Republican state chair rallies supporters in Bath, Highland

BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY — The choice is clear, said Pat Mullins, state chairman of the Virginia Republican Party. When it comes time to vote for state offices this November, choose the Republican candidates. They have the experience, ideas and proposals that Virginia needs, he said.

Pat Mullins, state chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia rallied support for the Republican ticket among party faithful at a dinner at the Mountain Hideaway in Monterey last Thursday. His visit followed that of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling the previous Saturday at The Highland Inn. Pictured (l-r) are Claudia Trinca, Phil Munchel, Mullins, and Andy Jones. Behind Jones is Matt Cauley. (Recorder photo by James Jacenich)

Mullins met with leaders of Highland and Bath Republicans last Thursday at the Mountain Hideaway restaurant in Monterey.

"We've got to get the business com­munity back on board to the party because they've been turned off with what's been going on the last three years," he said. "The business community is scared of what's hap­pening in Richmond and Washington." "Republicans are fired up," he said. "All over the state they are excited. Membership is up. They want to win in November. Social conservatives, business conservatives, all have a goal to win with Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli (candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and at­torney general). We are going to increase our control in the house by three," he pre­dicted. "And we'll take back the senate in two years. He warned of outsiders interfering in Virginia politics. "Union people are going to flood this state with people from Chicago, New Jersey … We can't match them in money. But Republicans have the heart to win this year. "We have the most experienced ticket that has ever run for office in Virginia," he continued. “Their side (Democrats)
have the least experienced that has ever run.”

He said the Republican ticket has won 19 elections, but the Democratic ticket, with the exception
of (gubernatorial candidate) Creigh Deeds, has only won two times. “You don’t need an inexperienced ticket where we are in the economy right now,” Mullins opined.

A Republican governor would provide much-needed leadership in Richmond, a Republican lieutenant governor would bring a strong voice to the office, and a Republican attorney general would uphold conservative values, he said. Republicans should attack Deeds’ record, Mullins told the party faithful. Deeds is running on the Democratic legacy in Richmond, a legacy Mullins calls into question. “Deeds is totally different,” he said. “He’s liberal. He had to veer to the left to get the nomination. He couldn’t get the nomination as a moderate. He has changed. Creigh Deeds is not a moderate, nor a conservative. He is out of the mold of (Rep.) Nancy Pelosi, (Gov.) Tim Kaine, and (Sen.) Harry Reed. The other two (Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general) should not be running.”

Countering a perception of apathy among voters in the attorney general race, Mullins said, “The attorney general protects our heritage, our culture and our laws.”

The position was “extremely important” and that’s why a Republican should be in that office.

Mullins said Democrats have lied about raising taxes in the past. “We’ve been kicked twice by Democrats (governors) who said they wouldn’t raise taxes,” Mullins said. They raised taxes when they got in office, he noted.

McDonnell supports offshore drilling, clean coal and another nuclear reactor at Lake Anna, said Mullins. He’s for choice in education and wants to cut government bureaucracy. McDonnell will pay for improvements in transportation with tax money earned from offshore drilling. He would also earn transportation dollars with tolls at the North Carolina entrance to Virginia on U.S. 95 and U.S. 85 to catch people on their way to New York. He also has a detailed jobs plan, Mullins said.

On the other hand, Deeds opposes offshore drilling; he is silent on choice in education, perhaps because he is backed by the National Education Association, Mullins asserted; he can be expected to do nothing with transportation; and jobs are not an issue for Deeds, he said. He would do away with the state’s right to work laws because unions support him, said Mullins. He also said under Democrats there would be a reduction in the number of students allowed to attend state colleges and universities.

Mullins admitted the Democrats are developing a plan to govern in the next four years, butthey should have had it after the primary in June, he said.

Mullins listed more reasons to vote Republican this fall. “One of the things that is being looked at in Virginia is elimination of the corporate income tax, which amounts to only 6 percent of the budget. That will attract jobs. Cap and trade (an emissions tax that is part of federal climate control legislation recently passed by the House of Representatives) will devastate MeadWestvaco, which will have to lay off people and close divisions. MeadWestvaco is an employer of 1,200 people. It says cap and trade will devastate them, said Mullins.
“We don’t want cap and trade. Start voting like Virginians, not like Nancy Pelosi wants us to,” he said.

