was instilled in her.

Negative Remarks – Radtke took the opportunity to directly attack George Allen’s record in her responses to 3 of the 7 questions asked in the debate. None of the other candidates went negative with the exception of Bob Marshall’s doubts about Radtke’s “My 2 Cents” plan.

Summary – As always, Jamie Radtke clearly made her case as being focused on spending and debt in the country. She knows what she is talking about and gave numerous examples of government limiting our liberty from what we feed our kids to outlawing Bible study in our own homes. While the other candidates used a bit of humor in their answers, Radtke stayed completely focused and, perhaps “stiff” and not as personable as the other candidates. On the many occasions that I have heard her speak, she usually tosses in a humorous and lighthearted jab at Obama or someone else to help connect with the audience. If this is the first time someone heard Radtke speak, they might have come away with the perception that she was not as “at ease” with the group and somewhat humorless, which is a complete misconception. And while some people detest negative campaigning, it clearly works. And Radtke sees Allen as the obstacle to her nomination and is using the attacks to draw a contrast with her fiscally conservative position and some of his past votes. This may have hurt her a bit among the undecided in the group, but may serve to hold on to her supporters and keep them from drifting to Marshall or Jackson.

Conclusion

The Republican Party of Virginia did a good job of putting on this debate, which was not actually a debate, but a good side by side comparison of the four candidates answering the same questions. The winner was E.W. Jackson who may have picked up a few undecided voters here with a strong, charismatic performance. There were no losers and Virginia should be proud that we have four strong conservative candidates running against an Obama puppet Tim Kaine. I believe that this format that RPV and the candidates agreed upon gave primary voters a good opportunity to see the differences (and similarities) in the candidates without giving the Democrats any ammunition that they can use against the eventual Republican nominee. There are arguments that this format benefits one candidate or another, but the fact is, the format will benefit the eventual Republican candidate and the primary voters without helping the other side. Kudos to Pat Mullins and all four of the candidates for agreeing to this.

Each candidate offers a varying amount of political experience. So voters looking for strong experience and knowledge will find George Allen and Bob Marshall well positioned to their taste. And for those looking for a non politician to send to Washington, Jamie Radtke and E.W. Jackson fill the bill quite nicely.

All see Obama and his policies as a true threat to the nation and all have plans and ideas to return America to a great and prosperous nation.

Some states have had a problem finding a good candidate to run against Senate Democrats up for reelection or retiring. Virginia has a problem of picking between four outstanding individuals, all well suited for the Office of US Senator.

The next debate is May 11, 2012 in Virginia Beach and I look forward to covering that one and offering my thoughts and opinions afterwards.

If you would like more information on any of the candidates, please visit their campaign websites:

George Allen

E.W. Jackson

Bob Marshall

Jamie Radtke

I put together a short video to show what an idiot Tim Kaine thinks voters are. These Big Oil Subsidies Kaine and his fellow Democrats are talking about is just the latest attempt to end gasoline based vehicles by driving up the price to the point people can’t afford to drive. And then, they hope, a flaming vehicle like the Chevy Volt or some other monstrously expensive government built vehicle will finally be priced to compete with the internal combustion engine.

The only problem is that we won’t be able to afford the electricity to plug these things in, either.

How proud Barack Obama and his local Clone Timmy Kaine must feel this week!

First, the Supreme Court stands ready to abort his “Crowning Achievement” Obamacare and the Democrats are circling the spin wagons to declare that, somehow, a victory. Tim Kaine, as head Cheer-girl for the ObamaCare disaster has been trying to change the subject of late demanding tax hikes on oil companies so the price of gas will climb even higher.

Last night, the US House brought up Obama’s proposed budget that adds more crushing debt even faster than the President has already piled up the trillions!

And not a single Democrat voted in favor of it.

It is ironic that the first truly bi-partisan effort of the US House of Representatives was a complete repudiation of Barack Obama’s massive spending bill.

It went down 414 – 0.

