Obenshain Says Warner, Webb Owe Virginians an Apology

...and he's RIGHT!

Not only did our esteemed senators vote for a gaudy monstrosity of a health care bill, now Virginia has to pick up the tab for Nebraska, some of Louisiana, and non-profits in Michigan (among other things).

Given that Gov. Kaine's regional taxing authorities were unconstitutional, doesn't that instantly call this bill into review due to the fact that it forces some states to foot the bill for others in a discriminatory fashion? But I digress...

Sen. Obenshain points out where Virginia is on the hook for the sell-outs of other states and their senators, then goes after our own U.S. senators, especially Jim Webb.

"What did our intrepid duo in the U.S. Senate do to stand strong for the rights and interests of Virginians? Absolutely nothing. They fell right in line with Mr. Reid and the rest of the Democrats in the Senate and voted for this abomination. They required little coaxing and no incentives. Jim Webb may have been "born fighting," but he did not hesitate to run up the white flag here."

Oooh, that's gotta hurt.

On a side political note, for Obenshain to get this in the Washington Times and have Real Clear Politics post it on their site as well really does raise his profile. Obenshain for AG in 2013, or maybe even a senate run in 2012? I wouldn't mind it one bit.

(h/t SWAC Girl)

Three Strikes, and My Support of Mark Warner is Out

Mark Warner, the only Democrat I was endorsing for this election, has struck out with me.

I liked Warner. He's a pragmatic problem-solver for the most part, and I believe that successful businesspeople solve economic problems better than most politicians of a different career background. I also liked that he rubbed the DNC the wrong way by making a fairly bipartisan speech at a very blue lovefest in Denver because he wouldn't follow the party line and doctrine in slamming McCain and holding Obama up as a God amongst peasants.

However, he had some flaws with me that rubbed me the wrong way, and now he's hit that third strike that loses his endorsement from me.

Strike One: His lack of support for 2nd Amendment rights has always bothered me.
Strike Two: He supports the fairness doctrine, which would force many radio stations to drop any kind of a "talk" format because they would be forced to give liberal talk shows airtime, even though liberal talk shows garner next-to-nothing in the ratings.

And now...

Strike Three: He supports the "card-check" proposal, which would FORCE unionization amongst workers in all industries. My father was a unionized worker, but that was by choice. Everyone should have the choice to join a union, not be forced to do it. EVEN GEORGE-FREAKIN'-MCGOVERN IS AGAINST THIS, BUT WARNER IS FOR IT!!!

I think not. Mark Warner, you're OUT! These are 3 things I cannot truck with at one time.

Due to this, the Podium is rescinding it's endorsement of Mark Warner, and will now support Former Governor Jim Gilmore for the United States Senate, Virginia Delegation.

Warner Waffling on Immigration

Adam Sharp has a great post up at Daily Whackjob where he talks about Mark Warner's incredibly vague and contradicting positions on illegal immigration.

Warner basically is trying to play both sides of the fence. Sharp's post states...

Knowing there were conservative Democrats as well as business leaders in the room, he didn’t quite waffle but he did express support for just about everything short of mass deportation and amnesty. He’s for a stronger border, he thinks the law should be enforced to send illegals back, he doesn’t want to automatically deport all illegals, he wants a path to citizenship, he is both in favor and opposed to expanding the guest worker program, he wants stricter rules on employers, he wants a national ID card with biometrics.

Democrats just cannot grasp that in periods of economic uncertainty, immigration is always an issue and they need to have an answer. They can’t even take a position! Governor Kaine won’t do anything that will upset well-connected Northern Virginia minorities, and he also hasn’t answered the concerns of localities about deporting criminals and zoning violations. I guess he thinks inaction is a policy. That won’t get Creigh Deeds or Brian Moran elected (though it might get them nominated), and it certainly won’t win the House of Delegates.

It's true, the Democrats really are attempting to straddle both sides of the fence on this issue, both at the state level and on a national level. The Democratic flip-flopping on this is bad enough to make Sharp, who has worked on several Dem campaigns in Virginia, say this...

I haven’t found an immigration proposal I like completely, but I must say I prefer John McCain’s “straight talk” to Democratic avoidance and indecision. He and Mike Huckabee have made principled arguments in response to real voter concerns. That’s more than I can say about a lot of Democrats, including a senate candidate who thinks he’s already begun his victory lap.

If Warner's confidence/overconfidence turns into arrogance, he may find himself on the losing end of the election come November.

Interesting Rasmussen Poll on Virginia Senate and Presidential Races

Virginia Virtucon posted and prognosticated about the latest from Rasmussen on the state of Virginia today. Currently, Mark Warner leads Jim Gilmore in the head-to-head Senate race matchup 53%-38%

I must note that Virtucon is dead on about the fact that Mark Warner, with all of his supposed popularity, should be doing better than 53%. Gilmore's 38%, however, isn't very good considering he is a high-profile politician in Virginia who has had plenty of national exposure.

On the immigration front, here's what Rasmussen found...

Eighty-four percent (84%) of Virginia voters believe English should be the official language of the United States. Seventy-four percent (74%) believe companies should be allowed to require employees to speak English while on the job.

In terms of election ballots, the voters are more evenly divided. Just over half (55%) believe ballots should be printed in English only, while 39% say they should printed in both English and Spanish.

