RPV Convention: Interview with Danny Smith

On Friday, I had the opportunity to conduct an interview Danny Smith, who is running for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 38^th District. The current incumbent is Bob Hull, who is facing a primary against Kaye Kory. Smith discussed how his campaign is going and addressed some of the core issues that his campaign will focus on. Right now, the residents of the 38^th District deserves better leadership in Richmond, and Bob Hull has dropped the ball in his service to his community. Danny Smith is the right candidate, who will provide solid leadership in Richmond.

Interview with CCC: Danny Smith, Candidate for Virginia House of Delegates from Krystle Weeks on Vimeo.

**Cross Posted at Crystal Clear Conservative and YR Dominion

Update on the Northern Virginia Tea Party

If you are still interested in attending the Northern Virginia Tea Party, there are two partnering events on April 15^th. The Merrifield protest against Wasteful Stimulus Spending and Bailouts will take place from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Merrifield Post Office. From 6:30-8 p.m. at Lake Anne Village Center in Reston, there will be a tea party, which will be emceed by a fellow Jeffersoniad blogger, Leslie Carbone.

If you are mad at government waste and the exorbitant amount of spending, then you should stop by and protest the actions of our leaders in the Federal government.

**Cross Posted at Crystal Clear Conservative

Here’s Some Clarification

I was not prepared to report about anything political this weekend, as I am spending Easter with my family in Maryland. However, after reading some leftist blogs in Virginia slam the Republicans in the House of Delegates for their recent decisions to expand unemployment benefits, while looking out for the taxpayers in Virginia by not placing more debt on them, I decided there would be no hiatus for the first part of the weekend.

Many of the blogs from the left believe that the federal stimulus money that was pushed aside will be bad for the workers, and it has even caused the full-time DNC Chairman/part-time Governor Tim Kaine to actually drop everything and spreading his anger around the state, because the Republicans in the House of Delegates actually did something fiscally responsible. In fact, the Republicans extended unemployment benefits eligibility from 26 to 59 weeks. Wow! This is an improvement. Where were the Democrats?

The other things to consider: First, the recent decision to expand unemployment benefits will actually say no to any part of the federal stimulus money allocated to Virginia. Delegate Tim Hugo (R-Centreville/Clifton) clarified the second part. Governor Kaine’s tax increase proposal would have increased a business’ tax from $98 per job in 2009 to $159 per job in 2010 and up to $199 per job in 2012. This would be an increase of $101.00 per job. Not only would this tax increase be detrimental to businesses, this would come during an economic recession, which would result in more layoffs.
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How Low Can the Democrats Go?

No doubt, it appears that the Democrats will stop at nothing this election cycle, and their recent attacks on Bob McDonnell just show how low they will go in their attempts to keep the Governor’s Mansion. Just days before Easter, the Democratic Governors Association (or Common Sense Virginia…(senseless out-of-state idiots out to interfere in our business)) released a website called The Real Bob McDonnell, which attacks McDonnell’s religious beliefs. I keep asking myself this question, and I am wondering if you, the reader, are asking this question too…what does the candidate’s religion have to do with leading the Commonwealth of Virginia?

Geez, whatever happened to talking about the issues? I guess the Democrats are afraid to discuss the issues that Virginians want to hear, because they don’t have any substantial ideas to offer…just hot air!

Thankfully, you can read what Bob McDonnell will offer Virginia here and here. McDonnell offers innovative ideas to improve Virginia’s economy by working to create more jobs, provide a strong business environment, and allow workers to have the right to choose whether or not they want to join a union. Sounds a lot better than any of the Democrats running for Governor with their fluff economic plans, which involve raising taxes and spending more of our tax dollars on wasteful programs.

**Cross Posted at Crystal Clear Conservative

More on the Northern Virginia Tea Party

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was going to conduct an interview with the organizer of the Northern Virginia Tea Party, and I followed through with this by interviewing Ron Wilcox, who is organizing the Tea Party, which will be taking place at the Merrifield Post Office on April 15^th from 5-7 p.m. I would like to thank Mr. Wilcox for his time, and I hope to see everyone at this event.

CCC: Why did you decide to throw a tea party?
RW: I was fed up with the out of control spending by the current Administration. The Administration is closely coordinating with the media to tamp down any opposition to their policies. Americans feel that NO ONE in Washington is listening to them. The silent responsible majority needs to be given a voice to counter the daily spin in the mainstream media.