Ironically, Obama’s BFF in Virginia Timmy Kaine knows exactly how that feels. He had a similar vote cast on his final budget before leaving office as the Republicans and Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly found unity of purpose in killing the Kaine budget.

It speaks volumes about these far left Liberals when even their own party does not like their ideas.

But, hey. Those job killers stick together. Thick as thieves, they are!

This is about as sick as it gets.

The Democratic Party in Florida has been flying an American flag that has been altered to show the image of Barack Obama instead of the 50 stars.

This was not a private individual!

It was a Democratic Committee in the Sunshine State.

What say you, Timmy Kaine? As former Chairman of the Democrats, one of your “units” has been  displaying this flag. And as Obama’s number one Cheerleader, do you find this appropriate?

You Dems are a piece of work.

Honestly, the last time I saw such a budget disaster, our last Democratic Governor Tim Kaine was behind it. Governor McDonnell and the Republicans had such a royal mess to clean up that we all knew it would not be easy.

In fact, if you recall, the last budget Tim Kaine tossed out to the General Assembly was so bad, raised so many taxes and still fell short of closing the budget gap that not a single Democrat voted for it!

And it looks like the budget demands from Donald McEachin and the far left Progressives in the Virginia Senate have found Timmy’s old, dusty budget and resurrected it!

Here we are, stuck in the Obama Recession and the Senate Democrats want to party! To the tune of $489.1 million in new expenditures and $128.4 million in new TAXES.

Here comes the Timmy Kaine part -math was apparently not Timmy’s best subject – the budget is $360.7 million in the hole!

We are already paying $40 more per tank of gas since Timmy Kaine’s buddy Barack took over and shut down oil production and convinced the oil producers that he is a weakling by apologizing!

Timmy Kaine and Donald McEachin sure do have a lot in common when it comes to raising taxes and busting budgets!

There are two kinds of polls.

Those intended to “take the pulse” and get an accurate picture, and those skewed to attempt to influence thoughts and opinions.

Political candidates hire pollsters to get an accurate picture of how they are doing, where they are doing well, and where they need improvement.

These are the important ones.

Others run polls and intentionally skew the results to give the perception that their side is winning.

A recent NBC News-Marist Poll is a case study for polls trying to change the public perception that one candidate is falling behind.

A few days ago, Roanoke College came out with a poll showing George Allen rising to an 8 point advantage over Tim Kaine.

I am skeptical of all polls until I look at the numbers behind them. I am not interested in knowing the results of a poll that is not truly reflective the voters. I want the truth.

The Roanoke College poll was pretty well balanced. I like polls to have over 1,000 as a sample size, but if not, the ratios must be tightly controlled. Roanoke College passed my smell test. Based on the sample, I agree that Allen looks to have an 8 point lead, perhaps a bit less, but at least 5 points.

So when I saw a poll this weekend showing Tim Kaine had jumped to a 10 point lead, either something horrible had happened with the Allen that I had missed, or Kaine was Sainted.

Well, neither had happened. So I looked at the numbers behind the Marist Poll.

The quick answer came in the number of Democrats vs. the number of Republicans sampled.

In the Roanoke College poll, the mix of Republicans (30%), Democrats (28%) and Independents (31%) was pretty good. Virginia is pretty evenly split these days with the past couple of elections leaning a bit more to the Republican side.

And how evenly did the Marist Poll split the leanings? Well, not good at all. Those identifying as either a Democrat or leaning Democrat totaled 50%, Republican 36% and Independent just 14%.

So what gives with that? I can promise you that if this was a representative sample the Virginia Senate would not be in a 20-20 tie!

But even skewed polls tell us something.

Each candidate will get the majority of votes from their own party as well as a percentage of the Independents.

With 50% Democrats sampled in the poll, you would expect that Kaine would get most of the Democrats and some of the Independents. You would also expect the same from Allen. And if we consider the Democrats who will vote for Allen a wash with the Republicans who will vote for Kaine, we would expect Kaine to get 50% plus a few Indy’s and Allen to get 36% plus a few Indy’s.

