MASON CONSERVATIVE

Cantor Talk Warming Up

RedState

Powerline Blog

Weekly Standard's "The Blog"

Its the month of wild speculation for sure.  McCain-Cantor would be a bold choice for sure, and Cantor certainly is up to it through his years in Congress (more time, and with more responsibility, that a certain senator from Illinois).  The best part about nominating a young candidate like Cator or Jindal or Palin is the light it will show on Obama.  These three have accomplished much more in their brief careers and any criticism of their records would have to boomerang around to Obama when you match the resumes.  Cantor is by far my top choice, so we'll see.

Corey Stewart Comes To Fairfax YRs

Stop by if you can make it:

Speaker: The Honorable Corey Stewart Chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 The Firehouse Grill 3988 University Drive Fairfax, VA 22030   Time:  7:30-??

McCain-Romney This Week

The Prince of Darkness usually isn't wrong about stuff like this.

I'm of two minds about this.  If McCain is looking to name his veep simply to steal headlines from Barack Obama, its poor strategy.  Slow and steady always wins the race, we afterall we are still in the silly-season, the summer before the conventions.  Obama's visit might be important to those really paying close attention, but most Americans still aren't completely tuned in.  For McCain to make such an important decision based on oneupsmanship is not good.  However, if McCain has decided on who the running-mate will be, 100%, then I think he should do it.  What's the point in waiting?  This is completely predicated on the idea that McCain has decided.   If its for political headline-jockeying, its a bad idea.  If the decision has been made, its a good idea.

On to Romney.  I never really bought into Romney like many others on the right did when it came down to McCain-Romney in Florida.  But he is an exceptional choice in many respects, including bringing in a national figure to the ticket, someone who was endorsed by the National Review, Rev. Lou Shelton, and Sen. Jim DeMint.  He has also made all the right moves since leaving the race, articulated by John Gizzi of Human Events - becoming a vocal surrogate for McCain among conservatives (most notably, on talk radio, where Romney is all over for McCain).  They differ, yes, but Romney seems to the embodiment of the compromise many Republicans have made with McCain.  He's not perfect, but what will happen should Obama become president is too high a price to pay for mere political infighting.  Though I was skeptical of Romney before, he's said all the right things in the last year and a half.  Romney is telegentic and articulate, and could really help McCain get his message out.     

The other thing that Romney brings is money, and not just money, but a deep fundraising apparatus; and though it didn't translate into votes, it was a rich text to work from.  McCain and the RNC have done a good job recently in raising money; and Romney can really ad to that.  It might be somewhat callous to talk about this, almost cynical, but it must come into play.  

Romney is the safe choice, and sometimes that isn't bad.  I'm still holding out hope that it will be a Sarah Palin or an Eric Cantor . . . but I'm becoming more and more convinced that it will be Mitt Romney; whether its next week or next month.

RWL Busts Warner

The hardest working man on the blogosphere does it again, dissecting the lies of Mark Warner and finding out exactly where all that money went that Mark Warner vowed, with Sith-like accuracy, would save Virginia.  

The numbers are mind-boggling.  The extra $1.5 billion for FY05-06 is more than Warner’s entire tax hike.  Over the entire eight years, the difference is $6.7 billion - $2.2B more than raised by Warner’s tax hike over that six year period.  

Imagine how that $2.2 billion could have been improved, say, our transportation network.

So, if you want to know why your taxes went up, and (for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads) why you’re snarled in traffic, today’s debate gave the answer: it was so Mark Warner could knock out low-income private health insurance and expand government controlled health care.

Do we really want to reward the author of this costly and ideological mistake with a seat in the U.S. Senate?  Shouldn’t we instead choose the fellow who tried to prevent this budget-buster?

Its beautiful in its accuracy and delivery. 

The Dark Knight

Nobody will ever forget Heath Ledger.  

That was the one thought going through my head when I saw this movie.  His Joker will stay with us for a long time.  He is maniacal, timely, brilliant, and edgy.  Because he died, this movie has become about him and Ledger's performance is nothing short of amazing.  The four main characters, Batman (Christian Bale), Joker (Ledger), Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman); are all played expertly - and while Ledger gets great praise, don't forget about Eckhart - his performance is mesmerizing as well.  Especially at the end.

This movie is nothing short of a masterpiece.  

A Northern Virginia Titan Has Died

Joseph Gartlan, a liberal lion who served his commonwealth for nearly 30 years.

Rest in peace, and god be with the family.

I am too young to remember much about Senator Gartlan, but through history I have learned his name and some of his deeds.  Fairfax County was an interesting place back in the day - it could produce Joe Gartlans and Wyatt Durrettes all at the same time.

Smackdown, A Definition

We aren't in Colorado, obviously, but this utter and complete smackdown by Bob Schaffer on Mark Udall is worth a post.  Truly a thing of beauty:

"Whatever The Politics Demand"

John McCain throws a haymaker.  And it lands.

