Press Releases

Demo Memo: 7/7/08

Posted by Greg on Monday, July 07

June 27, 2008 - July 7, 2008
www.vademocrats.org

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INTRODUCTION

We hope you all had a safe and happy 4th of July!

First, a big congratulations to Sen. Jim Webb for the official signing of his 21st Century GI Bill. Thanks to Sen. Webb, our military men and women will have greatly expanded higher education opportunities as a thanks for their service.

In party news, if you'd like to join the women's caucus, all you have to do is fill out a membership form and send it to the Don Mark at the state party HQ. You can download the form here. If you are interested in running for an executive position, please fill out this form.

You can also contribute to the women's caucus here.

Best,

Levar Stoney
Executive Director

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"My bet is that it's those who are on food stamps and government services who tend to be more Democratic."
- Del. Dave Albo (R-Fairfax), demonstrating a questionable grasp of his district [Washington Post, 6/29/08]

"Confrontational politics, I don't think, have served out state well or served our nation well."
- Former state police Superintendent W. Gerald Massengill, endorsing Mark Warner for U.S. Senate [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 7/1/08]

"It also gives me confidence and renewed hope that the Congress can begin working more effectively across party lines to do the work of the people."
- Sen. Jim Webb, on the president's signing of his 21st Century GI Bill [Virginian-Pilot, 7/7/08]

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HEADLINES

Gov. Tim Kaine

Sen. Jim Webb

General Assembly             

Election 2008

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EDITORIAL HIGHLIGHTS

"It looks like the General Assembly is off to a good start in the efforts of many of its leaders to make sure that yet another special session on transportation funding is another waste of everybody's time." [Leesburg Today, 6/27/08]

"If it's any surprise, the problem-avoiders, the stick-their-heads-in-the-sand-and-ignore-reality legislators are the majority of House Republicans. Hypocrites of the highest order, the anti-taxers in the House didn't even consider the governor's proposal, a proposal that included funding mechanisms they themselves had voted for just 18 months ago." [Lynchburg News & Advance, 6/29/08]

"When the special session reconvenes Wednesday, the Republican majority, commanded by chief anti-taxer Majority Leader Morgan Griffith of Salem, is salivating at the chance to plunge a stake through the bill. And when they do, they may well think President Reagan's smiling down on them. They're wrong; The Gipper never shirked his duties and he never led from the rear. Never." [Lynchburg News & Advance, 7/5/08]

"While the rest of us are out on the roads over this holiday weekend, stuffing our paychecks into our gas tanks, Virginia's legislators are easing into a two-week vacation from the hard work of defeating every possible solution to the state's transportation mess." [Mark Fisher, Washington Post, 7/2/08]

"Virginia's roads network is facing meltdown. Fixing it means new statewide funding to patch the maintenance deficit as well as regional packages for Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. If Republicans can't stomach doing both this year, they should at least get real about the regional packages now and brace themselves for revisiting the issue until the problem is solved." [Washington Post, 7/6/08]

"House Speaker Bill Howell's new vision for a Hampton Roads transportation plan is a pale shadow of the legacy legislation he championed last year - to much acclaim. The new one bearing his stamp of approval would demand far too much in tolls and would turn over to corporate control the critical arteries and water crossings in Hampton Roads." [Virginian-Pilot, 7/6/08]

"Forget about stocking up on rolls of quarters. It's going to take wads of cash to get around the region under plans now being considered by state leaders. Lawmakers have been vague about what those mega-tolls would look like, but legislation filed by one senior Republican delegate last month offers a jarring look into the not-so-distant future. Commuters who have tuned out the debate in Richmond had better listen up." [Virginian-Pilot, 7/6/08]

"If the General Assembly is going to honestly search for transportation solutions, lawmakers and party leaders can't keep their attention glued to the next election. Unfortunately, that seems to be the current focus of the Republican powers-that-be." [Daily Press, 7/6/08]

"Does [Jim Gilmore's] one-issue theme sound familiar? It should. Remember the car-tax cut theme in 1997? He rode that to victory as governor 11 years ago. He got about three-quarters of the local tax on motor vehicles cut, but put the state on the brink of bankruptcy to achieve even that. It's ironic that Gilmore's successor as governor, Democrat Mark Warner, is now his opponent in the Senate race. Warner bailed out the state from the $6 billion deficit left by Gilmore in 2001." [Lynchburg News & Advance, 7/1/08]

"There's still plenty of time before the U.S. Senate race between Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Jim Gilmore is over. But why wait: This one is such a one-sided affair that it should be over before it begins. As a result, the Sun Gazette comes out of the gate early in endorsing Mark Warner for the seat." [Sun Gazette, 7/1/08]

"Political promises are easy to make, harder to keep. So it is a testament to the tenacity of Sen. James Webb (D-Va.) and the justice of his cause that Congress has enacted a new GI Bill for war veterans. The freshman senator's ability to work across party lines means that the men and women who risk their lives for America's well-being will, in return, get expanded education benefits, along with opportunities for better futures." [Washington Post, 6/29/08]

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DPVA PRESS RELEASES

Lynchburg News & Advance slams GOP "problem-avoiders" (June 30, 2008)

Bob McDonnell: No Plan, No Vision, and now NO COMMENT on Transpo (July 1, 2008)

Meet the New RPV: Now Even More Extreme (July 2, 2008)

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Democratic Party of Virginia
1710 E. Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23223
(804) 644-1966

www.vademocrats.org

 

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