LaCivita Denigrates Hurt’s Opponents

February 6, 2010 – 11:55 pm

“With this group, if you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you think you can be a member of Congress,”…This quote was from an article in the Los Angeles Times in which the ever despicable Chris LaCivita shoots his mouth off once again about Robert Hurt’s opponents in the 5th district congressional race.

Let’s take a look at the people who this man is disparaging. We have Michael McPadden a gentleman who earned a degree in electrical engineering and became a navy pilot and is now a commercial airline pilot. Next there is Jim McKelvey who grew up in a difficult environment and was able to become a successful real estate developer with a net worth of millions of dollars. From Albemarle County we have Ken Boyd who has been involved in the financial industry for decades and was Executive Vice President and senior operating officer for the computer subsidiary of Jefferson National Bank. Also from Albemarle County we have Laurence Verga a real estate investor who also started out from meager beginnings and built a successful business. From Fluvanna County we have Feda Kidd Morton, Feda graduated” Cum Laude “from Longwood College with a degree in biology and teaches regular, honors and advancement placement biology at the Fluvanna County school system.

Here is a group of challengers to what LaCivita seems to think is Hurt’s birthright, a group of very successful people that do not deserve to be denigrated by a sleaze like LaCivita. It is time that Senator Hurt get rid of this man who is bringing politics in the 5th district to a new low.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , , , , , , , | Comments (21)

Ferrin Should Drop Out

February 6, 2010 – 9:29 am

It is now six days past the required filing date for campaign committees to report contributions and expenses. As of this morning Ron Ferrin’s campaign committee has not filed a report. These reports need to be filed on the exact date or the committee will face fines. From what I have read there is only one exception to the rule for not having to file and that would be if the candidate has not raised or expended $5,000 or more.

“An individual becomes a candidate for Federal office (and thus triggers registration and reporting obligations) when his or her campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions received or expenditures made. If the campaign has not crossed the $5,000 threshold, it is not required to file reports.”

I am assuming that Mr. Ferrin is quite aware of the regulations and must presume that his campaign has not reached the $5,000 threshold. If this is the case then Mr. Ferrin should drop out of the race and throw his support behind one of the other six candidates that he believes best represents his beliefs. Like many of the other candidates his beliefs and campaign platform does not vary widely from the others so it does not seem like it would be a problem for him to find a more feasible candidate to support.

I am not all that surprised about the low (non-existent) financial numbers coming from the Ferrin camp; after all he seemed more interested in promoting his businesses than running for office. Even his campaign website appears to promote his business activities as much as his ideas for a better government. I have been to several events that Ron has spoken at and he never fails to mention his businesses, I do not have a problem with promoting yourself but it is time for Ferrin to step aside so the field can be narrowed just a little. It is time for this “candidate” to either prove he is a viable alternative or find a different forum to promote his businesses.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Comments (3)

Which Way Is The Wind Blowing Hurt Now?

February 5, 2010 – 6:46 am

Robert Hurt has agreed to cosponsor two bills which are very important to the conservative moment. These two House bills the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act (HB 10, introduced by Delegate Bob Marshall) and the Virginia Firearms Freedom Act (HB 69, introduced by Delegate Bill Carrico), both of which seek to limit the reach of the federal government into state regulation of health care and gun rights. I commend Senator Hurt for finally getting involved in recognizing that there is a tenth amendment and that the states should hold the federal government answerable to it.

My question to Hurt and many other of the state politicians is where were you a year or two ago. The federal government has been usurping state rights for decades and it is only until the tea party movement says enough is enough that you finally decide that it is in your best interest to do something.

In last year’s session Delegate Chris Peace sponsored H.R. 61 which was cosponsored by Del. Bob Marshall but surprise, surprise there were no senate patrons. This bill which promoted states rights under the tenth amendment never made it out of committee. Senator Hurt as is typical of most of today’s politicians seems to have to be forced to do what is right.