13 Times A Liar

Jim Gilmore is fighting, and I really appreciate it.  Its easy to fight, however, when you have the facts on your side.  Mark Warner said, from his own mouth, that we wouldn't raise taxes 13 times.

The common Warner refrain is that Gilmore is "name-calling," but its a rather hollow response to something that is plain as day.  And I can make the argument that Mark Warner is responsible for our current Transportation mess. His insistence on tax-increases-are-always-the-answer theology is the reason we are in the mess we are.  The lowest common demoninator solution to win votes might have helped him politically; but the lack of nuance, flexibility, and outside-the-box thinking for solutions have made the problem nearly unfixablle because he's made the idea that simply raising taxes will fix everything seem sensible when its not.  That is what even more gauling then the simple, and truthful, refrain that Warner lied. 

I am anxious to see how this upcoming debate between Gilmore and Warner flies.  I don't think that Warner really knows what he's up against.  He's never been up against a bulldog campaigner - John Warner and Mark Earley are good men, but bulldogs they aren't - and Warner is the kind of guy who believes his own hype and expects people to genuflect before his end-of-office numbers.  Gilmore won't do that, and I suspect that Warner will be using the usual lines about "name calling," and "negative campaigning."  But Gilmore will fight, and he won't stop because of a poll or of what the MSM says about it.  This is the exact reason why I supported him at the convnetion and why I cannot WAIT to see Gilmore get his hands on Warner this saturday.

I Hope This Isn't True

Sure Ben's a muckraker, but he's a muckraker that's usually right on stuff like THIS.

For the Attorney General's sake, as the candidate criss-crossing the state with LG Bill Bolling preaching GOP unity, he isn't working to make a contested nomination more divisive.  He might be playing with fire here, and I don't want to see him get burned. 

Eric Cantor For VP (another reason)

Now that its pretty apparent that Bobby Jindal won't be John McCain's running-mate, my current 1A and 1B are Rep. Eric Cantor and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.  I'm teetering back and forth and both would be absolutely outstanding.  But I think Eric Cantor would be a tremendous choice, and his recent post on RedState makes clear why Cantor would be a great running-mate:

We all know that high gas prices are hurting American families and are the single biggest obstacle to economic growth today. Gas at $4 dollars a gallon is strangling our economy. We feel it at every turn, be it at the pump or when we shop for groceries. As we face a real energy crisis we need to find real solutions.

This week, we saw President Bush lift the ban on deep water energy exploration. This was the right move and has put us one step closer to being able to expand America's energy resources and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Now Congress must act!

That is why I am proposing a three- pronged plan to reduce the cost of gas and wean our dependence on foreign oil:

1. Exploration—We must remove our dependence on Middle East oil and become energy independent and self-sufficient. It is time we allow for exploration of oil and natural gas off our coasts, as well as in ANWR and of our domestic oil shale.
2. Conservation—We must enact tax credits to improve energy efficiency and encourage families and businesses to employ cutting edge technology
3. Innovation—We must to find clean, efficient, and affordable ways to develop alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear and coal in order to power us into the 21st century.

Republicans have a plan to secure America’s energy future.

The Brownlee Campaign: Crass

I got an email today from the John Brownlee campaign for AG, under the ubiquitous title of "The Brownlee Report."  It is a reposting of a blog post, Team Brownlee brag that they have outraised Ken Cuccinelli:

First let me say I'm no expert at reading financial disclosures. That said, I've done my best and my intial conclusion, based on raw numbers, is that John Brownlee actual outraised Senator Cuccinelli in donations from third parties. Here's the math.

Cuccinelli reported cash contributions of $115,404. This amount was comprised of $106,550 in itemized contributions over $100 and $8,854 in contributions under $100.

Brownlee reported cash contributions of $93,550. All of his contributions were itemized contributions over $100.

At first glance it appears Cuccinelli won the battle. HOWEVER, when you look closer at Cuccinelli's report you see that $42,100 of the money he raised was actually money transferred from his Senate account. This lowers his new money raised to $73,304.

PUNCHLINE - In this reporting period, Brownlee actually outraised Cuccinelli $93,550 to $73,304. Add in the factors we discussed in our previous related posts (here and here) and there is no question this is huge news for Brownlee and disappointing news for Cuccinelli.

Couple things that jump out at me, so lets run it down.  First off, someone that discloses they are "no expert at reading financial disclosures" is an interesting source from which the Brownlee campaign to put their leaderhead on as an implied spokesperson for their campaign. 

Second, since they aren't experts, they clearly don't know that incumbant members of the General Assembly are barred from raising funds while they are in seassion.  So for several months Cuccinelli could not raise any more.  Not a good start for a campaign that wants to be Virginia's top lawyer to not know such a basic law.

Third, and the most problematic, is the endorsement by the Brownlee campaign's endorsement of Republican disunity.  To send out an email that directly looks to drive a wedge between Republicans right now when we need to be all hands on deck for John McCain, Jim Gilmore, and the local congressional candidates is the most shocking.  I can understand the under-the-table stuff, the bloggers going back and forth.  But for the campaign itself to send this email out now that looks to divide Republicans instead of unite them when we need unity more than ever is simply strange.

