Let’s go to the “Opinion Poll”….

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Our local newspaper has explored the use of “Opinion Polls” to bring up local and statewide topics on their website. It has been interesting to watch their selection of topics and phrasing of the questions they wish to discuss or promote. It is obvious that these “Polls” could\should not be considered scientific for it appears anybody can “Stack” the results by voting under numerous screen names and the likes.

Today’s question brings up a good point for discussion but the choice of phrasing the questions “Astronomically High” user fee option makes it appear that maybe the NewsLeader is steering the poll in one direction…

“What would you prefer as a method of funding Virginia’s transportation needs: Astronomically high “Abuser fees” for traffic offenses and a $10 hike in registration fees, or a few cents extra per gallon gas tax at the pump?


Results at time of viewing
44% Abuser fees
56% Higher gas tax

Good question and it appears that the majority of the NewsLeader readers favor spreading the “Transportation Fees” straight across the board to all motorist as compared to punishing those who abuse the system and fellow motorist.

Now it is obvious that anybody who is familiar to paying “Abuser fees” for their traffic offenses would rather not pay high or higher fines & fees, but what about the rest of us on the roads?

For work reasons I drive Route 81 numerous times a week and at times it amazes me that there are not more accidents as there are. Many drivers, and not just the young ones, seem to enjoy tailgating at 70+ mph. I have had people less then 1 car length riding behind me and I have seen others that have been the same length behind a tractor trailer at\over the 65 mph speed limit. There is no way that the driver of the truck can see that driver behind them at that distance. And what about the driver who weaves in and out of the passing lanes to go around those slower drivers or drivers who are doing the posted speed limit? No turn signals and no caution taken to prevent cutting off other drivers who get in their way… Not all but too many accidents result from the actions of these “Abusers” and who ends up paying for their actions most of the time? Maybe we can add a couple more pennies to the fuel tax to pay for the family of four that the tailgater\speeder ran off the road…

Should we fine these “Abusers” for their actions or spread the transportation fees across the board to all drivers in the form of a couple penny tax on fuel?
A “few cents extra per gallon tax at the pump” sounds less painful but remember that half-cent sales tax increase back in 2004 that also sounded less painful? That little half-cent results in more then $700 million dollars per year out of our pockets and into the Virginia treasury for our politicians to spend and they do spend it.


Maybe this poll was more then a “Opinion” poll to discuss the increased fines for the abusive driver? It has been mentioned numerous times in the local media that this bill is a product of the Republican Delegates in Richmond, a group that the NewsLeader “Opinion Page” has been critical of many times.


Our friends over at a much more “Liberal” blog that claims to have “Raised” our now Democratic Governor Tim “Kaine” to office has a post about this same topic. It is interesting to see how they present this same story. In fact it appears they may have actually turned this discussion about the safety of our public transportation to a political issue and a call to remove those evil Republicans from office. Several quotes from “comments” posted on their topic: “We're stuck with it unless we toss the jerks”… “More to the point, there's no gubernatorial election this year, but EVERY SINGLE GENERAL ASSEMBLY SEATE is up for grabs”…

"OPINION POLLS" are both interesting and fun, but I wonder how much of it is truly "Our" opinion and how much is the "Agenda" of the paper...

"That Didn't Take Long"...

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From those who promised the "Most Ethical" Congress...

Not long at all...

The "Quantity & Quality" of the vote...

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Disclaimer: Emmett Hanger won the Republican Primary on Tuesday 12 June 2007 for the Virginia 24th district. There is NO dispute to the fact that Hanger won the election and got the most votes during this election...

Tuesday was an interesting and important election for it showed the democratic process in action and how it works. Emmett Hanger won the Primary election with the advantage of 6.03% and 868 more votes then Sayre and will continue onto the General election in November where the process will work as designed again.

