Citizens will once again march on the Capitol to have their voices heard.  Sadly, I can’t make it because of my Daughters of the American Revolution meeting, but I will be there in spirit!  Y’all go and let us know all the details!

This must be some sort of new record.  Newly-minted U.S. Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) has apparently broken 4 (or perhaps if you believe the update, only 3) campaign promises in his first HOUR in office.

As someone who had business dealings with Owens a little over a year ago on a multi-million dollar real estate transaction and got to know what kind of person he is at least professionally, I can say that I am not surprised.  Owens is a pompous ass of titanic proportions.  His problem is that his ego vastly overshadows his capabilities.

While I was working solo on my end at home after work, he had a team of attorneys in his law office to help him.  Yet, on this $3 million transaction there were multiple errors on the tax prorations on their part that I uncovered and forced them to correct.  (I still have all the documentation to prove it.)  And a Satisfaction of Judgment document on file with the Clinton County (NY) Clerk’s Office signed by Owens contains some of the most sloppy, slipshod work I have ever seen come out of a professional attorney’s office where the typed amount is crossed out and replaced with a written amount.  I would NEVER have filed something like that, especially in this day and age.  Why he didn’t just have a secretary type in the correct amounts is beyond me.  Then of course, the amount written in is nearly $1,000 lower than the amount typed in.  I will have to go back and check my records to see if that extra money was eventually  remitted to my clients or if it may still be in Owens’ account.

This document became something of a point of contention between Mr. Owens and myself about a month and a half ago.  In October 2008, he said he would file the document.  In late Sept. 2009, my clients informed me that the judgment was still appearing on their credit report.  One of Mr. Owens’ associates told them (incorrectly as we later discovered) that Owens hadn’t filed the document.

I blew my top and called Owens and left a very nasty message demanding that he correct the matter by close of business that day.  He called me back and we had quite the argument where he threatened to report me to the NY Bar.  Apparently, demanding that someone do their job is offensive to him — and for the record, he even got wrong who you report misconduct to in NY State.  The correct entity is the Committee on Professional Standards.  I was tempted to tell him that as well as who he should contact there as the Clerk of the Court who oversees it is my best friend from high school’s dad and I used to work for him there.  However, I didn’t want to further humiliate Owens or for that matter prolong our conversation.  I already felt like I needed to take a shower by that point.

As it turned out, the document had been filed with the clerk, however, Owens had never provided a copy of it to the credit reporting agencies or for that matter to my clients with an explanation that they would need to provide it to the credit reporting agencies themselves.  I told this jerk that it would have been common courtesy to do so and his response was that I wasn’t very courteous in my voicemail to him!  I replied that had nothing to do with the document at hand nor his handling of the matter.  Since that time, a number of attorneys have stated to me or my clients that as a matter of due course they themselves would have sent the document in to the credit reporting agencies.

So now NY-23 is stuck with this idiot for the next year.  Here’s hoping that the NY GOP can get their act together and nominate someone who doesn’t have the backing of ACORN and unions next time so they can send this hack packing back to NY’s North Country where he can return to his ways as their preeminent shyster.

MARIANNE HORINKO ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR STATE SENATE IN THE 37TH DISTRICT

Centerville, VA – Marianne Horinko, an accomplished leader, business owner and committed conservative announced today her candidacy for the state senate in the 37th district.

Marianne will seek the Republican nomination to replace Virginia’s new Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli. “Ken has done a wonderful job as our State Senator and I hope to be able to fill his big shoes.”

“As a mother of two and a small business owner I understand the challenges that Northern Virginia families face. Traffic we sit in everyday continues to get worse. With national unemployment reaching 10 percent, I am concerned about our tax burden and its effect on our economy, and with the budget situation our state faces, I am very concerned that our kids will not be able to get the best possible education in the future.”

Marianne Horinko has strong roots in the community where she is an active member of St. Timothy’s Catholic Church. She is also very active in Greenbriar West and Poplar Elementary Schools.

“My experience as a businesswoman, parent, and 17 year resident of this district will allow me to bring a unique perspective and set of ideas that can be applied in Richmond to make our communities and the state a great place to live and work.”

Marianne is a lifelong Republican and committed conservative who is strongly pro life. She will fight to keep taxes down, reduce government intrusion into our businesses and personal lives, and encourage the growth of small businesses that create jobs.

