Angry Fairfax County Taxpayers Denounce Proposed Budget.

Last night the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors met to discuss a proposed budget which has many taxpayers upset, or at least it should. According to the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance the proposed budget includes 40 million dollars in new and increased fees, and for many residents a $1500 tax hike.

The Taxpayers Alliance believe that a 72-cent real estate tax rate instead of the $1.05 is all that is necessary for the county to meet all basic obligations for its citizens. Sadly, with the Democrats in charge of the Board; tax, spend, promise, and fail is the strategy.

The Taxpayers Alliance points out that so far this decade spending has out paced both population growth and inflation.

Source FCTA

McAuliffe wins Union endorsement.

Well, I suppose hanging out on picket lines finally paid off for millionaire Terry McAuliffe. Today, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the largest union in the AFL-CIO, endorsed his candidacy.

I just wonder what he had to do to get their endorsement? This is an important question for Virginia voters to ask. Did millionaire McAuliffe promise to support card check? Did he promise the union bosses that he would try to repeal or at least undermine Virginia's Right to Work Law?

The endorsement will clearly help his chances at buying/winning the Democrat nomination. However, in the general election it not only won't help, it may make it easier for the Republicans to claim that millionaire McAuliffe is anti business and beholden to the special interests.

Photo by the Washington Post.

Cantor Blasts Obama's Budget

House Republican Whip, and Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor blasted the Obama administration's budget on Wednesday.

In his statement, Cantor said

"Republicans believe that the (Obama) administration's budget lacks a clear focus, avoids making the tough choices America needs, and fails to prioritize the real problems facing this economy, working families, and small businesses."

"In his first budget submission," Cantor added, "the president will amass more debt than the previous forty-three Presidents combined, which mortgages our children's future - since it is all of them who will be stuck with the bill."

I agree with the Congressman, the Obama budget is a disaster, it spends money we don't have on things that won't help the economy.

Democrats agree to five debates

Virginia Democrats have agreed to hold five debates before the June 9th gubernatorial primary.

The campaigns of Brian Moran, Terry McAuliffe, and Creigh Deeds announced the agreement this week, although they did say that some minor details still need to be ironed out.

The five debates will take place in Williamsburg on April 19th, April 23rd in Hampton, April 28th in Danville and May 19th in Annandale, and April 29th at Virginia Tech. The May 19th Annandale debate will take place at the Northern Virginia Community College.

We also learned that the April 29 debate at Virginia Tech will be organized by The Collegiate Times, the liberal Web site Huffington Post and the blogs Not Larry Sabato and Firedoglake. Not surprisingly they didn't ask the Virginia Gentleman to organize the debate.

Ordinarily, debates are uneventful, boring affairs, with candidates simply trying to avoid making mistakes, but this race is wide open, and these debates may be very significant. A strong performance, or one big gaffe, may make all the difference. It will also be interesting to see how Moran and McAuliffe interact. Do they keep attacking each other, or does each try to ignore the other and take the high ground. Their mutual dislike is so strong that I have to believe they will prepare for five aggressive and negative debates.

These debates may also provide a golden opportunity for Creigh Deeds to breakout, and rise above the bickering and negativity of McAuliffe and Moran.

These debates may decide who becomes the Democrat nominee.

McAuliffe leads all Rivals in Number of Staffers and Campaign Offices

Last week Brian Moran claimed that fellow Democrat Terry McAuliffe was trying to buy the Democrat Gubernatorial nomination. We now are learning how McAuliffe is using his money advantage.

In addition to a strong air game, McAuliffe's ground game is not too shabby. According to the Washington Post, he leads all his rivals in both the number of staffers, and the number of offices in the commonwealth. McAuliffe has a total of 98 paid staffers and 8 offices, compared with Moran who has 25 staffers and 3 offices. And Creigh Deeds has 29 staffers and offices in 4 cities.

