Determining a Winner in Virginia

A modest proposal for determining the winner in the 94th District Delegate race in Newport News* — which may affect the balance of power in the Virginia House of Delegates** — consists of an essay-writing challenge. 

Both candidates would be asked to provide their best answers to the following:

1) Virginia Founding Fathers — (33 points)

How will your actions as a representative in the Virginia House of Delegates for your district emulate the highest ideals of the Founding Fathers from the Old Dominion*** — as expressed in their writings, political debates, and contributions to our nation's founding documents?

JUDGES: Daughters of the American Revolution local chapter. 

2) Gas Pipelines Through Virginia — (33 points)

Describe how the two natural gas pipelines being proposed to run through the Old Dominion will help the state and your electoral district.

JUDGES: Chambers of Commerce from across the state.

3) Preserving Lives of Future Virginians — (33 points)

How will you apply the power granted to you in your position in the Virginia House of Delegates to preserve the lives of unborn Virginians, protecting them from dismemberment in their mothers' wombs — their baby parts being sold to the highest bidder — while preserving the physical, mental, spiritual, and moral constitution of future Virginia mothers?

JUDGES: Virginia Council of Churches.

RULES: Candidates shall have 24 hours two prepare answers to all three (3) essays; essay scores shall be based on composition, content, and construction; candidates shall receive one point each for signing their names; if the essay scores again result in a tie, the incumbent shall retain his seat.

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*The tie of 11,608 votes each to Democrat challenger Shelly Simonds and incumbent Republican Delegate David Yancey to the Virginia General Assembly David Yancey leaves it to the State Board of Elections to determine the winner by drawing names.
**A Simonds win makes it 50-50 Democrat seats vs. Republican.
***Jefferson?

How I Went from #NeverTrump to #TrumpPossible

I was #NeverTrump, mainly because he's not really conservative. His natural instincts are all Leftist: trade protection, infrastructure investment, using government power against critics, etc.

What appear to be his conservative traits are actually those of right-wing Leftist dictators, e.g. nationalism. Starting with his seeming love for Putin and his tactics, he has a thing for Leftist strongmen, perhaps seeing himself in that mold.

Then there's the rest of the Russian stuff.

As Election 2016 progressed, however, a hopeful (necessary?) three-phase process materialized in my mind: 1) Stop Clinton; 2) Check Trump; and, 3) Get to Pence.

1) Stop Clinton

This necessity became clearer with the growing certainty that Hillary Clinton was an IMPOSSIBILITY. Perhaps, it occurred to me, this "orange-haired Jesus" was sent to us to stop her.

Could anyone else have done it? Unclear. He did. Step one accomplished.

2) Check Trump

Next step was to check the elected Trump. The checking of a president should happen naturally with the system of checks and balances designed into the Constitution. Media check the president. His own team checks him. Impeachment proceedings check the president, as well as what's written in the 25th amendment.

The "A"-word can certainly check the president in a big way, but even to discuss it borders on the illegal. Don't think it's not on everyone's mind, though.

3) Get to Pence

Whatever natural terms Trump might serve, Pence has an excellent chance of being his party's nominee to replace him the next time around—and he has a good chance of becoming the next president. History shows vice presidents often rise to the top spot, but not so much via the ballot box.*

They get there more often when the president is removed for some reason.

Perhaps the president becomes unfit for office due to illness or other reasons (see above). Maybe he decides he's had enough. The vice president is first-in-line for succession, and Mike Pence is that person at the moment.

And he's a true conservative, one who's served in Congress—and as governor of a state.

The first step has been accomplished, and the second is underway. Trump's team, especially, seem to be having a checking effect on him.

The final step of getting to Pence is a question mark, of course. With a president who has a sometimes mysterious hold on much of the American voting public, who can really say when he might let go of power?

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*the vice president has been nominated 100 percent of the time in the five elections since 1960 that have had at least one vice president running (Gore/Quayle were both 2000), and a vice president won these elections 40 percent of the time; the close and controversial Nixon (1960) and Gore (2000) elections, if gone the other way, would up the win percentage bigly.

"Until It's True It's Just Bulls@%t!!"

At a recent writer event in Burlington, a rather tall woman who had been signing people up for the open mic started things off with an original ditty that demeaned our newly-elected president's private parts, brain size, and children.

This hastily-constructed contribution to literature turned on whatever rhymes with "teeny" and "weenie". It encouraged considerable laughter from the largely female audience.*

Applause was energetic.

Appearing seventh on the list, I shared a political poem I'd written recently:

We've got our very own Dilma

The prez they impeached in Brazil

The difference is we already know

About her and her husband Bill.**

I then shared how a fellow poet believed that what we have on Hillary Clinton is "unsubstantiated innuendo". Thinking this might make an excellent title for a detailing of Hillary Clinton's crimes, written as a "list poem", I promised to keep such in my back pocket in case I had to be subjected to further readings of the teeny-weenie sort.

