Congressman Eric Cantor kicks off 2014 campaign with first ad

Virginia Congressman and U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has hit the ground running in the 2014 campaign season with an ad that was released Wednesday. The election spot focuses on how the Congressman is standing up for conservatives to repeal Obamacare and reduce spending while highlighting his efforts to create jobs and strengthen families not only in Virginia but in America.

Fundraising reports for this quarter showed Cantor raising $920,000 with over $2 million on hand while his primary challenger Dave Brat raised under $90,000 with only $42,000 on hand. Cantor's fundraising abilities as well as those of 7th Congressional District Chairman Linwood Cobb are impressive. That kind of leadership is needed as Republicans look to the future.

Ed Gillespie holds Warner below 50 percent in second poll

Ed Gillespie last week on the campaign trail in Roanoke.

In the latest poll, this one from PPP/MoveOn.org, there is more good news for Republican Ed Gillespie as Virginia Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Warner once again polls below 50 percent.

Political strategist Glen Bolger commented that "while we do not typically highlight PPP polls, these results are noteworthy for what they say about Mark Warner’s rapidly eroding standing with the Virginia electorate."

A March 27 Quinnipiac Poll came up with similar results and noted that the political atmosphere in Virginia is toxic this year for Democrats. Mark Warner's Achilles heel has been, and continues, to be his vote and support for Obamacare.

Bolger pointed out the following from the Public Policy Poll which traditionally leans Democratic:

Mark Warner continues to operate in the danger zone for a well-known incumbent by failing to capture 50% on the ballot. He is additionally underperforming among several key groups. Warner trails among Independents (39%-41%), 30-45 year olds (35%-48%), and even among Hispanics (34%-39%). Twenty percent (20%) of Independents are undecided, and historically, Independents tend to break for the challenger.

 Bolger concludes:

The political environment continues to look bleak for Senator Mark Warner. He is struggling on the ballot among several key midterm groups versus a challenger who is not yet well-known. The Democrats have also overestimated their hand on Medicaid expansion. Not only do the numbers prove less than inspiring for Democrats in Richmond, they are hampering Mark Warner's re-election as well.

Last week's Quinnipiac poll elicited a similar response from the political strategist:

Senator Mark Warner faces a tough political environment in his fight for a second term. Frustration with the president and his administration are significant factors in Warner’s underwhelming showing on the ballot test, as is Warner’s support for Obamacare, which a majority of Virginia voters oppose. In an already-difficult year for Democrats due to those factors and more, Warner’s 46% on the ballot is a dangerous baseline heading into the November election.

Gillespie continues to crisscross Virginia on his campaign to become the Republican nominee, stopping last week in Roanoke before continuing on to Virginia Beach and the Republican Women's convention. It is generally expected that he will win at the upcoming GOP state convention although last year's free-for-all convention proved anything can and will happen in these closed events. Considered by UVa's Dr. Larry Sabato as a long shot for beating Warner, the polling numbers show that Warner is vulnerable, something Republicans plan to take advantage of in their question to chip away at Democratic office holders.

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell
April 4, 2014

Flashback: 'Virginia’s Eric Cantor ... a rising star in the GOP lives the American dream'

Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell

[Editor's Note: It seems a good time to reprint this article I wrote about Virginia's 7th Congressional District Congressman Eric Cantor in the Washington Examiner on November 10, 2010. The former Minority Whip is now Majority Leader of the House.]

Keep an eye on Congressman Eric Cantor, a rising star in the GOP. He was born and raised in Virginia's Henrico County outside Richmond, talks with a soft southern accent, and is known for his endless energy. He worked with fellow Republicans Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy to recruit Young Guns to bring the Party back to its conservative roots, co-authored the Young Guns book, and was number two on the 2010 Jewish Daily Forward 50 list of prominent Jewish achievers just behind Google founder Sergey Brin.

In October 2010 he looked from the stage while addressing his annual 7th Congressional District Republican Roundup in Richmond and called out, "Thirty-one days until this country gets back on track! We've got work to do!" A huge roar arose from the crowd of 4,600 supporters of the Minority Whip in the U.S. House as they got to their feet and cheered ... and then they returned home to their communities and went to work.

That work paid off when a Republican red wave swept across Virginia as well as the nation on November 2, 2010. Three Democratic congressmen in the Commonwealth were voted out, flipping the majority back to the GOP in an historic election that brought in the largest Congressional freshman class in 60 years.

