Ken Cuccinelli collects 12,500 signatures

From Sen. Ken Cuccinelli....

Those who have heard me speak know that I am a man of many words. But today I am (practically) speechless...and very deeply moved.

As you know we have been faced with the requirement of collecting 4,000 petition signatures by today in order to qualify to be on the Republican ballot at the State Convention in May. Assuming that many of the signatures we collect would be disqualified, we aimed to collect 6,000 signatures, in order to ensure that we would have at least 4,000 qualifying signatures. We were given 27 days to collect these signatures. We asked you all to help...and help you did!

More than 250 volunteers spent the last three weeks collecting signatures from friends, neighbors, business associates, church members, club members, and every person on the street willing to sign our petitions.

You all collected over 12,500 original signatures (not copies)! Counting the signatures on the petitions collected by other state-wide candidates who were gracious enough to include our name on their petitions, the total signatures collected, as reported back to me from RPV, are over 22,000! There were so many petitions coming in over the last few days that our campaign staff barely slept over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend because they were up every night sorting petitions and counting signatures!

Just so our volunteers don't think they were being put to work for overkill, as of last Monday, we had less than 3,000 petition signatures delivered to our office, and by the end of the day Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving), we were over 12,000. So, you can see that we had a rush of petitions come in late, the fruit of so many volunteers' efforts all over the Commonwealth. We even got petitions in from people that we had not previously known were out there working for us - one of the wonderful benefits of a strong grassroots campaign.

I cannot possibly express to each of you who helped how very grateful I am for your help! Thank you for the numerous hours spent helping our campaign collect these signatures! Thank you for the incredible show of support and encouragement.

This is an outstanding accomplishment and demonstrates the MASSIVE grassroots advantage that we have over our competitors for the nomination. One of our AG competitors had to completely rely on copies of the Bolling and McDonnell campaigns' petitions while our other competitor turned in a miniscule number of original signatures. In fact, we had more original signatures than any other statewide campaign for any office, and we crushed our AG competitors in this first grassroots contest.

So, I'm not quite speechless. But I am very grateful for the effort of so many of you!

Now let's take this grassroots enthusiasm forward to recruit delegates to the Republican Convention, then get them to Richmond in May, then go on to win the state-wide general election next November.

Bibeau has the in-depth report on Cuccinelli's visit

Jason Bibeau over at the Augusta Water Cooler has an indepth report on Republican Sen. Ken Cuccinelli's stop in the SWAC area last week. Senator Cuccinelli is running for Attorney General in 2009 so, in his I-81 travels, he stopped in to meet new faces and visit with those he already knew. He is well respected in this area for his conservative stand and his willingness to stand up to his own Republican counterparts in Richmond when he does not agree with them. Check out Jason's update.

Ken Cuccinelli addresses SWACers ... running for Attorney General

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax)

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli is introduced by Kurt Michael. Sen. Cuccinelli is from Fairfax, and Kurt was chairman of Fairfax City Republicans in his earlier years.





Sharing dinner together as we continued the conversation after the Senator addressed the group.



Kim Wiseman talks with Sen. Cuccinelli.

"Unapologetically conservative."

That's the way Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, who has spent six years in the Virginia State Senate, describes himself. He has details of the battles during his time in the General Assembly to back him up.

Speaking to a packed room of Republicans at Shoney's in Staunton on Wednesday night, he was in the middle of traveling and meeting folks up and down the I-81 corridor.

A conservative Republican representing a seat in the more-and-more liberal Northern Virginia area, he has proven he can hold onto his conservative message and win.

Same in the State Senate where he battled his own Party on conservative and tax issues. Standing with his principles against Democrats and moderate/liberal Republicans, he joked that he spent his time beating the heck out of their fists with his face. A self-described fighter, he said you have to be in it for the right reasons which, for him, is a conservative agenda.

"Why is it only about holding power and not about principles?" he asked.

He laughed about the "political calendar" which is the one where everything never gets done. It just goes on and on and on.... Many in the room chuckled in agreement.