I also felt the need for the I decided to organize Northern Virginia Tax Day Tea Party, because I felt that there was a real need to organize Northern Virginia for this and future Tea Party events. The DC event is in the middle of a work day preventing participation by many and others who simply do not like to go into DC for logistical reasons. Organizers say that we are on track to have 1250 tea parties nationwide with the goal of as many as 2009.

CCC: How many people do you anticipate to have at the event?
RW: I anticipate 200 or more people that are fed up with out of control Government, the area I have selected will be seen by every single person going to pay their taxes and could facilitate hundreds more demonstrators stretching down both sides of Lee Highway.

CCC: Have you experienced any issues with arranging a site for the tea party?
RW: We do not require a permit for our area but are working with the traffic authorities for everyone’s safety.

CCC: Will there be any guest speakers at this event? If so, who?
RW: We have invited State Senator [and current Attorney General candidate] Ken Cuccinelli and Congressman Frank Wolf.

CCC: Do you hope that this will spur other activist events in the future?
RW: Do I ever! Silent majority no more. We have a form on our web page so that people can sign up to get involved and be informed of this and other similar upcoming events.

CCC: What other groups have partnered with you to make this event possible?
RW: We are working with a number of civic minded individuals and groups. We are working with the DC Tax Day Tea Party and the Virginia Tax Day Tea Parties to help publicize our events. Also, we are coordinating with the Reston Tax Day Tea Party for maximum impact and attendance. The Reston event is being organized by the American Conservative Party. We will be posting their event on our website shortly when we have worked out a few details. We are also looking to work with the Leadership Institute for a 4th of July Tea party at their annual Conservative Soiree at Bull Run Park.

**Cross Posted at Crystal Clear Conservative

Northern Virginia Tea Party

With the recent momentum of the April 15^th Tea Parties, there are several occurring within Virginia. The most recent updated list can be found here.

There will be one held here in Northern Virginia at the Merrifield Post Office on April 15^th from 5-7 p.m. You can find more information at the Northern Virginia Tea Party website. This will not only give you a chance to go to the DC Tea Party, but it will allow you to make a mark on your own community. Additionally, I am trying to line up an interview with the organizers of both the DC Tea Party and Northern Virginia Tea Party that will appear this week.

I will be covering both of these events for both CCC and Virginia News Platoon. Keep a look out on my YouTube Channel for video of these events.

The Aftermath: Where does the RPV go from here?

With yesterday’s vote by the State Central Committee to get rid of Jeff Frederick as Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, we are now left with a temporary Chairman, Michael Thomas, and a sharp divide between the grassroots and the party leadership. Right now, this is not looking good for our party for the upcoming elections statewide, and there is no doubt that the Democrats will be taking advantage of this situation.

So now, the Republicans in Virginia are looking around at the aftermath of yesterday asking: where does the RPV go from here? Do some sit at home and punish our candidates because the vote did not go the way as some would have liked, or do we try to find some reason to unify and work hard for our candidates to ensure victory in November? I would hope that many pick the latter.

Look, I learned a valuable lesson from 2008, when I (like many) stood against John McCain’s selection by the Republican Party to be the Presidential nominee. I did not want to be active in this race. In fact, I threatened to sit home and not work on behalf of the ticket. However, it took a talk with a good friend, who I worked with in 2006 and 2007 on several successful (and some not so successful) campaigns, to realize that it was wrong not to help the party. Maybe, I was placing my own principles on the table for the sake of the party, or it could be something that Ronald Reagan once said, “I may not agree with someone 20% of the time, but if I do agree with someone 80% of the time, then they are not my enemy.” I did some grassroots work on behalf of McCain by phone banking, and even though, we were not victorious. The lesson I learned was that you need to view it in the Reagan perspective, but then advocate on behalf of principle.

I intend to work hard for all three of the candidates, even if the State Central vote did not go the way that many grassroots activists within the party wanted it to go yesterday. I would hope that many of those who were against the Frederick removal would work with the party leadership to develop with educating our candidates on how to stand on our core principles of limited government, lower taxes, and standing on behalf of life, liberty, and property. Together, we can do much if we work together, rather than sitting at home and pouting over past events. There is no doubt that many might disagree with my perspective and thoughts on this situation, and there might be some who agree with my thoughts. Right now, we are in a critical state as a party both on the state and national levels, and we all need to work on strengthening our core principles and embracing them to win races in the future.