Among those in the new Congress will be 47-year-old Cantor who sent a letter to GOP representatives last week announcing his desire to become the next Majority Leader. Much like the Young Guns that Cantor has taken under his wing, this rising star is young, energetic, and ready to take on the Democratic progressive agenda that was rejected by voters in the 2010 midterm elections.

Eric Cantor mixed determination, hard work, and a positive attitude as he went about the business of helping to regain the Republican majority. Those same attributes have also been seen while representing his constituents as a very accessible representative who often holds gatherings and townhall meetings.

Cantor, a Jewish conservative Republican, has not forgotten his roots and the struggle of his grandparents, something he talked about at his reelection kick-off breakfast in March, when he recalled the grandparents who immigrated from Russia to Richmond in the 1930s.

"America," he shared with the room of 1,300 supporters at the Richmond Convention Center, "is the place of hope and opportunity -- the only land where everything is still possible."

An in-depth story in the November 7 Richmond Times-Dispatch expanded on the background of this third generation American. His grandparents fled Russia and relocated to Richmond near other family members who had also escaped anti-Semitic persecution prior to the Bolshevik Revolution. They set up a small grocery business, saved for their sons' futures, and when Cantor's grandfather died at the age of 36, his grandmother held the family together and sent both sons to college. His father became an attorney, began a business in Richmond, and became involved in Republican politics:

In "Young Guns," Cantor said he became a rarity -- a Jew in the Republican Party -- because "it was the Republican Party that gave my father the opportunity to provide a better life for me and my family."

He said that in the 1950s and 1960s his father was turned off by the segregationist policies of Virginia's ruling Democratic Party.

"All [my grandmother] wanted was an opportunity to succeed," Cantor said at his well-attended victory party Tuesday night at the Hilton in Short Pump. "She took responsibility for her family. And, through her hard work, she saw to it that her two boys had a college education. She was a great believer in the promise of America."

The work ethic of his grandparents was passed down to their grandson Eric who became an attorney, got his feet wet in politics by interning for Congressman Tom Bliley while in college, then won a seat in the House of Delegates in 1991. He later ran for and won Bliley's seat upon his retirement in 2000. Cantor's rise up the leadership ladder began two years later when he was tapped to become Deputy Whip and then, in 2008, he was voted in as Minority Whip.

Now, with the 2010 Republican takeover of the House behind them, Cantor stands to be the next Majority Leader. He has listened to the people and is preparing to battle House Democrats over their unpopular legislation. Already making the rounds of news network television shows and working with John Boehner, the presumptive future Speaker of the House, a plan has been laid out to stop the liberal agenda by repealing the odious 2009 health care reform bill and keeping taxes low. The most immediate decision will be whether to keep the Bush tax cuts, an issue that will loom large over the reconvened Congress when members return to Washington on November 15.

Eric Cantor is a roll-up-your-sleeves leader who has a plan for the future of the Republican Party. In Delivering on Our Commitment: A Majorty to Limit Government and Create Jobs, he emphasized job growth, touted the popular YouCut.com program that allowed everyday Americans to suggest fiscal cuts to Congress, proposed entitlement reform and the demise of earmarks, and stressed the need to reduce the size of federal government. Eric Cantor, the epitome of the American dream sought by his grandparents, is ready to help lead the way.

Governor Terry McAuliffe visits Augusta County to talk medicaid coverage

 Augusta Health's Heart and Vascular Center was the location of Saturday's meeting between Governor Terry McAuliffe and hospital staff as well as members of the community.

 Arrival at 1;30 ...

... and greeting hospital personnel.

More about the visit:
- Governor McAuliffe to visit Augusta Health
- Gov. visit turns medicaid debate local
- Gov. McAuliffe brings medicaid discussion to Augusta Health

Eric Cantor: 'An America That Works'

By Eric Cantor
National Review Online
February 13, 2014

At our annual policy retreat two weeks ago, House Republicans outlined the framework of our 2014 agenda, entitled “An America That Works.” While we were discussing policies that would create opportunity and reward hard work, little did we know that within a matter of days President Obama and the Democratic party would embrace the idea that it should be a goal of public policy to encourage able-bodied adults to retreat from the work force. This full-throated embrace of the aims of a European-style social-welfare state perfectly encapsulates the debate about the future of our nation.