If it wasn’t for the grassroots movement these current bills may not have gotten anywhere, they certainly would not have received the support from our state representatives that they have. It is obvious that Hurt is being affected by the tea party movement which is made apparent by this statement in the Danville paper: “Hurt said he thought the bills had “a very good chance” of being adopted. When asked if he was supporting the bills in an effort to reach out to the Tea Party, he said he shared their Tenth Amendment concerns. “

All of a sudden Hurt is concerned about the tenth amendment. This is obviously something new to him because a search of his senate and delegate record showed no previous concern in regards to the tenth amendment. This is an apparent ploy by Hurt to gain support from the tea party movement. We need leaders in Washington, not politicians who look to see which way the wind blows and then jump on board so they can get elected or reelected.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , | Comments (31)

Can Hurt Win a Tough Election?

February 1, 2010 – 11:59 pm

The Hurt campaign and some of his supporters keep referencing his ability to win elections. They say that this ability to win elections make him a preferable candidate to go against Perriello. After looking at his election history I have to chuckle about his capacity to win.

First of all I would like to bring up the obvious fact that he was a Republican running for election in a conservative district in which his family had lived for decades. Who were these conservative southsiders going to vote for, a liberal democrat or a Republican whose family had deep roots in the community? Even without the family history any Republican would have won in this area even Dede Scozzafava.

Having stated the obvious let’s look at the competition that Hurt faced in the several races he ran as a delegate and senator.

    —————-State Delegate 2001——————
    Candidate—————–Spent—————-Votes———Percentage
    Randy Collins (Dem.)——$2,206————-6,382———35%
    Robert Hurt—————$54,519————11,853———65%

    —————–State Delegate 2003——————-
    Candidate——————–Spent——————Votes———–Percentage
    Kimble Reynolds Jr. (Dem)—-$58,623———–5,441———-38.4%
    Robert Hurt—————–$122,347———–8,744———61.6%

    —————– State Delegate 2005——————

    Candidate———————-Spent—————-Votes———Percentage
    Unopposed
    Robert Hurt—————– $68,978————-12,821———-99.1%

    ——————-State Senate 2007——————–

    Candidate———————Spent—————-Votes———Percentage
    Sherman David Witcher(Ind.—$806 —————– 9,488———–24.20%
    Robert Hurt——————-$174,585————-29,735———-75.70%

In these races Hurt spent $420,429 compared to $61,635 spent by his opponents. A Republican candidate with deep family roots running in a conservative area who outspends his opponents by a multiple of seven should not be bragging about his ability to win elections. What really stands out is the senate election in which Hurt out spent his independent opponent by a multiple of 216 but still gave up almost 25% of the vote. What would have happened if the Democrats would have put up a candidate to oppose Hurt in this election? One thing that the senate election shows is that Robert Hurt has a limited area in which he can win. In the delegate race he did well in a smaller home district but when he went to the senate race in a larger district in which he may not have been as well known, comparatively speaking he did not do as well. He ran against an independent that spent virtually no money and still managed to receive almost a quarter of the vote. It looks to me the further Robert gets away from his home town the more trouble he has in garnering support. To say he can win against Perriello in the 5th district is somewhat delusional especially when, because of his tax and spend record, he will not have the active support of the grassroots.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , , | Comments (31)

McPadden Files Campaign Finance Report

February 1, 2010 – 8:19 am

It turns out that my assumption that the McPadden campaign was having fund raising problems was correct. His report to the FEC yesterday showed total non-candidate donations of $3,228 with the exception of McKelvey this is the smallest amount of individual donations of all filing candidates. This does not bode well for the campaign in the coming months. Michael did donate $6000 of his own money and loaned the campaign $9,200.

The reported operating expenditures for the final quarter of last year were $9,596, how a campaign can function on $3,000 a month is difficult to imagine. Michael obviously has a group of very dedicated volunteers and I commend them on the work they are doing for their candidate. Unfortunately because Hurt and the GOP unit chairs pushed for a primary over a convention it will most probably take more than a group of dedicated volunteers to get their candidate on the November ballot. It will take a significant amount of dollars, this may not be right but it is the way the system works.