**Cross Posted at Virginia News Platoon

Transparency Among Virginia Counties

The Sunshine Review, a web site devoted to government transparency at the state and local levels recently evaluated counties and jurisdictions across the United States, in terms of how much open information that is accessible to the public. In Virginia, there were some surprising statistics on how open government was by accounting dealings with lobbyists, expenditures, taxes, and budgets.

In Northern Virginia, several counties had good to mediocre transparency on their websites. Fairfax County has a fairly good record of transparency on their website, as they place the Board of Supervisors’ contact information and term dates listed. Additionally, there are lists of previous budgets, county board agendas, bid requests, county contracts, as well as places where you can make tax payments to the county. However, it lacks in listing department officials’ contact information or any lobbyists who might be employed by the county. Arlington County also accounts for the same amount of transparency on their website.

Loudoun County is more open with their dealings on their website, as it lists the same information as Fairfax, and the only thing not listed on their website is the public record. Where Fairfax County does not list department officials’ contact information or lobbyists who petition on behalf of the county, Loudoun County makes this information accessible.

Both Prince William County and the City of Alexandria have more restrictions on what they list on their sites. Lobbying affiliations are not mentioned, and both governments list their budgets, contact information for their elected officials and department heads, audits are available, and FOIA filing instructions are prominently displayed.

Overall, the Northern Virginia counties all have good transparency measures in place. There is still more work that needs to be done to ensure full transparency is available to the taxpayers. While Northern Virginia leads the Commonwealth in transparency, Virginia is still better than some of our neighboring states, when it comes down to transparency and accountability.

**Cross Posted at Crystal Clear Conservative

Obama’s Budget Reaches the House

In the next chapter of Fiscal Responsibility, Congress will be debating and voting on President Obama’s budget tomorrow. With close to $3.8-4 trillion dollars in spending, this bill is the grim reaper of national debt that will last for a long time. The budget includes proposals to limit defense spending, impose a national energy tax, and increased spending on health care proposals. It is not looking good on Capitol Hill right now, and this is not what taxpayers need.

Tonight, I had the opportunity to participate in a Blogger’s Conference Call with Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Roanoke). Goodlatte discussed the current budget bill, which will be debated and voted on tomorrow. This bill calls for the further expansion of the government and will be spending trillions of dollars over the next year. It is a disgrace that we will be buried in debt due to this horrid proposal. A surprising statistic mentioned during the call was that our current and rising debt does make our country ineligible for admittance to the European Union.

Goodlatte is definitely an advocate for the taxpayers, as he indicated that there are two different Republican budget alternatives. One was proposed by the Republican Study Committee and the other was proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin). The one proposed by Rep. Ryan and the Republicans on the Budget Committee can be found here.

Goodlatte mentioned that he would support either one of these plans, but prefers a plan that would balance the budget and scrap the tax code to a simpler tax code with six guiding principles. When asked about the estate tax, Goodlatte indicated that this is set to expire in 2010, and it will go back to its standardized rate of 55% in 2011. Families whose loved ones die after 2010 would have to incur this massive debt. Goodlatte also touched on another tax that is likely to come from this budget that would make us more dependent on foreign oil. The Cap and Trade tax on energy will cost American families $1,200 a year and it will also drive jobs out of the country.

Additionally, Goodlatte said this budget is going to hurt small businesses. Along with the real estate taxes, employment taxes, capital gains taxes, and a dividends tax increase, it will be difficult for small businesses to stay afloat and make a decent living. It is particularly worrisome to someone who is considering opening a small business with the added regulations that will be placed on them.

The most worrying part of this budget is the massive amounts of spending that the Obama administration is proposing, and we are headed in the wrong direction. The increased size of government no doubt creates more fear, along with the proposed universal health care.

A special thanks to Congressman Goodlatte and his staff for hosting this conference call tonight. It was very informative, and hopefully, there will be more opportunities to participate in future calls.

**Cross Posted at Virginia News Platoon

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Other links about the Conference Call with Rep. Goodlatte:

• Bearing Drift

Video from the Anti-Tax Rally in Fairfax

Check out both the video clips on Crystal Clear Conservative.

Video from the Republicans United for Tax Relief Anti-Tax Rally
Video from the Anti-Tax Rally in Fairfax

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