House Republicans believe that the promise of America has always been that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead, and that as a result each generation will enjoy more liberty, opportunity, and prosperity. This is the American Dream.

But today, the liberal policies of the Obama administration threaten this dream. And rather than figuring out how to restore the American Dream and make America work again, the president and his allies are trying to convince us that what we are experiencing is just the new normal.

One in six working-age men out of work shouldn’t be the new normal; nor should stagnant wages and growing costs that squeeze middle-class families. Nor should a government-run health-care system that discourages work, raises costs, and denies the opportunity to see one’s doctor become the new normal. And neither should a K–12 education system that fails our most vulnerable children or a college system that is accessible only to the rich become the new normal.

House Republicans reject President Obama’s new normal and instead embrace the idea that we can build a policy agenda focused on bold, conservative solutions to the most pressing problems facing American families today. In short, an agenda to help build an America that works again.

While we will tackle many issues this year in Congress, we will focus on four key areas that demand our immediate attention.

CREATING JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
We all know the headlines: 6.6 percent unemployment and a labor-force-participation rate that is near its lowest level since 1977. But that is only part of the story.

The unemployment rate for the approximately 30 percent of working-age Americans with a bachelor’s degree or higher is 3.2 percent. But most working-age Americans don’t have a college degree. Unemployment for those with only a high-school diploma is 7.1 percent. Their labor-force-participation rate is an astonishingly low 58 percent — the lowest level for the period for which we have records. And it is even worse for those without a high-school diploma.

America doesn’t work if Americans aren’t working. An America that works requires an economy where jobs of all kinds are being created: white-collar, blue-collar, part-time, full-time. Diverse jobs that reflect the diversity of our country.

Our jobs plan begins with the SKILLS Act, our proposal to reform federal job-training programs and help connect the unemployed with the jobs available in their area. It continues with regulatory relief for those sectors of our economy we are counting on to create the jobs we need: construction, energy, manufacturing, and retail. These sectors happen to be the ones most under assault by the administration’s runaway regulatory agenda. Tax policy also has a critical role to play, as does pro-growth energy policy.

MIDDLE-CLASS SQUEEZE
Median household income is lower today than it was in 2000. Many Americans haven’t seen a raise in years. America doesn’t work if middle-class families are working more but taking home less.

To make matters worse, American families devote a larger share of their take-home pay to gasoline, health care, and utilities today than they did a decade ago. No wonder three-quarters of Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck. This is the “middle-class squeeze.”

We will tackle both sides of this squeeze. This includes taking steps to reduce household energy and health-care costs, stopping regulations that reduce take-home pay, and updating our tax code. We will confront head-on the policies of the Obama administration that punish work, such as the 29-hour-work-week provision in Obamacare that is cutting hourly workers’​ wages by as much 25 percent.

OBAMACARE ALTERNATIVE
If America is going to work, we need a health-care system that works.

Under Obamacare, nearly 6 million policies have been canceled and, for many, premiums and deductibles are increasing. Small-business owners, seniors, and middle-class families are losing access to the doctors, pediatricians, and care they want because Obamacare can’t live up to the promises it made.

While repeal of Obamacare is a prerequisite, it isn’t sufficient to the challenges facing American families. We must present patient-centered reform that reduces health-care costs. This reform must also maintain access to doctors, pediatricians, and hospitals, and help those with preexisting conditions while covering more people.

We will offer a different approach that focuses on patient-centered care, while reducing costs through increased competition, improving outcomes, and expanding choices and coverage. Americans deserve a health-care system in which insurers compete for our business, keeping prices down and quality high, and allowing Americans to see the doctor of their choice.

OPPORTUNITY
In America, education and hard work have always been the keys to upward mobility. Fifty percent of Americans think a higher level of education is the gateway to the middle class, yet 49 percent think paying for college is realistic only for the rich. Perhaps that is because tuition and fees at a four-year school are up 42 percent in the past decade and up 48 percent at a two-year school. America doesn’t work if college is out of reach for most families.

Sadly, for too many children, a quality K–12 education is still the most pressing challenge. Last year the House passed the Student Success Act, to increase accountability and choice in K–12 education. Approximately 200 House-passed bills remain blocked in the Senate, including this important education initiative. This year, we will continue to push for more options for a high-quality education, including through charter schools.