Republicans, he said, need to stand by their conservative message. When they don't they lose.

State senate leaders, he said, have led us into minority status. He battled John Chichester as well as Russ Potts, the Republican who ran against Republican Jerry Kilgore three years ago. Republicans stopped pursuing Republican policies ... and they lost.

He candidly added he would fight friends when they were wrong just as much as he would fight Democrats.

A hard-working home school dad, he has been outspent in each of his three campaigns but, as he said, never out-worked. A lawyer by trade, he tirelessly divides his time between work, family, and politics but, as he laughed, out of 110,000 votes there is one veto -- his wife. She is his backing in all that he does.

Now running for the Republican nomination for the 2009 Attorney General position, he is crisscrossing the state to meet citizens, firmly believing candidates need to give people a reason to vote. He is spreading his message to fellow Virginians as he builds an impressive grassroots donor base.

At the same time, he is building up a grassroots volunteer organization that will, hopefully, win the nomination process next year. Part of that group will include the numerous home school families throughout the state who are well aware of Sen. Cuccinelli's work in the state senate the past six years ... and they are in agreement with his conservative message and admire that a fellow home school parent is willing to sacrifice to serve the citizens of the Commonwealth.

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli ... expect to hear much more from him in the near future. Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County residents are grateful for his stop to offer an opportunity to hear from this principled candidate.

News links:
- Waynesboro News Virginian
- NBC TV-12

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell

Ken Cuccinelli in SWAC area next week

Republican Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, who is running for Attorney General in 2009, will be in the SWAC area Wednesday, July 16, for a meet-and-greet with local citizens. All are invited to come out and visit with Sen. Cuccinelli for this dutch-treat event at Shoney's in Staunton at 6:00 p.m.

Sen. Cuccinelli is a conservative who has held fast to his principles while winning election in a Northern Virginia seat. He has stood up for conservative causes in Richmond. He is a home school dad. Join us as we welcome Sen. Ken Cuccinelli on Wednesday at Shoney's in Staunton, I-81 exit 222.

He's in!

Yesterday's news was that State Senator Ken Cuccinelli had thrown his hat in the race for Attorney General in 2009. Last night Sen. Cuccinelli sent an email explaining his reasons. Since he keeps later hours than I on many nights, I read the email this morning.

The GOP is fortunate to have a deep bench of possibilities for the AG race including Sen. Cuccinelli. He wrote:

Well, last week I told you we’d move on to a new topic this week. This week’s topic? We’re going to run for Attorney General of Virginia in 2009. I hope that I can count on all the readers of The Compass to support our effort. For those of you that are ready to commit your support now, please click here and check the box in the upper right hand corner!

Here are some of my remarks from earlier today about why I am running and how I hope to carry forward a conservative, Republican agenda in this race and into the office of AG.

=-=-=-=
This is a big day for us, as we’ve decided to proceed with an exploratory effort in pursuit of the Republican nomination for Attorney General in 2009. With the establishment of Bob McDonnell as our presumptive nominee for Governor and Bill Bolling running for re-election to Lt. Governor, we have the opportunity to have the strongest ticket Republicans have advanced in many years.

I believe that I can round out that ticket, bringing my history of conservative leadership and a strong grassroots network based in Northern Virginia. This would be a ticket with a record of fighting for Virginia families and businesses, representing the three most populous parts of the Commonwealth, and with values that I believe will also resonate strongly in the rest of Virginia as well.

I can win in November 2009 because I stand strongly for conservative principles and I have proven that I can explain them in way that demonstrates to an average Virginia family that I can make a positive difference in their daily lives. A difference in cutting red tape and fighting tax hikes that produces more jobs. A difference in protecting our liberties while keeping our families and children safe. A difference in cutting government waste and focusing government spending on core priorities like transportation, education, law enforcement and caring for those who cannot care for themselves, as we did in mental health reform this year. Meeting and talking to people about these and other issues is what I will be doing with my exploratory committee.

