novatownhall blog

by jacob
Monk, thanks for reminding me to sign my previous article. It was an oversight. I appreciate your pointing it out.

As for rattled, hardly. With Ken’s endorsement and the endorsements of hundreds of others, I see Mark running a strong race. Mark saw all the venom on the blogs directed toward him and Candace back in January. He also saw all the old wounds in the party getting opened up. In order to squelch all that he asked me not to post stuff about the campaign on this blog. The party does not need the venom. By the way, that is called leadership. Leadership is about knowing what is right, and not just giving in to ones baser instincts to hit back. This is what Ken did when a number of blogs were attacking him.

Notice the difference. When Greg Stone posted an article or two about Candace, I did not call it a steaming pile. Or denigrate anyone. When I saw Tags endorsement of Candace, I did not lament it. I also did not frame it as a poor choice on Tag’s part, nor try to dilute Candace with some statement about Greg Stone calling Tag on her behalf. You have.

Like I said yesterday, this party separates the men from the boys on SUNDAY. Where will you be? This is why I am asking you and others in the party if you will support the winner from Saturday, on Sunday. I will be there from day one. That is the adult thing to do. Candace has called for it, this is also leadership. You support her — so what gives? A simple yes or no will suffice. We need unity, the stakes are too high.

This is not about ripping each others guts people. The party does not agree on who is the best choice. The remedy for this is tomorrow’s election. The remedy is not demonizing and denigrating one another. The two campaigns have kept to the high road. That is called leadership.

by jacob
Mark Sell, candidate for Chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee, today has released the following statement from Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli:

I can attest from first-hand experience that Mark Sell is an excellent choice for Loudoun County Republican Committee Chairman. Mark has worked side-by-side with many of us over the last decade on key conservative issues ranging from the fight against tax hikes to the Marriage Amendment. From Committee Treasurer to District Chair to Precinct Captain to Rules Committee Chairman to a Loudoun County Volunteer Coordinator for my own victorious campaign last year, Mark has shown his mettle where it counts — in the planning councils, in the trenches, on the phones and on the streets. He has the proven skills at organization, mobilization, fund-raising and finance to head up a winning effort for Loudoun Republicans in 2010, 2011 and beyond.

This is tremendous news for the Sell campaign. During the past weeks of campaigning, Mark has made appearances before the the good folks at Leisure World, LCWC, the LCRC and lastly the fiscally challenged BOS. Mark has received endorsements from many conservative Republicans, and his campaign delivered close to 300 applications in support of Howie Lind for the upcoming 10th district convention. Boots on the ground activism delivered those votes for Howie, and will deliver the votes for other Republicans in 2011. Ken Cuccinelli knows this and that is why he endorses Mark Sell for the Chairman of the Loudoun County Republican Committee.

Mark sell has been a conservative voice in Loudoun County politics for years. He is an activist who has exemplified the word ‘active’. Mark has spoken before our Board of Supervisors both Republican and Democrat controlled on countless occasions. Mark has worked every election cycle, supporting our Republican party in both good times and bad. Mark has seen his fair share of big spenders on both sides of the political divide. He is a Christian, patriot and a conservative, this reality has reflected in his actions and words since the day I met him.

The 2009 Republican Party of Virginia Convention served as a milestone for many Virginia conservatives, as the only true contest anyone really cared about was a resounding success for those who want to see conservative principles rebound in the Commonwealth, and who saw Ken Cuccinelli as the standard bearer for those principles.

Ken Cuccinelli Speech At Republican Party of Virginia 2009 Convention from Joe Budzinski on Vimeo.

For the record, Ken Cuccinelli’s speech for attorney general nomination was much better than the speeches of either of his opponents. They were not even in the same ballpark.

Bob McDonnell was uncontested for nomination for governor; Bill Bolling was barely contested for nomination for Lieutenant Governor; the RPV Chairman race was between a guy who really knew how to give a speech and a guy who sounded like he was reading from his shopping list at Barnes and Noble.

This Convention was all about the race for nomination for attorney general, and Ken Cuccinelli won after the first ballot with at least 51% of the vote over the combined vote totals of John Brownlee and Dave Foster. That race was the only reason I and a whole bunch of people I talked to even bothered to make the trip down to Richmond on a beautiful Saturday, and thank goodness Ken won.

