Executive Bulletin May 30, 2012
Legislator ratings, Romney update and 2013 statewide racesLEADERSHIP FORUM JUNE 11
A WHO’S WHO IN POLITICS & BUSINESS
Be Sure To Register Online For This Popular Event!
Join hundreds of top business, political, education and community leaders for this important forum to focus on bipartisanship and cooperative solutions to address the nation’s spiraling debt. This is an event you don’t want to miss!
The attendance list is a Who’s Who in business and politics! At least five former Virginia Governors are expected to attend, as well as members of Congress, several members of Governor McDonnell’s Cabinet, many members of the General Assembly, university presidents, and titans of business and i
ndustry.
MONDAY JUNE 11
11:00 AM until 2:00 PM
The Ritz-Carlton at Tysons
1700 Tysons Boulevard, McLean, Virginia 22102
CLICK HERE to register online for the VAFREE Leadership Forum.
NEW VAFREE LEGISLATOR RATINGS NOW ONLINE
Voting Records, Business Ratings, Effectiveness Scores 
New VAFREE General Assembly Incumbent Evaluations are now online, including legislator business ratings, stewardship and effectiveness ratings, and General Assembly voting records on important business issues.
CLICK HERE for the full report in printable form
For enhanced views of the ratings, including the ability to sort data, search voting records, and see previous ratings back to 1995, log in to the MEMBERS-ONLY area of our site.
ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS ON VAFREE LEGISLATOR RATINGS
Widespread Press Coverage of 2012 Voting Records
From the Washington Post and CBS News to blogs such as Bacon’s Rebellion, Virginia FREE’s new 2012 Legislator Ratings garnered 
widespread press coverage across the state. Bob Lewis of The Associated Press crafted a thorough dispatch that appeared in major media outlets last week, including Bloomberg Business Week, NBC News, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Virginian-Pilot, The Roanoke Times, The Washington Post and many others.
CLICK HERE for the Associated Press article.
CLICK HERE for an editorial in the Roanoke Times.
LAME DUCK CONGRESS TO FACE BIG BATTLE ON DEBT
$7 Trillion Looming in Year-End Financial Decisions
Regardless of who wins the White House in November, the lame duck Congress promises a tumultuous, rancorous finale to 2012. Big 
decisions with lasting consequences will have to be made in a compressed time frame and a hyper-partisan atmosphere.
The lame duck session will once again have to raise the debt ceiling – a fight that erupted into a prolonged national embarrassment last summer. The Bush tax cuts will have to be extended or eliminated – another partisan slugfest. And possibly the biggest issue that will not wait: What to do about the automatic budget cuts set to kick in on January 1 – the so-called budget sequesters passed last August that will trigger cuts of $1.2 trillion in federal outlays. Some $600 billion would come from defense – on top of $400 billion already cut at the Pentagon.
Former Democratic White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles says he and former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, are working with a bipartisan group of 47 Senators and as many House members to frame a compromise. Bowles was White House chief of staff rom 1996-98 under Democratic President Bill Clinton and Simpson was a Republican Senator from Wyoming from 1979 to 1997. Together, they chaired the Simpson-Bowels Commission on debt reduction and authored the report entitled THE MOMENT OF TRUTH offering solutions to the nation’s structural deficits and enormous national debt.
 |
| Erskine Bowles |
Bowles says he thinks the markets will force a compromise in the compressed congressional timetable after November elections. Stalemate could push the economy back into recession, according to a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office. And Goldman Sachs estimates that congressional failure to reach agreement would shave about four percentage points off GDP in the first half of next year.
If you want to contact your elected representatives, CLICK HERE to get the info you need to call or write.
CANDIDATES JOCKEY FOR POSITION IN STATEWIDE RACES
Cuccinelli Backers Could Force Change in Nomination Method
 |
| Paula Miller |
Former Norfolk Delegate Paula Miller is the latest to consider entry into the statewide sweepstakes as candidates continue positioning for a run in 2013. Miller announced this week that she is considering a run for Lieutenant Governor. Miller, a Democrat, is the second woman to weigh a bit for Lt. Gov., following former Republican state Senator
 |
| Jeannemarie Davis |
Jeannemarie Devolites Davis who recently emerged as a strong contender for the GOP nomination. The list of possible statewide candidates is growing, making for potentially crowded fields in both parties for the offices of Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General.
Meanwhile, supporters of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli have won several seats in recent weeks on
 |
| Ken Cuccinelli |
the state Republican governing board and they are pushing the Party to switch from a Primary to a Convention to decide nominations next year. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and Lieutenant Govenor Bill Bolling are vying for the Republican nomination for Governor next year. The GOP State Central Committee already decided to hold a Primary to select the party’s nominees for statewide offices in 2013, but now is likely to reconsider that decision at a meeting set for mid-June. Conventional wisdom holds that a primary benefits Bolling and a convention benefits Cuccinelli.
CLICK HERE for the complete list of possible candidates for statewide office in Virginia next year.
ROMNEY CLINCHES GOP NOMINATION
Texas Primary Puts Inevitable Nominee Over The Top
Texas Republicans delivered the margin to bring Mitt Romney’s total delegate count above the 1,144 needed to win at the GOP National Convention in Tampa in late August. Romney has been the de facto nominee since his last major rival, Rick Santorum, dropped out of the race in April.
Romney won a war of attrition, with Republican rivals all captivating the party faithful and leading in the polls at various times throughout the campaign. Here’s the official GOP delegate count as of today, according to the Wall Street Journal:
Mitt Romney 1,183
Rick Santorum 261
Newt Gingrich 135
Ron Paul 129
Jon Huntsman 1
Michele Bachmann 0
Herman Cain 0
Rick Perry 0
VIRGINIA MOURNS LOSS OF FORMER U.S. REP. WAMPLER
Former U.S. Rep. William Wampler Sr. passed away at his home in Bristol last week and will long be remembered for nearly 20 years of service in Congress representing Virginia’s “Fightin’ 9th” district in Southwest V
irginia. Affectionately known as the “Bald Eagle of the Cumberland,” Wampler served in the House for two years in the 1950s, and again from 1967 to 1982, when he was defeated by Democrat Rick Boucher. His son, William Wampler Jr., represented the Bristol area for more than two decades in the state Senate before retiring last year.
“At the age of twenty-six, he had already served in World War II and been elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he championed the causes of his constituents in Southwest Virginia throughout his distinguished career of public service,” Gov. Bob McDonnell said in a prepared statement. “I have personally been touched by the passion the Wampler family has for Virginia and for creating opportunity for all of the people of the Southwest.”
Return to News