However, I am not sure all the staff and campaign offices in the world can make up for the fact, that McAuliffe is a liberal carpetbagger. Money is nice, but that can’t mask the fact that McAuliffe is in so many ways out of touch with most Virginians.

Time will tell.

Photo by CBS News

Privatize our Rest Stops.

According to the web news site insidenova, the Virginia Department of Transportation is facing a $2.6 billion shortfall, and in an effort to close that gap, the state agency is looking at the prospect of closing 25 of the states 41 rest areas.

What will happen to these rest areas if they are closed? Megan Svajda of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association raises an ominous concern:

"If these rest areas were to close the only plan VDOT has for them is to board them up and close the ramps so drivers cannot get to them. [...] This leaves the buildings open to vandalism and this is not the image of Virginia we want to project to travelers from out of state."

Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer has an excellent idea; he wants to allow private companies to run Virginia’s rest stops. This would save taxpayers money, and keep the rest stops down Virginia’s highways open.

However, there is a problem with this idea, seems Uncle Sam says it's illegal. It is against Federal law to have a business right off a Federal Highway. Maryland and Pennsylvania can do it because they bought the highway from the Feds and turned it into a turnpike. Some have suggested that our Congressional delegation try to change Federal law to allow for privately run highway rest stops.

I always prefer the convenience of the rest stop. You can quickly use the restroom, get some food, get a state map(I don't yet have GPS), and in just a few hundred feet you are back on the highway.

I think the solution is to make changes to Federal law, and have private companies run the stops. Such a solution will benefit both taxpayers and motorists.

Picture by aaroads

Virginia's Crazy Booze Laws

I found this excellent piece about Virginia's crazy booze laws. It was produced by Austin Bragg and Caleb Brown.

Huckabee to come to the aid of McDonnell

Former Arkansas Governor and Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee plans to come to Virginia at the end of the month to help campaign for Bob McDonnell. Currently the host of his own show on Fox news, Huckabee has a strong base of support in many parts of the state.

According to the Washington Post, Huckabee will headline fundraisers in Virginia Beach, Roanoke and Bristol, and is bringing his bass guitar.

Picture by the New York Daily News.

Will Someone Please Show this Man the Exit.

"Stand not upon the order of your going,
But go at once."
Lady Macbeth, scene iv.

We, Virginia Republicans, have a penchant for engaging in stupid inter party fights, which usually ends up damaging our chances in November. And honestly in all my years as a Republican foot soldier, I have never seen a dumber fight than the one we are now engaged in over state party chairman Jeff Frederick. This stupid fight comes at the worst possible time, because if the early polls are to be believed, we are on the verge of sweeping Virginia’s three State-wide offices this November.

Let me say bluntly, Jeff Frederick is not worth a fighting over. He is an unremarkable man, who seems to be of average intellect at best, limited competence, and possess all the warmth of a funerary supplies salesman. I believe the concept of ‘fighting over Jeff Frederick’ may be the silliest idea in the history of mankind. You might say one possible definition of insanity is having a fight over Jeff Frederick.

But regardless of how little we think of him, the fact is party Chairmen are a dime a dozen. They are functionaries whose job it is to serve the Party - in a word they are expendable.

And let’s face it, Frederick’s 15 minutes of fame ended 10 minutes ago and like a bad contestant on the gong show he doesn’t realize he needs to leave the stage. But the frustrating thing is that we have members of our party egging him on. Do they want us to continue losing? Do they want McDonnell to lose? Do they know how toxic Frederick is to most people? There must be a cadre of sycophants that tell him what a great guy he is, and how it is vital that he fight on. And in his mind he may believe that he is being railroaded, he may believe that he is a great conservative hero battling the liberal establishment, but the reality is he is simply a boorish political hack whose presence on the political stage is doing more harm than good.

Sadly Frederick is unable to take a hint. And it seems what is needed is someone close to him to give it to him straight, “For the good of the Party, our great state of Virginia, and what is left of your reputation, you need to step down.” Instead I fear that the people around him are simply there to feed his massive ego.

