Will Someone Please Talk About Ron Paul!?!?

      "The way the Republican party treats Ron Paul is like a sinking ship shooting torpedoes at the rescue boat". — Pat Kerby


       Folks, I'm sitting here with my coffee and wondering why this plucky Texan Libertarian just cannot get any play so to speak.

 Newt Gingrich has electability, but he can't connect with the younger voters who are starting to be a major voice in the Republican Party.

 Mitt Romney is the choice of the moderates, but many wonder if his views are suitably conservative to contrast to Barack Obama's.

 Rick Santorum is sitting cushy on his new Iowa laurels but his true base, the evangelical vote, will not be enough to beat Barack on its own.

And for some reason even with all of these problems people flock to them, and away from Ron Paul. The man has the real conservative views on fiscal policy that the graybeards want. He also holds the kind of Libertarian social views that should attract the younger folks. He defers to the states on a load of issues, as he should.

     He wants to deconstruct the spending drain hole that keeps us in debt and he wants to shrink the Federal government. Some of his foreign policy smacks of a Clint Eastwood movie, but if taken with his wholly progressive plan to rehabilitate and lean down the government, Paul emerges as the clear common-sense choice. He is against the War on Drugs (as am I), he is against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (as are we all), and he has a long record being against Federal spending.

     I should not say that Rep. Paul has no support. He has the kind of grassroots and dedicated followers that the other candidates dream of. Truly, he has a lot of people fighting for him on the ground. The problem is that Paul's cash reserves aren't as big as Santorum's, let alone the two multi-millionaires above him. He is one of only two "serious" contenders for the Republican nomination that had the sense and the drive to make it onto my own home state's primary ballot (and an important battleground state at that). All I'm asking is will someone PLEASE TALK ABOUT RON PAUL.

P.S.: Oh and did I mention that the entire military are rabid fans of his. And I hear a lot of them are pretty good people.

Swinger of the House, Newt May Face Problems

Newt Gingrich's ex-wife (his second at that time) has come out with a scandalous ABC News interview, claiming that he wanted an open marriage.

Now this blogger hasn't seen any more of the video than his humble readers, but if the clip that they showed is any indication, ABC may be holding a hammer over Gingrich's presidential coffin nails. There will certainly be some follow up to this piece.

Without personally passing judgement on Ol' Newt, he will really face a lot of scowls from his hard socially conservative base. Marianne Gingrich's comments echo out from even the 2010 Gingrich Campaign.Some of these facts aren't new to American voters. They knew that he had a couple old marriages before he met his darling Callista. They knew that those marriages did not end well.

But with the suspension of Herman Cain's campaign over similar female issues of his own, will Gingrich take the hit and continue his neck and neck race with Mitt or will this signal the curtain for Newt's bid to the Presidency? We will certainly keep you updated. I'm just 1 conservative who is very interested in the twists and turns of this new race.

With McDonnell's Support, VA Nat. Guard Seeks A Little Support

Even though Lobby Day happened on Monday, recently the Adjutant General (Civilian Liaison/Lawyer-ish guy) of the Virginia National Guard came to the General Assembly yesterday with a simple request.

Maj. General Daniel E. Long, Jr. came to thank Virginia for its support of its National Guards but also to ask for a little support. Since the troop cut-downs in Afghanistan and the total withdrawal from Iraq, the National Guard has since been re-pigeon-holed to its former status as the underfunded, undermanned strategic reserve of Virginia. Many of the men comprising our Guards today have served tours in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and they don't deserve to be put back up on a shelf without funding or training.

The Virginia Department of Military Affairs has put forth two bills to the Assembly this year to help Guards re-acclimate to their old posts and duties. One that will provide automatic in-state tuition to Virginia Guards and another that would give former Guards a leg up trying to find employment with the state. Governor McDonnell has thrown his support behind both of them in an admirable show of support for our military and we applaud him.

Gen. Long warned the Assembly that underfunded, and without the proper training, that the future Guards would not be able to rise to the demands of the Commonwealth the way that they can now. With President Obama's plans to re-organize the American military, the funding that keeps these brave men and women waiting in the wings is in jeopardy.

Outnumbered House Democrats Take Aim at Tobacco

    One Virginia House Democrat, Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) is trying to overtax one of Virginia's traditional businesses. Though Democrats are outnumbered nearly 2:1 in the House of Delegates, Hope has put forth a bill (House Bill 160) to TRIPLE state taxes on cigarettes and QUINTUPLE (thats 5x the price) the tax on other tobacco products. Does this strike anyone else as insane?

    Virginia was STARTED on tobacco. While we can all agree that cigarette smoking is harmful to a person's health, do those people not have rights as well? To try and wring EVEN MORE tax dollars out of what is already Virginia's signature crop cannot possibly work.

    Incase you've been living under a rock, taxes are bad y'all. Taxes suppress free markets, take dollars out of the hands of local businesses and consumers alike, and they set precedents. What tax will be next after this one? If, instead of Virginia sticking its hands in the pockets of consumers everywhere, we simply cut a few frivolous budget increases, Virginia smokers (and there are many of them) would not have to shell out 3 or 5 times a tax that is already too high.

    Tobacco is a thriving business in Virginia and adds jobs, revenue, and yes plenty of tax dollars to the state already. To try and smack down one of our bigger sources of jobs and money with this bill would be, well, stupid. I'm just 1 conservative, but I'm 1 against House Bill 160.

VA GOP Says No Oath/Primary Still a Sham

The Virginia GOP made the very wise decision of rescinding their previous plans to require a "Loyalty Oath" to vote in the Virginia Primary. The primary itself is likely to be a bit of a sham already, seeing as only 2 of the Republican hopefuls made it on the ballot. When Virginians go to the polls their choice will be between Texas Representative Ron Paul, or Mass Governor Mitt Romney(This sites prediction for the ultimate winning of the nomination).

Where are Perry, Santorum, and Gingrich you may ask? They did not meet the requirements set forth in Virginia law to be on the ballot. This is particularly embarrassing for Newt who is a resident of McLean, VIRGINIA and won't even make it on the ballot for a clear battleground state.

"These are very powerful people", you might say. "They can surely get around this", you might say. Well they have tried. Newt has been knocked down by both state and federal judges, as has Perry. Santorum has quietly allowed the primary to pass uncontested as far as this blogger knows.

With only Mitt and Ron on the ballot, the race becomes a lot more muddled, and may keep the Texas Tea Partier in the conversation as more and more states cement their tickets. It will surely be an interesting time.

Rally Around Virginia Jobs

     The House GOP Caucus rolled out its job package recently, and with it their plan to keep Virginia a prosperous commonwealth and THE place to be to start a small business.

     We're supporting bills that create partnerships in Energy between the co-ops and our universities to create cleaner energy. There is a bill in the plan that offers tax help to businesses that ADD VIRGINIAN JOBS. A couple of other highlights are the extension of tax cuts for small business start-up and a bill that REQUIRES competition and further frees the market to give Virginians the best prices that they can.

    We encourage everyone to support the Caucus plan and help keep Virginia a national leader in job growth and business creation!