Va. GOP to re-evaluate nomination method for 2013

The pro-convention crowd has made its move.

A band of conservatives have asked the Virginia Republican Party's ruling body to reconsider at an upcoming meeting how nominees for statewide office will be chosen next year.

They'll get the chance to make the case for switching from a primary election to a political convention at the June 15 gathering of the GOP's State Central Committee in Richmond.

That forum comes weeks after a coalition of Tea Partyers, along with Ron Paul and Ken Cuccinelli loyalists, succeeding in installing pro-convention members on the state ruling committee during a series of regional, intra-party leadership elections this spring.

Cuccinelli, the state attorney general, favors a convention.

His chief rival for the party's gubernatorial nomination next year, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, prefers to maintain the previously agreed to primary election format.

The state GOP already selected a primary and several candidates have entered the race with that understanding, noted Bolling spokeswoman Ibbie Hedrick.

“The question has clearly already been resolved. You can’t change the rules in the middle of an election," she added. "Any efforts to change are a clear violation of the commitment to the rule of law.”

Bolling supporters likewise consider the primary issue settled and believe it's wrong to revisit it.

"We're so far down the road I think it would be improper and very unfair to change the method of nomination at this point," said Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Bolling backer who prefers a primary.

"Candidates get into the race expecting a particular method," McDonnell added. "And to change the rules late in the process, I don't think is a good idea."

It's unclear if Bolling will pursue legal action to block efforts to reverse the nomination decision, though several state Republican sources said that option has been floated.

For his part, Cuccinelli "is prepared to run, and win, in whatever method of nomination the State Central Committee decides is best for the party," his political aide, Noah Wall, said in a statement.

"We've been anticipating running in a primary, but we'd obviously rather use the $2-3 million we'd save in a convention to use against Democrats in a general election," he added.

-- Julian Walker

Report: Va. gun deaths outpaced fatal car wrecks in '09

A new report by a gun control group has concluded that 10 states, including Virginia, recorded more gun deaths than automobile fatalities in 2009.

That year, Virginia had 836 gun deaths, compared to 827 motor vehicle deaths, according to a Violence Policy Center statistical assessment released this week.

Other states among the ignominious ten, by the report's count, are: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

The study's conclusions are partly based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on deaths involving firearms injuries, though findings of the Virginia Medical Examiner's Office indicate those figures include suicides, accidents and intentional killings.

It's worth noting that while the firearm death figures match CDC data, the number of traffic fatalities it cites (827) is actually greater than the 2009 count of people (756) killed in car crashes by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

-- Julian Walker

New poll: Obama leads Romney by a hair in Virginia

Hunker down, Virginia. You’re in for a heavy-duty dose of presidential politics between now and November.

That’s the takeaway from the latest poll measuring Virginians’ presidential preferences, announced today. Including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate, President Barack Obama edged Republican Mitt Romney, 48 percent to 44 percent, among registered voters statewide in the NBC/Marist survey. That spread is just outside the poll’s three-point margin of error.  

“Already targeted by both the Obama and Romney campaigns, Virginia could become the ultimate battleground state,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, said in announcing the results.  

When Virginians were asked about the possible selection of Gov. Bob McDonnell as Romney’s running mate, it made little difference. The spread narrowed only slightly: 46 percent for Obama and Vice President Joe Biden vs. 44 percent for a Romney-McDonnell ticket.  

An overwhelming 72 percent of those polled said the economy is the most important factor affecting their vote. Only 22 percent said social issues like gay marriage are more important.  

In the race for U.S. Senate, Democrat Tim Kaine led Republican George Allen, 49 percent to 43 percent.  

-- Bill Sizemore

Virginia Dems poke at Allen on pay equity for women

Virginia Democrats are trying to smoke out former Republican governor and senator George Allen as to where he stands on legislation pending in the U.S. Senate aimed at boosting pay equity for women.  

Allen, who is trying to recapture the Senate seat he lost in 2006, so far has been silent on the Paycheck Fariness Act, state Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and former state treasurer Jody Wagner said in a conference call with reporters this morning.

Noting that Virginia women on average earn only 79 cents for every $1 earned by men, Wagner urged Allen to “turn away from his long history of opposing equality for women.”  

Added Lucas: “It’s not a complicated issue, nor is it an issue that politicians should duck.”  

The Democrat-backed legislation would beef up existing equal-pay laws by protecting women from retaliation when they sue for gender discrimination.  

Emily Davis, an Allen spokeswoman, wouldn’t say where Allen stands on the measure. “There is no question George Allen supports pay equality for women and will stand as the strongest advocate for women struggling to keep their businesses and households afloat under the failed economic policies Tim Kaine championed in Washington,” she said via email.