A lot of damage has been done, but the sooner Frederick goes the better.

Photo by the Richmond Times Dispatch

Prince William County to lower Tax Bill.

Corey Stewart continues to convince me that he is the best Board Chairman this region has had in many years. Through his leadership Prince William County will lower the property tax bill, giving the average homeowner a break of at least $435. While the measure does raise the property tax rate, since home values in the county have fallen 32 percent, homeowners will see a net decrease in their tax bill. Other members of the Board wanted to increase the tax rate more to offset any revenue losses but Stewart had a different view, telling reporters:

I believe the way to spur the economy is by cutting taxes, not raising them. It comes down to a philosophical divide, board Chairman Corey Stewart (R-At Large) said. Prince William is the only Republican-led jurisdiction in the D.C.-metro area. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise we're cutting taxes.

According to the Washington Post Prince William homeowners would receive the biggest reduction in property tax bills in the Washington suburbs. If only all the areas leader were like Corey Stewart.

Moran implores Democrats not to let McAuliffe buy the nomination

Over the weekend Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful Brian Moran warned in a letter (asking for money for his campaign) that Terry McAuliffe was trying to buy the Democrat nomination, and he must be stopped.

According to the Washington Post, Moran's letter warned donors that McAuliffe plans to run ads that "will range from subtly disingenuous to outright misrepresentations and distortions." Hey what do you expect Brian, this guy did work for Bill Clinton, so he is perfectly fluent in the language of misrepresentations and distortions.

The letter goes on to warn, "In the absence of accomplishments, well-placed advertising can buy a race."

Money is McAuliffe's biggest and perhaps only strength as a candidate, and understandably he is going to spend whatever it takes. We shall see if he can buy the Democrat nomination, my guess is that he can.

The picture provided by the Politico

Howell says Frederick should step down.

House Speaker Bill Howell became the latest state GOP leader to call on Jeff Frederick to resign his post as state party chairman. Citing the need for effective leadership Howell told reporters:

"With its current chairman, we have serious reservations about how effectively the state party can help us accomplish our goals and persuade a majority of Virginia voters that Republicans have the right ideas and policy prescriptions,"

We will see how long Frederick tries to hold on. With little support he can only hurt the Republican party's chances in November.

Photo by Americans for Prosperity

McAuliffe's energy plan to enlist the help of Virginia's chickens.

The McAuliffe campaign has released it's energy and business plan. The energy portion should make the liberals in Arlington county very happy. It says no to off- shore drilling, no to coal, no to nuclear energy, but yes to chicken waste. That's right, according to an article in the Richmond Times dispatch the McAuliffe energy plan includes a proposal that would:

...offer a financial incentive for new digester gas systems that can be used to convert chicken waste into energy. McAuliffe said there are chicken and turkey farms in the Shenandoah Valley that would be a rich source of such energy.

He does say he is in favor of wind energy. Gee I wonder if we could harness the hot air that is produced by his campaign speeches?

This picture provided by the Farm Sanctuary.

Opposition to Frederick gaining steam.

The chorus of opposition to Jeff Frederick grew louder yesterday when every Republican member of Virginia’s congressional delegation signed a letter urging him to resign. The letter, signed by Reps. Frank R. Wolf, Robert W. Goodlatte, Eric Cantor, J. Randy Forbes and Robert Wittman said:

"For the good of the Republican Party of Virginia, we write today asking that you step aside as chairman," the congressmen wrote. "Clearly it is the sentiment of the grassroots members of the party to move in another direction. . . . No one will benefit from a protracted battle over the leadership of" the Republican Party of Virginia."

Frederick is showing no signs of stepping down, and even if the State Central committee has the votes to remove him, Frederick could mount a floor fight at the State convention.

