Posts Tagged ‘John McCain’
Liberals angry over felony voting rights move by McDonnell
Governor Bob McDonnell is facing criticism again from liberal and minority groups, after a decision by his administration to add another step to the process for non-violent felons working to have their voting rights restored. Virginia is one of two states in the U.S. where felons, who have served their sentence, must apply to have their right to vote restored.
The Commonwealth’s system has long been used by Democrats and Republicans for political gain. Democrats (as they have in this case) often claim that Republicans use the statute as way to suppress minority voters, who are disproportionately represented in the group of people looking to gain their voting rights back. Republicans, however argue that voting is one of the countries most sacred and fundamental rights and should not just be handed back without a careful vetting of each individual. The GOP often accuses the Democrats of pushing to have “rapists and robbers” given their voting rights back, only because they tend to vote Democrat.
Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City and a one-time Presidential candidate used this tactic against Gov. Tim Kaine while stumping on behalf of Sen. John McCain during the 2008 Presidential Campaign.
Here is a clip from our one on one interview with him at the time:
Our Laura Geller filed an excellent report that covers the important points in this debate Monday night on NBC12. She spoke to Janet Polarek, the current Secretary of the Commonwealth and the person in the McDonnell administration responsible for this policy.
Tuesday morning the Washington-Post filed this blistering editorial on the subject, calling the move “disgraceful”.
The McDonnell administration has said they will continue to meet with key stakeholders to review the policy going forward.
UPDATE: RPV pushing video of Governor Tim Kaine, backing the McDonnell position, despite attacks from the Virginia Democrats. During Kaine’s time as Governor he too, took heat from liberals who felt that he did not do enough to restore the rights of felons who had paid their debt to society.
McDonnell to bring Holtz to Richmond, McCain to Hampton Roads
Ryan Nobles – The Bob McDonnell campaign revealed today that two high profile guests will come to Virginia to stump and raise money for the Republican candidate for governor. Former Notre Dame and University of South Carolina head football coach Lou Holtz will headline a low-dollar fundraiser at Willow Oaks Country Club on October 26th. Nine days before that, former Republican nominee for President, Sen. John McCain will be the featured guest at a “Veterans for McDonnell” rally in Hampton Roads.
The news of these two visits comes in the wake of a cancellation from Meg Whitman, the former CEO of Ebay and a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of California. The McDonnell campaign said that the upcoming birth the host’s child forced the cancellation of the event. Democrats have seized on the schedule change as a way to show that McDonnell’s graduate thesis is keeping high profile politicians, particularly women, from wanting to associate with him. Both the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Governors Association have used the event’s change as a tool to pound McDonnell here in Virginia and Whitman back in California.
During the 2008 presidential election, McDonnell served as one the McCain campaign’s primary surrogates. He regularly appeared at events on behalf of the Arizona Senator, so it is not a surprise that McCain is coming to town to return the favor. While McCain did not win Virginia in the 2008 election, he is still popular in Southern portions of the state, particularly in places like Hampton Roads, that have a strong military presence.
Holtz, of course, is best known for his run as the head coach of arguably the most high profile collegiate football program in the country. The College Football Hall of Famer, was the last coach to guide Notre Dame to a National Championship. He currently serves as an analyst on ESPN.
The man he is coming to town to stump for, Bob McDonnell, is a graduate of Notre Dame.
Its Now Down to Hours
It is hard to believe that an election that has gone on for what seems like forever is now down to only a few hours. Remember polls open in Virginia at 6am and if you need to find your polling place, the State Board of Elections has a user friendly website that will tell you right where to go.
As I talked about last night during our late newscast, the race has now shifted to a ground game. It is all about indentifying voters and getting them out to the polls. Virginia has never, ever seen a ground operation like this, which is why everyone is anticipating long lines at polling places. Today both Republicans and Democrats will hold rallies in support of their tickets. The goal of these rallies isn’t to convince undecided voters, it is to get confirmed supporters out to the polls.
Here is what is happening in Richmond today:
Democrats-
Rally with Senate Candidate Mark Warner
Monday, November 3rd at 5:00 PM
VCU Student Commons Theater
Monroe Park Campus
Republicans-
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson
Former Virginia Governor George Allen
Attorney General Bob McDonnell
Delegate Chris Saxman
Richmond Regional Victory Headquarters
2819 N. Parham Road
While that activity is happening here in Richmond, the candidates themselves are going to be in other parts of the state.
Sen. John McCain will headline a rally in Southwest Virginia. He will fly into the airport in Bristol, TN (which is just over the border) for an appearance at 11:45am.
Meanwhile Sen. Barack Obama, will hold his final campaign rally in Virginia, he will appear at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas tonight at 9pm.