There have been numerous close elections in the past and this is just another example of the political climate we now live in. Just look at 2006 race for Virginia Senate where Jim Webb won by 9,329 of the States total votes or just a .39% advantage. And lets not forget the “Landslide” election of Attorney General Bob McDonnell who “Thrashed” Creigh Deeds by 323 votes or 0.01% of the vote…

It becomes apparent that with close elections like those mentioned each and every vote becomes that much more important to the final outcome. A “Quantity” issue. Always after close election results there are the inevitable questions of what more could have been done or “What-if” scenarios.

With that there is always another factor that influences the outcome of elections and that is the “Quality” of the voters involved. This is an area which encompasses a wide range of aspects and examples. Each American citizen has the right, opportunity, and responsibility to vote in the numerous elections that make up the local, state, and national governments. Unfortunately the majority of eligible voters do not exercise their rights and responsibilities and below half turnout for the Presidential elections has become common place.

During this past Tuesday Primary election I witnessed several examples of questionable “Quality” votes that factored into the final vote count for this election. As I said in the beginning of this post these are NOT excuses why the election went the way it did but reasons that should be noted and discussed.

In Virginia primaries all registered voters are allowed to vote in a primary no matter what party they are registered in or support. This may work well for the “Independent” voter and allow them to be part of the process to determine which candidate\party they eventually support. But it also provides an opportunity for the hardline Democrat or Republican voter to “Crossover” and vote for the weaker candidate for the opposing party. This topic has gotten much attention recently in this last local election I have heard the “Crossover” argument both ways. Some have said that the “Crossover” Democrats were voting for Sayre for he was the ’Apparent” weaker Republican Candidate. Others have said that the “Crossover” Democrat were voting for Hanger for the 24th district is a very strong Republican voting area and they will get more “Left-leaning” votes in the Senate out of Hanger as compared to Sayre if elected. It was noted that many people arriving in cars with Webb, Warner, and Kaine (Democratic Party) stickers on them were seen voting in Staunton City that went overwhelmingly for Hanger. Many times during elections you hear “bumper stickers & yard signs do not vote”. But still…

At one voting precinct I heard a voter state that they had to get Emmett re-elected because the voter stated he was just years away from getting pension and the “New guy” would foul that up with his cost cutting promises. Now each voter has the right to vote as they see fit and which way they believe will benefit them most. But what of the “Union” voter who is only fed one sided information and scarred into voting with only that information? Uneducated voters are not a new thing and will always be part of the election process, but are without a doubt a tactic used to influence voters.

While working one voting precinct I was in the company of a elected official who placed many cell phone calls to citizens of the district reminding and telling them to get out and vote for one of the two candidates. This person also instructed those called to get husbands, wife’s, children, and other relations out to vote and be sure to vote for the one candidate. The interesting thing is while listening to these calls the caller had to identify, sometimes numerous times, the candidate they should vote for and it was obvious the potential voter knew little or nothing of the candidates. These people were voting for a candidate because of the recommendation they were getting from another person. Not exactly the same as an “Endorsement” that you see in a newspaper or hear on the radio. Especially when the person making the recommendation has to say the candidates name numerous times because the potential voter does not even know who is running or what they stand for in this election.

While working this same precint Candidate Scott Sayre stopped by and worked the line to meet the voters and talk issues with the voters of the day. At one point Sayre introduced himself to a potential voter who responded in a irate manner and became loud for all to hear. The irate man expressed his dissatisfaction by saying that the candidate had run a negative campaign. He went on for a bit and would not allow Sayre to ask or discuss the campaign. Finally Sayre was able to ask the man what part of the campaign did he find “negative” and maybe he could explain his stance on the issue. The irate man became more “flustered” and continued claiming negative campaigning and then blurted out “Immigration” as a issue that he felt was portrayed in a negative manner. I was impressed by Sayre in the manner that he held his composure during this incident and allowed the irate man to continue without attempting to shut him down. Once the man finally produced an issue as an example Sayre asked if he could present his stance on immigration to clear up any misconceptions about the issue. It appeared the irate man then realized that he was not going to get the reaction from Sayre that he wanted and continued with the “negative campaigning” claim without discussing the issue. Sayre told the man that he was sorry that the man felt that way and would not allow him (Scott) to discuss the issues. Another form of voter who is convinced that there was a “Negative” campaign but when asked for an example they are unable to provide or discuss an actual issue proving their point. If a candidate asks a question or challenges a voting record is that considered “Negative campaigning”?. What is the proper term for the candidate who will not address a challenge on an issue or voting record? Incumbent?

