Free Republic

Gannett paper, link only: http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/07/24/romney-bus-with-two-possible-vp-picks-aboard-will-be-in-iowa-this-week/

Utility crews made significant progress Tuesday restoring power to homes without electricity since Friday night’s storm, but officials in several jurisdictions announced they were canceling Independence Day celebrations as the recovery continues. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Tuesday morning that 75 percent of outages in Maryland had been restored, while Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell reported that power outages in Virginia had been reduced to a fraction of the 1.2 million customers left without lights and air conditioning in the wake of the storm. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, about 13,000 of 257,000 Pepco customers in the District were still without...

D.C. Council members planned to meet face-to-face with officials from Pepco as soon as Tuesday to address the “unacceptable” pace of the utility’s recovery efforts after Friday night’s fierce storm swept through the region and left hundreds of thousands without power in stifling heat. Their stern response to a third day of widespread outages builds on years of skepticism aimed at the utility that serves nearly 800,000 customers in the District and Maryland. Several city lawmakers could empathize with their constituents’ plight, because they, too, lacked power in their homes. They wondered aloud whether Pepco gave “short shrift” to the...

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has enjoyed endorsements from influential conservatives who want to see him on the ballot with Mitt Romney in November, but he won't divulge if he's being considered. After a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Chicago Friday, Jindal declined to answer when asked specifically if Romney's campaign is vetting him for the job. "When it comes to the whole VP question, look, I've got the job that I want. I'm not going to speculate on what Gov. Romney's going to do," Jindal told reporters. "I'm not going to comment on his process the same...

Virginia’s new law sends mixed messages to state employees, especially law enforcement officials. Imagine a state trooper pulling over a speeder and finding out through an ID check that the FBI has an alert for the driver as a suspected al-Qaeda operative. What should the trooper do if he knows or suspects the driver is a U.S. citizen? Do his duty and detain the suspect, which violates Virginia law? Or simply write the speeding ticket and send the driver on his way, not telling the FBI or the military, consequences be damned? Although the federal government has no inherent constitutional...

Va Gov. Bob McDonnell has been called out to perform his mandatory duty.  http://www.facebook.com/groups/53783122419/  Republican Party of Virginia BeachVirginia has the laws to civilly and criminally nail BHO on eligibility grounds. Does it have the patriots to do so?   http://www.facebook.com/groups/259834004101186/268642163220370/ All citizens have both duties and rights."Section 15. Qualities necessary to preservation of free government.That no free government, nor the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; by frequent recurrence to fundamental principles; and by the recognition by all citizens that they have duties as well as rights, and...

Talk of a Mitt Romney-Rob Portman GOP presidential ticket, a leading pick among Republican insiders, picked up a flashy endorsement Wednesday from long-time political pundit and MSNBC Hardball host Chris Matthews. “Portman’s probably the best bet,” Matthews told the American Bankers Association convention of the Ohio senator. The former Carter speechwriter and top aide to legendary House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, suggested that the second best pick for Romney would be Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. “I think he’s looking at Virginia and Ohio” as states Romney must carry to beat President Obama, added Matthews. It's an assessment GOP officials...

by John HillStand With Arizona The U.S. economy is suffering its worst bout of sustained unemployment since the Great Depression. Millions of Americans are out of work and hurting. They struggle to pay their bills, pay their rent or mortgage, and find work to feed their families. Meanwhile, millions of illegal aliens take jobs that Americans need , undercut wages, steal identities of Americans to sustain their employment fraud, and illegally collect welfare and social services to which they have no right. As American incomes decline, the amount of cash illegals send back to their home countries is at a...

Amid continued protests from Democrats, Republican Governor Bob McDonnell on Wednesday signed into law a controversial bill requiring Virginia women to undergo an ultrasound procedure prior to having an abortion. The bill sparked national debate this month over a provision that would have required many women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds, which opponents decried as medically unnecessary and physically invasive. McDonnell, a conservative who opposes abortion rights, ultimately requested that mandate be stripped. The Virginia House of Delegates passed a revised version last week that allows women to "reject" a transvaginal ultrasound and instead opt for an abdominal ultrasound, which generally...

As I perused Governor Bob McDonnell's Facebook page the other day I couldn't help but notice the nastiness posted from left-wing radicals regarding the recent ultrasound abortion bill. Compounded with the attacks from liberal shills like the Daily Kos, Saturday Night Live, and MSNBC I'd say the battle is raging. Clearly the liberal hate squad is working their groupthink attacks in full force. As usual, they have taken a legitimate bill designed to save lives and attacked it with the demagogic, fear-based, shock-valued ridiculousness that we have come to expect from the far left. At issue is the Virginia bill...