Meanwhile today, a new Republican super PAC announced that Allen will be one of a handful of Republicans it will support in a bid to help tip the Democrat-controlled Senate back to the GOP this fall.

The new group, Reclaiming Freedom, is targeting what it regards as the most competitive Senate races in the country with a range of tactics including direct mail, online advertising, TV and radio, and get-out-the-vote efforts.  

Allen is generally considered the frontrunner in a four-candidate field running in a June 12 Republican primary. The other candidates are minister E.W. Jackson, state Del. Bob Marshall and tea-party activist Jamie Radtke.

In November, the winner will face former Gov. Kaine, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Jim Webb.

-- Bill Sizemore

A cascade of presidential campaign commercials

Another day, another commercial.

Repupublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney Thursday released a sequel to his first campaign commercial, sticking with the theme of laying out his early pledges as commander in chief.

The former Massachusetts governor's ad says Romney will immediately announce deficit reductions to end President Barack Obama's era of big government to secure a better future for the nation's children.

Romney, continues an ad that's short on specifics, will stand up to China on trade policy and repeal burdensome regulations harmful to job growth.

His latest ad follows the release of several other campaign spots this week, including two from Obama's re-election campaign and another from a Republican political action committee.

One Obama's ad tout his commitment to protecting the government-backed Medicare system for senior citizens, while the other focuses on services for military veterans ahead of Memorial Day.

The president comes under fire, meanwhile, in a new Crossroads GPS ad that features an actress portraying an Obama supporter disillusioned over the growing national debt, and that her adult children can't find work in this economy.

-- Julian Walker

Va. Bar Association to host U.S. Senate debate in July

The Virginia Bar Association this summer plans to hold a general election debate between Virginia's major political party nominees for U.S. Senate, continuing a tradition of hosting debates between statewide office seekers.

A planned face-off between Democrat Tim Kaine and the eventual Republican nominee -- four candidates seek the GOP nod -- is scheduled for July 21 during the association's summer meeting at The Homestead.

The Republican nominee will be selected by voters in a June 12.

The choices are: former governor and senator George Allen, Chesapeake faith leader E. W. Jackson, state Del. Bob Marshall and Tea Party activist Jamie Radtke.

That foursome has already participated in Republican Party debates in Roanoke and Virginia Beach; the final matchup is next weekend in Northern Virginia.

Kaine and Allen, the presumptive Republican frontrunner, previously sparred last December in Richmond.

Brandi Hoffine, a Kaine spokeswoman, said the campaign hasn't yet accepted any debate invitations, adding "we look forward to debating the Republican nominee once that person is selected."

-- Julian Walker

Romney ad promises action on 'day one' of presidency

Imagine, if you will, executive action to clear the way for extension of a Canadian oil conduit on American soil, enhance corporate tax cuts and repeal President Barack Obama's federal health care overhaul.

These are efforts Republican Mitt Romney claims he'll initiate on "day one" of his presidency if he's elected, according to a new campaign ad from the former Massachusetts governor.

Romney's first ad of the general election cycle -- pro-Romney political action committees have already aired campaign commercials -- has a generally positive tone, though it still takes aim at the Democratic incumbent.

It blames Obama for blocking the Keystone XL pipeline project and the "thousands of jobs" it would create; says Romney will enact tax cuts and reforms to "reward job creators, not punish them;" and order Obamacare's replacement "with common sense health care reform."

(The Massachusetts health care law enacted on Romney's watch in 2006 was a template for the federal package, though Romney argues that was a state decision, not an overbearing federal mandate.)

Romney's ad will air in Virginia and several other swing states.

Responding to the ad's release, Obama's campaign slammed Romney for what it described as his record of "empty promises" tipified by Massachusetts' modest private sector job growth during his tenure.

“The one thing he did accomplish — implementing health care reform that was a model for federal reform — is now something he would undo on day one of his presidency," Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement.

Romney, she added, will give "more budget-busting tax cuts to the wealthy" and let Wall Street write its own rules, "the same formula that benefited a few, but crashed our economy and punished the middle class."

-- Julian Walker

Fairfax Sen. Petersen (D) won't run for governor in '13

State Sen. J. Chapman "Chap" Petersen recently flirted with the idea of a statewide bid next year, but for now has decided not to pursue higher office in Virginia.

"I thought hard about running for governor in 2013, but at this point I don't plan on going forward," Petersen, D-Fairfax City, said during a brief telephone interview Thursday afternoon.

Petersen, 44, also said he's unlikely to reconsider that decision "unless something radical happens," though he still plans on being "someone that has an impact" in upcoming campaigns through a political action committee he's establishing.

With Petersen out, the most likely Democratic contender for governor is northern Virginia businessman Terry McAuliffe, a political fundraiser who failed in his bid for the party's nomination in 2009.

