Attorney General Highlights Republican Achievements and Proposals -- Contrasts with Democrats Lack of Accomplishments and Vision....
"They know what they're against, and that's most things," Kaine said, "but they have a hard time saying what they're for." -- "Parties Prepare Final Punches," The Washington Post, October 31, 2007
Richmond - Attorney General Bob McDonnell today blasted Democrat attempts to ignore both the Republican-led achievements of the past fifteen years, and the positive vision Virginia Republican's have laid out during the 2007 campaign.
Attorney General McDonnell noted, "The Democrats have come up with a ridiculous talking point that lacks any connection to reality. It is high past time that they are called on this. To believe the rhetoric coming from campaign-trail Democrats one would have to have been asleep for the past 15 years. Records take time and work, rhetoric is easy. Republicans have the record; Democrats have only the rhetoric."
McDonnell continued remarking, "Three weeks ago during our fly-around of the state, I specifically challenged the Democrats to articulate their record and their vision. They have failed to answer that challenge in any way. This failure to articulate a positive vision or demonstrate a record of accomplishment, is not a recent development, it is a persistent trend.
"Over the last 3 months, Virginia Republicans have rolled out numerous positive policy proposals on important issues. These have been substantive ideas on the important issues facing Virginia such as criminal illegal immigration, mental health care reform, transportation, real property tax relief, and other important subjects. Meanwhile, Democrats went the entire spring and summer without saying a word about any policy proposals. Only in late September, under fire for their lack of action, did Democrats announce two minor policy ideas, with no specifics and no idea of their costs. It proved that the Democrat campaign strategy has been completely void of meaningful ideas for Virginians to consider.
"Democrats were quiet in Richmond this past winter as the Republican majority passed significant legislation. While Republicans worked to secure the first comprehensive transportation plan passed in 21 years, Democrats failed to offer any meaningful plan of their own. On the most pressing policy issue facing the Commonwealth, the Democrat strategy was to stay quiet and hope nothing happened! The GOP majority also passed into law historic new protections for private property owners, tough new laws cracking down on sex offenders and online predators, putting Virginia in the national lead, and sweeping reforms of the laws governing electricity generation. As this progress was made, Democrats stood idly by.
"If voters dislike leaders who only say what they are against, they should oppose the Democrat Party. Democrats collectively, led by Governor Kaine, have been adamantly opposed to cracking down on criminal illegal immigration. For over a year, Governor Kaine has steadfastly refused to enter into agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to police illegal aliens who commit violent crime in Virginia.
"Now, Virginia Democrats are left with empty talking points, no recent record of success, no positive vision to articulate. They hope that Virginia voters will consider Tuesday's election to be about the President and Washington, not about the General Assembly and Richmond.
"Nonetheless, in the face of these truths, Virginia Democrats persist with the same old talking points. As we prepare for Tuesday's elections, I want to help educate my friends in the Democrat Party. The next time a Democrat asks what Virginia Republicans are 'for,' they should feel free to reference this information. I challenge my Democrat friends to produce a similar list of accomplishments."
Governor Tim Kaine(D) on Virginia Republicans: "…..they have a hard time saying what they're for."
Well, Since Virginia Democrats asked....
Virginia Republicans Are FOR A Safer Virginia.
Republicans have:
· Reformed the juvenile justice system;
· Established truth-in-sentencing;
· Imposed life imprisonment for violent three-time felons;
· Dramatically toughened laws to investigate and punish child sexual predators, drunk drivers, and internet criminals;
· Provided sweeping new victims' rights
The Result:
A statewide decline in all categories of violent crime, and an increase of about 300% in the average time served by violent criminals.
To ensure that Virginia continues to be a safer place to live, Republican candidates are proposing:
· Having local Sheriffs confirm a person's legal presence upon arrest for a crime;
· Ensuring that at least one person on duty in every jail at all times is certified under federal 287(g) authority;
· Denying bail for any person charged with an offense punishable by jail or prison time and is illegally present in the United States.
Virginia Republicans are FOR a healthier Virginia.
