Area legislators support McDonnell government reform initiatives

Nov 30, 2011

Area legislators expressed support Tuesday for Gov. Bob McDonnell’s reform initiatives that would eliminate numerous state organizations and boards, and consolidate others at a savings of $2 million per year.

The governor’s proposals would ax two state agencies, 19 boards and commissions and merge seven agencies and 23 boards and commissions into 11 boards and commissions.

There is also a suggestion of de-regulating three professions. The suggestions come from the Governor’s Commission on Reform and Restructuring.

Congressmen ask for reversal of drilling ban

Nov 17, 2011

Virginia’s entire Republican congressional delegation has asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reverse last week’s decision to keep in place a ban on offshore drilling off Virginia’s shores.

Virginia was excluded from the recently released five-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, despite bipartisan support from state leaders.

Wall Street Journal: Obama’s Virginia Defeat

Nov 11, 2011

Virginia Republicans added seven new seats to their majority in the House of Delegates, giving them two-thirds of that chamber’s votes—the party’s largest margin in history. The GOP also took over the Virginia Senate in results that were especially notable, given that Virginia Democrats this spring crafted an aggressive redistricting plan that had only one aim: providing a firewall against a Republican takeover of that chamber. Even that extreme gerrymander didn’t work.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell on ‘Results-Oriented Conservatism’

Nov 09, 2011

Bob McDonnell is one of relatively few Republican governors to have had a very successful Tuesday. Rather hearteningly, he attributes his success to an emphasis on public sector efficiency in a short column at RedState:

Here in Richmond we didn’t raise taxes and we didn’t grow government. Instead, we defeated Tim Kaine’s tax hike and reduced state spending to 2006 levels. At the same time, we invested in transportation, higher education and economic development. We didn’t buy in to the mistaken belief that you can’t prioritize in government. You can. That is how we reduced spending by billions of dollars, rolling back the budget clock five years, while at the same time putting the most new funding into transportation in a generation and making college more affordable and accessible for our students. In both transportation and education, we knew we needed to bet on and invest in our own future.

Poll: Virginians trust state leaders, but little faith in D.C.

Nov 05, 2011

Most Virginians are confident that elected leaders in Richmond can solve major issues, that public schools are giving their children a good education, and that drilling for oil and gas off the coast won’t harm the environment, according to a new statewide poll by Old Dominion University and The Virginian-Pilot.

While 57 percent said they’re confident elected state leaders can solve those problems, the strength of that confidence varied. Most said they were “somewhat confident” in state leaders, with a smaller number “very confident.”

They also affirmed other polls that show strong support for Gov. Bob McDonnell. Almost halfway through his four-year term, 69 percent said they approve of his performance.

Pothole Pragmatism: National Review Profiles Bob McDonnell

Oct 17, 2011

Elsewhere, in swing states such as Wisconsin and Ohio, Republican governors are under siege. Union heavies have swarmed capitol rotundas, schoolteachers are marching in the streets, and businesses are struggling. And as the recession continues, poll numbers are plummeting for GOP executives. But here in Virginia, a purple state carried by Pres. Barack Obama in 2008, Gov. Bob McDonnell, a first-term Republican, is a cross-aisle favorite with a 67 percent approval rating. What gives?

Gov. McDonnell’s 3-1 Approval Rating One of Nation’s Best Scores

Sep 14, 2011

Gov. Bob McDonnell ... remains highly popular with a 61 - 21 percent job approval rating

“Gov. Bob McDonnell’s approval numbers, up from 55 - 26 percent in a June 29 Quinnipiac University survey, are among the best in the country,” said Brown.

“Not only is he personally popular, but so too is his budget. Virtually every other governor in the country must be envious about Bob McDonnell’s numbers.”

Yes, Virginia, there’s a surplus!

Aug 22, 2011

While the federal government continues to drown in a sea of debt, several states are reporting surpluses, thanks to policies Washington would do well to emulate.
Nowhere has the economic turnaround been more immediate than in Virginia. When Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell took office in January 2010, he was faced with a $2.2 billion shortfall bequeathed to him by outgoing Democratic Gov. (and now Senate candidate) Tim Kaine.

In less than two years, McDonnell has delivered two budget surpluses without raising taxes or causing harm to the “most vulnerable.” Instead, he has judiciously cut spending.

Last week, the governor’s office announced a surplus of $544.8 million. That is $234.1 million more than McDonnell told the legislature on June 30 he has saved state taxpayers. Call it compound savings.

Virginia named top state for business

Aug 16, 2011

Virginia has been named the most pro-business state in the country by the Pollina Corporate Real Estate study: “Pollina Corporate Top 10 Pro-Business States for 2011: The Rise of the West.” Virginia won the 2011 top-ranking by the largest margin in the history of the study. This marks the third straight year that Virginia has held the top spot in the Pollina rankings. In July, CNBC also named Virginia as America’s “Best State for Business.”

Brent Pollina, Vice President of Park Ridge, Illinois-based Pollina Corporate Real Estate (http://www.pollina.com/) and author of the study, noted, “Virginia can certainly be emulated by other states, which should view Virginia’s economic policies as a coloring book. All they need to do is stay between the lines of the coloring book, and they, too, can create a powerful pro-business environment.”

Virginia posts another bipartisan, conservative surplus

Jul 24, 2011

There’s much more separating Richmond and Washington than just 100 miles of interstate. While Washington bogs down in financial chaos and a refusal to make the difficult decisions necessary for the federal government to live within its means, here in the commonwealth, for the second straight year, we’ve reached the end of another fiscal calendar in the black.