So how did our Senate Candidates do?

Allen did pretty much as you could predict. 39%. All of the Republicans and some of the Indy’s.

And Kaine? He only got 48% which indicates that he does not even get all of the Democrats and none of the Indy’s.

So if this poll were properly weighted to reflect the actual political landscape of Virginia, Allen would have at least a 6 point lead over Kaine.

NBC News releasing such a skewed poll is no surprise. The fact that Marist would release such a skewed poll and risk damage to their reputation as a polling firm either means they are also in the Democrat’s tank or NBC paid them a lot of money for this.

Marist Polls normally doesn’t play politics this much.

They should really be ashamed of conducting such a biased poll and not at least attempting to weight the poll to reflect reality.

I have saved this poll to my archives. I will be watching Marist Polls more closely in the future.

And if they continue this pattern of skewed results, I might suggest a slight name change.

MarXist Polls sounds appropriate.

Roanoke College has released a new poll of Virginians that shows the presumptive Republican Candidate for US Senate George Allen increasing his lead over Democrat Tim Kaine 45% to 37%.

As always, I look at the numbers behind the polls to see if they pass my “believability” test, or if the results are skewed and need to be “normalized”.

This poll passes with only 1 bit of criticism, sample size.

I am not a fan of polls involving less than 1,000 respondents and this poll interviewed only 607. But to the credit of the Roanoke College, they did a few things that I believe more than make up for a smaller sample size.

One was including cell phones in the sample. 24% of those called were on cells. And they also rotated the order of the candidate names.

And the mix of Republicans (30%), Democrats (28%) and Independents (31%) was pretty good.

My conclusion is that Virginians are beginning to move away from Kaine and towards Allen. In a September 2011 poll, Allen led Kaine 42% to 39% which shows movement away from Kaine and towards Allen.

Interestingly, as voters move towards Allen compared to the Roanoke College September poll, they are moving towards Obama who had 36% compared to Romney’s 44% in September and now stands at 42% to Romney’s 43%.

That runs counter to the argument that if Obama does well in Virginia, Kaine will do well.

This poll indicates that Virginian’s prefer Allen to Kaine – even if more prefer Obama to Romney.

That is really bad news for Tim Kaine who is hoping for strong support for Obama to help him in November.

An interesting bit of insight from Defeat Tim Kaine:

Tim Kaine is officially boring officially according to Google Insights.  The phrase Tim Kaine typically carries zero interest level. Here is a chart over the last 30 days:  Google Interest for Tim Kaine Last 30 Days  (You have to be signed into your Google account to see numbers with the graph)

The bump from Feb 9-15 probably resulted from Kaine trying to distance himself from the Obamacare contraception controversy, for a day. Perhaps if Kaine called for the repeal of Obamacare, then his organic search would really take off.

I thought this was pretty funny. Read the rest here.

My own research indicates a much higher level of interest for Tim Kaine’s dancing eyebrow than his political policies, however. Google “Tim Kaine Eyebrow” and see for yourself.

Republican Virginia Delegate Bob Marshall has decided to throw his hat into the US Senate primary race to see which Republican will face off against Obama’s favorite son Tim Kaine in November.

If you don’t know the name Bob Marshall, you probably don’t live in Virginia. Delegate Marshall has been fighting the good fight for decades and introduced legislation that has caused much gnashing of teeth among those on the left. Taking on Obamacare Mandates, advocating Pro-life issues and fighting for State’s Rights has been a mainstay of Marshall’s legislative career.

But now that Marshall has decided to run in an already crowded Republican Primary that features no less than former Virginia Governor and US Senator George Allen as the leading contender as well as a host of lesser known wannabees: Jamie Radtke, E.W. Jackson and David McCormick, exactly what will his candidacy do the rest of the field?