Keying off a reading of an anti-war poem, I then read my narrative poem "An End to War". Several people filed out as I read. The singer-songwriter who'd appeared just before me kept his eyes glued to the floor as I left the performance area. I reached out my hand anyway, saying "Good job!" He responded in kind, finally looking into my face.

The male emcee, a noted radio show host from New Hampshire, took center stage again, saying something to the effect of "sounds like somebody's been getting into the Heady Topper".***

A sweet lady came up to me at the food table . .

. . and said: "Thank you for what you said. That's exactly what I wanted to say after I heard her read." She had been a Bernie supporter. I gave her a hug, noting that we needed to be loving and tolerant.

The co-organizer of the writer organization came in later, as I was leaning on the back wall. She pointedly said positive things to the teeny-weenie "poetess" seated nearby, averting her eyes as she passed by me.

The one male about my age . .

. . who I thought by his thoughtful look might actually be on my side, came over and said he liked my poem. He then opened up a political discussion of how we must somehow come together as a nation. I asked:

"Does starting off an open mic by demeaning the president-elect's genitalia, brain size, and children qualify?"

The sweet lady came over and started in on him, mentioning Hillary's wars. He wouldn't hear any more of what she had to say because he didn't believe it, so she left the discussion. He said more than once:

"The problem is that I don't believe what you're saying about Hillary Clinton."

I agreed. That is indeed the problem.

He and millions of other Americans refuse to accept the facts about her. I don't know if it was the alcohol speaking — he seemed to be drinking water — but he then shouted:

"Until it's true, it's just bulls@%t!!"

This left me wondering if he meant until it's proven — or until it appears in the media he listens to?

Or is it until she's actually locked up.

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*how might they react if a man got up and said the same things about Hillary and her daughter?
**the actual differences are: 1) in a sea of corruption around Dilma Rouseff in Brazil, the legislature got her on a rather minor charge (fiddling with economic data); and, 2) guilty of a massive amount of corruption and numerous crimes herself, Hillary may never have the chance to be impeached.
***appearance of which, rolled in on a dolly by an organizer's ten-year-old son, met with great applause earlier.

It Locks Up As Easily As This

Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com

Life Among the "Servile" Puppies

"You would think it would occur to him, 'Every place I've ever been, everyone has hated me. My only shot is to tie my wagon to Donald Trump. Maybe I can be attorney general or solicitor general.'"

Ann Coulter

Calls Senator Ted Cruz "a little bitch"

#VoteYourConscience

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

“Stand and speak and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.”

Senator Ted Cruz

Telling Americans to vote their conscience seems like a fine enough ideal to encourage. In an ideal political world, if more people would just vote their conscience it would keep the system honest. But, in a system that encourages (concretizes?) two parties, voting in this country has tended to be about not letting the other guy get in.

That's certainly how the 2016 presidential election is shaping up, with more people hating the opposing candidate than loving their own.

Telling Republicans at their convention in Cleveland to vote their conscience means what? With the absence of an expected, hoped-for endorsement for their chosen nominee, much might be read into it—but what does it actually mean?

The speaker that followed Ted Cruz last night at the convention—the redoubtable veteran pol with the quicksilver mind, Newt Gingrich—spun it around quickly to mean vote for the nominee. Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson, has said it meant vote for him.

Even Hillary Clinton has "trolled" the phrase for her own purposes. Does she know that if the Democrat "superdelegates" at the convention next week in Philadelphia heed the call they might not nominate her at all?

Senator Cruz has not said if he'll vote for the Republican nominee—just that he will not vote for Clinton. He would not seem to be steering Republicans to her.

Could it be about the "down-ballot" races, all the other Republicans that might be elected that day? The Senator says he's not asking anyone to write him in.

Trump supporters on whose ears such a call to conscience falls hard might ask themselves why. If they are voting their conscience already  they needn't be upset. If they aren't, well, maybe they needed to hear about it from Senator Cruz.

“I have to say it was somewhat dismaying that, apparently, some of Donald’s biggest partisans right down front, when they heard that people should vote for someone you can trust to defend our freedom and defend our conscience, defend the constitution, immediately they began booing. I’m gonna say that’s a little bit troubling what they’re saying.”

Senator Ted Cruz

Our Next First Lady?