And of course, don’t forget our Decision 2008 Election Special this afternoon at 4:30. You can watch it on NBC12 or if your haven’t left work yet, you can watch it streamed on your computer at nbc12.com.
I’ll have updates all day so check back often!
4 Days to Go
Happy Halloween! (btw take your political signs down from your front yard tonight, unless you really want them vandalized or stolen.)
A new poll shows that undecideds (big surprise) are still “undecided”. It leaves open the chance that a surprise is still possible come election day.
Barack Obama played to another big crowd in Virginia Beach yesterday. Today, the Democrats bring Bill Richardson to Richmond today at 1pm and promise more big stars in the days left before the election.
96 year old Roberta McCain, the mother of the Republican candidate charms a group of supporters in Henrico last night and is expected to this morning in Hanover.
In case you missed it:
Here is my uncut interview with Sen. John McCain from Monday and here is Laura Geller’s lengthy uncut interview with Governor Tim Kaine from Wednesday.
Final Palin Details Released- Two Busy Days Ahead
We are now down to 6 days left in the race for the White House and the Virginia battleground is well established. Here is a look at some big time visitors heading to town over the next few days.
The visits are from politicians, governors, mothers and an academy award winning actress.
THURSDAY-
Democrats:
2:45pm- Google CEO Eric Schmidt will speak on the economy at VCU
4:30pm- Delegate Brian Moran (and candidate for Governor) will appear on MSNBC
The candidate himself, Barack Obama will headline a rally in Norfolk at 5:45 tonight.
Republicans:
2:00pm- Senator John Warner and Attorney General Bob McDonnell hold Veteran’s Victory Rally at Parham Road Headquarters
7:45pm- Sen. McCain’s mother Mrs. Roberta McCain will meet with volunteers at an appreciation rally at Parham Road Headquarters.
FRIDAY-
Republicans:
11am- Roberta McCain headlines volunteer appreciation rally at Hanover Headquarters on Chamberlayne Road.
Democrats:
11am- Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow (yes that Gwyneth Paltrow) headlines a get out the vote rally at Marshall Street Headquarters.
1pm- Gov. Bill Richardson headlines at get out the vote rally at Marshall Street Obama Headquarters.
The McCain/Palin campaign also released the final details for Saturday’s event featuring Gov. Sarah Palin at Deep Run High School. The Palin event will begin at 8pm. Doors to the event open at 6. Tickets are available at all campaign offices or at www.virginia.johnmccain.com.
Check back all day long for updates. Who knows who could be in Richmond next!
Obama Thursday- McCain/Palin Saturday
7 Days to go and Virginia will have more high profile visitors coming to the state as the hours left to convince voters continue to slip away.
Barack Obama will make his tenth trip to the commonwealth by holding a rally in Virginia Beach on Thursday. The event will be held at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater at 5:45pm.
Obama is also sending some high profile surrogates to town again. Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google will be in Charlottesville and Richmond on Thursday. He will discuss Obama’s plan for the economy. In case your wondering Schmidt is reportedly worth a cool $6.6 billion.
Meanwhile John McCain and Sarah Palin return to Virginia on Saturday. McCain will hold a rally in Fairfax Saturday afternoon at 11am. Palin will appear in Richmond that evening. The details of that event has not been released.
**UPDATE**
Some details from the Palin event have been released:
Deep Run High School
4801 Twin Hickory Rd
Glen Allen, VA 23059
Event will be in evening
Exact time TBD
**UPDATE ENDS**
McCain is sending a unique surrogate of his own to Virginia. His mother, Roberta McCain is making 10 stops throughout Virginia over the next three days. She will stop here in Richmond on Thursday at 7:45pm. In case your wondering Mrs. McCain is 96 years old.
The details for the McCain and Obama events are after the jump. I will post the Palin event details when I get them.
**NBC12 Speaks to Sen. John McCain**
For the second time since he was named the Republican nominee for president, NBC12 was granted a one on one interview with Sen. John McCain. I conducted the interview via satellite this morning. Sen. McCain was in Cleveland, OH and had just finished an address on the economy.
We spoke to Senator McCain about a number of issues specific to Virginia. I will have a portion of the interview available during out 5:30pm news and an extended look tonight at 11. In addition the entire interview will be posted on decisionvirginia.com later today.
Here are some quotes from our discussion:
On polls showing him behind in Virginia: “I’m concerned about every state in America. We are doing fine in Virginia, we are campaigning hard and getting out our vote, I am confident we will win the state of Virginia. We have other polls that show us ahead.”
On whether he regrets not taking public financing: “I will always tell the American people the truth. Senator Obama did not tell the American people the truth when he signed a piece of paper, that committed when he was a long shot, to taking public financing if I was. He didn’t tell the American people the truth when in two debates with Senator Clinton she, he looked into the camera and said ‘I’ll sit down and negotiate with John McCain before I forego public financing. So he didn’t tell the American people the truth. I am in the business of telling people the truth.”