Given that Marshall is getting in late and is still bogged down in Legislative Mode which severely restricts what he do during the General Assembly session, can he even be a factor? And then there is the well known signature hurdle. All of the candidates have been busy collecting the required 10,000 signatures, and as we have seen in the presidential primary, this is not a simple task and will be a struggle for Marshall, as well as the wannabees.

And the finance issue is a big question mark.

Marshall has not yet been required to file a finance report with the Federal Election Commission as he is just entering the race, but the Virginia Public Access Project lists Marshall with $44, 379 cash on hand. Marshall can undoubtedly raise money in a hurry, but once the General Assembly session ends, he will have a lot of ground to catch up.

The table below shows that George Allen has raised over $4.5 million and had over $2 million cash on hand and zero campaign debt.

The other three Republicans, Radtke, McCormick and Jackson have raised $449,553, $306,245 and $99,203 respectively. And all three have campaign debt, with Radtke and McCormick falling below a zero balance and Jackson at just over $21K after debts.

And when you think about it, it is a bit ironic that candidates with campaign debt and a below zero balance are attacking Allen on fiscal issues where he has maintained no debt at all.

If you can’t keep your own fiscal house in order … Just saying.

(If this table does not translate well in your browser, this link should look better.)

You will notice that Democrat Tim Kaine has raised $5.2 million and has over $3.3 million on hand (and no debt).

George Allen is financially closest to Kaine in funds, but he has a bit to make up to match and counter the barrage of negative ads sure to come when Kaine and Obama swing into full campaign mode.

So, where will the primary votes for Bob Marshall come from?

George Allen has a strong, solid base of support. His time in politics in Virginia has earned him a statewide and loyal base. While there will undoubtedly be some erosion of primary voters from Allen to Marshall, most of those who would support a Bob Marshall for Senate bid would necessarily come from the other three candidates.

In looking at a possible path to a primary victory for anyone besides Allen, it is obvious that in order to be successful, such a candidate would have to attract the votes of every Republican that is not part of the Allen base. And as I have previously concluded that there is simply not sufficient interest among the “not Allen” voters to produce a path to victory.

In speaking with former Senate candidate Tim Donner after his decision to leave the race, he came to the same conclusion. There simply are not enough primary voters to overcome Allen’s base.

Bob Marshall may be the one candidate that, had he entered the contest earlier, could have successfully managed to winnow the field to just he and Allen, but at this late date, that seems unlikely (but not impossible).

But even in a head to head Primary, Allen’s base would still be more than Marshall could overcome.

And current polls show the only path to victory in the General Election against Kaine is for George Allen.

A new poll by Christopher Newport University shows this.

In a head to head match-up, Allen leads Kain 42% to 40%.

In a Marshall vs. Kaine match-up, Kaine wins 39% to 28%.

And if Radtke faces Kaine, Kaine wins 40% to 26%.

What these statistics show is that Allen and Kaine have an equally strong base. They also shows that while few voters are willing to cross party lines to vote for the “other” side no matter the candidate, the strongest support on the Republican side is for Allen. Marshall and Radtke candidacies move voters from the Repulican column to the undecided column. In the Allen – Kaine match-up, only 16% are undecided, but that number jumps to 30% with Radtke or Marshall as the Republican nominee.

The strong points Conservative voters see in Marshall are also his weakest points against Kaine. When Social issues become major topics in statewide campaigns, the left is able to motivate their base to fight “far right wing” ideology. They are able to whip up liberals into a frenzy on immigration, abortion, religion and other issues. And Bob Marshall has made his name with these issues. And while I find myself personally in agreement with Marshall on these issues, I fear that they will be a lightning rod in November should he be the nominee.

Further, I love Bob Marshall and the job he does in the Virginia General Assembly. I feel he is the right man in the right job as a Delegate. And I do not see Bob Marshall as being nearly the Rock Star he is in Richmond should he become a US Senator. Who would fill the void in Richmond?

