Deeds Uses College Paper to Attack McDonnell.

Trailing badly in the polls, and in search of a strategy, Democratic candidate for governor Creigh Deeds has once again broken his promise to avoid injecting divisive social issues into the campaign by exploiting an academic paper written by McDonnell decades ago.
Deeds is circulating a master's thesis written by Republican Bob McDonnell. The paper is over 20 years old, so old that it was written before the fall of the Berlin Wall and before many of the people who will vote in this election were even born.

In the paper McDonnell criticizes the philosophy of contemporary feminists. In an interview with the Washington Post, McDonnell said:

"Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." He said that his views on family policy were best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation and that he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work." What he wrote in the thesis on women in the workplace, he said, "was simply an academic exercise and clearly does not reflect my views."

McDonnell added: "Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older." He said that his views on family policy were best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation and that he "worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work." What he wrote in the thesis on women in the workplace, he said, "was simply an academic exercise and clearly does not reflect my views."

What do Deeds do when he read the Post article? He told his aide to send it around.
"Please take a few minutes to read the article and then forward it to every person you know: friends, family, neighbors, you name it," wrote Deeds senior advisor Mo Elleithee in a blast e-mail Sunday, following the publication of the thesis by the Washington Post.

Creigh Deeds: Losing, Desperate and Divisive

Small Business Group Endorses Bolling for Lt. Governor

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling today announced the endorsement of his re-election campaign by The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Virginia's leading small business association. NFIB/Virginia also today endorsed Bob McDonnell for governor.

In recent weeks, Bolling has also received endorsements from the Virginia Credit Union League, the Virginia Association of Realtors PAC and the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

McDonnell and Bolling received the grassroots endorsement of small business owners at Bill's Barbecue, an NFIB member business in Richmond. NFIB is Virginia's leading small business association.

"Small business is the heart and soul of Virginia's economy, and our members appreciate Bill Bolling's commitment to helping Virginia's entrepreneurs and small, family-run businesses grow and create jobs in this tough economic climate," said Julia Ciarlo Hammond, state director of NFIB/Virginia.

"Bill Bolling believes in creating real and lasting tax relief," said Rhoda Elliot, owner of Bill's Barbecue. "They believe in finding ways to reduce lawsuit abuse and eliminate frivolous claims. And they believe in helping small business owners and their employees get affordable health insurance.

"We need a governor and lieutenant governor who will not marginalize small business and who will work to make things better for entrepreneurs and small business owners, not worse," Elliot said. "Bill Bolling has promised to address our priorities."

Small business accounts for 98 percent of all Virginia employers and half of the state's private-sector jobs, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Bolling said,"I am delighted to receive the endorsement of the NFIB. NFIB is the leading voice for business in Virginia, and that is very important to me. I have spent my entire professional career in business, and I know firsthand how important it is for us to maintain a pro-business environment in Virginia.

"I have worked to do that throughout my 18 years of public service, and I will remain committed to that goal during my second term as Virginia's lieutenant governor," he said. "As Virginia's first jobs creation officer, I will work with Bob McDonnell, the NFIB and other business organizations to get our economy moving again and create the jobs Virginia families need to restore their financial security."

NFIB's political support is based on the candidate's position and record on small-business issues. The endorsements come from the NFIB/Virginia SAFE (Save America's Free Enterprise) Trust, the political action committee for NFIB/Virginia's membership.

Today's endorsements put the considerable grassroots support of the state's small businesses behind McDonnell's and Bolling's campaigns. Small business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for actively recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to go to the polls.

According to NFIB polling data, small business owners and their employees make up about 43 percent of registered voters in America. NFIB will encourage its 5,300 members in Virginia to help turn out the influential small business voting bloc on Election Day.

A new Ad for Bob McDonnell.

Warner Holds Telephone Town Hall.

You probably didn't know it was taking place, and that was probably by design, but now Senator Warner is advertising the fact that he had held a "telephone town hall." Warner should have held a publicized town hall and taken unfiltered questions, but I guess most Democrat lawmakers don't want to face the voters.

Photo by the Washington Blade

Kaine Says Virginia Faces Budget Shortfall

Part time DNC Chairman and Part time Governor Tim Kaine once again announced massive shortfalls to his revenue forecast for the FY 2008-2010 biennial state budget, revising budget projections down by an additional $1.2 billion for FY10 and $300 million in shortfalls from the past fiscal year. In response, Lieutenant Governor Bolling released the following statement:

“The budget shortfalls that Governor Kaine announced today are serious, but they should not surprise anyone. I have been warning for the past two years that the current state budget is based on overly optimistic revenue projections and that huge budget shortfalls would be the result. This is what happens when you base your budget on money you don’t have to make promises you can’t keep.