Republicans Have:
· Allowed small businesses to form cooperatives so they could offer health benefits for more employees;
· Established a tax credit for long-term care insurance to reward those who plan ahead for their health care needs;
· Increased funding for mental health services by 23% in the 2006-2008 state budget;
· Appropriated $500,000 to the Christopher Reeve Stem Cell Research Fund to help find cures for diseases.
The Result:
A health care system that works for Virginia's citizens.
To ensure that health care continues to be improved for all of Virginia's citizens, Republican candidates are proposing:
· Increasing access to health care service in underserved areas of the Commonwealth;
· Decreasing reliance on Emergency Rooms by encouraging use of primary care physicians;
· Implementing reforms crafted by the Medicaid Revitalization Commission.
Virginia Republicans Are FOR ensuring that Virginians keep more of their hard-earned dollars.
Republicans Have:
· Reduced the car tax by nearly 70%;
· Lessened the food tax by 50%;
· Eliminated the implicit income tax on Social Security benefits;
· Done away with the death tax;
· Enacted numerous tax credits and taxpayer rights.
The Result:
From 1996 to 2007, Republicans reduced taxes amounting to $2.36 billion annually.
To ensure that Virginia citizens continue to get the tax relief they deserve, Republican candidates are proposing:
· Creating a 20% homestead exemption on primary residences;
· Requiring local governments to determine tax rates before authorizing a spending plan;
· Increasing transparency in the assessment process;
· Transferring the burden of proof for assessment increases to local government when increases exceed 20 percent.
Virginia Republicans Are FOR: A Modern and Efficient Transportation System.
Republicans Have:
· Passed the first comprehensive transportation plan in Virginia in 21 years;
· Provided $3 billion in additional funding for new transportation construction;
· Created innovative new tools for localities to better plan for growth and prevent traffic-causing sprawl;
· Instituted performance and accountability measures to improve VDOT and its road-building operations.
The Result:
Despite the fact that legislative Democrats refused to even offer a transportation plan of their own, Republicans in the House and Senate joined together to successfully enact the most important and far reaching transportation bill in Virginia history.
Virginia Republicans Are FOR: Upholding Life, Liberty and Traditional Values in the Commonwealth.
Republicans Have:
· Passed an amendment to the Virginia Constitution protecting the institution of marriage;
· Enacted sweeping new protections of private property rights;
· Outlawed the brutal practice of infanticide;
· Consistently defended the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms.
The Result:
A Virginia where life, liberty, and traditional values are protected and promoted.
Virginia Republicans Are FOR: The End of the Welfare State, the Rise of the Opportunity Era.
Republicans Have:
. Passed the first comprehensive welfare reform program in the nation, with a strict work requirement for able-bodied welfare recipients;
· Enacted a two-year time limit on welfare benefits;
The Result:
Virginia welfare rolls have been reduced by 60 percent.
Virginia Republicans Are FOR: An Education System For the 21st Century.
Republicans Have:
· Fully funded primary and secondary education, adding $1.3 Billion for Virginia's Standards of Quality;
· Provided pay raises for teachers since 2004 and improved retirement benefits;
· Instituted performance accountability to strengthen underperforming public schools;
· Increased funding for grants to lower financial burden for college students;
· Created transfer grants to expand access to higher education;
· Established an innovation tuition moderation fund.
The Result:
A public education system in Virginia that prepare the Commonwealth's students for the 21st Century.
To ensure that Virginia's public schools continue to be national leaders in educating America's children, Republican candidates are proposing:
· Creating a permanent, perpetual School Construction Revolving Fund to better assist local school districts in financing construction and renovation;
· Involving localities to help identify the most effective and responsive method to deliver state support of school construction projects to local districts in need;
· Increasing the number and size of school projects financed, maximizing the funds available year-to-year for high-priority school construction needs.
That's a Record.
This is Rhetoric: "…..they have a hard time saying what they're for."-- Governor Kaine
Records mean more than rhetoric.
1 comment:
While the republicans have been in power in Virginia, the budget has increased the most it ever has under any leadership.
Of course, the GOP spins this, but there's really no way out of it. They are big spenders, who have increased government tenfold over the past 10 years.
I think I'll see a change.
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