And it seems that the CNU poll shows most Virginian’s feel the same. I’d really hate to lose Bob Marshall in the Virginia General Assembly.

So, the “Marshall Effect” on the US Senate race, as I see it, is minimal. At best, he will move into a distant second place, and George Allen still wins the Republican Primary. The rest of the field will find their donations continue to dry up, and perhaps be shifted to Marshall.

George Allen continues as the only possible path to a Republican gain in the US Senate. And it promises to be a tight race between Allen and Kaine.

Tim Kaine holds the seat for the Democrats with any other candidate.

US Senate Candidate George Allen just released a new video showing Tim Kaine’s unrelenting servitude to Barack Obama’s failed economic plan. But then, that’s Kaine-sian Economics at work. The left’s rich friends with ties to failed “green” energy schemes like Solyndra keep getting richer on taxpayer funded handouts. And Timmy Kaine remains the top cheerleader for failure.

From Governor Allen:

Henrico, VA – On the eve of the third anniversary of the passage of the failed $800 billion stimulus, the George Allen for U.S. Senate Campaign today released its newest web video entitled, “I’m Doing What The President Wants Me To Do,” highlighting Tim Kaine’s loyal, unabashed support for President Obama and his agenda, which has led to an unprecedented spending binge in Washington over the last three years.

Chairman Kaine campaigned across the nation claiming the $800 billion failed stimulus would “help jump-start the economy” as well as “create or save over 3 million jobs.”   Instead, Americans have endured 36 straight months of unemployment over 8%, Washington is now borrowing $48,000 a second, and we have seen the first ever downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

“’I'm doing what the President wants me to do,’ those are Tim Kaine’s words, not mine.  On every major issue over the past several years, Chairman Kaine has been in lockstep with President Obama and out of step with Virginia families and small business owners,” said Dan Allen, Allen campaign senior advisor.  “And now he’s running to be President Obama’s Senator, not Virginia’s.”

Transcript:

TIM KAINE: Hello everyone, I’m Tim Kaine.

PRES. OBAMA: Former Governor of Virginia and one of my greatest friends.

TIM KAINE: I’m an unabashed supporter of the President.

SUPER: President Obama’s Senator. Tim Kaine.  Unabashed support for the $800 billion failed stimulus.

TIM KAINE: … a stimulus plan that will help jumpstart the economy …

SUPER:  JUMPSTART

PRES. OBAMA: … a major milestone on our road to recovery.

SUPER: MAJOR MILESTONE

SUPER: 36 straight months. Unemployment over 8%.

TIM KAINE: We’ll create or save more than 3 million jobs.

PRES. OBAMA: It will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years.

SUPER: Factcheck.org [MASTHEAD]: “Stimulus Has FAILED To Live Up To Initial Expectations”

TIM KAINE: I’m doing what the President wants me to do.

SUPER:  “I’m doing what the President wants me to do”

SUPER:  We know, Tim.  But what about us?

So, what is Timmy Boy Kaine up to these days?

Well, after leaving his job as Virginia’s Governor and abandoning the state with largest budget shortfall in history, costing the Democrats any hope of winning much of anything in Virginia for a long while, Timmy was “promoted” to the position of Chairman of the Democratic Party where he promptly presided over a historic defeat in the US House of Representatives and helped Republicans draw closer in the Senate to regaining control.

So Tim decided to put his political hat back on in the hope that Virginians had forgotten the ruinous aftermath of what we like to call Tim Kaine-sian Economics. That is where you take a perfectly good economy, blow wads of money on useless programs and end up in such dire financial straits that Virginia didn’t have a pot to pee in. (Literally! He had to close the State’s rest areas.)

So, with Timmy stepping down, the Democrats thought long and hard on who would be able to step up to the level of Tim Kaine’s achievements and the name Debbie Wasserman-Schultz sprang to mind. (Please – I am not joking!)