On claims by Virginia Democrats that his campaign here is negative and dirty, specifically robo-calls: “The fact is that Senator Obama should come clean on his relationship with unrepentant terrorist and his wife who is an unrepentant terrorist. William Ayer’s wife. He said it was just a guy in the neighborhood, we know it’s a lot more than that, including sitting on a board with Mr. Ayers that gave 230 thousand dollars to ACORN. There is a lot more that needs to be, as Senator Clinton said in her debates, We need to know the full extent of the relationship and that’s what the robo-call says and it is factual and true.”
Senator McCain also talked about the claims by his campaign that the Kaine administration is “speeding up” the registration of ex-felons and the Obama tax plan. And yes, he did find a way to work in Joe the Plumber.
Check back for more on our interview and tune in tonight at 5:30pm.
**UPDATE**
Here is the video of the story that aired last night at 11.
Times-Dispatch Endorses McCain
I am sure that this post will lead to quite a few comments accusing the Richmond Times-Dispatch of being a “right-wing” mouthpiece and others that express the brilliance of the local publication. But I do feel that it is significant that the local newspaper did weigh in on the race for President today and decided that the choice for Virginia and for America is Sen. John McCain.
In a rather lengthy piece, the editorial board expresses many reasons why as the title of the endorsement says it is “Time for McCain”. The crux of their argument is that the state of the world is too unstable for an inexperienced person to ascend to the White House. They say that McCain is “the right man for our perilous times”.
It is a bit interesting that the McCain endorsement comes out today, in light of a few other endorsements that were probably a bit of a problem for the Republican ticket, including the Sarah Palin’s paper the Anchorage Daily News. It is interesting, specifically because of what the T-D had to say while sizing up the two candidates for Vice President:
The addition of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to the ticket has been a mixed blessing. She has electrified the Republican base and demonstrated an exceptional talent for retail politics. She boasts a strong record so far as governor. But it is a short record. At times, Palin’s limited experience has shown, raising questions about her mastery of some complex issues. Her treatment by the press has been deplorable. But that does not mean all of the doubts about her readiness are misplaced. Still, we suspect she has a bright future in national politics, particularly after she has broadened her experience, perhaps as vice president. She seems to be a quick study.
Democrat Joe Biden has made himself into a laughingstock. In his interview with The Times-Dispatch, McCain clearly enjoyed recounting Biden’s recent guarantee that a President Obama would face a major international crisis within six months of taking office. “It’s one of the most remarkable statements I’ve heard in American politics . . . .It’s about Joe Biden riding to the rescue,” McCain said. Obama has publicly dismissed his running mate’s comments as “rhetorical flourishes.” McCain’s response: “He didn’t know Joe Biden was capable of rhetorical flourishes? I could have told him that!”
They also stop short of any glowing comments about Barack Obama, aside from saying his candidacy “reflects well America’s remarkable progress over the past half century.”
12 Days to Go
12 days to go and the race only seems to heating up. While it seemed that Barack Obama seemed poised to runaway with the election, a new set of polls shows the race tightening up. That trend is not only apparent nationally, but here in Virginia as well. While Obama, certainly has the edge, John McCain has not given up quite yet.
Evidence of McCain’s final push here in Virginia is a series of campaign events across the commonwealth over the next couple of days. The highest profile event features the GOP VP nominee, Sarah Palin who will headline three different rallies in Virginia on Monday. She will be in Leesburg (where Barack Obama was yesterday) Fredericksburg and Roanoke.
But McCain isn’t just sending out his running mate to Virginia, he also is bringing perhaps, his highest profile surrogate, Rudy Giuliani to Richmond. Giuliani will join another former presidential candidate, Steve Forbes at a local businesses Dominion Insulation. Their goal is show why McCain’s plans for business is better for American people.
This event is part of their latest effort that began right after the last presidential debate where they are using Obama’s chance encounter with the now famous “Joe the Plumber”. McCain has now produced an ad featuring people connecting themselves to Joe the Plumber and has hosted a series of events showing local people who consider themselves versions of Joe the Plumber. In fact, in response to Obama’s event in Richmond yesterday, a group of such people held a press conference with Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
While the Republicans are doing their best to stay competitive, Sen. Obama continues to use vast resources to continue to push. Obama will be off the campaign trial for a few days to visit his grandmother in Hawaii, but his running mate will continue to campaign. Joe Biden will be in Danville and Martinsville on Friday.
In addition, the Obama campaign will reach out specifically to Jewish voters in Richmond, by bringing in the former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk to the Weinstein JCC tonight at 7:30pm.
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