C-SPAN's coverage of the 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) continues Friday with speeches by the leading presidential candidates and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell. The three top GOP candidates for the Republican nomination -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum -- are taking a break from the campaign trial to address attendees. Rep. Ron Paul was invited to speak but will instead continue campaigning.

WASHINGTON - A day after the governor of Maryland said he would like to institute a percentage tax on gasoline, the chief executive of Virginia said he would not seek any additional taxes during a recession, particularly on gas, despite a significant demand for more transit projects. Both states have looked to sales tax to resolve their transportation funding woes. On Monday, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said he would like to do away with a ban on sales tax for gasoline, to add to its existing 23-cent flat tax. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has a different approach. "I will not...

Virginia's governor has thrown his support behind Mitt Romney. Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on Friday morning that he's endorsing the former Massachusetts governor. "As I have said throughout this primary process, we need a governor to serve as our next president,” Governor McDonnell said in a release. “America needs leadership and that's what governors do: they lead. Governors actually have to find solutions and bring all parties together in order to get results for their citizens – they can't just sit back and cast votes." Although pressed for months to offer an endorsement, McDonnell has steadfastly withheld commitment until now....

Gov. Bob McDonnell said this morning that he's endorsing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today before heading to South Carolina to campaign for the Republican presidential candidate ahead of the Palmetto State's primary Saturday. Virginia's governor discussed his endorsement of Romney on CNBC's show, "Squawk Box," and planned additional interviews with CNN and FOX News. Those interviews coincide with McDonnell's travel to New York City for a economic development meeting this morning. The governor will head to South Carolina this afternoon for a rally in Charleston and remain in the state into Saturday for other Romney campaign events tonight and...

Virginia abortion clinics that perform first-trimester abortions will have to submit to stricter regulations, which could result in most of them being shut down by next year. Gov. Bob McDonnell signed the new rules into law Thursday after they received approval from Virginia’s departments of Planning and Budget and Health and Human Resources. Taylor Thornley, deputy director of communications for Gov. McDonnell, said that the new regulations had strong support from both parties in the General Assembly. “These regulations are a product of an amendment that passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support,” said Thornley in a statement....

Paul Goldman, a Richmond lawyer who is a former Virginia Democratic party chairman, is helping represent a conservative group in challenging Newt Gingrich's disqualification from the Old Dominion ballot on March 6, Super Tuesday. Bill Pascoe, executive vice president of Citizens for the Republic, said: “We are teaming up with former Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Paul Goldman to make sure the voters of the Commonwealth have a fair and transparent presidential primary process. ...

Texas allows the children of undocumented immigrants to attend state colleges and universities at the in-state rate — a lower tuition rate than that paid by out-of-state and documented foreign students. Asked if illegal and undocumented immigrants should be treated as in-state students, 77 percent say no (67 percent strongly approve of ending that deal) and only 17 percent say it should continue... More than half (58 percent) say they would support an end to bilingual education in Texas public schools. Attempts to put an "English-only" amendment into the Texas Constitution have failed for years, getting bogged down in the...

Our friend Bill Kristol seemed distraught after the GOP debate Thursday evening, about to break into Chris Christie's office, open the window and threaten to jump from it if the Big One did not run for president. But we who share his emotions and love for the governor may still wonder why so many Republicans unhappy with their options are fixed upon Christie alone. Why not his classmate here in Virginia, who was elected governor on the same day that he was, and has proven just as successful, if quieter? While confrontational Chris has gone viral with dozens of videos,...

  Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) announced Thursday that Virginia has finished its fiscal year with a surplus of $544.8 million through higher-than-expected tax revenue and savings.Last month, McDonnell announced that the state had a surplus of $311 million on June 30, the close of the year, but Thursday told legislators his administration has been able to save an additional $234.1 million. Virginia law calls for the bulk of the money to be put into the state’s rainy day fund and spent on K-12 education, transportation and Chesapeake Bay cleanup.McDonnell has proposed giving some of the unspent balance to sheriff’s offices...

Gov. Bob McDonnell is asking Virginia State Police to review a video released this week that appears to be hidden-camera footage of an exchange in a Richmond Medicaid office in which a staffer advises a man not to disclose a drug and prostitution business on a Medicaid application. The 9 minute, 29 second video was posted on the website of Project Veritas as the fourth in a series of "undercover investigations into Medicaid fraud." On Friday, Richmond officials announced that the city will join forces with the Virginia attorney general's office to review the matter. The attorney general's office has...