From the feedback I get from McPadden’s people I believe that they truly believe in their man and will do the best they can to see him succeed. I wish them luck, it is people like these with strong beliefs and commitments that were able to help the colonies break away from the tyranny of Great Britain. It is people like these that make the United States the greatest country in the world.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , , | Comments (19)

Will Hurt Return Us to 1994

February 1, 2010 – 7:25 am

I was having a discussion with and individual recently in which we were talking about what could possibly take place next year if we are able to get a significant number of conservatives elected into office. The talk turned to what happened in the 90’s when the Republicans took back congress. They were demonized when they tried to put forth a reasonable budget and because of the battle going on between the two parties the government was almost shut down. The Republicans were getting hammered in the press and eventually backed down. We were concerned that this scenario may be repeated come next year.

Of course our discussion turned to the possibility of Robert Hurt being our new representative in congress which caused us even more concern. Hurt does not have a good record when it comes to taxes and spending. We have all heard about the huge tax increase that Hurt voted for in support of Governor Mark Warner but little if anything is said about the increased spending that was included in that years budget. The 2002-04 budget was $26,379,372,090 which increased to $31,991,449,302 for the 2004-06 budget. This is a twenty percent increase, no wonder Warner pushed for this huge jump in our taxes.

In reference to this budget battle Hurt was quoted in The Washington Times dated 5/24/05 as saying; “I parted with the House leadership because it seemed budget negotiations were going absolutely nowhere.”, and in the Richmond Times on 4/28/04: “Every day that passes without a budget, we’re closer to a government shutdown.” The last person we need in DC is someone who votes for huge increases in spending along with corresponding tax increase and then justifies his vote by saying he is concerned about budget negotiations going nowhere or about shutting down the government. We need someone in congress who has the stones to stand up and hold the line when the going gets tough not someone who will cave at the first sign of opposition or who is afraid of bad press.

Back in 1994 we sent a group of “conservatives” to Washington who had initiated a Contract with America then proceeded to violate that contract. We have another chance this fall to restructure congress, the last thing we need to do is send a representative from the 5th district who is unable to stand up to the opposition when the going gets tough.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: | Comments (11)

No More Political Prostitutes

January 31, 2010 – 10:10 am

I recently was doing some research on campaign fund raising using the Virginia Public Access Project, a great site to discover where the money comes from and where it goes in state elections. Just looking at the amount of dollars spent in any given election is kind of scary. Just an example is the supervisor’s race in Albemarle County, the Slutsky-Thomas contest generated about $150,000 in spending for the two candidates. However in the 58th district represented by Rob Bell over a million dollars was spent. In the governor’s race almost $41,000,000.00 was expended. This number does not include almost $2,500,000.00 put out by independent groups to influence the election.

The amount of money spent in elections is not as disturbing as where some of it comes from and how it is used. As strange as this may sound I do not have a problem with money coming from organizations that are donating to candidates that have the same ideology. Left wing liberal organizations will support liberal democrats and the same goes for conservative organizations supporting conservative candidates, they are both putting their money where their ideals are. However when you see a group like the Virginia Trial Lawyers who contributed $796,700.00 to campaigns over the last three years and distributed it fairly evenly between Democrats and Republicans you know that this group has another agenda besides supporting a like minded party.

Organizations like the trial lawyers, unions, pharmaceutical companies and other special interests are playing both sides of the coin in hopes that no matter who gets elected they will get favorable treatment. I believe in free speech and limited government and do not believe that the state or federal government has the constitutional power to limit these special interest groups as to how much and to whom they can contribute to. But I believe that it is up to the electorate to stay informed. With websites like the Virginia Access Project and the Federal Election Commission site it only takes minutes to find out who is donating to whom. It is time that we kicked out all these political prostitutes in our elected offices and put in people who will represent us and not the special interests.

