Where in the World Was Chuck Caputo?

When HB 6055 was being voted on, residents in the 67th House District should ask where was Delegate Chuck Caputo. Caputo decided that taking a vacation (or going to a conference) was more important than voting on an issue that affects his constituents every day. Transportation is the number one issue affecting residents in the 67th district, as they have to fight traffic on Route 28, 50, and 66. Gridlock is insane with commutes lasting anywhere between 15-60 minutes daily.

It appears that Caputo was not concerned with how to address this critical issue. Caputo would rather sit on the beach, sipping a nice ice cold drink, while his constituents are stuck in the heat of traffic that awaits them every day. The 67th district deserves better and so does Northern Virginia.

Governor Kaine and Brian Moran: Disenfranchising the Voters in the 46th?

As you may have read in a prior post, Brian Moran has resigned from his Delegate seat, representing the 46th district. This may come as no surprise, but it seems odd that someone would step down in the midst of an important legislative session, so he could solely focus on the governor's race. Since his resignation, the method to selecting a Delegate would be done so through special election.

However, there is something fishy with this special election that we would like to highlight. It seems that Governor Kaine has set a special election date of January 13, 2008, so both parties are scrambling to find candidates and set nominating conventions in a hurry. This gives no time to find a solid candidate, who will best fit the district, and gives little time for fundraising and campaigning. Another surprising thing is that this is happening during the Holidays, and we know that it is difficult to get volunteers during the Holidays. To me, it appears that Governor Kaine has a degree in mismanagement of setting special elections and disenfranchising voters.

Tonight, there will be nominating conventions (or mass meetings) to choose the candidates for both parties. Hopefully, there will be enough time to get the campaigns together, establish fundraising, and have the necessary volunteers to make this race competitive and based on issues that are important to the voters in the 46th District.

Why Did Dave Marsden Vote No on HB 6055?

This is the first of a two part series focusing on two Northern Virginia delegates who either voted "no" or was absent during HB 6055. Here is some background on HB 6055: Basically, it repealed the regional tax authorities (which were ruled unconstitutional by the Virginia Supreme Court). Source

Voting "No" on HB 6055 was Delegate David Marsden from Fairfax. Marsden voted no. Why you ask? Well, Marsden would rather hike your taxes by voting for Governor Tim Kaine's proposed plan during the special session, which was held in June. The residents of Northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads region need solutions to the traffic gridlock they are currently experiencing, not increased taxes. It seems that Marsden would rather vote for higher taxes, than addressing the transportation problems with common sense solutions.

We're Tightening Our Belts!

As you may have read in The Washington Post today, the Virginia GOP Caucus has decided to tighten our belts to address the multi-billion dollar deficit that the Commonwealth is facing. We realize that we need to cut our own expenses to avoid passing an additional tax to you, the taxpayers. We have trimmed expenses, such as limiting our travel to conferences, canceling trainings, and accept our current annual salary of $17,640.

Speaker Howell said to reporters today, "Right now, Virginia's families and business are making necessary and sometimes difficult adjustments to deal with the effects of the current economic climate. The people they elect to represent them have the same responsibility. We will meet this challenge."

Additionally, we have listened to many concerns about the rules and record votes in subcommittee hearings. We have decided to open these votes to allow more government transparency.

The Republican party stands for true change that you can count on!

Moran Steps Down, Special Election is Called

Alexandria Delegate Brian Moran recently announced he was resigning from his Delegate seat to campaign full-time for Governor. The reason why Moran is stepping down to his seat is that he can fully devote his time to the Governor's race. He indicated that it would be unfair for his constituents, if he can't devote his full attention to his legislative duties.

There will be a special election held on January 13, 2009. According to Bearing Drift, Republicans Phil Cefaratti, Lisa Marie Cheney, and Sasha Gong have expressed interest in running for this seat. Former Alexandria Mayor Kerry Donley and Charniele Herring have announced for the Democrats (Source: Bearing Drift, December 13, 2008).

Kaine on Blagojevich

When you think of Tim Kaine's close connection to Barack Obama during the 2008 elections, maybe, you are curious to know what Kaine's true feelings are on scandal plagued (and fellow) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on their blog about Kaine's opinions of the recent Blagojevich scandal. Kaine felt that the scandal was ruining what was supposed to be a joyous time for the Democrats. Kaine also said:

"They're horrible. Kind of a level of drunk with power that you would have a hard time writing that if your were a novelist," Kaine said. "The indictment as it's been reported to me—if somebody made that up we'd say it wasn't realistic. Pretty amazing."

Asked about the situation after a press conference yesterday, Kaine, the first governor after Blagojevich to endorse Obama's candidacy, was clearly angry over the taint that the scandal casts over what should be a joyous time in Democratic circles—and especially in Illinois. Blagojevich has maintained his innocence and still retains authority over who to put in the seat being vacated by Obama.

"It obviously creates all kinds of challenges with respect to that senate replacement," Kaine said. "I hope they're committed to a replacement process that isn't tainted by him."

Hopefully, Kaine will also call the Obama administration out for some of their behaviors as well, including blocking Blagojevich questions from being answered on the transition team's website, as reported in The Politico.

Barney Frank on the Auto Bailouts

Well, it appears that Rep. Barney Frank has foot-in-mouth disease lately. Recently, Frank has been making the rounds on national TV to tout the numerous bailout proposals to save failing American businesses. Frank was recently interviewed on CBS News' 60 Minutes by Lesley Stahl. When asked if he was propping the auto companies up and catering to their every whim, Frank responded:

"No. We're not propping up companies. That's your mistake," he tells Stahl, who had asked him about taxpayer money going to prop up companies that had made bad decisions. "We're propping up individuals. The world doesn't consist of companies. The world is people. The country is people."

When Stahl points out that Frank is then talking about welfare, he responds, "Yeah, I'm for welfare. You're not? Are you for letting people starve?"

Here is a clip from his interview.


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Frank is the type of corrupt leadership that our country does not need to prosper.