Of course, many students will never go to college and many Americans are past their college years. They need the opportunity to learn skills for the jobs of today and tomorrow. That is why we will continue to focus on work-force-training and vocational-education programs.

Our agenda for an America that works will go beyond support for small-business owners and capital formation; our platform will address the concerns of the 90 percent of Americans who don’t own a business and are looking for a good-paying job to support their families. We will pursue policies that support them as they seek a secure job with a decent salary that enables them to support their families, pursue their dreams, and leave their children a little more than they have.

In his first inaugural address, President Reagan said: “It’s not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work — work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it.”

After the late 1970s, when everything that made America work was under threat, people were looking for a government to provide opportunity and stand beside them, not smother them and ride on their back. The same is true today.

House Republicans are prepared to deliver an America that works for everyone.

Eric Cantor is the majority leader of the House of Representatives.

Coffeecare: What if we had to buy coffee like we now have to buy health insurance?

Coffeecare? What if we had to buy coffee like we now have to buy health insurance? Obamacare.

U.S. House schedule for Friday, November 15, 2013: Upton's 'Keep Your Health Care Plan Act' vote today

From Majority Leader Eric Cantor....

What to watch today ... "Keep Your Health Care Plan Act" sponsored by Congressman Fred Upton will be voted on today, a bill President Barack Obama has declared he will veto if it makes its way to his desk. Points of view: Ezra Kline - Wonkblog at the Washington Post / Twitchy / Fox News / USA Today

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH

On Friday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.
First votes expected: 10:30 - 11:15 a.m. Last votes expected: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

One Minute Speeches

H.R. 3350 - Keep Your Health Plan Act of 2013 (Closed Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton / Energy and Commerce Committee / Ways and Means Committee)

Special Order Speeches

COMMITTEE ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade hearing on “Our Nation of Builders: Training the Builders of the Future” (Friday, November 15th, at 9:30 a.m.)

Printable PDF

Denver Post editorial: 'Poll -- Obama misled nation'

The Affordable Care Act is not working out the way President Barack Obama and Democrats thought it would. Today's Denver Post editorialized about the negative effects of Obamacare:

"President Obama's misstatement, 'If you like your health plan, you can keep it,' left a bad taste with a lot of people," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Nearly half of the voters, 46 percent, think he knowingly deceived them."

Just because you like your old approval ratings doesn't mean that you can keep them.

Country spoofs ... 'Obamacare By Morning'

Could the White House pick up the white courtesy phone? America is calling.

Thursday's Country Music Awards (CMA) held in Nashville (hi to SWAC Daughter) is being remembered this year not so much for the musicians but for a spot at the start of the show that mocked the website problems of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Yeah ... they went there.

Hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley entertained the overwhelmingly approving crowd with a musical spoof of the troubled national health care law. Set to the tune of the night's Entertainer of the Year winner George Strait's hit song, "Amarillo By Morning," the comical rendition began after Brad joked that he had "twerked" his back, a jab at Miley Cyrus' performance earlier in the year at the Video Music Awards. Carrie innocently asked in her Southern accent, "Hey, do you have that Obamacare?" which brought a roar of laughter and applause from the crowd.

She goes on to say she started trying to sign up "last Thursday and I'm almost done," which brought more laughter from the crowd. As they sat down at a laptop, Brad played the guitar while Carrie made moves of trying to get a frozen website to do something, and they began to sing (remember, it's to the tune of "Amarillo By Morning"):

Obamacare by morning
Why's it taking so long?
I'm gonna wind up with hemmoroids
If I sit here til dawn.
Oh, I've cataracts and dimmentia
This is getting on my last nerve
Obamacare by morning
Over 6 people served.

It brought down the house. Reaction around the internet was instantaneous. It spread through social media and hit the news cycles, bringing further-reaching recognition to the CMAs than anything else that night.

The white courtesy phone is ringing....

Goodlatte townhall: The question that didn't get asked

Monday's townhall meeting in Augusta County with Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-6th CD) was chocked full of people who are upset about Obamacare and want to see Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and others shut down the U.S. government in their pursuit of shutting down Obamacare.

So it was a surprise that this one question was not asked by anyone in the crowd of about 150 people: Why was Congress exempted from the Obamacare legislation that the rest of us have to abide by?