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The “Hunt” is on to succeed AG-elect Ken Cuccinelli in the VA State Senate…

Steve Hunt for State Senate Campaign Kick Off

Saturday, November 7, 2009
7:00pm – 9:00pm

Fairfax Station Railroad Museum
11200 Fairfax Station Rd.
Fairfax Station, VA

View Map

Crystal Clear Conservative has all the details.

Knock Knock, Speaker Pelosi! It’s not Code Pink, it’s the American people!!

NRCC ELECTION MEMO

TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: NRCC COMMUNICATIONS
DATE: NOV. 4, 2009
SUBJECT: WHAT LAST NIGHT MEANS FOR VIRGINIA HOUSE DEMS

Tuesday night’s gubernatorial election results should send shivers down the spines of four Virginia House Democrats in GOP crosshairs next year. In a state where the last three top-of-the-ticket contests favored Democrats, Republican candidate Bob McDonnell cruised to a 17-point victory with a pro-jobs message that peeled independent voters away from Democrats.

Republicans also flipped eight House of Delegates seats, five of them within the boundaries of these targeted congressional districts. As state House Democratic Caucus Chairman Kenneth Plum told the Washington Post, “It’s been difficult to buck the headwind of the national mood.”

McDonnell carried Rep. Glenn Nye’s Hampton Roads by a 24-point margin, despite the president’s heavy presence there in the closing days of the campaign. Obama carried Nye’s district in 2008.

McDonnell also won the central and Southside Virginia district of Rep. Tom Perriello – rated by the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza as the most vulnerable Democrat in the country – by 23 points.

Southwest Virginia has been trending towards Republicans over the past few years despite Democrat gains in the Commonwealth. That movement continued in earnest last night, with McDonnell besting Deeds by a whopping 2-to-1 margin in Rep. Rick Boucher’s staunchly conservative district.

Perhaps most surprisingly, the allegedly deep blue Washington suburbs of Rep. Gerry Connolly’s district went red; McDonnell improved upon John McCain’s showing by 13 points.

All four of these Democrats, three of them freshmen, were considered vulnerable before last night – and these results underscore the trembling political ground on which they’re standing.

And when Perriello and Boucher argue that the agenda they share with President Obama is popular with their constituents and had nothing to do with Deeds’ landslide defeat, ask them why their own gubernatorial candidate – desperately scrambling for any vote he could get his hands on in the waning days of his struggling campaign – launched a TV ad in their districts slamming one of the centerpieces of that big-government agenda, the job-killing cap-and-trade bill.

VA-02

INCUMBENT: GLENN NYE

GOP OPPONENTS: BUSINESSMEN/VETERANS SCOTT RIGELL & BEN LOYOLA

COOK RATING: LEAN DEMOCRAT

‘09: McDonnell 61.9%, Deeds 38.0%

‘08: Obama 50.5%, McCain 48.5%

‘06: Allen 51.0%, Webb 47.7%

‘05: Kaine 49.8%, Kilgore 46.8%

‘04: Bush 57.7%, Kerry 41.5%

Rep. Glenn Nye swept into office on the tide of a Democrat-friendly turnout model and a vigorous Obama campaign to take Virginia’s electoral votes. Nye, a newcomer who had little ties to Hampton Roads when elected, faces several problems in 2010.

As with this year’s gubernatorial race, core Democrat turnout in Hampton Roads is expected to be down significantly in 2010. In an effort to boost enthusiasm for Creigh Deeds among the party faithful, the president filmed a TV spot that aired in Hampton Roads in the closing days of the race and appeared at a Norfolk rally in late October – all to no avail. If last night was any indication of what the voter turnout model will look like one year from now – when congressional races are the only contests on Virginia ballots – Nye is in trouble.

He also may face personal resistance from local liberals. Nye, who as a blank-slate candidate became a cause célèbre among progressives, infuriated them this summer when he voted against cap-and-trade – then had the audacity to send a letter to a local liberal blogger touting its passage. He never mentioned his “no” vote. As Cook Political Report has pointed, “Nye probably received the worst press of any Democrat who bucked his party on the ‘cap and trade’ vote.”