So they have to speak English, but they don't have to vote in English. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the consensus, but you'd think there would be more consistency with those poll numbers, especially on the election ballot issue.

Speaking of Virginia, here's some head-to-head matchup polling for the Presidential race from Rasmussen...

McCain 49%, Clinton 38%
McCain 45%, Obama 43%
Romney 44%, Clinton 43%
Obama 47%, Romney 41%

This is an indicator of how the independents feel. They like Obama and McCain (yes, that's stating the obvious). However, it seems that people are warming back up to McCain a lot, even in this state.

Even I'm beginning to warm back up to McCain...not enough to abandon Fred Thompson, who I think is the best candidate. However, should Fred leave the race, it's either McCain or Romney for me right now. I began to see reasons to support McCain when I saw that, during their overlapping Senate tenures, Thompson and McCain voted the same way 81% of the time.

Maybe Thompson and McCain will be running mates, given how well they've worked together in the past. Who knows.

Breaking It Down: Bob Marshall vs. Jim Gilmore

In last night's New Year's Whacktacular with Johnny Camacho and members of the DWJ gang, I mentioned that I was split on the Senate race, but slightly preferred Bob Marshall over Jim Gilmore (which blew Whackjob's mind, given Marshall's anti-gay marriage stance). It got me thinking about exactly why I'm starting to side with Marshall over Gilmore, despite Marshall being a bit too socially conservative for my taste.

So, let's see if I can sort this out in my own mind...through this blog. Anyone who has anything to add can leave a comment, I'm still undecided as of right now.

Gilmore isn't a bad guy, he simply has a lot of baggage that he carries with him due to the shape the state economy was in towards the end of his tenure as Governor. He never did quite make it on that car tax promise (although, he did try very hard, I give him credit), and there is mixed sentiments statewide about the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, despite the fact that scores increased throughout Gilmore's term because of his emphasis on improving education.

However, we also have to look at who Gilmore is likely to face...Mark Warner. Warner can simply pull out the "I fixed Gilmore's economic mess" card (no matter how exactly true that is) and boom...there goes the independent voters.

Although, hindsight tells us that the Virginia economy was not nearly as bad as it seemed to be (or was made out to be), it is still stuck in the minds of many voters that things were nearly catastrophic until Warner "saved the day" (so it is portrayed).

However, Gilmore is very knowledgeable on security issues, especially during his time as head of the Gilmore Commission...this does play well for Gilmore's stance with me.

Marshall, despite my disagreements with him on social issues (I voted against Marshall/Newman), there are several upsides to having him as the candidate. His biggest being that he is a tried and true fiscal conservative, and he's fairly pragmatic about it. In the end, if you're strong on fiscal prudence, you win with me. He's been a voice of cost-cutting in a sea of seemingly-endless spending increases under Governors Gilmore, Warner, and Kaine.

His "no-confidence resolution" towards Republican leadership earlier this year brought him lots of attention and praise from the grassroots. He's been an active opponent of the Abuser Fees, as well.

One must also think that, with Marshall/Newman being approved with 57% of the vote in a Democratic wave election, Marshall could get the attention of many swing voters.

I'd also imagine, however, that there might be a large turnout against Marshall from the GLBT community because of that amendment.

Then again, Marshall and I are both from Takoma Park, Maryland. Hometown boys gotta stick together, right... ;)

In the end, I'm just not sure...right now, I prefer Marshall for his fiscal stances and the one "X" factor he has over Gilmore...fresh blood for the National GOP. If Marshall puts social issues on the back burner and makes the economy and taxes his M.O. (as he has done lately), Marshall might make for a more appealing candidate than Gilmore.

What do you think?

Marshall On The Brink of a Senate Run

Apparently, Del. Bob Marshall has announced the formation of an exploratory committee, which means he is one step away from officially running for the GOP Senate nomination against former Governor Jim Gilmore.

Interesting that Chris Saxman did not run, but Marshall is. Marshall has very good leadership skills and I like some of his fiscal policy stances, but his vocal stance against gay marriage will both turnout the social conservatives and the GLBT community.

The GOP will be holding a convention to select it's nominee, which may very well favor Marshall. The Dems are having a traditional primary with former Governor Mark Warner and progressive activist Julien Modica.

(h/t Citizen Tom)

Yes Virginia, There Won't Be a Tax Increase

I missed this announcement, but that's what Gov. Kaine said this week. No tax increase will be in the 2008-2010 budget. Good news for Virginia, good news for Kaine's approval ratings, and great news for Mark Warner as he prepares for his run at the U.S. Senate.

I stated before that if Governor Kaine could fix the budget shortfall without increasing taxes, I would commend him...so far, he is deserving of commendation in regards to handling the budget problem.

I'm glad to see our Governor take steps towards fiscal prudence, but the question still remains...how else does he plan on trimming the budget?

Warner vs. Gilmore Discussion

Chris Graham and I are bouncing thoughts back and forth on Saxman, Gilmore, Mark Warner, and the upcoming Senate election in the comments section of Graham's article at The New Dominion. Graham's article speculates if a unified GOP can defeat Mark Warner.

Go comment and add to the discussion, as it seems Chris and I pretty much agree on things so far...and that's no fun :)