Ted Cruz is a 'train wreck'

“Have you seen what Ted Cruz is doing? He’s going crazy on Republicans … Ted Cruz is attacking anybody that is not willing to shut down the government over Obamacare … I have to be very careful about what I say, but Ted Cruz comes in, obviously so completely ignorant about the war that Tom Coburn has been fighting for 20 years. And to say something like this about Tom Coburn. Ted Cruz is a total train wreck. He is comparing Mitch McConnell to Barack Obama. He is attacking Tom Coburn as being a member of the ‘surrender caucus’ when Tom Coburn, and yes Ted Cruz…I…put our political lives on the line more times in six months than Ted Cruz will put on the line his entire lifetime.”

- former GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough ("Morning Joe," July 31, 2013)

Eric Cantor says ObamaCare delay should be permanent

Bowing to the reality that ObamaCare isn't quite ready for prime time, the White House announced on Tuesday that it was delaying the employer health care mandate for a year.

In response, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) noted that the best cure for ObamaCare would be a permanent delay:

"This further confirms that even the proponents of ObamaCare know it will hurt jobs, decrease economic growth and make it harder for families to have access to quality and affordable health care," Cantor said. "Rather than continuing to delay the predictable pain until another election day has passed, we should scrap this entire law and instead implement patient-centered reforms before any more damage is done to our economy or the health care families depend on."

Interesting that the announcement was made barely 24 hours before the Independence Day holiday and while President Barack Obama was out of the country.

Kaine embraces Obama and liberal policies

"I don't need to back away from anything." -- Tim Kaine 

From The Roanoke Times: 

Former Gov. Tim Kaine said today that he won't run from President Obama or his own record as he campaigns for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

"I don't need to back away from anything," Kaine told reporters in a news conference outside the state Capitol, his first meeting with reporters since he formally launched his Senate candidacy on Tuesday.
.....
"Anything I've done is fair game," he said. "Folks can raise it. What I'll do is I'll say, 'Here's why I did it.' I ain't perfect. I hope I'm better tomorrow than I am today and I wake up every morning hoping that. But I feel very, very good about my record."

 
· Does that mean that Tim Kaine is OK with his decision to close 18 rest areas to "save" $9 million, while VDOT was sitting on more than $1 billion, all in the hope of pressuring the House of Delegates into raising the gas tax?

· Is Tim Kaine proud of the fact that he tried to force Virginians into choosing between higher income taxes or the end of Car Tax Relief?

· Does it also mean that Tim Kaine is still proud of helping Nancy Pelosi and President Obama pass a health care takeover that has been rejected by both Republicans AND Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly?

If Chairman Kaine truly doesn't see the need to back away from his record, then the voters will have no problem backing away from him in November.

From RPV....

Common sense simplicity from Judge Vinson's health care ruling

"It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the East India Company a monopoly and imposing a nominal tax on all tea sold in America would have set out to create a government with the power to force people to buy tea in the first place. If Congress can penalize a passive individual for failing to engage in commerce, the enumeration of powers in the Constitution would have been in vain for it would be ‘difficult to perceive any limitation on federal power’ and we would have a Constitution in name only." -- Judge Roger Vinson, 1/31/11

Poll: Should health care be repealed?

From former Virginia Gov. and U.S. Senator George Allen....

January 19, 2011

Dear Patriot,

After last November’s historic elections, I wrote in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the new Congress must “Keep Promises to ‘We the People.’ ” One of those promises was to repeal the massive, anti-jobs, government takeover of our American healthcare system – whether through outright repeal or by defunding it – and replace it with affordable, personal Health Savings Accounts.

The President and Democratic Congress promised that Obamacare would reduce the costs of health care and would let us keep our current health plans. Instead we have seen companies across our nation – from Boeing to Caterpillar to 3M – announce increases in their healthcare costs and reductions in employee benefits.

The Obama Administration was forced to grant waivers to thirty companies and organizations – including McDonalds and the United Federation of Teachers – representing 1 million employees who faced higher premiums or lost coverage without an exemption from the government-imposed healthcare mandates.

But the Washington liberals continue to ignore our voices and the message of November’s elections. They defend the massive expansion of Medicaid, which is an unfunded mandate on our States and will result in higher college tuition. They continue to argue that the federal government can dictate that Americans must enter into private contracts and purchase health insurance.