The Obama administration and congressional Democrats pose a potent threat to Nye as a result of their plans to stop F-22 production and move an aircraft carrier from Norfolk, Va. to Jacksonville, Fla. The Hill newspaper has said that Nye’s fate may depend on whether he can keep the job-producing carrier from being relocated. And Obama’s plans to scrap the F-22 may have a detrimental impact on Hampton Roads, where the fighter jet is housed.

Finally, Nye is the only incumbent in the country who faces two challengers with over $400,000 in the bank. In a district with only one (relatively cheap) media market, that’s a strong starting point for his opponents one year out. Furthermore, Nye’s potential challengers each have stronger community and military ties than the incumbent – both of which are important in this culturally unique corner of Virginia.

Down-ballot, GOP challengers knocked off two Democrat state delegates in Virginia Beach districts that pulled the lever for Obama in 2008.

a.. Nye votes with Obama 69% of the time, according to CQ Politics
b.. Nye votes with Pelosi 83.5% of the time, according to the Washington Post

VA-05

INCUMBENT: TOM PERRIELLO

GOP OPPONENT: STATE SEN. ROBERT HURT

COOK RATING: TOSS-UP

‘09: McDonnell 61.4%, Deeds 38.5%

‘08: McCain 50.6%, Obama 48.3%

‘06: Allen 53.8%, Webb 45.2%

‘05: Kaine 49.6%, Kilgore 48.4%

‘04: Bush 55.9%, Kerry 43.0%

Ranked by the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza as the most vulnerable Democrat incumbent in the country, Rep. Tom Perriello will be hard-pressed to win re-election in 2010. In a district with a strong “surge voter” presence, including the University of Virginia, Perriello’s upset victory (by a 727-vote margin) last year was aided mightily by Obama’s presence at the top of the ticket. Not only will he will he lack that advantage in 2010, he’ll also be facing an angry electorate. His district is experiencing the highest unemployment rate in the state.

A loss of manufacturing and farming jobs has hit this rural/small-town region hard, and Perriello’s votes for the stimulus and cap-and-trade handed opponents ample ammunition to make the case that he’s made the problem worse.

In the wake of his cap-and-trade vote, Perriello came under intense political fire in the district and unwisely embarked on a two-week damage control tour seeking to explain why he was right and his constituents were wrong. His vocal self-defense earned him praise from national environmentalists like Al Gore and the League of Conservation Voters, but local voters and chambers of commerce spoke out against the bill. So did the Democrats’ own gubernatorial candidate – whose state Senate district overlaps with VA-05 – months later.

Roll Call notes that Perriello, an urbane international peace activist who grew up in the wealthy Charlottesville suburb of Ivy and graduated from Yale, is an “odd fit” for these populist-conservative parts. And his voting record shows it. In addition to his stimulus and cap-and-trade votes, he voted against an amendment to bar Guantanamo detainees from coming to U.S. and showed up as “leaning yes” on a whip list last week for the “robust public option” – a proposal that most fellow rural Democrats oppose because it’s bad for their local hospitals and doctors. Despite holding 21 town halls this summer and encountering immense opposition to government-run healthcare, Perriello seems poised to vote for Pelosi’s bill this weekend.

Most troubling for him, however, is the emergence of a top Republican recruit: state Sen. Robert Hurt. As a senator and delegate, Hurt has represented over 30% of the congressional district as a popular state legislator. Hurt’s geographic advantage and ideological harmony with the area’s voters will make him very tough to beat.

Down-ballot, two GOP state delegates targeted for defeat by Democrats won landslide re-elections. Del. Rob Bell of the Charlottesville area – which Deeds represents in the state Senate – prevailed by nearly 35 points in a swing seat, and Del. Danny Marshall beat the former mayor of Danville by nearly 30 points in a district that just last year handed Obama a 7-point victory.

a.. Perriello votes with Obama 81% of the time, according to CQ Politics
b.. Perriello votes with Pelosi 90.0% of the time, according to the Washington Post

VA-09

INCUMBENT: RICK BOUCHER

GOP OPPONENT: (possibly) STATE DEL. TERRY KILGORE

COOK RATING: LIKELY DEMOCRAT

‘09: McDonnell 66.2%, Deeds 33.7%

‘08: McCain 58.7%, Obama 39.6%

‘06: Allen 54.9%, Webb 44.0%

‘05: Kilgore 55.3%, Kaine 43.1%

‘04: Bush 59.5%, Kerry 39.3%

A 27-year incumbent, Boucher should be safe – but he’s not, thanks to his high-profile lead role cheerleading a cap-and-trade bill that’s almost universally detested in the coalfields of Southwest Virginia.