Northern Virginia has not been represented on a Republican ticket for the better part of two decades, and I believe that my fellow Republicans across Virginia are now as committed as I have always been to competing in Northern Virginia. All three of my campaigns have been well known for our grassroots success. Despite good fundraising on our part, the Democrats have made sure that we have been outspent in every race we’ve ever run, yet we’ve won with the support of a large group of truly good people who share my commitment to conservative principles. They have put us over the top every time, and I am confident that it is those folks that will get us over the top again – this time for Attorney General.

One of the other blessings we’ve had in our campaigns is a huge number of small donors. We literally have a network all over Virginia of thousands of folks that have written small checks to our campaign (hint, hint). Our donor base is more than three times the size of ANY other elected state Republican Delegate or Senator. If just our donors come to a convention for us, and half of them bring their spouse, we would have over 2/3 of the votes that we will need to win the nomination.

Of course, beyond our donor base, we’ve got a volunteer base of many hundreds of activist volunteers not only here in Northern Virginia, but we’ve had help from literally every corner of the Commonwealth – some of them have driven up to help us during our races, others have made phone calls or provided other volunteer help right from their homes. We will be calling on those folks to help again and to come to the convention in 2009 to put us over the top. Again, we have a large base of volunteer supporters to call upon in addition to our significant donor base, and we think that’s a great position to start this race. If they come through, we’ll win.

Now, there is a reason that we have the best volunteer and donor base in the Commonwealth. It is because I have stayed true to the conservative principles that I have advertised in my campaigns. Simply put, I am a conservative at heart. It’s not just positions, it’s who I am. I am unapologetically pro-life and anti-tax, and I have been the biggest defender of the 2nd Amendment and property rights in the Virginia State Senate since my arrival. And I have done all of this in some of the toughest political territory for a conservative, not merely in Northern Virginia, but in inner Northern Virginia, in Fairfax County – the biggest single vote prize in the Commonwealth in statewide races.

Part of the reason for the loyalty of our base is not simply my leadership on virtually every issue of interest to conservatives, it is also because I have been advancing conservative positions in what has been a very hostile environment for conservative principles in Virginia – the Virginia State Senate – and then going home to Fairfax to defend my conservative positions in election after election – always as one of the Democrats’ top targets statewide.

Because we’ve been working in Fairfax’s tough political territory, we’ve had to run the leanest and most efficient grassroots campaigns in the Commonwealth, and we will bring that same hard-working style of grassroots campaigning to the race for Attorney General. I am confident that we can be competitive statewide, but now we’re going to hit the road and find out. If the response to our exploratory effort from Virginia Republicans is positive this year, then we will proceed to a full blown campaign, probably by the end of the year.

This is the beginning of a new campaign, and we intend to run a campaign that the founding fathers would be proud of. A campaign that consistently applies conservative principles to today’s pressing issues. We don’t offer the citizens of Virginia a government that caters to their every whim and want, but a government that provides ample opportunity for each person to achieve his or her greatest potential.

=-=-=-
Podcast at Bearing Drift
Tonight, after our announcement, I joined Jim Hoeft for a podcast that you can listen to here:
http://bearingdrift.com/2008/03/31/vpod-state-sen-ken-cuccinelli-candidate-virginia-attorney-general/

Ready to Get On Board?
While we help all our candidates running in 2008, we’re also going to start recruiting for 2009 right now – today. Are you ready to commit to supporting me for the GOP nomination for Attorney General? I hope so! If you are, please sign up now by clicking here and signing up today! And then forward this on to your friends to sign them up too! First one to 10,000 wins!

Ken Cuccinelli to live blog at Family Foundation blog Friday

In another General Assembly exclusive for The Family Foundation's blog, Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37, Fairfax) has agreed to blog live for one hour on this Friday, March 7, at 2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment of the Senate floor.

Simply go to the link and post a question for Senator Cuccinelli. He then will answer all posted questions in one sitting. If you want to see his answers live, simply click your refresh button throughout the hour; or, come back at your leisure and read his answers on the thread all at once.