Many people have questioned the value of a Primary election and that it endangers the Republican party in possibly losing the secure seat. “Not Larry Sabato” had a great post and thoughts on this process:

Betrayal? Insubordination? Primaries are a CRITICAL part of the political process. Without them, a Democrat could vote with the Republicans 100% of the time, or vice versa and they would be rewarded with no general election opponent and another term in office. Primaries are the only part of the process that keeps an incumbent honest with their political base. So challenging an incumbent in a primary is not insubordination, it is AMERICAN
http://notlarrysabato.typepad.com/doh/2007/06/boycott_the_new.html

By no means is this “Quality” issue limited to local elections and campaigns and in fact it is more apparent on the National level. Just a few examples to look at and discuss:

Absentee ballots: Any registered voter is allowed to vote by absentee and the regulation of this form of voting is somewhat limited. Absentee ballots have been issued to people who no longer live in the voting area, state, or are even living anymore! What about the absentee ballot for the elder person who is not able to go to the polls and must rely on somebody else to get the absentee ballot and even fill it out for them. Can the elderly person be sure that the proper vote was cast?

Union Influence: We live in an era where a labor union is able to collect “Union Dues” from their workers and spend that money on the candidate that the “Union” supports. The actual union worker is required to pay the union dues if they want their job but in most cases are not able to direct where the money will go to support a candidate.

The “Chad Challenged” voter: During the 2000 Presidential election there was the famous “Chad” incident in Florida where voters either did not completely punch out the Chad or failed to vote in the correct box. During this election I lived in Monroe County Florida and voted with an optical ballot and had to fill in the box with a black marker before it was inserted into the optical scanner. I recalled looking at the ballot at least three times to ensure that I marked the correct box for my candidate and that the mark was clear and obvious. Voter responsibility? And what about the voters in other parts of Florida where numerous voters became confused with the “Butterfly: ballot?…

Photo Identification: We have yet to pass a law requiring all voters to produce a photo identification card proving who they are before they vote. Seems common sense that we would want the positive identification of each voter before they voted but the same political party seems to consistently vote against this requirement. They claim that requiring Photo identification is a form of discrimination and not all people can afford or get a photo I.D. Many offers have been made to provide these photo identifications at no cost to the voter but yet this one political party continues to vote against this requirement. If these people are not able to obtain or afford a photo identification how do they get other services that require proper identification? What is the “Quality” or functionality of this voter?

Last week I was watching C-SPAN2, it was a slow day around the house, and our Senators were once again voting on a bill to require photo identification by voters. Once again this bill was defeated by the same political party that consistently votes against this photo identification requirement. Coincidentally while watching the C-SPAN coverage I saw my Virginia Senator cast his vote of this important bill and Issue…

Virginia Junior Senator James Webb… Democratic Party… Voted NO…

Senator, Thanks for being upfront & honest with the people(?)...

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"Below the Beltway" came up with some interesting information and link to a story pointing out the fact that the Handgun DID INDEED belong to the Junior Senator. This after the Junior Senator had refused to admit the handgun was his after his aide was arrested while trying to take the handgun into the Senator's office building... This resulted in the Aide spending his birthday night in jail ... Way to watch after your people Junior...

"Webb previously had refused to say whether the gun was his, although his senior aide -- Phillip Thompson -- had told police the weapon belonged to the Democratic senator.
"It's my gun," Webb told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in a recent interview."

It is also interesting that when a reporter asked the Junior Senator if he carried his handgun within the District where he does not get the "special consideration" of a Junior Senator, Webb refused to answer and ended the interview.