There’s no question that Boucher will be well-funded and will enjoy the advantages of long-term incumbency. But for the first time in a long while, he’s saddled with a lock-step liberal voting record in support of a president who’s deeply unpopular in his district. In fact, Boucher was one of Obama’s earliest congressional endorsements in the Democrat presidential primary; against Hillary Clinton last spring and against John McCain last fall, Obama was roundly trounced here.

Republicans are recruiting a big-name candidate who could make this a top-tier race on day one: state Delegate Terry Kilgore, brother of former Atty. General/’05 gubernatorial nominee Jerry Kilgore. He would bring formidable name recognition and popularity to the race, in addition to an ideological profile that actually matches the district.

As Boucher has stayed in Washington year after year, he’s grown increasingly out-of-touch. His integral role in passing cap-and-trade is a shining example – constituents don’t tend to forget when their congressman sells out local jobs to help his Washington friends, and if Kilgore enters the race he’ll be able to take advantage of that potentially career-ending vote. Case in point: Creigh Deeds, scrambling for any vote he could get his hands on in the waning days of his struggling campaign, launched a TV spot slamming cap-and-trade in Southwest Virginia media markets.

Down-ballot – in a district that favored Creigh Deeds in 2005 and Jim Webb in 2006 – Democrat Del. Dan Bowling went down to a stunning 14-point defeat at the hands of Will Morefield, a Republican upstart who ran his campaign largely against the devastating cap-and-trade bill Boucher championed.

a.. Boucher votes with Obama 96% of the time, according to CQ Politics
b.. Boucher votes with Pelosi 98.0% of the time, according to the Washington Post

VA-11

INCUMBENT: GERRY CONNOLLY

GOP OPPONENT: BUSINESSMAN/’08 NOMINEE KEITH FIMIAN

COOK RATING: LIKELY DEMOCRAT

‘09: McDonnell 55.1%, Deeds 44.7%

‘08: Obama 57.0%, McCain 42.1%

‘06: Webb 54.7%, Allen 44.2%

‘05: Kaine 55.7%, Kilgore 42.4%

‘04: Bush 49.9%, Kerry 49.3%

For the last several years, Northern Virginia symbolized the exodus of suburban independents from the Republican Party. Until last night, it was hard to imagine that President Bush won re-election in this district. This region was beginning to be seen as a solid Democrat bulwark. As McDonnell’s performance in the 11th District indicates, the pendulum has finally begun to swing the other way. In reality, this is a true swing district – not a Democratic one.

Independent-minded Republican Rep. Tom Davis represented this district until the beginning of 2009, winning by solid margins cycle after cycle. By contrast, freshman Democrat Gerry Connolly is one of the most partisan members of the freshman class. Despite campaigning for this open seat last year as a pragmatic moderate, he’s supported every major piece of his party’s liberal agenda – the stimulus, the budget, cap-and-trade and government healthcare. And there are signs that this very agenda – built in part on a renewed emphasis on demonizing the rich – may not be playing particularly well in this extremely affluent, educated district.

Last year, Connolly benefited from the fiercely anti-Republican political environment and a huge name recognition advantage from his days as Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman. Even so, he significantly underperformed Obama on the ballot against GOP entrepreneur Keith Fimian, who was widely credited for running a strong race in a difficult climate. Fimian is back for a rematch this year, and his prospects look much better. He outraised Connolly by $100,000 in his debut fundraising quarter, and he now enjoys name recognition that he had to spend precious resources building from scratch last year. Most importantly, the incumbent will be unable to hide behind moderate rhetoric any longer – he’ll be held accountable for his follow-the-leader voting record.