Senator Cuccinelli is one of the most principled conservatives in Virginia politics and not only is he a leader in several areas (such as pro-life, property rights, family values and traditional marriage, open government, and limited government and tax restraint) he has been effective at getting laws passed and advancing the ball in these areas. For example, when most people last year thought the big developers and the powerful local government lobby (which uses your tax money to lobby against your rights) would prevent eminent domain reform in response to the deplorable Kelo U.S. Supreme Court decision, he fought hard and smart, and delivered a tough law preventing government from seizing private property.

This will be an exciting opportunity to ask Senator Cuccinelli questions about last November's elections, the General Assembly, his future plans (he is planning a run for attorney general), the budget, Friday's state Supreme Court decision invalidating last year's transportation plan, or his stunning victory on the Senate floor late last week when his amendment to ban state funding to Planned Parenthood first was ruled in order by Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, then adopted 21-20 on Lt. Governor's tie-breaking vote. Of course, there are dozens of other great topics, and Senator Cuccinelli never shies away from an honest answer to a tough question, so don't hold back.

We take great pride in our extensive coverage and exclusive stories and interviews on our blog, which isn't a half-year old. Other, much more established blogs, have not achieved the access and exclusivity we have. We hope you enjoy the work we put into the blog and fully take advantage of it by participating on it. We look forward to seeing you at The Family Foundation Blog.

From The Family Foundation

Ken Cuccinelli as Attorney General candidate?

Senator Ken Cuccinelli has revealed he is exploring the possibility of running for Attorney General in 2009. He is looking for feedback about this idea and has announced an opportunity for activists to discuss that as well as the future of the GOP at a reception in Richmond.

This is not a fundraiser and no money will be accepted. It is simply a chance for the grassroots to talk with the senator about the future of conservative principles in our Commonwealth and the 2009 statewide elections.

The reception will be held Monday, March 3, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the home of William and Kristie Richards, 226 West Brook Run Drive, Richmond Virginia 23238.

For more information see Sen. Cuccinelli's website.

Sen. Cuccinelli explains the problems with homestead exemption

Senator Ken Cuccinelli's latest Compass explains the concerns of Republicans (and some Democrats) in the wording and possible ramifications of the so-called "homestead exemption" (SJ 6 and SB 496) that was voted down.

There have been many posts on this issue with the Dems trying to blame the Republicans for not caring for Virginia families. I posted on it yesterday ... but perhaps the best explanation comes from someone who was on the floor fighting the good fight.

Dear Fellow Republican:

This Compass represents one of those times that I am delivering bad news, but I want to explain what happened to the proposed real estate tax exemption amendment and bill (SJ 6 and SB 496). These were recently defeated by the Republicans in the Senate, with a couple of Democrats joining us. Why would we do this? A great (and painful) question, but I am going to try and answer it in this issue of The Compass.

The Short Version:
Nobody wants to advance tax cuts more than I do, but the language of the real estate tax exemption amendment can be used for political welfare for the favored constituents of local governments rather than tax relief for all of the homeowners in a jurisdiction. I have no doubt that that is why the Senate Dems like the current language of the proposed amendment.

The language was written wrong last year and it wasn’t caught last year, and you can’t “fix” the language of a constitutional amendment in the second year of passage without having to start the process over again.

The Long Version:
First, the process for an amendment....

There is a two step process required to pass an amendment to the Virginia Constitution. Usually this takes place over two years, though it can take three years.

In the first year, the proposed amendment must be passed by both the House and the Senate.

After the first year, there has to be an election before the amendment can be taken up again by the House and Senate. In the case of the property tax amendment, it was passed without much review in the 2007 General Assembly by Senator Rerras, then came the November 2007 elections.

After the election, in the second year of passage, in addition to passing the amendment with the exact same wording as the year before, it is also necessary to pass a bill to implement the constitutional amendment and to put it on the ballot.