As recently as last month, McAuliffe said he wouldn't declare his intentions for 2013 until after the November election.

More recently, however, he revealed he'll run for governor unless U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D) decides to pursue re-election to the Governor's Mansion he occupied from 2002-2005.

Through an aide, the senator said his attention is on issues other than gubernatorial positioning at the moment.

“Right now, we’re not thinking about 2013," said Warner spokesman Kevin Hall. "We’re focused on a pretty big election this fall, and the fiscal storm coming at the end of this year when the Bush tax cuts and the payroll tax holiday expire and automatic budget cuts take effect -- all at the same time.”

On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli are both seeking the GOP nomination.

Other possible candidates said to be eyeing that contest are state Sen. Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, and White House gate crasher Tareq Salahi.

UPDATE: Petersen further explains his decision in a blog post here.

-- Julian Walker

'Sodomy's not a civil right,' Marshall says about gay judicial candidate

The controversy surrounding the General Assembly's rejection this week of an openly gay judicial candidate hasn't shaken Del. Bob Marshall's belief that the right decision was made.

Appearing on CNN Thursday morning, Marshall reiterated his argument that Richmond prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland is unfit to serve on General District Court because of his personal conduct and advocacy for gay rights.

"If you say that you're married and the constitution says you can't be married, that's a conflict between your oath of office and the supreme law of the state Virginia as approved by the voters of Virginia," he said, referring to Thorne-Begland's domestic partnership and how it's at odds with the state's same-sex marriage ban.

Thorne-Begland is the Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney in Richmond whose judicial candidacy was derailed when Marshall led an effort to deny him election to the local bench.

His nomination was defeated 33-31 early Tuesday morning in the House of Delegates, with 10 members abstaining and another 26 not voting. A majority (51) of those elected in the 100-member House is needed to install a judge.

Marshall also claimed Thorne-Begland knowingly concealed his homosexuality to enter the military.

"He displayed a pattern of behavior that was inconsistent with what we have come to expect in Virginia judges," Marshall said.

Thorne-Begland was a Navy aviator once stationed at Oceana Naval Air Station who faced discharged after publicly revealing his sexual orientation in 1992.

Those factors lead Marshall to the conclusion that Thorne-Begland is unfit for the bench.

"If you have a bar room fight between a homosexual and a heterosexual, I'm concerend about possible bias," he said when asked why it would be troubling for Thorne-Begland to preside over minor criminal cases.

"The public has to be assured before they step into that courtroom that they're going to receive impartial justice. And under these circumstances, I don't think it was the case," added Marshall, a Prince William County Republican running for U.S. Senate.

And when asked about evolving societal attitudes towards minority rights and gay rights, Marshall responded that "Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks never took an oath of office that they broke. Sodomy's not a civil right. It's not the same as the civil rights movement."

-- Julian Walker

Debate panelist backs tea-party Senate candidate

Tea-party candidate Jamie Radtke got an unexpected endorsement after last Friday’s Republican U.S. Senate debate in Virginia Beach – from one of the panelists who posed questions to the debaters.

The Radtke campaign is putting out the word that Tim Ciampaglio, a retired Coast Guard commander and owner of Pharos Group Inc., a small government contracting company in Stafford County, was so impressed by Radtke’s performance that he approached her afterward and signed on to her campaign.

Radtke took an aggressive stance in the debate, repeatedly attacking former governor and senator George Allen as “part of the problem” of out-of-control federal spending.

Ciampaglio said today he was neutral in the four-person GOP Senate race before the debate, the second of three leading up to a June 12 primary.

“I’m an independent thinker,” he said. “Jamie’s an independent thinker, too. She represents new blood. It’s old-school politics that has landed this country where it is today.”

Allen, widely considered the favorite in the race, has collected endorsements from the American Conservative Union and the National Rifle Association.

Meanwhile, another candidate in the race, state Del. Bob Marshall of Prince William County, was touting the acceptance of his “friend of the court” brief Wednesday by a federal judge in New York who blocked provisions in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act authorizing indefinite detention of American citizens on suspicion of terrorism.

Marshall was chief patron of legislation approved this year by the Virginia General Assembly to prevent state employees from participating in arrests under the federal law.

Also Wednesday, Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson, the fourth candidate in the race, journeyed to Giles County in western Virginia to show solidarity with the county school board, which is facing a legal challenge over the posting of the Ten Commandments in Giles County High School.

Trying to mediate the dispute, a judge had suggested that the board compromise and display only six of the 10 commandments – those that don’t mention God. Jackson denounced the judge’s suggestion as an example of “a judiciary out of control.”

In November, the winner of the Republican contest will face former Gov. Tim Kaine, who is unopposed for the Democratic nomination to replace retiring Sen. Jim Webb.

-- Bill Sizemore