Melania Trump

"From Sea to Shining Sea"

'Barack Obama is doing damage to the Democrat party which may last decades if not generations. From sea to shining sea, his radical leftist policy agenda is costing lawmakers, mayors, city councils, school boards, and dog-catchers to be at a disadvantage if the letter “D” is next to their name on an election ballot. He’s fortifying red state strongholds, turning purple states red and toppling Democrat seats in solidly blue states. Republicans should almost lament the 22nd Amendment — with another term in office Obama could well deliver the governorships of California and New York.'

Allen B. West

"25 Percent"

“We estimate, based on win margins in national elections around the world, that Google could determine the outcome of upwards of 25 percent of all national elections.”

Robert Epstein

American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology

"National Decider"

"Never Going Back"

“Just yesterday, a leader from yesterday began a campaign for president by promising to take us back to yesterday. Yesterday is over and we are never going back.”

Marco Rubio

"Baby Talk About Breaking Glass Ceilings"

"She still makes ­baby talk about breaking glass ceilings and other coded references designed to get her Pantsuit Posse out of their chairs, but it feels like a re-enactment rather than the real thing. After each bad review and each new scandal, the prospect of another usurper emerging from the shadows must give her panic attacks. Déjà vu all over again."

Michael Goodwin

Very Messy to Turn Gowdy Loose

It could be very, very messy . . to have a former federal prosecutor like Gowdy boring in on issues so damaging to someone who wants to be elected president in 21 months:

1. How despite the ambassador's repeated pleas could security have been so poor at that consulate?
2. Why, in fact, was it reduced given her admitted knowledge of the gathering terrorist clouds there?
3. Why on a day dated 9/11, hours after the Cairo embassy was stormed, were no alert forces on Middle East standby somewhere nearby?
4. Why was no rescue attempted or reinforcements allowed?
5. Where in the world did Clinton's cockamamie video excuse emanate?
6. Why did she and Obama and Susan Rice stick with it so long after we now know it was disproven by their own intelligence people?

Paraphrased from Investor's Business Daily

"Teleprompters Not Working"

“I’m used to teleprompters not working. Remember at the GOP acceptance speech back in ’08? The teleprompter broke there, too. It didn’t work and I kept on going. So, no, I don’t know, I received a standing ovation throughout and at the end of the speech.”

Sarah Palin

"Into a Tizzy"

“This has been Palin's M.O. since she was the Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008. She hints at the possibility that she might run, a hint that sends all of those who love and hate her—there are tons of both—into a tizzy. But, there's never any ‘there’ there. And, it's worth calling it out.”

Chris Cillizza, Washington Post

Grassroots Effort to Support Scott Milne for Governor

Vermonters for Honest Government (VfHG) are advocating for the election of Scott Milne for Governor of the State of Vermont on January 8, because Vermonters have had enough of Peter Shumlin and his broken promises. It’s time for a change.  Vermont has a stagnant economy, aging population, spent millions on the single payer debacle, still have a dysfunctional insurance exchange, is facing a $130 million budget deficit, ever increasing property taxes, and poor educational outcomes for the money that is being spent. 

William Round organized the group in December in response to the 2014 Vermont gubernatorial election which failed to produce a winner. Neither Scott Milne nor Peter Shumlin received more than 50 percent of the vote. 

Mr. Round believes there is no better time for change in Vermont, and for Vermonters, than right now. He is volunteering his time to this effort.

“Vermonters are tired of skyrocketing property taxes, out of control education spending, state budget deficits, and the single payer debacle. Vermonters cannot afford rising property taxes while incomes are stagnant - it’s time for a change,” said William Round. 

“Vermonters for Honest Government is running a television advertisement to support the election of Scott Milne because Vermont can’t afford another two years of Peter Shumlin’s political shenanigans. We believe if enough Vermonters contact their Representatives and Senators and ask them to vote for Scott Milne on January 8th we can change the direction of Vermont”, Mr. Round continued. 

Vermont’s Constitution states that the Vermont Legislature is required to select the Governor when neither candidate obtained more than 50% of the votes cast on Election Day. On January 8, the day after legislators are administered the Vermont Oath of Office and Allegiance, they will vote by ballot to elect the next Governor of the State of Vermont. 

Vermonters for Honest Government are asking Vermonters to contact their legislators before January 8 to urge them to vote for Scott Milne. It’s time to attract youth and employers to Vermont, enact sustainable budgeting, achieve affordable universal health care, create better educational outcomes and reduce property taxes.
William Round is a resident of Newport Center, VT and is a retired U.S. Navy Captain. 

For more information visitwww.VTHonestGov.com

Vermonters for Honest Government Ask: "Have You Had Enough of Peter Shumlin?"

"Unelect"

Done.

Petitioning Vermont General Assembly

"We, the undersigned, urge the Vermont General Assembly cast votes for governor that represent the will of their district in the 2014 election."

Petition by Makeey Shedyak

Essex, Vermont

"Demsplain"