"Webb declined to say whether he complies with the District of Columbia's law that prohibits carrying a handgun or concealed weapon without a license."

Just another example of "The Most Ethical Congress" that we now have with the Democratic Party in control of Congress. Wonder if Democratic Representative William Jefferson has proper credentials to store $90,000 in marked cash in his freezer that was involved in a FBI investigation?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/17/AR2007061701165.html?nav=rss_nation

http://belowthebeltway.com/2007/06/18/jim-webb-finally-admits-the-gun-was-his/

"Thank You Scott" Sayre 2007...

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53.01 % to 46.98%

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Razor thin, missed by a hair, minimal, whisker, paltry, micro-thin, fraction, miniscule, nominal, lightweight, piddling, sparse, insignificant, anorexic, minor, negligible, minute, just shy, slim, thinnest of thin, trivial, slender, skin of the teeth, measly, small, skimpy, tiny, small fry, teeny, no biggie, petty, slight, inconsequential, meager, scant, puny, small potatoes, microscopic, sparse, imperceptible…

Several words and phrases describing the “half-penny” increase in the Virginia state sales tax back in 2004 that now nets an annual $700 million in tax revenue for our friends in Richmond to spend. http://newsvirginian.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WNV/MGArticle/WNV_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173351608887&path

Now each night when I empty my pocket change onto the night table, I have yet to find a “half-penny” go rolling across the table and I agree it does not sound like much money at all. But when it is multiplied by all of the taxable sales transactions across the State of Virginia in a year period it really adds up. That additional “half-penny” for every dollar we, the taxpayers, spend obviously does add up when you look at the big picture. $700 million dollars annually…

Doesn’t seem like that missing “half-penny” is even noticed on small daily transactions as we go about our business but over a year period that “half-penny” could make a significant difference if we were allowed to keep it, spend it, save it, or invest it as we see fit.

It has been reported that the Virginia State treasury has seen a surplus of tax revenue of up to and over $1 Billion dollars due to a strong economy and additional tax burden on the Virginia taxpayer..

It is also now being reported that our Democratic Governor is saying that we are looking at a $200-300 million “shortfall” in the next Virginia State budget. Several elected officials that I ran into this past election day told me that this “shortfall” is the result of slower economic growth and that the budget expected a 6.5% revenue growth rate… http://www.roanoke.com/politics\wb/118035

6.5% growth rate? Are you kidding me? Many from the Democratic side of the aisle have been telling me for years that we are in the worst economy ever and how could they ever expect a 6.5% tax revenue growth? The truth is we have had a very strong economy since the tax cuts that President Bush submitted and Congress approved a few years back. These tax cuts allowed the taxpayers to keep more of the money they earned to spend, save, and invest as we saw fit. The effects of these tax cuts resulted in record breaking tax revenue coming into the federal and state treasuries.

This increase in additional tax revenue, along with the extra “half-penny” each Virginia citizen paid at each sales transaction, resulted in a reported $1 Billion surplus in Virginia.

How is it possible that we have had a $1 billion surplus, with the help of an annual $700 million from a “half-penny” tax increase, and are now looking at a $200-300 million budget “Shortfall”?

Where did our money go? Will another “Half-penny” out of our pockets do the trick again until the next “budget shortfall”?

It seems we do not have a problem, as the guys in Richmond see it, for finding ways to get tax revenue coming into the State treasury. What the rest of us see is a problem with how “Our” tax money is being spent and if more tax money is confiscated from us, resulting in a surplus, it will be spent just as fast.

We need strong people working for us in Richmond looking out for how those “half-pennies” are spent and to ensure that they are spent wisely. We already have a strong fiscally conservative team from the Shenandoah Valley there now and we need to be sure to get them re-elected in November…

Still looking for that “half-penny”… Maybe it rolled of the back of the night table???

19% or 81% ???

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Now is that 19% of the American People who feel the "New" Congress, led by the Democratic party, is doing a good job?

