Cuccinelli Compass: In his own words The Cause (2005) We are a beachhead of conservatism in mushy, moderate Fairfax County, with a district that is nearly 50/50 GOP/Dem, so we definitely need your help! Responding to a Pro Choice Colleague (2005) Dem Senator Henry Marsh was attacking a bill addressing how the death penalty is implemented, i.e., the mechanics of putting someone to death that has been convicted of capital murder. He didn't like some of the proposed changes and as part of his statement in opposition he declared (please note, this is NOT a joke...): "I have respect for all human life..." Oh yeah, except for the unborn. Oh yeah, and only if you've been convicted of CAPITAL MURDER! At least the convicts get due process before they face the prospect of being put to death. I saw Henry in the hallway later and told him that I was very pleased that he was now supportive of all human life... and then the stammering began... (often called "backfilling"). On Defining Contraception (2003) One particularly troublesome bill escaped the Senate today on a 24-16 vote. That was Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple's redefinition of "contraception" as "not abortion" (SB 1104). Sounds simple enough, right? But her bill actually twists the definition in such a way that clears the way for "the morning after pill" or "emergency contraception." These are abortion methods, not contraception. I am hopeful that this bill will be killed in the House of Delegates. I would ask all of you to contact your Delegates to warn them about this bill and ask them to vote against it in committee (HWI) and on the floor (if it gets out of committee). On a 2004 Tax Increase This past Thursday, the Virginia House of Delegates passed a $520,000,000 tax increase for the next budget. That's not the total budget, ladies and gentlemen, that's just the two-year increase! Then, on Friday, the Virginia Senate made that look paltry by passing a $3,700,000,000 tax increase! That's an awful lot of commas! Remember, Governor Warbucks" proposed tax increase was $1,000,000,000 - not even 1/3 of the Senate increase! Republicans have always been the party of less taxes and smaller government, but both the House and the Senate of Virginia are Republican majority bodies [click here to read the Virginia Republican Creed]! How to Spend the Day of Immigration Protests (2006) You've probably heard about the rally in Washington, D.C. on Monday for rights and benefits for ILLEGAL aliens, including amnesty (you read that right). In addition to the rally for ILLEGAL aliens on Monday, May 1st, these left-wing, anti-rule of law, politically correct folks also plan to have a boycott by ILLEGAL aliens of both work and shopping. The idea is to show how much we need ILLEGAL aliens to run our businesses and how much they support our businesses with their purchases, etc. So, what are we doing on Monday, May 1st (May Day is an old international socialist holiday--coincidence?) We're going shopping, of course! Shopping is the perfect free market answer to this absurd protest. It will also give you the chance to see which retailers are cheating by employing ILLEGAL aliens, and I hope that you will no longer go to those establishments in the future. Let's help take back our country with our wallets, and don't forget to contact your senators and congressman to let them know that you don't want amnesty for ILLEGAL aliens, that you want them to restore our borders and our sovereignty. On Running for Governor (2011) ...while I would note that some have complained to me about not "waiting my turn," I didn't get in a line and I am not in the habit of trying to stifle competition. I'm certainly not going to stifle it myself. In the Republican Party, we talk all the time about the importance of free markets and open competition. It seems to me that if we don't practice what we preach, we won't have much credibility with others. Not sticking to our principles has done our party enormous damage over the last 10 years or so (it gave us the current President), and these are traps I have continually fought against in my time in politics and government. I don't intend to change that when the time comes to elect our next Governor. How To Be A Liberal (Top 3 ways) You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens are more of a threat than nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Iran or Chinese and North Korean communists. On Being Pro-Life (2/28/08) I have not always held the position I do today on the life issue. There was a time that I questioned the government's role in abortion. Then, one day, during an ordinary lunch conversation with some political friends in the early 1990s, I noted my understanding that life begins at conception. With that, one of my colleagues leaned over to me and asked a simple question, which he left me to answer: "If you believe that it's a human life, don't you have a moral obligation to defend it?I had never thought of it that way, but it was an easy question to answer when it was cast in that light. And with one thoughtful question, my position on the protection of the unborn was forever changed.