Frederick acknowledges that this fight may hurt the party telling reporters, "Anytime a party spends its time and energy battling its own, it's losing." Hey Jeff perhaps that is a reason you should step down.

Virginia Gentleman interviews Joe Murray

On January 13th Republican Joe Murray almost pulled off the biggest upset in Virginia Politics. In fact he came within 16 votes of winning Virginia's 46th House district, which has long been considered a solid Democrat district. So blue that in the Presidential race Barack Obama carried the district with nearly 75% of the vote.

VG: Joe how did you come within 16 votes of winning a solidly Democrat district? Was it as the Democrats claim all about low voter turnout?

JM: I would be dishonest to say it had nothing to do with turnout. Of course that was a factor, but give my campaign credit. We ran an aggressive campaign, we went door to door, we raised $50,000 and we made every dime count. We also had an excellent absentee ballot campaign. But most importantly, I would say we ran a positive campaign talking about issues that the voters cared about.

VG: What made you decide to run in a district which has such a major Democrat edge?

JM: My wife and I bought a house here and feel Alexandria is our home. We want to raise our child here and put down roots. I didn't let the Democratic make up of the district determine whether I should run or not.

VG: What was Brian Moran's role in the race?

JM: My guess is it was limited, at least in the General. He took some heat for getting involved in the primary and backing Charnielle Herring over Ariel Gonzalez. Many Democrats felt he should not have done that. And for the General maybe he didn't think he needed to get involved, he may have assumed like most that it would be an easy win for the Democrats. Also, he may have been preoccupied with his own race for Governor.

VG: There are those who feel that with your race, Herrity's close loss and now Cook's win last Tuesday, that maybe this is a trend. Maybe the GOP is making a comeback. Do you think all three races make a trend?

JM: I do, look these races were fought mere weeks apart. My race was on Jan. 13th, the Herrity race was on Feb. 3rd and the Cook victory was on March 10th. These races were also fought on the home field for the Democrats, yet they were all very close and in the Cook race, a Republican pick up. These races show that the Republican base is hungry and energized and if we concentrate on offering solutions and focus on the issues that voters care about we can win, even here.

VG: Do you think that your near upset woke up the Democrats and helped them beat back the Herrity challenge.

JM. That is a tough thing to measure. Sure my close call could have motivated Democrats in Fairfax not to be complacent, but on the other hand my race may have motivated more Republicans in Fairfax to think they could beat the odds and win, so it could have helped Herrity more. Who knows?

VG: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

JM: My pleasure.

Republicans gain a seat on the Fairfax county board

In the race to replace Democrat Sharon Bulova, and to represent the Braddock district on the Board of Supervisors, Republican John Cook was declared the winner by 89 votes! Republicans have never held this seat, so Cook's victory may be interpreted as a big blow to Virginia Democrats.

According to the Washington Post as of this morning Republican John Cook held on to a 69-vote lead over Democrat Ilryong Moon with 24 of the district's 25 precincts reporting and about 12,000 votes cast. The holdup appeared to be technical problems with one of the two voting machines in the Fairview precinct in Fairfax Station. Election officials had to count the ballots by hand, and after the count Cook's lead grew to 89 votes, which falls outside the margin that would require the county pay for a recount.

In a statement Cook said, "I am honored to have been selected by my Braddock District neighbors to serve as their next supervisor. I look forward to bringing new and innovative ideas to the problems we face and bring fiscal responsibility to our county government."

Is the Fairfax GOP on the way to recovery?

Davis for Chairman?

With the ouster of Jeff Frederick as Chairman of the state GOP all but certain, now may be the right time to suggest a possible replacement. Now as a conservative I am not one who would normally be a big booster of former Rep. Tom Davis, but I do think there are a number of reasons why he might be the man to lead the beleaguered state party out of the wilderness.

It seems to me that Davis would bring many attributes to the job, he is a big name, he has a great knowledge of state politics, he has a proven ability to raise money, and could help the party compete in vote rich Northern Virginia.

