The Ticket is Set: Cuccinelli, Jackson and Obenshain

RPV Chairman Pat Mullins issued the following statement:

"Let me be the first to congratulate E.W. Jackson on his nomination to be the next Lt. Governor of Virginia! E.W. ran a great campaign, and made a strong case for why he should be Virginia's next Lt. Governor. With the addition of Mark Obenshain, we round out our ticket of leadership, experience, and common-sense conservative values.

At the same time, let me congratulate the six other candidates who worked so hard during this campaign. Each and every one of them was a great ambassador for our party and our beliefs. Because of their willingness to stand in the arena, our party has emerged stronger, more unified, and better prepared for November.

As this convention ends, let me also thank the thousands upon thousands of people who voted, who volunteered, and worked so hard to make it a success. Each and every one of you now owns a piece of victory in November. Thank you all for your hard work.

Now, let's go win, and win big!"

Gun Owners Denounce Jeannemarie Davis

The following is a release from the Virginia Citizens Defense League PAC:

"More disinformation from the Jeannemarie Davis campaign today about her resounding VCDL-PAC ANTI-endorsement.

The Bloomberg endorsed Anti-Gun leader sent an email to her list attempting to explain the VCDL-PAC warning to gun owners about her ACTUAL RECORD.

She states:
“As the convention approaches, I anticipate continued attacks from a group that has also attacked the NRA in the past. They have questioned my support for the 2nd Amendment...I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight!…"

The VCDL-PAC would like to take this as an opportunity to clarify why we warned gun owners about her and double-down on our "ANYBODY but Jeannemarie" email earlier this week.
Note that in the above statement Jeannemarie says that VCDL had “attacked the NRA in the past.” It's been quite a while, but, yes, when VCDL felt that the NRA was wrong about a position important to Virginia's gun owners, we asked our members to contact them. If that were to ever happen again, we would do the same. But what does that have to do with Jeannemaries's candidacy? Nothing. She simply wants to divert everyone's attention from the fact that her current NRA rating is “D”, the lowest of all of the Statewide Republican candidates!
Jeannemarie's email only talks about her old voting record as a Delegate (which wasn't bad), but stays clear of her newer voting record as a Senator (which was dismal). In fact, she was trending more anti-gun every year as a Senator.

We restate the facts, below, from our VA-ALERT earlier this week.

Jeannemarie Davis did not just vote badly on guns, she was a gun-control leader. In 2007 she carried and proudly promoted SB 827, a “gun-show loophole” bill that would have hurt gun shows across Virginia and made selling, renting, trading, or transferring a privately-owned gun without going through a dealer a FELONY.

To add insult to injury, Jeannemarie Davis invited gun-hating New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to Virginia in 2007 to stand side-by-side with her as she pushed her anti-gun agenda! Bloomberg also liked Jeanniemarie so much, he endorsed her last run for Senate.

A sampling of some more of Jeannemarie’s other bad votes:

• In 2006 she voted against HB 1106, which would have allowed a person to carry concealed anywhere on their private property or in their private vehicle without a CHP
• In 2006 she voted against SB 58, which would have removed the option for localities to fingerprint CHP applicants
• In 2005 she voted against HB 2535, which allows CHP holders to have a loaded handgun concealed in their vehicle on school property if they stay in the vehicle
• In 2005 she voted for SB 807, another “gun show loophole” bill
• In 2001 she voted for Delegate McEachin’s Amendment to HB 1969 that would have gutted preemption by allowing localities to enact gun control restrictions

This is the record she is trying to set straight with you? Good luck explaining all those bad votes, Jeannemarie.
The reason Jeannemarie won’t return the VCDL survey is because she doesn’t want to advertise her Senate voting record.
Whether or not the VCDL-PAC supports a candidate is based on both the candidate's actual Second Amendment voting record and the results of their VCDL survey. Jeannemarie has a bad voting record and NO survey. What does she expect us to do?

BOTTOM LINE:

Jeannemarie Davis has a bad voting record on guns and has failed to answer the VCDL survey.

Yes, we do differ with the NRA. They gave Jeannemarie a “D”. We think that's overly generous."

Steve Martin for Lt. Governor

Fellow Virginians I have endorsed state senator Steve Martin for Lt. Governor. First elected to the House of Delegates in 1987 and then elected to the State Senate in 1994, Steve has the experience to be an excellent Lt. Governor.

Now there are many good people running for the job, but none of them measures up to Martin. In terms of experience Martin tops them all, in terms of being a solid conservative Martin tops them all, and in terms of electability Martin tops them all.

Senator Martin has consistently received a score of 100% from the Family Foundation on his voting record. In the 2010-2011 year, the NFIB also awarded him a score of 100% for his pro-business votes. The American Conservative Union named Senator Martin a “Defender of Freedom” in 2011 with a 100% voting record and also designated him a winner of the ACU Conservative Award for 2012. The Virginia Chamber of Commerce recognized him as a “Champion of Free Enterprise”, with a 100% voting record, in 2012. Steve will also be a November 2012 recipient of the Alzheimer's Association Greater Richmond Chapter's Alzheimer's Advocate Award. Senator Martin has also received various awards from several different national and state organizations, specifically related to healthcare and welfare reform matters.