The bottom line message to take away from this event: Conservatives, don’t give up. While it might be too early to say a new day is dawning, the sun is definitely peeking over the horizon. We have a candidate we can go to the well for in the coming months. You might have reservations about Bob McDonnell, but Ken Cuccinelli is someone who can really make a difference for our nation. I will see you all out on the campaign trail.

Besides me and the lovely Linda B, NVTH friends I talked to in Richmond included: ACTivist, Blog Fu, Brian Withnell, Bulletproof Monk, Cathy Mac, Donny Ferguson, Eve Barner, Mark Sell, G. Stone, Jacob, Jane, Loudoun Insider, along with illustrious Sterling Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (for whom I was wearing the traditional orange ball cap in solemn camaraderie), and blogfather John of Loudoun. And frankly, the Convention was just so packed with people it was nearly impossible to find anyone so I don’t think I saw a fraction of the people I knew there.

Bad for networking but FANTASTIC for Republican prospects in upcoming elections.

My Twitter comments from the Convention are here. Photos and more comments are below the fold.

By the way, a major highlight of the Convention was a speech by a Virginia Tech cadet which I missed most of. As soon as that video is posted I will link to it. It was not just a “good speech,” it was a seminal event in Virginia political culture. When someone gets it uploaded somewhere it will be a new post here. It is going to be one of the great political video clips of all time.
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After hearing the “John L. Brownlee” robocall on our machine tonight, my reaction was exactly that of Nova Conservative: It had to come from the Foster campaign because it fits with the argument of the comparison piece mailing we all received last week, and why would Cuccinelli need to do it? And being totally illegal – the sponsor was not identified in the call – it seems more like what you’d get from the last place campaign than the leader.

Or it could’ve just been some third party with an agenda. And a sense of humor. Call me irreverent, but politics gets pretty boring to me and stuff like this cracks me up. My only question is, since it was an illegal call, could I get in trouble by posting the audio? I was a huge Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan and this robocall was definitely in the “Plan 9 From Outer Space” league of political agitprop. I so very much want to let the world hear it.

Elections are like awards ceremonies: The majority you attend throughout your life are uninspiring – and, let’s be honest, dreary – affairs, but every once in a while an event features a sparkling statement or personal testimony that makes you truly glad you were there.

Ken Cuccinelli is the spark of life that has motivated me to drive to Richmond on Saturday to vote in the nomination election for Republican candidate for Virginia Attorney General. My wife, neighbor and I are getting in the Joe-mobile at an uncomfortably early hour and spending the day in Richmond because Ken is one of the few public officials in the nation about whom one can say, “We all would be better off if that guy was in a higher office.” Anybody who has spent more than a few minutes talking to Ken, following his achievements in the Virginia Senate or listening to him give a speech knows that he is the real deal, someone who believes in what he is working for and does not compromise principles to achieve it.

Most importantly, Ken Cuccinelli realizes that it is not all about him. The people who will go the extra yard to support him do so because they believe in the goals he is working for, and they see that he does not reinvent himself to suit the times. He is a stalwart conservative who has gotten himself reelected in a Democrat bastion of Fairfax County because he believes sincerely and acts on those beliefs year in and year out. Ken does not hold his finger up into the polling winds to determine his message. He is who he is.

We’re taking a day and a long drive to support him because we have our eyes on the same prize: a rational Virginia state government.

The three chief issues that motivate me to support Ken Cuccinelli are illegal immigration, Second Amendment rights, and property rights. Let’s take them in reverse order:

Property Rights

Following the infamous US Supreme Court decision in Kelo v City of New London, Ken Cuccinelli was one of the first legislators to act to protect property rights of Virginia citizens. His legislation was eventually signed into law in April, 2007.

This means the government can’t condemn your house because they would like to see a bigger house, or a PetSmart, on the property. If you would like to send Ken a thank you note, please click here.

Second Amendment Rights

The proposition that any candidate in the Commonwealth of Virginia is better than Ken Cuccinelli on gun rights is laughable. He is a longstanding member of the Arlington-Fairfax chapter of the Izaak Walton League, he has repeatedly earned the endorsements of the NRA and countless other Second Amendment organizations, and he is the only public official so many of us have seen (and accompanied) at the NRA range in Vienna and the Nation’s Gun Show in Chantilly over the past several years.

I personally want an Attorney General who has gun rights as more than part of his “platform.” I want a guy who lives it just as I do. I want an AG who will do everything in his power to protect those rights. Prominent Second Amendment supporters in Fairfax County who get reelected are a special breed – those are the kind of people I want in higher office.