Down-ballot, Democrat Del. Paul Nichols lost a seat in the heart of Connolly’s district that went for Obama by 19% just one year ago. Democrat Del. Chuck Caputo, who represents a small piece of the 11th Congressional District in the General Assembly, also lost his re-election bid.

a.. Connolly votes with Obama 95% of the time, according to CQ Politics
b.. Connolly votes with Pelosi 97.2% of the time, according to the Washington Post

VIRGINIA ON GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTHCARE

“53: That’s the percentage of likely Virginia voters who oppose the proposed changes to the health care system, according to new data in a Washington Post poll on the Commonwealth’s governor’s race. Of that 53 percent, 44 percent strongly oppose the changes. There is significantly less intensity among the 43 percent of likely voters who support the changes with just 29 percent supporting them strongly.” (Chris Cillizza, “The most important number in politics today,” Washington Post “The Fix,” 10/27/09)

“The poll, conducted for The Times-Dispatch last Tuesday to Thursday by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research, [found] 57 percent oppose a public-option, government-run insurance program as part of health-care reform, while 30 favor it, and 13 percent are undecided.48 percent oppose requiring all Americans to have health insurance, while 39 percent believe coverage should be mandatory. Thirteen percent are undecided. 81 percent say health-care reform will lead to higher taxes to cover its estimated 10-year, $1 trillion cost.52 percent believe health-care reform will result in the rationing of health care, while 29 percent think otherwise.51 percent say health-care reform will force major cuts in Medicare, a federal program that provides health and medical service for seniors. Thirty-one percent say it will not cause reductions in Medicare, and 18 percent don’t know.” (Jeff Schapiro, “Poll: Nearly half in Virginia oppose Obama’s plan for health-care reform,” Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/13/09)

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I wholeheartedly agree with this analysis by Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell’s pollster as to why he won.  And this provides the GOP with a roadmap for consistent victory.  The counter-cyclical election argument (VA votes for the party opposite of President elected the year before) is a load of crap.  The 3 GOP candidates who followed this strategy (Allen, Gilmore, McDonnell) all won while the 2 that did not (Earley, Kilgore) lost.

From Jim Geraghty at NRO’s Campaign Spot:

MSNBC Surrenders, Chooses Not to Cover Election Night. No, Really.

It is pretty darn astounding that with all of the insistence from the White House that Fox News Channel is “not a real news network,” that their preferred channel, MSNBC, did not have live coverage at 10 p.m. Eastern on ELECTION NIGHT. They re-ran Olbermann’s 8 p.m. coverage, which was, of course, two hours out of date.

No, really, when you stop covering the news, people can legitimately say you’re not a news network. That has nothing to do with percieved bias or ideology (although we can speculate as to why Olbermann disappeared from the 10 p.m. coverage, as previously expected) but because you’re not actually bringing any new information to viewers.

In fairness, they had Chris Matthews and the glue huffing idiot Ed from the Ed Show on at Midnight. I am a sick, sick person or perhaps I was engaged in my semi-regular hobby of wallowing in epicaricacy, but I watched MSNBC from around 7:30 last night (with an interlude of sleep and a switch over to Fox News when they repeated Countdown) until 8:00 am this morning (concluded with an unhinged Larry O’Donnell-I recognize that is a redundancy – screeching at Michael Steele on Morning Joe).  Here are a few short observations:

1. Ed Schultz is the single dumbest human being on television. He is so
stupid that even Chris Matthews — who along with Jim Moran is living proof that my Jesuit alma mater is superior to Riley’s Jesuit alma mater — winces in pain every time Ed opens his mouth.

2. I don’t get Rachel Maddow. What is the angle here? She isn’t funny and for all her alleged intelligence, she has a hard time stringing coherent sentences together. Also, from a sex appeal standpoint, they should have gone with a lipstick lesbian–I would definitely turn into that show everyday. It would have been hot to be berated everyday by a marxist sapphic babe. It is not hot to be berated by an incoherent bizzaro-world dude looks like a lady, who is a doppleganger for my middle school shop class teacher.

3. Watching Olbermann is really confusing when you first turn him on. I keep expecting Chris Hansen to walk out from off camera and instruct Olbermann to ”have a seat, I have some questions for you.” Aside from that, if I were George W. Bush, I would probably get a restraining order against Olbermann as Olbermann is definitely straying towards Glenn Close/Fatal Attraction level of obsession with the former President. You can slice the homoerotic tension with a knife. It is almost like watching the “volleyball scene” from Top Gun.

Mitt Romney sent out a fundraising letter today trying, in part, to take credit for the successful gubernatorial races in VA and NJ just for having shown up at some events.

Romney needs to go away, clean up the mess he created with the Massachusetts health care system that The Teleprompted One is now trying to replicate nationally, and stop employing Ted Kennedy-style class warfare rhetoric against the flat tax.