Thankfully, the new Congress will keep its promises and will soon vote first to repeal Obamacare, then vote to begin the process of replacing it.

The Washington liberals still don’t get it. Harry Reid called Republicans working to repeal health care “misguided” saying they “should get a new lease on life and talk about something else.” And Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio said repealing health care is “a colossal waste of time”. I know that with higher health insurance costs, increased spending, and higher debt, it will be harder to reinvigorate our economy and get Americans back to work.

I want to know what you think.

Should the House of Representatives repeal the costly, government healthcare takeover plan and replace it? Or should they leave it in place?

Please go to my website and vote in this poll, which we will share with the members of Congress.

Standing Strong for Freedom,

George Allen

VA health care lawsuit ... who is Judge Henry Hudson?

Cross-posted at the Washington Examiner....

Virginia has been leading the nation since the first settlers landed in Jamestown, and it continues by leading the challenge to ObamaCare. Along the way, a Virginia judge made a landmark decision that has been felt all the way to the U.S. Congress and the White House.

In March the Commonwealth of Virginia filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate requirement in the newly-passed health care bill that required Americans to purchase insurance or pay a fine for failure to do so.

On Monday U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson in Richmond ruled in Commonwealth of Virginia vs. Sebelius that the requirement to purchase mandatory health insurance was unconstitutional because the Commerce Clause of the Congress does not have that authority. He therefore became the first judge to rule against President Barack Obama's health care bill.

There was immediate reaction from Virginia's leadership including Governor Bob McDonnell (R), Lt. Governor Bill Bolling (R), and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) who carried the lawsuit as well as Congressional Majority Leader-Elect Eric Cantor (R-VA 7), and former Governor and U.S. Senator George Allen. All supported the decision and all, with the exception of businessman Bill Bolling, are lawyers.

The Washington Examiner Opinion Zone bloggers followed up with opinions about the decision including Ben Domenech's cleverly-titled "Yes Virginia, there is a Constitution." E.D. Kain also weighed in with

"Federal Judge in Va. rules healthcare law's individual mandate is unconstitutional," Norm Leahy opined with "In Va. a victory for limited government ... with caveats," and Max Borders wrote "Obamacare without the mandate? Yikes."

Meanwhile, just exactly who is Judge Henry Hudson, the man who dared to take on ObamaCare and the President of the United States?

Some have called him staunchly conservative but others say he has mellowed with age. Perhaps he sees something of himself in Ken Cuccinelli who has been described by some as zealous and unyielding in his march for what he believes is right. Hudson's critics are unyielding in their assessment of someone who does not line up with their ideological beliefs, a hypocrisy not lost on conservatives.

This 63-year-old federal judge for the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Arlington, Va, becoming a volunteer firefighter and paramedic at the age of 18 and later serving as a courtroom deputy before earning his law degree from American University to become the "people lawyer," as he described in his 2008 book, Quest for Justice.

Hudson was recommended for his current federal position by Virginia U.S. Senators John Warner and George Allen in 2002 to President George W. Bush who nominated Hudson and saw his nominee confirmed by Congress in August 2002.

With a reputation as a no-nonsense judge, his career has had some high-profile highlights along the way. His legal career began when he worked as Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney and then Commonwealth's Attorney in Arlington County, Va, from 1974-86 and then as circuit court judge where he was known to be tough. Former U.S. Congressman Tom Davis described Hudson as a "by-the-book guy," adding that "[h]e is not one who coddles criminals." He went on to say, "He is a bulldog. He is not a warm puppy. Whatever Henry does, he will be criticized. But I know that what he does will be the right result. He will have the right answer."

In 1986 under President Ronald Reagan, Hudson was a member of U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese's Commission on Pornography. Later he headed up the U.S. Marshal Service in 1992-93 during the President George H.W. Bush administration, and in 1998 became a circuit court judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, where he served until his current appointment in 2002.

Before the current health care decision, there was another notable case that brought Henry Hudson into the national spotlight. In 2007, the Michael Vick dogfighting case hit the headlines when the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback was accused of illegal activity with a dogfighting ring in Virginia.

Giving an insider's look at his career through his book, Greta Van Susteren of Fox News and herself a lawyer noted that "crime news junkies will love Quest for Justice, ... a thrilling tale of crime fighting adventure."