Opposing Illegal Immigration

While I think neighborhood harmony is one of the highest goals we should all be seeking, I also think ignoring the basic rules is insane. Especially during a down economy, if we are not enforcing the laws on legal hiring and residential standards we are in effect punishing those who play by the rules: It would be saying “you who obey the rules are chumps because the government is going to allow others a different code.” The Republican Party has over the past three years turned away from its civic responsibility on the immigration issue.

Ken Cuccinelli, more than anyone else in the Virginia Senate, gets it. He sees that we can’t blithely push the responsibility to the feds. He is a founding member of State Legislators for Legal Immigration. He was one of the first and most prominent to say “My president is wrong.”

He was the last, best hope in the Virginia General Assembly when everything was on the line, and he voted 100 percent for immigration enforcement at the state and local levels. I was there beating the bushes for popular support in 2007, and I can report that Ken Cuccinelli was one of the few bright lights at any level of government that we could look to for leadership on this issue, working for the interests of the legal residents of Virginia.

If you want an overview of what Ken has achieved on the illegal immigration front, click here and here. There is nobody better in the state, who happens to hold elected office. Illegal immigration is facilitated by a three-pronged support system of government permissiveness, illegal hiring and illegal housing. Ken has worked to eliminate all three. If you want someone in the AG office to reduce this problem, Ken is your man. Plus, he knows how to win elections.

I hope all of you who are registered as delegates to the Virginia Republican Convention will drive down to Richmond Saturday morning and join me in voting for Ken Cuccinelli as our nominee for Virginia Attorney General.

In case you have not made up your mind about going to Richmond on May 30 to vote for Ken Cuccinelli for Virginia Attorney General at the 2009 Virginia Republican Convention, for which I will literally drive you to the Convention to vote, here is a video I just dug up from the highly disorganized Budzinski video library. I thought it was a pretty good speech.

The video is a bit amateurish, and I must admit I shot it myself, and if you want me to be videographer for your wedding I would promise to ensure a little of the bride and groom would actually appear, but I think it conveys why Ken Cuccinelli is such an outstanding candidate. He is a guy we will work for, and he is a Republican who can win in Virginia.

For more information, please visit cuccinelli.com.

Anybody else going to Richmond, May 30, to vote for Ken Cuccinelli for Republican nominee for Attorney General?

I and my wife and neighbor are, because Ken Cuccinelli is one of the very few elected officials at any level that I would give money to or, really, do anything for. We should have room for about three more people in the SUV so if you want a ride let me know, first come first served.

If you are in Loudoun you can still file to be a delegate by downloading this form. Fill it out (you don’t actually need to know your voter ID number), sign and date it, and leave a comment here if you want me to come pick it up and deliver it for you. It’s free: You do not need to include any money – donations are all optional. Anyone registered to vote in Loudoun County can use the form, you do not need to be a member of any party.

For Loudoun residents the form must be turned in by Saturday, but do it by Friday to be safe. There is a list here which spells out filing deadlines for all other localities.

Fill out the form! Leave a comment for me to come pick it up! Ride with us or join us in Richmond! Savor the sorry spectacle of a Republican Convention, but sit with a bunch of cool people! Bring a good book, some crosswords and possibly a hip flask!

Me, I’ll be taking photos and writing sarcastic Twitter posts, and of course hobnobbing with all of the powerful, influential Virginia Republicans, which will only take about two seconds so definitely count on a lot of the photos and sarcastic Twitter.

Seriously, there are a few excellent local elected officials – Jackson Miller of Manassas is another one – who I would love to see in a higher office because they are are right on all the issues, and walk the walk in office. Ken is at the top of this list, and well worth taking a day to go down to Richmond.

On the godforsaken Virginia Senate Courts of Justice committee, which when controlled by the Republicans was the place where a slew of anti-illegal immigration bills passed by veto-proof majorities in the House went to die, Ken was one of the lone voices of integrity and reason. During those sessions, he had a 100 percent perfect score by the American Council for Immigration Reform (a veteran group on the right side of the illegal immigration issue). He’s been a stalwart defender of Second Amendment rights. Strong on social issues. AND has managed to keep getting himself elected in largely liberal Fairfax County.

We’ve written quite a bit about Ken here – just search to read more.

Join us in Richmond May 30, it will be fun! In retrospect.

For more information, please visit www.cuccinelli.com.