He went on to another federal issue that might have an impact on Virginia. He raised the specter of terrorism on American soil. “Closing Guantanamo Bay puts prisoners in Virginia. To vote to close Guantanamo Bay and move prisoners to Virginia is insane.” He said Guantanamo prisoners in Virginia would increase the likelihood of terrorists launching attacks in Virginia to free the prisoners.

Mullins brought up the Republican Party’s longstanding opposition to abortion. He said that 54 percent of people in the United States are pro-life, according to a recent poll. “His (Deeds’) votes on partial birth and other things are not where you are at in Bath County,” he said.

“McDonnell’s good on guns, Deeds used to be, but he has changed,” said Mullins.
Mullins also said Deeds has flip-flopped on (same-sex) marriage
and the inheritance tax. “You need to tell the voters in Bath that Deeds is not voting their values right now.”

Mullins exuded confidence in the upcoming election. “We’re ahead in the governor’s race, lieutenant governor and attorney general right now,” he said. “The country is not blue. That was an aberration of the presidential election.

Virginia is solid in the red. We are the last defense to what can happen in Richmond. If the awful happens, and they elect the three (Democrats), and they get control in the (state) house (of delegates), you would see redistricting to elect Democrats. That would set us back. Virginia would not look in 10 years what it looks like now.

“If you’re not better off now than you were eight years ago, you had better vote Republican straight ticket,” he said.

He encouraged Republicans to use Kaine’s record to defeat Deeds. “Four years ago Mark Warner ordained Kaine his replacement and Kaine’s (popularity) went up,” Mullins said.

Mullins attacked Kaine on his travels, his spending state money on Democratic party business,
his dropping the ball on the Apple computer data center deal in Southside Virginia by not calling a special session to amend the tax laws, and his being away from the state for 28 days since March. “His schedulers don’t seem to know where he is,” Mullins quipped.

Nancy Smith of Bath County complained she has been unable to put up signs in Bath County before the gubernatorial candidates’ debate at The Homestead because “Deeds is a home boy.”
Mullins said that it would be hard to overcome a hometown advantage.

“Creigh Deeds is a nice guy,” he said. He advised, “No personal attacks on Deeds, attack him on the issues. His minions will ridicule Bob.” He said opponents would attack McDonnell on his conservative religious opinions and affiliations, a sign of Democratic religious bigotry.

Dr. Andy Jones, chairman of the Bath Republican committee, said, “We can’t forfeit any votes.” He recalled how Deeds lost to McDonnell four years ago in the attorney general race by around 300 votes. “If we can get Deeds’ record out, maybe we can get 300 votes. That could be enough to turn the election.

"Most Americans seem to be pretty conservative (in their) values and beliefs," Jones continued. "The Republican leadership is too timid in terms of standing up and expressing their beliefs to the American people. We have suffered with weak leadership. People like you (Mullins) express confidence in an aggressive fashion and remind them we are not going to apologize for what we believe in. It is the right thing. That's what we need more of."

Mullins said, "I'm pro-life, pro-gun, and against same-sex marriage. I'm a fiscal conservative and for low taxes. If we stand by those values and if that is what we say, that's when we start winning elections.

"If you don't offer a choice, the voters will vote Democrat. Never apologize for what you believe in."

"The news media is our biggest problem," David Kiser of Blue Grass said. "How can we overcome this? We can't elect a governor with news media against us."

"I think people see news (the media) as spokespeople for the Democratic Party," said Mullins. "Those papers are having problems. Readers are down. Bias is why papers are down. (People) don't want to read about anti-Republican activities in the Washington Post. We are working with bloggers. They are being very good to us. At the convention, bloggers were put in the front row. The mainstream media was in the rear. We got a favorable reaction from bloggers.

"I encourage letters to the editor," he continued. "If they are saying Deeds is a moderate, you need to write. Talk to people one on one … We need to get back in control because Democrats like giveaways," he said.

He ended his talk with a story about a Wise County insurance office that had to close two offices, not due to lack of work or the economy, but because it couldn't find employees. He said the employer tried to recruit employees at a nearby college campus. "They preferred to be on welfare," Mullins said.

That is the legacy of Democratic rule, he inferred, and one more reason Virginians need to vote Republican.