Let me tell you a brief story about Ken Cuccinelli.  At the Convention a couple months ago, Ken gave perhaps the best speech I've ever heard him give endorsing Bob Marshall.  Fiery, impassioned, it never once named JIm Gilmore nor did it attack him even implicitly.  Previously, I had seen Ken stand-in for Marshall at several local events and it was the same thing, advocacy without divissivness.  Its how Republicans are suppose to act in contested primaries and conventions.  And when it was over, when many of the most die-hard Marshall supporters were leaving disgusted, I spotted a beaming Senator Cuccinelli at the back of the hall shaking hands with a Gilmore for Senate bumper sticker in his breast pocket, ready to fight this November.

This difference should tell Republicans all they need to know.  Squishy and divisive or principled and unifying.

RWL: KC 4 AG!

GREAT POST:

Of the three candidates in the running, only Cuccinelli has been in Richmond dealing with the vital issues of the state.  That’s more important than it sounds.  Ever since 1993, when Jim Gilmore radically changed the image of the job, people have focused on the crime-fighting aspects of the Attorney General’s office. However, an AG does far more than that; the AG represents the state on every constitutional and national policy issue that ends up before the courts.  I particularly remember my shock at seeing Mark Earley, representing Virginia, favoring re-regulation of the airline industry less than a year into his term.  That was never an issue during the 1997 campaign; had it been, the primary might have gone very differently.

That segues to my second reason for backing Cuccinelli; the odds are very good that whoever is elected Attorney General in 2009 will be our nominee for Governor in 2017.  Earley’s record as State Senator (where he had weaknesses on economic issues) was repeated both as Attorney General and as a candidate for Governor in 2001.  It was in the latter capacity that his penchant for deviating from limited-government views opened the door for Mark Warner.  The rest is history.

Bob McDonnell: Loaded

Bob McDonnell is ready, READY, for 2009 that is for sure.  McDonnell has some serious bank right now and seeing what is already going down in the Deeds-Moran race, things might be getting easier and easier.

Richmond-

"McDonnell for Virginia", the political organization of Attorney General Bob McDonnell, announced today that it has $1,168,877 on hand as of the most recent campaign finance report. The organization raised $878,492, with an overwhelming majority of the funds being raised over the past three months. The Attorney General is prohibited from raising funds during the General Assembly session which ran from January through March.

Speaking about the latest financial report, strategist Phil Cox remarked, "Obviously the current focus of everyone in the McDonnell organization is doing all we can to elect John McCain as the next President of the United States, and electing all of Virginia's Republican Congressional candidates. At the same time we are preparing for the 2009 gubernatorial campaign. Bob McDonnell has earned accolades from both sides of the aisle and from private sector leaders for his record of results as Virginia's Attorney General. That performance in statewide office now leads to the opportunity to run for governor of Virginia."

Cox continued, "With nearly $1.2 million on hand, at this very early date, we are building an efficient organization that will be well-funded and well-prepared to run a strong, positive, innovative campaign next year.  We look forward to sharing Bob McDonnell's positive vision for Virginia with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in 2009."

Bill Bolling Off To A Running Start

Good news from LG Bill Bolling's campaign; who announced some good fundraising numbers:

RICHMOND - In reports to be filed with the State Board of Elections,
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling will report raising $443,000 in the first
six months of 2008.   The vast majority of this money was raised in the past
three months.  Bolling was prohibited from raising money while the General
Assembly was in session from January to March.

Bolling also reported having $664,000 cash on hand for his re-election
campaign in 2009.  Amassing this much money early in the campaign cycle
indicates that Bolling is aggressively raising funds to prepare for his
re-election campaign and the campaign is securing financial support from
every part of the state.

Finally, Bolling's report reflected broad based financial support for his
re-election campaign.  During the first half of 2008, Bolling received
contributions from 657 donors. Of this number 408 were contributions of less
than $100 from individual Virginians.

"I am very pleased by the fund raising success we enjoyed during the first
half of 2008," Bolling said.  "I am honored that so many people have agreed
to invest in my re-election campaign this early in the process.  It takes a
great deal of money to run a modern political campaign, and based on the
strong support we have developed thus far, I am more confident than ever
that we will be able to run a successful re-election campaign next year."

"I am also very proud of the fact that our campaign has been able to develop
broad based financial support," Bolling added.  "We have received 657
individual contributions, 408 of whom are grassroots donors who have made
contributions less than $100.  This indicates that our campaign is already
generating interest and excitement among everyday Virginians."

Bolling was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2005.  In a year that favored
Democrats, Bolling received more votes than any other statewide Republican
candidate.  Earlier this year Bolling announced that he would seek
re-election in 2009 forgoing an anticipated bid for Governor.

Obviously this is great news, and it shows that Bolling has learned the lesson so many other Republicans have failed, not too take anything for granted.  I've said over and over that that if Bob McDonnell gets elected governor in 2009, Bill Bolling will be the main reason why.