Or is it 81% of the American People who know that Congress, led by the Democratic party, is not getting the job done???

Impressive turn-out...

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Not the 80-90% that we all would like to see at each election or even to compare with the turnout %'s in developing democracies such as Iraq, but still an impressive turnout for a primary election. During my time spent at several polling places I did hear the comments of voters who were disgusted by the low turnout as they saw it, but in comparing this turnout with past primary %'s this election was imnpressive...

It was also an enjoyable day spent talking politics with fellow Republicans, no Democrats were noted crossing lines in South River district, and Tuesday resulted in much material for future posts to RightsideVA...

I was impressed by both Scott and Mary as they worked the polls in South River and their efforts are reflected in the vote counts in Stuarts Draft, Sherando, and Lyndhurst...

Tuesday will be a long day, but a good one...

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The campaign in the 24th for the State Senate seat has been a long and evolving one as evident in the photo above showing when the campaign signs started to go out. Libertarian candidate Arin Sime has been at it for two years and I have always enjoyed talking with him when I saw him at political functions. Arin also came out one night to help pack boxes to be sent to our troops in Iraq & Afghanistan with the “From Our Hearts” program in Churchville. During that time he never campaigned but melted in with the volunteers and worked hard to get another large 160+ box shipment out. In fact the only time he spoke politics was when I questioned him on current events at that time and of course the Libertarian views on limited government in our lives. He is a good man and it will be interesting to see how he places in the election on Tuesday…

Scott Sayre came out of the gate running and has not slowed down a bit in his efforts to take his message to Richmond. The message is one of smaller government and allowing free enterprise to perform the magic it has in the past and allow people to keep more of the money they have earned. I am very interested and intrigued with getting more business people in Richmond who will look to run the Virginia State government with more sound economic and business like principles. There are numerous versions out their explaining the 2004 Virginia tax increase pushed thru by the Democratic Governor Mark Warner at a time that did not really warrant a tax increase. This increase has been called a “Reform” in some places and a unwarranted tax hike in others. No matter what it has been called it resulted in a tax revenue surplus into the Virginia treasury of over $1 billion at times. A “Surplus” of money taken from the citizens of Virginia and their ability to decide where that money could be spent, saved, invested as they saw fit. In fact almost all state treasuries across the United States saw unprecedented and all-time high surpluses of tax revenues coming in due to a very strong and growing economy.

The interesting thing is now the new Democratic Governor Tim Kaine is projecting a $200-300 million budget “shortfall” with a slowing economy. Where did the $$BILLION$$ go? Scott Sayre speaks of a Virginia State budget that has doubled in 10 years and it is evident by this missing Billion dollars that our government knows the fine art of spending taxpayers money as soon as possible. This is why I would like to see more business minded and orientated people in Richmond watching our money…

We have a fine crew from this area in our Delegates Landes, Saxman, Cline, Lohr, which serve in the Assembly and watch out for our tax money and how it’s spent. Senator Hanger has stated that he has worked on several of the cost cutting committees in Richmond looking for ways to save tax revenue and make Virginia government more efficient. Chris Saxman chairs the “Cost-Cutting-Caucus” in the house and has very good results and efforts. I have talked with the other Delegates and have always been impressed with their viewpoints, efforts, and attitudes towards the “People’s Money”…

As with the majority of American\Virginian taxpayers, I understand that we have debts and responsibilities that must be financed in this society we have developed. We have responsibilities to finance education, public safety, transportation, and needed social services but in a manner that uses the “people’s money” in the best and most efficient way. As apparent in the Federal and State spending budgets, we have career politicians who have become very accustomed to spending our money and the art of getting re-elected. Unfortunately in many areas these two acts have been joined together by politicians to ensure their re-election to office. How many more buildings do we need in West Virginia with the name “Harry Byrd” on them? Besides bringing big $$$ back to West Virginia what has the man done? All I ever see is Byrd rambling on incoherently on the Senate floor… We need to have a funded government but one that spends “OUR” money in the wisest and most efficient manner…