The amendment, SJ 6, was submitted in this session by Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, [SuperLib (D)-Arlington]. The bill, SB 496, was submitted by Senator Ralph Northam – the Senator that had defeated Nick Rerras. Presumably, the Dems’ idea in giving it to Northam was political, i.e., the concept originated in Norfolk and they had shown a greater desire for this than anywhere else in Virginia, thus the Dems could prop up a freshman by getting him credit for the amendment. This is not much different than Rerras carrying it in a tough election year.

Because they had the majority in the Senate, the Dems controlled who’s bill and amendment would be considered. i.e., if 5 of us had put in amendments or bills, they could stop everyone and clear the way for Whipple and Northam.

Second, what we wanted to do.…

The concept that we were trying to accomplish was simple: to allow local governments the option of exempting up to 20% of the value of owner-occupied residences and farms from real estate taxes. To be even more specific, the idea was to allow the exemption of up to 20% of the value of each and every owner-occupied residence or farm.

Okay, simple enough right?

Third, what was drafted….

Here is the critical language from the amendment and the bill (with my own emphasis):

From the Constitutional Amendment, SJ 6:

ARTICLE X : TAXATION AND FINANCE

Section 6. Exempt property.

… (k) The General Assembly may by general law allow the governing body of any county, city, or town to exempt or partially exempt from real property taxation or provide for the deferral of real property taxes, within such restrictions and upon such conditions as may be prescribed by the governing body by ordinance, of up to twenty percent of the value of residential or farm property that is designed for continuous habitation and is occupied as the primary dwelling of the individual owners.

From the bill, SB 496:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 32 of Title 58.1 an article numbered 2.01, consisting of a section numbered 58.1-3218.1 as follows:

Article 2.01.
Exemptions and Deferrals of Real Estate Tax for Residential or Farm Property Designed for Continuous Habitation.

§ 58.1-3218.1. Exemptions from and deferrals of real estate taxes; certain residential or farm property.

… B. Pursuant to Article X, Section 6 (k) of the Constitution of Virginia, for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2009, the governing body of each county, city, or town may, by ordinance, (i) exempt or partially exempt from real property taxation, (ii) provide for the deferral of real property taxes, or (iii) provide for a combination program of exemptions from and deferrals of taxation of real property of up to 20 percent of the value of real property that is (a) residential or farm property designed for continuous habitation and (b) occupied as of the tax day as the primary dwelling of the owner or owners, who shall all be individuals. For purposes of this section, real property shall include any “manufactured home” as defined in § 36-85.3 and assessed pursuant to § 58.1-3522.

As provided in Article X, Section 6 (k) of the Constitution of Virginia and as otherwise authorized by law, any restrictions, conditions, or classifications of the tax relief program described under this section shall be provided by the local ordinance, including provisions to verify eligibility.

Fourth, what the language actually does....

Let’s cut to the heart of the problem with the language underlined above. Note that the language “exempt or partially exempt” does NOT require that the tax exemption be provided to every homeowner or farm. Rather, the 20% is calculated on the TOTAL VALUE of all residential real estate in a locality.

The language “upon such conditions as may be prescribed by the governing body” allows local governments to selectively grant the exemption.

So, let’s look at this in a hypothetical: Say there’s a locality where all of the residential real estate is the same value, with 500 homes each worth $100,000, for a total assessed value of $50,000,000. Our intention is that only $80,000 of the value of each home be taxed; however, the language of the proposed amendment allows a local government to give 100 homes a 100% tax exemption! Yikes. This was not caught last year (more on that below).

This isn’t a tax cut, it’s a welfare program that will get doled out to the politically favored neighborhoods in each locality, which explains why Sen. Whipple and the Dems like it so much. They get to say that they’re tax cutters when what they’re really doing is giving their local government allies the ability to dole out money to favored constituents. How do we know this will happen? Because it already does. For example, in Lynchburg, Ward 2 residents pay less for their trash service, while everyone else pays extra. Who do you suppose folks in Ward 2 vote for, incumbents or challengers?

The language proposed would allow the legalization of political pork through real estate tax exemptions.

Fifth, how did we get here?