So, with the equally talented Wasserman-Schultz hoping to carry on as the latest puppet for the Food Stamp President Obama, Timmy Kaine was free to run for the Senate where he could finally talk in big money deficit terms. No longer stuck in a dead end job managing to spend only a billion or so more than Virginia took in, Kaine is ready to play the Trillion Dollar Loser game with his BFF Barack in the Major Leagues inside the Washington beltway as a US Senator.

Of course, as one can expect, all the Progressive lefties lined up to pay tribute to what they hope will be the Senator who finally teaches the world what comes after a Trillion.

Unions, of course, are all in.

Now, we already followed Tim Kaine’s donations from the arch enemy Bain Capital, Mitt Romney’s former employer. And it is not really a shock to see the League of Conservation Voters in the donation column for Kaine. While pretending to be fair and balanced, the LCV is a far left extremist group that is out to push the Democratic agenda. They are really big on politicians who vote for things like giving millions and millions of Taxpayer dollars – actually, they won’t technically be Taxpayer Dollars until we pay China back for the loans, to pillars of clean energy achievement like the bankrupt solar energy company Solyndra.

So, in digging through Timmy’s Federal Election Commission filings, I came across some interesting tidbits.

The first shows a couple of strange disbursements:

Feel free to click on the image to see one large enough to read. But what we see is that Timmy paid the League of Conservation Voters $218.46 on 12/18/2011 for “Conference Call Expenses”. The second item on this page shows $140.67 going to the LCV for “Contribution Processing Fee” on 12/31/2011.

A second item that caught my eye was the donation on 12/31/2011 to the Kaine Campaign from the LCV for $2500 as you can see below (click to enlarge):

Not a lot of money, but when you combine these three items with the fact that the LCV just so happened to name the presumed Republican nominee George Allen to their “Dirty Dozen” list, well, it’s enough to make even Tim Kaine raise an eyebrow.

I can imagine how that conference call went. I could just envision Kaine dialing into the conference bridge and punching in the code number the LCV sent him to join – who knows how many left wingers – in a strategy planning session.

LCV – “Hey, Tim. We got a great idea. Hows about we donate a bit of money to you and pretend that you are a wonderful green energy advocate and then we name George Allen to our “Dirty Dozen” list?”

Timmy – “I like that idea. Who else will be on the “Dirty Dozen” list?”

LCV – “Umm. Well, nobody. Just Allen.”

Timmy – “Doesn’t a dozen mean twelve, not one?”

LCV – “Well, Obama seems to spend about twelve dollars for every one he takes in, so one is the new dozen.”

Timmy – “Well, that is Kaine-sian economics. I like it! In fact, I like it so much that I’m gonna pick up the tab for this call. And if it costs you anything to make that donation to me, I’ll reimburse that as well.”

LCV – “Yea. Just wait until voters see Allen’s name on the “Dirty Dozen” list. That will make them think twice about supporting someone who pushes energy from Nuclear Power, Virginia Coal and Natural Gas and that nasty petroleum. Voters will know that Allen was not part of the green revolution that has done so much for Virginia and the rest of the country.”

Timmy – “Well, I hope that works. But I am a bit confused. Exactly what has all that money invested in green energy done?”

LCV – “Well, Solar Energy has a lot of promise. The tax money invested will pay off with green jobs and clean energy! It’s gonna be swell!”

Timmy – “You mean solar companies like Solyndra? They went belly up.”

LCV – “I see your point. But the taxpayer investments in the Auto Industry pumped billions into a failing company and bailed them out so that they can produce cars like the Chevy Volt that get 60 miles per gallon!”

Timmy – “Yea. But they catch on FIRE!”

LCV – “I see your point. So, do you not want to do this? It looks like it will only bring attention to the fact that George Allen supported an energy policy that actually produced energy. Not failure. The voters might realize what idiots we are to support these unproven technologies. This might actually make Tim Kaine look pretty bad.”