“For the past four years we have based our budget on overly optimistic revenue projections, the use of one-time revenues to pay for ongoing programs, spiraling amounts of state debt and raids on the rainy day fund. That is not fiscally responsible and we cannot continue to manage Virginia ’s finances this way.

“Unfortunately, the budget shortfalls we are facing in the current fiscal year may only be the beginning of our long term fiscal challenges. We will likely face additional budget shortfalls in the 2010-2012 biennium when the federal stimulus dollars we used to balance the budget last year run out. In fact, those shortfalls could be larger than the shortfalls we are experiencing in the current fiscal year.

“Going forward, we must make certain that our budgets are based on realistic revenue projections, reduce spending to match available revenue and eliminate the budget gimmicks. This will require us to make many difficult choices, but these are the same kind of choices that families and businesses have had to make in recent months, and the people of Virginia expect state government to live by the same economic realities that they must live by.”

On the plus side Kaine will be gone next year, and with the leadership of Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling Virginia will be under new and better management.

Deeds Says He is Open to Raising Taxes.

Democratic candidate for governor Creigh Deeds today finally admitted what any casual observer already knew: he will raise the state tax on gasoline to fund his transportation agenda. Though Deeds vows not to have a plan until after the election, he now has made plain his belief that dipping into taxpayers' checkbooks is the way to pay for whatever it is.

In a live on-line video interview with Jim Nolan of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Deeds was asked: "If you're governor and you get a bill that funds transportation in some form of either general or non-general fund tax increase, will you sign it?"

"Democratic gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds today said that if the General Assembly passed a bill to fund the state's transportation needs that included an increase in taxes, he would sign it," wrote the Times-Dispatch.

"What I will do is work with Democrats and Republicans to build consensus around a series of ideas that allow us to fund transportation, and yes, I will sign that bill," Deeds said.

Deeds Wants to Talk About Abortion

Struggling in the polls, Democrat candidate Creigh Deeds has decided to attack Bob McDonnell on the issue of abortion. I suppose Deeds is trying to rally his liberal base and feels that the abortion issue might help him do that.

I think most Virginia voters will see through this tactic. A hot button issue can only get you so far. The people of Virginia want answers to everyday problems. I also think that most Virginia voters will resent the fact that Deeds won't reveal his plans on how to improve our transportation system, but he is more than willing to tell us how he feels about abortion.

Deeds Dodges Questions.

Already known for Dodging debates, and dodging questions about his transportation plan, now Democrat Creigh Deeds decides to dodge answering questions, because his answers may be made public.

Cuccinelli Drops Verizon

According to the Washington Post Attorney General candidate Ken Cuccinelli switched cell phone companies this week after learning that Verizon was supporting Democratic opponent Steve Shannon.

The reason why Verizon is backing the Democrat? Well, it seems that Cuccinelli and Verizon have of disagreed in the past over how much power the company should have to lay cable across private property.

"They have always been strongly outspoken because of my position," Cuccinelli said. "They have to be respectful to everybody else in the process and that includes the property owner whose land they want to cross, and that's an inconvenience for them."

I too have had my problems with Verizon. I now have another reason to vote for Cuccinelli!

Obama's Falling Popularity May Sink Deeds

In today's Washington Post there is a story about how Obama's falling popularity may cost the Dems the Governors mansion. The Post quotes an Obama voter as saying:

"Honestly, at this point, I have to say I'm worried. I haven't come across one person that seems to have been helped," she said. "If I don't see a spark, a light at the end of the tunnel, I may be voting Republican [for governor]."

Can't be good news for Deeds.

(Photo by Politico)

A new Ad for Bob McDonnell.

Deeds Now Claims He is from Southwest Virginia

In an effort to appeal to Southwest Virginia voters, Democrat gubernatorial candidate now claims he is from southwest Virginia:

"Growing up in southwest Virginia taught me many important values, like the importance of hard work, loyalty, and the power of education," Deeds declared in an appeal for financial support sent by e-mail on Sunday, August 2, 2009. The e-mail directed recipients to a page on the Deeds' website that features three short videos and invites citizens to participate in a tour across Southwest and Southside.

The only problem is it is not true. Deeds is from Bath county, which is a beautiful place, but it is not in southwest Virginia. Some politicians will say anything to get elected..