Free Republic

Adding another wild-card to the 2012 campaign’s final days, a former aide to Vice President Joe Biden has written a tell-all Washington memoir in which he lacerates the former Delaware senator as an “egomaniacal autocrat” who was “determined to manage his staff through fear.” The book is hardly an objective study of the vice president, however. Author Jeff Connaughton, a Biden Senate staffer turned lobbyist, is by his own admission deeply disillusioned with the capital and embittered about his experience with the man who inspired him to enter politics. Connaughton wrote “The Payoff,” which came out last month, in the...

Virginia received preliminary approval from the Federal Highway Administration last week to implement tolls on Interstate 95. FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez granted the conditional approval in a letter dated Sept. 14, but the commonwealth announced the news Monday morning. Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) has sought the approval to toll on the southern reaches of I-95 to raise revenue to improve the congested corridor. “I-95 is one of the most important and heavily traveled highway corridors in the country, linking population and commercial centers up and down the East Coast,” McDonnell said in a statement. “Limited funds and growing capital...

The story seems very familiar to people who follow Republican politics, but it is also out of tomorrow’s headlines: Sean Connaughton (R-at large), chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors (about as close as one gets to being a big city mayor in the Old Dominion), has recently been tapped by President Bush to be administrator of the Maritime Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Although Connaughton -- a moderate Republican and close ally of House Government Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, Republicans in the county are already...

The story seems very familiar to people who follow Republican politics, but it is also out of tomorrow’s headlines: Sean Connaughton (R-at large), chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors (about as close as one gets to being a big city mayor in the Old Dominion), has recently been tapped by President Bush to be administrator of the Maritime Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Although Connaughton—a moderate Republican and close ally of House Government Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) has yet to be confirmed by the Senate, Republicans in the county are already making preparations...

President Bush announced Tuesday that he will nominate Prince William Chairman Sean T. Connaughton, R-at large, to be administrator of the Maritime Administration at the Department of Transportation. Connaughton said he'll take the job. "I'm very honored that the president has selected me," the 45-year-old Connaughton said. "This is the highest position in my industry," said Connaughton, a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Connaughton, who must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, didn't know how long the process will take. "This could take months or it could take much longer," said Connaughton, who has been Prince William...

Weekly wrap-up of Virginia Campaign New. Post 'em if you got em... April 11, 2005 Thread IApril 18, 2005 Thread IIApril 25, 2005 Thread IIIMay 2, 2005 Thread IVMay 9, 2005 Thread VIMay 16, 2005 Thread VIIMMay 23, 2005 Thread VIIIMay 31, 2005 Thread IX - Memorial DayJune 6, 2005 Thread XDon't Forget to Vote Tomorrow!Light turnout expected in primary Candidates for statewide office, House are among those seeking nomination by Tyler Whitley, Richmond Times DispatchVoters will go to the polls tomorrow to nominate candidates for statewide office, the House of Delegates and municipal offices in a smattering of localities.

When it comes to guns, both Sean Connaughton and Bill Bolling received high marks from the Virginia Citizens Defense League, but there are several key differences between the two candidates for lieutenant governor. Both Republicans checked the anti-gun control option for most of the 13 questions. The dispute is in the three questions they answered differently. Question 3 asked whether the candidates favor repealing laws that allow localities to fingerprint applicants for concealed handgun permits. Bolling answered yes, in favor of repeal and Connaughton answered no. "I'm a strong supporter of the right to bear arms," Connaughton said, noting that...

One would think that according to some of the letters appearing in this paper and others, that the only true test of a "good" elected official is that they stand on those elements of a tax rate, assessments, signing or not signing a tax pledge and this whole ball of wax on taxes. It is important to know first off that it takes a majority vote to move any legislation along; no one person can do it alone. Second, it is important what qualities, values and sincere ideals one has for the entire community and all citizens, not just for...

Some residents oppose naming highway for Reagan By SARI KRIEGER skrieger@potomacnews.com Thursday, March 24, 2005 Janice Cunard worked in the Reagan administration's Treasury Department, and she votes Republican. But the Woodbridge resident adamantly opposes naming Dumfries Road the "Ronald Wilson Reagan Memorial Highway." "I just don't feel we should be changing the names," Cunard said. "Leave our history." As a member of the Prince William Historical Commission, Cunard opposes the action. The commission formally voted to oppose it as well. Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter sponsored the bill that would make this distinction. He saw it pass both the House of...

EXCERPT: Pr. William Property Tax Cut Proposed Rate Would Fall 15 Cents, Mitigating Rise in Values Prince William County homeowners would see a cut of nearly 15 cents in the property tax rate under a spending plan proposed yesterday to the county supervisors. The reduction is the largest proposed so far in Northern Virginia as localities launch the spring budget season. Real estate values have skyrocketed throughout the area, and taxpayers have clamored for cuts in the rate at which their property is taxed. ... The Prince William Taxpayers Alliance, an anti-tax group, would like the average increase to "be...

Budget proposal includes real estate tax rate cut By CHAD UMBLE cumble@potomacnews.com Wednesday, February 23, 2005 Prince William County's proposed fiscal year 2006 budget includes a 14 percent cut in the real estate tax rate, but most homeowners will still pay higher taxes since the value of homes rose by an average of 23 percent over the past year. On Tuesday, county executive Craig Gerhart unveiled the tax-rate reduction for the Board of County Supervisors as part of his proposed fiscal year 2006 spending plan. The plan includes a 14.6-cent reduction in the real estate tax from $1.07 to 92.4...

What else do you expect from a RINO who supported the transportation tax referendum and is himself a Tom Davis clone.

Excerpt..... RICHMOND -- The races for the Republican nominations for lieutenant governor and attorney general are setting fund-raising records as four of the candidates have crossed the $1 million mark 5 1/2 months away from the primary. State Sen. Bill Bolling of Hanover County and Sean Connaughton, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, are locked in a battle of the bucks in their quest to win their party's nomination for lieutenant governor in the June 14 primary.

...Call it the sour-grapes insurance policy: If John Kerry loses, Democrats can always use their lawyers to say the Republicans stole the election — again. [T]he Kerry team, has said the campaign intends to be able to "fight five statewide recounts and still have funds available to the campaign." The ...local Lawyers Committee for the Kerry Campaign has raised $2 million to support recount efforts [and] set up its own nationwide legal network, in lieu of the usual local Democratic Lawyers Associations.... The lawsuits may materialize even in the wake of a decisive Bush victory: Democrats have learned that hinting...