From a political standpoint Steve would be a strong addition to the ticket. He is a veteran campaigner and hails from the Richmond suburbs, an area that has become increasingly competitive.

Finally, I would point out that the Lt. Governor is the President of the Senate. Steve Martin comes from the Senate. Governor Cuccinelli is going to need Steve Martin presiding over the Senate, a body Martin knows well, to guide his legislative agenda. Join me in becoming a Delegate for Martin.

Mike Farris Makes Last Minute Pitch for Obenshain

“There are many reasons why I support Mark Obenshain for Attorney General, but today I’d like to tell you about one of the most important: his principled record of standing up for innocent human life.

Mark doesn’t just vote pro-life; he’s a pro-life leader with a rock-solid record of defending those unable to defend themselves. It’s no accident that he has been named a Family Foundation Legislator of the Year.

Mark carried the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in the Senate, legislation which would have banned abortions after the point at which an unborn child is known to be capable of feeling pain. He introduced legislation to forbid insurance plans on any taxpayer-subsidized exchange from providing coverage for elective abortions. He carried a bill to create a cause of action for the wrongful death of an unborn child. And he has routinely submitted budget amendments to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding Planned Parenthood.

That’s a pro-life record few legislators can match. If you want an Attorney General with an abiding commitment to defending the right to life for all, born and unborn, then you will find no better candidate than my friend Mark Obenshain.

We need Mark’s pro-life leadership in the Attorney General’s office – but he can’t get there without your help. Please join me in supporting Mark Obenshain at the Republican Convention in Richmond on May 18th.”

McAuliffe Claims His Wife Has a Great Life

The gaffes keep coming. I saw this quote from the Daily Beast. It seems McAuliffe hides his income from his wife to keep her spending down:

“She’s got a great life. Listen, her credit cards are paid and all that. She knows I do very well. But she has no idea. Myself and my accountants are the only people who know."

If McAuliffe were a Virginian that would make the Virginia quote of the day.

Republican State Party Chairman Pat Mullins Comments on the McAulliffe Campaign Kickoff

The following is a release from GOP Chairman Pat Mullins:

"After growing up in Syracuse, working as the Chairman of the Democrat Party and toying with gubernatorial bids in Florida and New York, Terry McAuliffe is trying once again to be Governor of Virginia.

"While we know McAuliffe can't name a single position in the governor's cabinet and has bragged about not knowing how a bill becomes a law, McAuliffe has proven that he can leverage his political connections into a quick buck.

"As McAuliffe embarks onto the campaign trail, he'll need to release his full tax record, explain why he put his electric car company in Mississippi instead of Virginia and why he's attempting to use Franklin Pellets to shore up his business credentials when it fact the company has yet to even break ground."

The Washington Post is Preparing a Phony Poll to Help the Sinking McAulliffe Campaign?

The Washington Post is apparently working on a phony poll in an effort to help the already disastrous McAulliffe campaign. At least that is the view of Cuccinelli staffer David Rexrode. The following is an account by David Rexode.

"Last night, while I was grabbing dinner with my wife and kids, my home phone rang. Like many of you, I've been receiving daily calls from the Lt. Governor and Attorney General campaigns, and expected another survey.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Instead, it was The Washington Post calling to conduct a survey about Virginia's upcoming gubernatorial race.

Normally, a poll starts off by asking if anyone in the household works for a campaign or news organization, but they didn't ask, so I answered the survey.

They asked some of the standard poll questions like approval of President Barack Obama, how is the national economy doing, how is the state economy doing, what is my top issue, etc.

They started asking questions about what each candidate stands for and whether or not I was satisfied with my choice of candidates, and even tossed in a 3-way ballot test question.

They asked about the sequester, if anyone in my family had been affected by it and how gun control would impact my vote.

But then, they starting asking about gifts, disclosures, and if I had been paying attention to recent news reports about this issue.

This is the point in the call where it became pretty clear what The Washington Post's agenda was with this poll.

Over the past few months, The Washington Post has launched numerous misleading and false editorials attacking Ken Cuccinelli.

They are basically taking the Democrats talking points and turning them into editorials.

This poll is nothing more than The Washington Post's next attempt to attack Ken and prop up Terry McAuliffe.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's failures as Chairman of Greentech.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's company, Greentech, and its failure to pay property taxes that are used to fund local schools.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's false claim of having created 100,000 jobs.

I didn't hear any questions about Greentech's parent company being incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a tax shelter country.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's refusal to release his tax returns despite The Washington Post's repeated attacks on Mitt Romney on the exact same issue.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry falsely blaming the Commonwealth for not bidding on his company, or Terry’s shameless attempt to deny that he did.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's inability to name a single cabinet secretary.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry grabbing fistfuls of cash from union bosses who want to see Virginia's right-to-work laws weakened.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's plan of running for Governor in Florida or New York, before settling on Virginia.

I didn't hear any questions about Terry's lifetime of being a Washington insider who used his political connections to enrich himself.

Friends, The Washington Post is likely going to publish this poll this weekend and they are going to try and use it to attack Ken and promote Terry."