Perhaps no one says it better than Virginia resident Ollie North who commented, "Henry Hudson weaves a suspenseful tale that reads like a novel, but it's all true."

Stay tuned. Henry Hudson's book may have been premature ... his story isn't over ... because the health care issue just added another chapter for this man who may have proven with Monday's ruling that he is still "the people's lawyer."

Rep. Eric Cantor vows to overturn ObamaCare

From Real Clear Politics, video of House GOP whip Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) saying "we will do everything we can" to delay, defund and repeal Obamacare. Polls have shown the majority of Americans are against ObamaCare.

With a one-two punch, voters rejecting health care bill

The first reviews are in concerning the government-mandated health care bill passed in March, and it's not looking good for President Barack Obama and his Democratic colleagues.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson denied the federal government's motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia challenging the constitutionality of the massive federal health care bill passed. Judge Hudson ruled that Virginia does indeed have a standing to bring its lawsuit seeking to invalidate the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and ruled that injury had been suffered by the Commonwealth since the federal law would invalidate the Health Care Freedom Act. Strike one for Obama and the Democrats.

On Tuesday ObamaCare was put before the citizens of Missouri. "Proposition C" sought to exempt Missouri from the insurance mandate currently demanded by the federal bill. In an overwhelming defeat, voters approved of Proposition C, with 71% turning their backs on ObamaCare and the Democratic health care bill. One voter even referred to it as the "vote heard round the world." Strike two for Obama and the Democrats.

The voter opposition should come as no surprise to the Obama administration and the Democratic Party. Their original goal was to push nationalized health care and have it passed by the summer of 2009. They did not expect the tremendous outpouring of negativity from the American people who protested at summer recess town hall meetings and participated in the 9/12 March on Washington in which upwards of 1.2 million citizens protested federal health care outside the Capitol in the fall of 2009.

After much arm-twisting and deal-making, the bill was finally passed in March 2010 against the will of the majority of the American people. Many vowed to have the bill repealed and went to work contacting their representatives even as naysayers suggested that, once in place, such a massive mandate could not be reversed.

Could this week's results in Virginia and Missouri begin a tsunami across the nation leading into the November elections? Political pundits have taken notice and wonder if Missouri could be a bellwether of the mid-terms.

Poll after poll have suggested Republicans may sweep into office by the dozens this fall. Opposition to nationalized health care and Democratic attempts to override state governments on issues such as illegal immigration is growing. Voters, tired of being ignored, are letting their voices be heard at the ballot box.

Could 2010, as suggested by Washington Examiner senior political analyst Michael Barone, be another 1966? Are Democrats heading for a political disaster?

Cross-posted at The Washington Examiner

WSJ: "No, you can't keep your health plan"

Dr. Scott Gottlieb opines in today's Wall Street Journal about ObamaCare, the health profession, and how Barack Obama and the Democrats have misled Americans about the status of their personal insurance. Barack Obama said in no uncertain terms that Americans could keep their insurance:

President Obama guaranteed Americans that after health reform became law they could keep their insurance plans and their doctors.

Dr. Gottlieb, a former official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and who is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a practicing internist, points out that is not true:

It's clear that this promise cannot be kept. Insurers and physicians are already reshaping their businesses as a result of Mr. Obama's plan.

The health-reform law caps how much insurers can spend on expenses and take for profits. Starting next year, health plans will have a regulated "floor" on their medical-loss ratios, which is the amount of revenue they spend on medical claims. Insurers can only spend 20% of their premiums on running their plans if they offer policies directly to consumers or to small employers. The spending cap is 15% for policies sold to large employers.

The truth slowly creeps out from the 2,000 page bill that was hurriedly passed by partisan Democrats on a protesting public. Will Republicans be able to turn it around once they are back in control in DC?

THYME Magazine ... "The bill we had to pass to know what's in it"

What a bitter pill for America ... ObamaCare ... the bill we had to pass to know what's in it.

Americans are outraged and rightly so. Many Democrats now have buyers remorse. Bob looks into it in the latest issue of "THYME Magazine ... Citizen Journalism with a Better Flavor"

If we cannot expect our elected representatives to read the fine print, why have we hired them to do the job? That includes Jim Webb and Mark Warner, U.S. Senators who, in my opinion, sold out the citizens of Virginia. It's time for better representation.