While I’m not happy to say it, there obviously was not adequate review of the potential abuse of the amendment language as it was written last year. This is important because we can’t just “fix” the amendment this year, as it can only go on the ballot if it passes in exactly the same form as last year. But the language from last year is fatally flawed. It can’t be fixed this year.

We can amend the bill, but that doesn’t do any good to solve the underlying problem with the amendment. So we’re stuck either voting for a very badly flawed amendment that would legalize the mass-buying of votes by using the exemption to pay off (literally) favored constituencies or we have to start over.

The Republicans in the Senate are committed to bringing forth a good bill over the next two sessions and getting it on the ballot in a form that will have a very strong chance of passage, but that cannot be used as a form of political pork to feed to a select group of voters to buy votes.

I’m sorry to have to report this, and I wish it were caught last year. But I hope that you agree that while we should push for a real estate tax exemption amendment, we do need to get it right, particularly since we’re talking about rewriting the constitution, not merely passing a bill that could be tweaked the following year if we get it wrong.

I will be on a podcast at Bearing Drift on this subject, probably by Wednesday night, and it will include Senator Ralph Northam as well, so tune in there for more.

Sincerely,

Senator Ken Cuccinelli
Virginia 37th District

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli calls the Dems on their hypocrisy

Senator Ken Cuccinelli calls it as he sees it ... and he's calling it on those who "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk" in the State Senate. He is fired up about the budget divide and the pompous lifelong politicians in place. Read his latest Compass below -- classic reading and refreshingly honest for an elected. And Senator Cuccinelli ... thanks from the grassroots.

Dear Fellow Republican:

Democracy, shamocracy… welcome to the Virginia State Senate “debate” on the budget.

I often hear legislators expounding proudly on the fact that the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous elected body in the Western Hemisphere, but I notice that no one reminds their listeners that that record has very little to do with the Senate, which of course was appointed by royal Governors until after the Revolutionary War. Sort of a colonial House of Lords. It seems that our new, American democratic (little “d”) habits are not particularly favored in the Virginia State Senate. Maybe some would be more comfortable with the House of Lords?

Today, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Chuck Colgan, and budget conferee Senator Edd Houck went on the attack against ANYONE in the Senate who would dare to have the temerity to vote against a Senate Budget!

The catalyst for these diatribes was the fact that the Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee voted against the Finance Committee’s budget yesterday. Thus, the budget came out of committee on a 9-7 vote. So, you ask, what’s the big deal? Well, Chuck made it very clear why he thought it was a big deal…

… Senator Colgan loudly announced that he has been in the Senate for 33 years, on the Finance Committee for 29 years, and a budget conferee for 17 years, and he has NEVER (read in: great indignation) in all his Finance years seen a divided vote on a Senate budget!

Senator Colgan then proceeded to declare that “the Budget is above politics!” Um, excuse me, since when? Politics is about the direction of policy. Did everyone in the Senate run for office saying they were going to do the same thing? I doubt it or I wouldn’t have had such a close race. In fact, the budget is supposed to be about politics!

Another choice quote from Sen. Colgan today was this beauty (at high volume): “Get politics out of this arena, it doesn’t belong here!” Politics doesn’t belong in the elected Senate that represents the citizens of the Commonwealth? Can you imagine what the founding fathers would’ve thought?

A better interpretation of Senator Colgan’s declarations would be to say the following: “Daggone it, I’m the Finance Committee Chairman now, and no one has disobeyed a Finance Committee Chairman ever! I am appalled that anyone on my committee would vote against a budget! Where will this all end? Pretty soon we’ll be debating priorities and everyone in the Senate will have a say in the budget!”

The history of the Finance Committee is that they crush dissent by threatening everyone not on the Finance Committee with the unspoken threat that you’ll never get any programs or legislation through the Finance Committee. And in my time in the Senate, that unspoken threat has worked.

So, when a budget comes out of Finance unanimously, the Committee literally only needs about 5 more votes out of the remaining 24 Senators that aren’t on Finance to pass the budget. This worked for Chuck Colgan’s first 32 years on the Finance Committee, which explains why he’s "appalled" that he didn’t get a unanimous vote for the first time ever.