By being aware of the money flow and how our “representatives” are voting we can make those critical decisions that are so important when it comes time to enter the voting booth. It is not easy but it is not that difficult either. It is our duty as citizens to remain informed, once the electorate becomes well informed we will see a change in our government at all levels.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: | Comments (2)

Is McPadden’s Fundraising Bombing?

January 31, 2010 – 8:38 am

Lately we have been hearing about all the grassroots base that the McPadden Campaign has been developing but according to a recent email that supposed foundation hasn’t been translating to financial support. I say this judging by a recent email sent out looking to raise $1200 for a video, the email “money bomb” issued by one of his supporters states: “We need to raise $1200 this week to produce a professional video which will introduce Mike McPadden….We have made a good start already to the $1200 total, thanks to a couple generous contributions.”

I am not sure why this campaign would be issuing this type of email so early in the race. Is their fund raising going so poorly that they can’t afford to produce a $1200 video? Money bombs are usually used at more critical times such as closer to an election when you are making that one final push to put you over the top not at the beginning of a race. This appeal for dollars and McPaddens hesitancy on reporting the last quarter fund raising totals would lead me to believe that the financial news cannot be too much to brag about. I may be wrong but if they had done a stellar job of raising money they would have released their figures in hopes of discouraging some of the less successful candidates. However the McPadden camp may be trying to deceive everyone into thinking they are hurting for money and will come out with a big surprise for everyone today which is the last day to report your campaign finances for the previous quarter.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , , | Comments (7)

RNC Purity Test

January 30, 2010 – 8:31 am

This past Thursday the Republican Committee on Resolutions released this statement: “RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee urges that no support, financial or otherwise, be given to candidates who clearly do not support the core principles and positions of the Republican Party as expressed in the Platform of the Republican Party adopted in the 2008 National Convention. “

The Republican Party consists of individual people on a local level so shouldn’t it be up to these local people which candidate should or should not be supported by the party? What I see happening to the party is that they have distanced themselves from the citizens they claim to represent. In the last 14 years we have had two lame Presidential candidates whose main qualification was that it was their turn, this resulted in another four years of Clinton and now Obama. More recently we have had Scozzafava in New York and now Crist in Florida, along with other races throughout the country this emphasizes the need for the party to let the people decide who to best represent them in a general election. Once the people choose their candidate then let the party come in and throw its weight and money behind the chosen candidate.

I firmly believe that the people in a district or state know better who can best represent them more so than the party elites who sit in Washington trying to figure out how to maintain power. These party heads have a lousy track record and it is time to allow the people to do the job. If this were to happen we might actually get real representation in Washington and have a country we would be proud to leave to our children.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Washington | Tags: | Comments (4)

Cuccinelli Okays Federal Fundraising During Session

January 29, 2010 – 6:32 pm

Robert Hurt has gotten the go ahead to fund raise while the state senate is in session. According to State Attorney Ken Cuccinelli state election law does not prohibit anyone running for a federal office from fund raising while involved in state politics.

This decision is not surprising and is what most people who have read the law would have expected. This law was put into place to prevent state law makers from being unduly influenced by special interests while the legislature is in session. Of course this does not affect someone who, like Robert Hurt is running for Federal office while continuing as a state senator, since many of our state officials seem to have ambitions for higher office on the national level they obviously made sure this legislation would not affect their fund raising on the national level. A two month freeze on fund raising especially in a critical congressional or senate race would have a serious affect on a campaign. But who is kidding who, if special interests want favorable treatment in Richmond what is to stop them from trying to influence a state legislator by contributing to his Federal campaign.

No one can blame Senator Hurt for continuing the fundraising after all most other politicians would do the same. I think we are being naïve if we actually expect to see career politicians like Hurt adhere to the spirit of the law when they are only expected to answer to the letter. Maybe this is the problem with Washington, too many of our representatives go there and proceed to do only enough to keep them out on the right side of the rules, and some don’t even do that. This makes me wonder what these people will do when no one is watching.

By blueridgeguy | Posted in Virginia, Washington | Tags: , , | Comments (10)