Term Two

Bill Bolling won for his second term as Lt. Governor!

Now Virginia is changing leadership although both Governor Tim Kaine and Governor-elect Bob McDonnell have pledged to make this upcoming transition period as smooth as possible.

It is going to be interesting to watch this transition period happen and to also see what Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli get accomplished during their terms.

Once again, Congratulations!
It will well deserved.

We Won! (And Being Part of the Process)

First of all, congrats and thanks are in order for the Virginia Republican headquarters. They had a well-organized and supportive staff that I had the privilege of spending ten hours of my Sunday with phone banking.

Quite a few supporters made it out throughout the course of the day; I sat with a couple students from University of Maryland that spent several valuable hours of their Sunday putting in their time for a cause that they wanted to see win. They suffered through angry voters and pouring rain to get out their message. These students dedicated their valuable time to come to VA headquarters to get out the vote!

My experience with those in charge of the campaign were nothing but positive; they supportive and engaged with the volunteers. It felt great to be part of a united front working towards a tangible, reachable cause.

It felt great to watch as the polls came in, and feel like I made a difference. I think this victory is an important one in the future of Virginia, as well as the GOP.

Congrats Bill Bolling, Bob McDonnell, and Ken Cucinelli!

Bill Bolling casting his vote in Mechanicsville, just one vote in his fifty-seven percent victory over Jody Wagner's forty-three percent.

HAVE YOU VOTED YET?

Virginians, the time has come to stop talking, stop campaigning and make your choice! It is November 3rd and the polls open at 6 AM and close at 7 pm. Virginia law stipulates that if you are not in the voting place by the time the doors close at 7 pm, you will not be able to cast your vote.

Voting is a signature and vital part of your rights as a citizen of a democracy. It is one of the most power ways in which to show your elected officials how you feel regardless of the outcome. So speak up, don’t be shy and vote, vote, vote.

Bill Bolling has conducted an admirable, clean campaign and is asking for your vote on Election Day. Consider his record, consider his story, consider his vision and policy plans and consider what you want the future of Virginia to look like.

Now, That's How it's Done

In case you haven’t noticed, the last few months of political discourse in America have centered around a controversial national health care bill. For decades, national health care has been the pet-project of the Democratic Party. More than one and a half decades ago, the nation was enveloped in debate regarding a similar health care initiative proposed by another young, liberal, Democratic President. Now, that debate has surfaced again, and is highlighting some very interesting features of today’s political and congressional landscape.

In particular, the apparent cleavage between “blue dog” Democrats and the rest of the Democratic Party has proven to be more than just interesting. It has highlighted the major flaw of today’s Democratic Party; a lack of party unity. The inability to get “blue dog” Democrats on-board with the national health care plan is threatening to severely alter the Democrats’ original bill once it gets through Congress, if it gets through at all.

Perhaps the Democrats in Congress could take a lesson from our friends Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling, whose successful campaigns for Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, respectively, have been the result of an all-too-rare display of party unity. In an article released today by The Washington Times, the true relationship—or, more appropriately—partnership between McDonnell and Bolling was exposed.

During the last few months of 2007 and the first few months of 2008, both McDonnell, who was Attorney General of Virginia at the time, and Bolling, who was already Lieutenant Governor, were considering running for Governor in the upcoming gubernatorial race. Both men had worked under the two, previous Democratic governors, and had experienced the set-backs that come from a weak, divided party.

Then, in March of 2008, Bolling contacted McDonnell and the two men struck a deal. Both men understood the importance of having a strong, unified party if they hoped to reclaim Virginia for the Republicans. If both Bolling and McDonnell were to run for Governor, they would undoubtedly split the Republican vote and neither man would be Governor. So, in the interest of maintaining party unity, Bolling told McDonnell that he would instead run for a second term as Lieutenant Governor, and gave McDonnell the go-ahead to run for Governor.

So far, their tactic has proven successful. Both McDonnell and Bolling hold double-digit leads over their opponents in the most recent polls. This is in part due to the success they have had with campaigning on a unified platform. Their opponents, Creigh Deeds and Jody Wagner, have often contradicted each other in the media regarding hot button issues like transportation and the economy. The strength of Virginia’s Republican Party has also translated to the Virginian Senate delegate races, where Republicans are hoping to reclaim up to 12 seats.

The deal struck between McDonnell and Bolling almost one-and-a-half years ago is emblematic of the current unity within the Republican party, both in Virginia and throughout the nation. While the Democrats squander away their majority status in Congress and their control of the White House, Republicans are coming together to forge a plan for the future of both the party and the nation. The Republicans’ success in this year’s gubernatorial race is a perfect example of that.

Check out the article here

Looking Good Bill

A recent article in newsleader.com spoke about how Virginia is becoming more independent and has an increasing number of swing voters. The article states that since 1970 Virginia has become more independent because by law one cannot declare party membership and the state holds open primaries. The article went on to talk about how Virginians vote based on how satisfied they are with the current government, if everything is going well history has shown they will vote in the same leadership. However, if people are not happy with how the government is being run then they will vote in someone different. Considering this same news source endorses Bolling, I would say that the people of Virginia have been happy with his performance thus far as Lieutenant Governor.

In a separate opinion piece, a citizen wrote in to say “I’m looking forward to Lt. Gov. Bolling serving another term. He’s truly an accomplished responsible candidate with new ideas.” It’s looking good for Bill.

Too Much Traffic: Bolling to Stop “Gridlock” in VA Politics

Transportation is one of if not the most important issue for Virginia voters and the Bolling and McDonnell campaigns have plans to fix it.

Bolling’s plan avoids raising taxes to pay for road construction, improvement and other public transportation projects by issuing bonds over the next four years, earmarking 75% of future budget surpluses for transportation and allow local and regional governments to retain more tax revenue for priority transportation projects.

The most impressive and forward thinking aspect of the funding proposal is the goal of pursuing more public-private partnerships in order to help complete priority projects in critical areas of the state. Public-private partnerships represent not only Bolling’s commitment to using any and all means necessary to improve transportation, but also his desire to improve and encourage business growth during this economic slump. These partnerships will strengthen the Virginian economy by providing contractors and other businesses with projects and revenue streams and allowing private enterprise do their part to improve the situation.

And of course, the projects range from widening I66 inside and outside the Beltway to completing the I495 and I395/95 HOT lanes projects. Bolling understands that these improvements coupled with a complete metro rail to Dulles and support rails from Norfolk to Virginia are crucial to state’s future success.

“When the Going Gets Tough…..The Tough Go Negative?”

Jody Wagner continues to wage her negative campaign against the Lt. Gov. Bolling in the hopes that voters will suddenly “come to their senses” and run to her side. Unfortunately, Wagner has not ran a campaign that messages effectively, that highlights who she is and builds name recognition or that can compete with the four years of success and popularity Bolling has had.

This campaign ad is a problem. It comes across as childish, more designed to make you laugh than make you think. The moment you see the cigar in his hand, any educated person starts laughing at the “Boss Tweed” reference and dismisses it as a political joke. It also attempts to make Bolling look bad because of his stance on healthcare, a national issue that is very divisive and complicated.

Can we hear a big “hooray” for failed negative ads? There’s an effective and ineffective method of going negative, and unfortunately, “ineffective” has been the buzz word and message of the Wagner campaign.