Next, William Wampler stood up and said why he couldn’t support the budget, i.e., raiding the lottery funds dedicated to building schools, cutting existing programs such as hospital reimbursement for the poor to start new programs like the Governor’s pre-K program, etc.

Then, Sen. Edd Houck got up and virtually exploded in vitriolic hyperbole. Waving his finger threateningly at Republicans he waxed on about what "team players" they (the Democrats) had been when the Republicans were in control (umm, hello, Edd, you were team players to raise taxes… so you were getting your Dem policies…). Then, referencing our desire not to fund the Governor’s pre-K program, Houck began to rant that we were putting our "boots on the necks of poor 4-year olds." Whoa. The temperature in the chamber continued to rise…

The last speaker in the running debate was Tommy Norment who basically got up and gave it right back to Houck et al, identifying some of the ridiculous choices made in their proposed budget and vigorously taking issue with Houck’s various exercises in hyperbole.

All in all an interesting day on the floor of the Senate – very enlightening.

The message? You’re not allowed to dissent on the budget if you’re going to be on the Senate Finance Committee, and the very notion that ANY Senator would dissent is appalling! Well, being an experienced dissenter on Senate budgets, I find this version of democracy to be pathetic. Why? Well, if I’m just supposed to "fall in line" with whatever the Finance Committee comes up with, then my 200,000 constituents have no voice in the Senate’s version of democracy. Now, make no mistake about it, the powers that be would like that. Remember, this is a body where debate is not particularly favored (did I say that diplomatically?).

I think a few folks in the Senate were reminded today that democracy can be complicated, messy business, and they don’t seem to like it. Oh well. The budget vote will be Thursday. It could be an interesting week.

As Long As We’re Talking About Senator Colgan…

The following was taken from Senator Colgan’s website on October 26, 2007:

“Here I clear the fog of innuendo, misinformation, and allegations. Here is where I stand!

• I do NOT SUPPORT any increase in the gas tax
• I do NOT SUPPORT allowing in-state tuition for illegal immigrants”

Well now, that was 11 days before the election… let’s take a peek at what has happened since then…

All mentions of the gas tax were pulled from Senator Colgan’s website some time after January 30, 2008. Then came the gas tax bill. How did Chuck vote? Well, on Senator Saslaw’s gas tax increase, SB 713, Senator Colgan voted for it in committee and again on the floor of the Senate. Thanks in part to Senator Colgan, a gas tax increase passed out of the Senate 25-15. [Editor's note: Republican Sen. Emmett Hanger also voted for the gas tax.]

Oh well, so much for that pesky gas tax promise.

How about in-state tuition for illegal immigrants? Well, when SB 652 came up, which allows certain illegals to get in-state tuition, Chuck voted for it. Whoops. That’s not on the website either… darn those pesky campaign promises. [Editor's note: Republican Sen. Emmett Hanger also voted to allow certain illegals to get in-state tuition.]

A funny factoid…

Some of the problems with the Dems’ budget come from their assumptions. For instance, in one coming fiscal year, the Dems are assuming that personal income will grow about 5% but taxes from that personal income growth will grow about 6%. Huh? Remember, we have a very flat income tax structure in Virginia, so it’s almost impossible for taxes on personal income growth to get much ahead of actual personal income growth.

But hey, we’ll worry about that next year!

One Other Thing

I told you that I’d send Senator Houck a letter asking him to demonstrate what he alleges to be our open budget and expenditure systems in Virginia, and I sent that letter last Monday the 11th. I still haven’t heard back from him as to whether he’ll accept my challenge, though some of my constituents have accepted my challenge to see what they can find, without much success – and you should know that the constituents that took me up on the challenge are VERY computer saavy… so how is a regular person supposed to find info in Virginia government? I don’t know, ask Senator Houck maybe…

Sincerely,
Senator Ken Cuccinelli
Virginia 37th District