Friday, October 5, 2012
Virginia governor, local contractor say cuts to defense spending would be devastating to the local economy.
Hours after President Barack Obama’s campaign stop at George Mason University, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell hosted a press conference call Friday afternoon taking to task the president’s handling of massive, looming defense cuts. If Congress doesn’t make key budget decisions by the end of the year, $1.2 trillion in cuts to defense and other spending will kick in automatically. McDonnell, who was joined on the call by U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-4th) and Ashburn defense contractor Joe Travez, who repeatedly said the cuts would be “devastating,” especially in Virginia. Approximately 200,000 Virginians would be at risk of losing their jobs if sequestration is implemented in January 2013, and McDonnell said that can’t happen. Virginia is home to …
Monday, August 27, 2012
Virginia's governor has a prime speaking slot Tuesday evening.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell will give a speech on small businesses and the economy Tuesday during the Republican National Convention. McDonnell’s keynote address will air after 8 p.m. Tuesday, a premium speaking slot, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch’s Virginia politics blog. McDonnell's speech is titled “We Built It,” referring to a remark made by President Barack Obama during a July event in Roanoke that has since become controversial on the campaign trail. Obama was speaking about the role of government investment in infrastructure and businesses in July when he said, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” The statement, which some argue has been taken out of context in political ads …
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Should he have chosen McDonnell? What role could McDonnell play in a Romney administration?
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney announced his VP choice, Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Saturday morning as he prepares for a day of campaigning across Virginia. Romney will be in Manassas this afternoon on a campaign stop. (Go to Manassas Patch for live updates starting at 4 p.m. Saturday.) Who is scheduled to stand alongside Romney today in Manassas helping him campaign? Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, who was talked about as a possible running mate for Romney. McDonnell has spent time this year campaigning with Romney across Virginia, as well as South Carolina, Florida and other states. McDonnell endorsed Romney after longtime McDonnell friend Texas Gov. Rick Perry dropped out of the race. On Saturday morning, McDonnell …
Monday, July 30, 2012
Democrats, Republicans and hundreds of private sector government contractors gathered at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott on Monday afternoon to protest sequestration, which would cut $500 billion of federal defense spending.
ARLINGTON — U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly on Monday called on Congress to cancel its upcoming five-week recess in order to solve looming $500 billion defense cuts that could cost Northern Virginia thousands of jobs. That sentiment was echoed by Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce President Jim Corcoran, who said the federal government shouldn't balance its budget on the backs of the defense industry. And Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Moran, who arrived late to the "Stop Sequestration" rally thanks to a flight delay, said afterward he supported Connolly's idea. "Sequestration" is the name given to $1 trillion federal budget cuts that will happen in January if Congress doesn't reach a compromise. Half of that would affect the defense industry, which …
Thursday, June 28, 2012
High Court ruled 5-4 today to uphold what some call 'Obamacare.'
Area leaders were quick to react today to the news that the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama's health reform law. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R): "Today's Supreme Court ruling is extremely disappointing for Virginia and for America. The PPACA will create a costly and cumbersome system that will impair our country's ability to recover from these challenging economic times, infringes on our citizen's liberties, will harm small businesses, and will impose dramatic unfunded mandates on Virginia and all states. Simply put, this is a blow to freedom. America needs market-based solutions that give patients more choice, not less." (For the governor's full statement, visit his Web site.) On his Twitter feed, the governor wrote: "Simply …
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Del. David Englin tells Gov. Bob McDonnell he hopes a special election will be held on Nov. 6.
Del. David Englin (D-45th) announced Thursday that he has submitted his resignation from the House of Delegates effective Aug. 31 and endorsed Karen Gautney to replace him. In April, Englin announced he would not seek re-election to focus on rebuilding his marriage and family. He admitted to being unfaithful to his wife. In his resignation notice to Gov. Bob McDonnell, Englin said he hoped a special election for his seat would be held during the Nov. 6 General Election “to ensure the best possible stewardship of taxpayer resources.” Englin endorsed Gautney, writing: "The people of the 45th District deserve a Delegate who is totally devoted to fighting for what's right and not distracted by future political ambitions. … Karen's diplomacy, …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Virginia governor tells radio audience on WTOP Tuesday "I am not being vetted by his campaign."
On radio station WTOP Tuesday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) all but ruled out the possibility of becoming the vice presidential choice of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney. "I am not being vetted by his campaign," he told the radio audience. That doesn't completely shut the door if the Romney campaign came calling. McDonnell has not said he would say "no" to the VP slot if it were offered. The popular Republican governor, who received 59 percent of the vote before he was sworn in as the 71st head of the Commonwealth in 2010, said he plans to serve out his term, which ends in January 2014. McDonnell became chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2011 and has campaigned for Romney in Virginia, as well as in Southern primary…
Monday, March 12, 2012
Restaurant association: Law punishes anyone who has had 'one sip' over legal limit.
The American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade association that represents more than 290 restaurants in Virginia alone, believes a new law requiring all first-time DUI offenders to install a Breathalyzer in their vehicle goes too far. The association has lobbied against such laws on the national level and in Virginia and a number of other states, saying it punishes anyone who has had "one sip" over the legal limit. Gov. Bob McDonnell signed the tougher penalty into law last week. It goes into effect July 1. Currently, installing ignition locks is a punishment in Virginia reserved for repeat offenders or first-time convictions where a person's blood alcohol content, or BAC, is higher than 0.15. The state's legal limit is 0.08. Citing …
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to sign into law a bill that would allow state-funded private child-placement agencies the right to deny services based on their religious or moral beliefs.
Greg Greeley grew up in a large family and knew that one day he would want to start his own. "When I decided to start a family, and began reaching out to adopt, I was a single father," said Greeley, who moved to Virginia in 1987. He was in the Air Force and stationed at the Pentagon. As a single, gay man, Greeley faced many challenges before successfully navigating the state's adoption process. He started the process in 2001. A year later, after locating a progressive child-placement agency in Virginia, he adopted his first child from Ukraine. "It was a hard process and I was lucky," said Greeley, who lives in Arlington and now has a second adopted son from El Salvador. "The first question I asked each agency was, 'Do you work with single …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Bits and bites from the world of Virginia and national politics.
Voters favor status quo on guns, abortion rights: The Richmond Times-Dispatch and Christopher Newport University conducted a poll of 1,018 registered voters in Virginia from Feb. 4 to 13. According to that poll: Gov. Bob McDonnell's approval rating is at 59 percent, the paper reports. McDonnell is considered a potential vice presidential running mate. He will have to weigh in on several controversial issues this year, including the one-gun-per-month repeal and the ultrasound requirement. The full poll is here, broken down into various subsets -- age, race, political leanings -- though there's no mention of the poll's margin of error. Abortion bills draw protest, mockery: After spending six years in South Carolina, I can appreciate when …
Jean Nichols
10:31 am on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
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