People are tired. Taxpayers are tired of people in government who have gotten too comfortable in their position and no longer view the government as the ultimate business and one that needs to be run as an efficient “Free Enterprise” business for the benefit of all citizens. Americans are tired of politicians who only see into the future far enough to get past the next election and what it will take to get them thru that next election. This was very evident this past week when the American Citizens loaded and jammed the telephone network in the Congressional offices telling their representatives that the present form of the Immigration bill was unacceptable and would not be tolerated. It seems the representatives got the message and the bill has since been “tabled” until a later date after modifications.

Investors Business Daily had some interesting comments and facts in their paper about this immigration bill. Republican Congressman Cornyn sponsored a amendment that would have limited\prevented illegal aliens who were also felons from being allowed to be included in the immigration reforms and eventually becoming American citizens.

"Cornyn's amendment would have permanently barred from legalization all convicted felons, including members of terrorist organizations, violent gang members, sex offenders, repeat drunk drivers, sex offenders and those convicted of felony identity theft."

The American people called their representatives to let them know that allowing felons to become eligible as in the original bill was not acceptable. The IBD article then went into particulars as to how bad this problem is.

"And your point is? They were ordered deported for a reason, senator. In fact, there are more than 630,000 fugitive aliens who have been ordered deported on the streets of America — doing what, nobody knows."

The people know that we must secure the borders in cooperation with immigration reform for this to work.

"As the Manhattan Institute's Heather MacDonald has pointed out, the problem of criminal illegal aliens is particularly acute in California. At one point, she noted, in Los Angeles 95% of all outstanding warrants for homicide were for illegal aliens, as were up to two-thirds of all fugitive felony warrants."

"Why identity theft should not be a bar to legalization in an age of terrorism is beyond us. Aside from the national security implications, identity theft cost 8.9 million victims in 2006 some $56.6 billion. That averages out to $6,383 per victim. The perpetrator is allowed to buy citizenship for less than that."

"A 2005 Government Accounting Office study involving 55,322 illegal immigrants incarcerated in federal, state and local facilities in 2003 found that they had been arrested an average of eight times each with 49% previously being convicted of a felony."

Yes, this Tuesday will be long. It will be early making sure signs and poll workers are in place for the people voting before going into work. It will get busy again around lunch time then again after work until poll closings at 7pm. It will be long but yet it will be a great opportunity for Republicans to get together to discuss the current direction our government is going both nationally and at the State level. It will be an opportunity to discuss the different viewpoints of the Candidates and the ongoing direction our party is going in Richmond. An opportunity that we would not see without a challenger candidate within the party. As I said before, at times “Competition is a good thing” for it will make us, and the party stronger in the end. I am sure I will meet and see some of the local Democrats out voting on Tuesday and it will be interesting to see what they say.

The winning Republican candidate will come out of this election stronger and with a clear vision of what the Republican 24th voters want to see in Richmond. Tuesday I will be out there early and all day to help the Republican process. My boss at work has a calendar with all of the Primary and General election dates on it for when he does my work schedule and with that I feel privileged and fortunate to be part of the process and I encourage all to participate by voting on Tuesday. I will be the one with coffee in one hand, Scott Sayre flyers in the other, and looking for solid Republicans from both sides to send a strong State Senator from the 24th district to Richmond to run this thing like a business!!!

"Most Ethical"?...

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A grand jury in Alexandria indicted Mr. Jefferson on Monday on 16 counts connected to a bribery investigation that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. The charges include racketeering, soliciting bribes, wire fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 235 years.

The indictment said Mr. Jefferson received more than $500,000 in bribes and sought millions more in separate schemes to enrich himself by using his office to broker business deals in Africa. The charges came almost two years after investigators raided Mr. Jefferson's home in Washington and found $90,000 in cash stuffed in his freezer.

http://washtimes.com/national/20070605-110444-1903r.htm