For two decades Davis has been one of Northern Virginia's most successful politicians. He managed to get elected and re elected in Fairfax County, a place where most Republicans have struggled. We Republicans must realize that our message must sell in suburbs like Fairfax county, perhaps Davis can help the party re focus its attention on the issues that matter most to suburban voters.

Also, after a decade of weak(and that may be a generous word)leadership, perhaps competence is what is now needed most. Davis successfully led the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2000-2002, helping to recruit good congressional candidates and raising money for the national GOP effort. Ordinarily mid term election can be brutal for the party in the White House, but under Davis leadership the GOP did well.

I doubt Tom would want the job, and certainly there would be many conservatives who would oppose him if he did, but I do think he would bring a lot to the job.

Frederick under fire.

The Republican State Central Committee Thursday called on Virginia state party Chairman Jeffrey Frederick to resign. A two page letter, signed by 80 percent of committee members, outlined the reasons that Frederick should step down. In the letter members cited a series of missteps, misstatements, low fundraising, and a slew of elections losses, which they attribute to Frederick's poor leadership.

Despite the feeling of the Committee Frederick vows to fight on, telling the Washington Post:

"I have every intention of continuing as Chairman and completing my term in May 2012," he said. "I have the commitments necessary to win the vote on April 4th and will fulfill my term and the commitment to the people who entrusted me to lead our Party back to victory."

While not explicitly calling for Frederick's ouster, Attorney General Bob McDonnell did say in a statement, "it would be helpful for the Republican Party of Virginia to have more effective leadership in this pivotal year.''

I do believe Frederick should step down, and the Party pick a new, and hopefully more effective person.

McAuliffe campaign makes stops in Chicago and Phoenix.

At first I thought maybe the campaign bus driver simply got lost, but believe it or not, it was a purposeful detour. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Terry McAuliffe attended a fundraiser at a Chicago restaurant Monday night with several Illinois Democrats. And tonight McAuliffe will be in Phoenix for a happy hour event with the Arizona Democratic Council.

Isn't he running for Governor of Virginia? You would think he would want to maximize his time in the old dominion raising money and listening to Virginia voters. But maybe he prefers hanging out with Chicago Democrats.

Offshore Drilling may become issue in Governors campaign.

I never thought offshore drilling would become an issue in a Virginia Gubernatorial election, but it just might.

According to Republican candidate Bob McDonnell, oil development in Virginia could create more than 2,500 jobs, bring in nearly $8 billion in capital investment, create more than $640 million in payroll and $271 million in tax revenues over 10 years.

McDonnell said, ""As governor of Virginia I will support legislation that will open Virginia's offshore waters, starting at 50 miles off the coast, to environmentally safe exploration and drilling for oil and gas."

No surprise his Democrat opponents have said they are opposed to offshore drilling. Rather they want to concentrate on creating "green jobs". Although I think they realize those jobs are mythical. The real reason they oppose offshore drilling is to appease Northern Virginia environmentalists.

We shall see if this becomes an issue.

General Assembly Adjourns.

The Virginia General Assembly session ended on Saturday night, the last session in Governor Kaine's term. It in effects is the end of the era of Kaine.

The highlights, or should I lowlights, of the session includes: a ban on texting while driving, an expansion of capital punishment to include criminals who assist in murders but do not pull the trigger. Legislators also agreed to allow voters to enter the polls wearing T-shirts, buttons or other apparel with political slogans or candidates' names and to prohibit stores from selling novelty cigarette lighters to juveniles.

However, the session was dominated by budget issues, which was further complicated by the economic downturn. In the end the legislature agreed to a 2 year $77 billion spending plan that includes 'cuts' to education, law enforcement and health care, and the release of some nonviolent prisoners.

Kaine wistfully told the Washington Post that, "You know, I would have gotten more done had I had more money to deal with it." I think there is a lesson here. The less money a liberal has to spend the better.