Timmy – “Naw. Voters are stupid. They put Obama in office, right? Who cares if there is only one name on the “Dirty Dozen” list and things the LCV supports and advocates either catch on fire or go bankrupt. We will just tell them that you can heat your house with a Chevy Volt fire very economically. I say let’s run with it. Besides, it’s not like I can run on my record as Governor. Or as DNC Chairman. Or Obama’s Puppet. Does anyone else have a better ides?”

LCV – “I got nothing.”

Timmy – “Dirty Dozen it is.”

Now, I wasn’t actually on that call, but I couldn’t see it going a whole lot different from my fictitious version. What else does Tim Kaine have to offer?

But I would like to dedicate a song to Timmy in honor of his work for Obama and personal prowess with debt.

Enjoy!

Former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Willie Horton, the Massachusetts murderer and Jens Soering, a Virginia murderer share a common bond. And we may as well toss in former Massachusetts Governor and one time Democratic Presidential nominee Michael “The Tank” Dukakis for good measure.

You remember the name Willie Horton. He’s the man who was sentenced to life without parole for the horrific murder of a 17 year old boy named Joseph Fournier. Horton walked into the Massachusetts gas station where Joseph was working and demanded the money in the cash register.

Young Joseph cooperated and gave Horton the cash. Then Horton brutally stabbed the boy 19 times and dumped him in a trash can where the young man bled to death.

This incident happened on October 26, 1974.

On June 6, 1986 a Liberal Democrat named Michael Dukakis was Governor of Massachusetts. Like all Liberals, being soft on crime comes naturally. Governor Dukakis thought it would be a good thing to allow Willie Horton to live among the regular citizens once again despite receiving a sentence of life without parole. This works out to less than one year for each time Horton stabbed the young man.

Dukakis told the killer “Pack your weekender, Willie. Have a great weekend and please remember to come back on Monday. What a guy!”

Guess what?

Willie Horton laughed all the way to Maryland where almost 8 months later on April 3, 1987 he raped a local woman. Twice. After he pistol-whipped, knifed, binded, and gagged her fiancé. He then stole the car belonging to the now blinded man he had just maimed and drove off.

Fortunately, a police officer pursued and caught up to Horton and had to shoot him to bring him to justice. Horton survived and was sentenced to Horton was sentenced in Maryland to two consecutive life terms plus 85 years. The sentencing judge, Vincent J. Femia, refused to return Horton to Massachusetts, saying, “I’m not prepared to take the chance that Mr. Horton might again be furloughed or otherwise released. This man should never draw a breath of free air again.”

This torpedoed the Presidential Campaign of Michael Dukakis when the truth was exposed in ads that ran all over the nation.

But this could never happen in Virginia, right?

No. Something like this cannot happen in Virginia.

Not since 1993 when George Allen promised to end parole for violent offenders and bring “Truth in Sentencing” to Virginia where violent criminals would be forced to do nearly all of their time. And no weekend passes were allowed.

And Allen delivered.

But …

A Governor could decide to allow a prisoner go free, or be put in a situation where his freedom could be easily regained.

In 1985 a German born student at the University of Virginia named Jens Soering killed his girlfriend’s parents in Southwestern Virginia in a brutal stabbing that left the couple nearly decapitated. Soering and his girlfriend fled to England and were eventually caught. Soering confessed (3 times!) to the brutal murders. He received two consecutive life sentences, but his crime was prior to the changes implemented by Governor Allen, and Soering became eligible for parole in 2003. But there were no plans to allow this man convicted of a brutal double murder…

Until Liberal Democrat Tim Kaine became Governor.

And Kaine didn’t express his desire to set Soering free until the last day of his term as governor.

Kaine asked the Obama Justice Department to consider shipping Soering to Germany where he would likely be released in two years.

To this day, Tim Kaine has never answered the simple question. Why would you let a convicted murderer potentially walk free in two years?

Were there some unknown connections to Jens Soering’s father, a German Diplomat, at work behind the scenes?

Does Tim Kaine not care about the safety and feelings of the murdered couple’s family? At Soering’s sentencing hearing in 1990, Risque Benedict, the murdered woman’s brother read a statement: “My appeal is that in any future parole hearing, neither my niece, Elizabeth Haysom, nor Jens Soering ever should be paroled. Elizabeth Haysom has been called a pathological liar and I think she is exactly that. It is my belief that Jens Soering is a psychotic and a psychopathic killer.” (Times Dispatch)

Tim Kaine could very well have allowed a psychopathic killer to kill again with his midnight actions.

Fortunately, current Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wrote to the US Department of Justice revoking the request by Tim Kaine to transfer Soering to Germany and allow Virginia to make sure this convicted killer does not become the next Willie Horton.

Liberal Democrats like Dukakis and Kaine just seem totally incapable of keeping violent offenders safely locked up behind bars where they belong.

Virginian’s should be thankful that Governors like Allen and McDonnell come along to clean up their messes – or potential messes. It is scary to know that a 45 year old convicted killer like Soering is even eligible for parole after such a violent crime. And it is comforting to know that parole for someone like that is no longer possible.

Today marks the second anniversary of the day Kaine almost allowed a murderer to go free – or potentially free. And this is not a cause for celebration, especially for the families of the victims.

Kaine has some serious explaining to do.

Former Virginia Governor and Senator George Allen released the following statement today concerning Tim Kaine’s support of President Obama’s decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline.

Tim Kaine Still Putting the Obama Agenda Ahead of Jobs and Affordable Energy

Henrico, VA – After months of silence, yesterday Tim Kaine predictably sided with President Obama on the decision to reject the permit for the Keystone Pipeline and echoed his justification for saying no to jobs and energy at a time when Americans are facing high unemployment and rising gasoline prices.

In response to Tim Kaine’s support for President Obama’s decision, costing Americans thousands of good-paying jobs and a steady, reliable supply of affordable energy from our closest neighbor and ally, Senator Bill Carrico (R-Galax) and Delegates Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City) and Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach) issued the following statements:

“Tim Kaine has a long track record of supporting President Obama’s punishing energy policies that are driving up costs and destroying jobs,” said Senator Bill Carrico (R-Galax).  “Justifying President Obama’s decision to reject this job-creating energy project proves that he would rather defend the Administration’s failed policies than fight for the best interests of Virginia.   It’s disappointing that Tim Kaine would choose to stand with President Obama while families and businesses across the Commonwealth are burdened with high fuel costs in this struggling economy.  George Allen understands the importance of affordable energy resources to Virginia’s economy and the good-paying energy jobs they provide, and he will work as Senator to make sure we’re taking steps to improve our energy security, not undermine it with counterproductive policies and harmful regulations.”

“It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Tim Kaine is a reflex liberal who is just toeing the Obama line on energy policy,” said Delegate Terry Kilgore (R-Gate City). “Virginia and America need to be less dependent on foreign sources of oil and we should be encouraging increased production and supply from our close allies in North America.  The fact that Tim Kaine and President Obama would turn their back on American jobs at a time when our economy is in such shambles shows just how out of touch they really are.”

“Tim Kaine’s decision to side with President Obama in rejecting the Keystone Pipeline, and consequently thousands of American jobs and more affordable energy, is disappointing, but not surprising,” said Delegate Ron Villanueva (R-Virginia Beach).  “For Tim Kaine this is just the latest example in a long pattern of following President Obama’s lead, making it clear that he is running to be a Senator for President Obama, not the people of Virginia.  With unemployment stuck above 8% for months on end and high fuel prices continuing to hurt Virginia families and businesses, we need a voice in Washington that will represent Virginia values.  George Allen will fight every day to unleash our energy resources for jobs and security and that’s why we need him in the U.S. Senate.”

By putting partisan politics ahead of American jobs and energy, this is just another example of Tim Kaine running to be Senator for President Obama, while George Allen will be Senator for families and small business owners of Virginia.