Rasmussen - McDonnell up 9

A day after polls had Bob McDonnell leading by four and 14 points, Rasmussen Reports splits the difference with a nine-points lead. A poll two weeks ago by Rasmussen gave McDonnell a five-point lead, but only two points when asking undecided voters which candidate they leaned toward.
Looking at the poll are:
Too Conservative
Augusta Free Press
Virginia Virtucon
Virginia Right
Tertium Quids
Bearing Drift
Toxic Mud Pit
SWAC girl
Virginia Value Voters PAC
Vivian Paige
Below the Beltway
Shad Plank

Augusta County First Amendment Case

First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

**** PRESS RELEASE *** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHAT: Augusta Co. Real Estate Assessment Case
WHERE: Augusta County Courthouse, Downtown Staunton
WHEN: Thurday, Oct. 1, 2009
TIME: 1:30 pm

CONTACT PERSON:
Francis Chester, Esq.
(540) 337-7270 office
(540) 997-5277 home

Churchville attorney Francis Chester filed lawsuit against the Augusta County Board of Supervisors and the Commissioner of the Revenue Jean Shrewsbury to roll back 2009 real estate tax assessments to 2005 levels. As a result, Augusta County filed suit against Francis Chester stating he had filed a frivolous lawsuit and asked the court to assess financial penalties against him.

Although the original 1,200 copies of the tax assessment petitions containing 10,600 signatures were filed with the court, the judge required a separate set of copies of the petitions for each plaintiff in the suit.

Those ten copies -- one for each of the seven supervisors, the commissioner of the revenue, the county attorney, and the court -- and consisting of 86 pounds of paper and numerous reams of copy paper -- will be delivered to the courthouse on Thursday, October 1, 2009, at 1:30 pm.

Mr. Chester has filed a mass appeal for 10,600 appellants and thus has a mass appeal for the mass assessments.
See more here

Survey USA - McDonnell up 14

Survey USA has the second poll of the day, with a more Republican pool of voters surveyed. Bob McDonnell leads by 14 points, 55 to 41, compared to a 12-point lead on Labor Day weekend.
Those looking at this poll include:
Bearing Drift
Blue Virginia
Mason Conservative
Too Conservative
Fishersville Mike
Write Side of My Brain
Virginia Right

PPP- McDonnell up 5

Public Policy Polling's latest poll has Bob McDonnell leading Creigh Deeds by five points, 48-43.
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling holds an eight-point lead and Ken Cuccinelli leads the Attorney General race by nine points.
Those looking at the numbers include:
Blue Virginia
Tertium Quids
Fishersville Mike
NRO's Campaign Spot
Virginia Virtucon
Below the Beltway
Virginia Right
Bearing Drift
Shad Plank
Virginia Tomorrow
Washington Independent

Greg Marrow actually believes a "Free lunch" is free

He talks about "Free" money from the federal government. Hey Greggie, that's our tax dollars.
See the videos here and here where he talks about increasing your taxes too.

InsiderAdvantage - McDonnell up 4

The latest entrant in the Virginia polling scene is InsiderAdvantage, which releases a poll today showing Bob McDonnell at 48 percent and Creigh Deeds at 44.
Those looking at the numbers include:
Blue Virginia
FishersvilleMike
NRO's Campaign Spot
Tertium Quids
Right-Wing Liberal
Below the Beltway

News Virginian questions Deeds' Honesty

Deeds, teller of tall tales

Honesty is precious, but like an heirloom for a family in sudden financial straits, it’s among the first things to go when a politician sees within grasp the seat he covets.

See more at Swacgirl

Deeds calls one man on stage a "debate"? Isn't that an "interview"?

What is going on with the Democrats and debates? First Democrat Jody Wagner pulls out of a debate with Republican Bill Bolling and blames it on the Lt. Governor.

Now Democrat Creigh Deeds, at the eleventh hour, has decided he wants to be on stage alone for the Tuesday "debate" with Republican Bob McDonnell.

Is it called a "debate" when there is one candidate on the stage at a time? Or is that more of an "interview"?

The press release explained it all:

Tomorrow night's Community Forum with the gubernatorial candidates at Virginia Union University was originally planned, as many are aware, to be a joint event with Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds. Both candidates were to have been on stage, together, for the full event from 6:15 to 7:45pm. The two would have jointly taken questions from the moderator, allowing the audience to hear from both candidates at the same time. However, late Friday the Deeds campaign officially requested that this format be changed. The Deeds campaign requested that each candidate now appear separately, and not be on stage at the same time as the other. In order to ensure that this long scheduled event would still take place, we have agreed to the Deeds request to change the format. We are disappointed the Deeds campaign will not allow the audience the opportunity to hear from both candidates at the same time. We apologize for any confusion or difficulty this change presents. The formal media advisory can be found below.

So is Deeds running scared after his dismal performance at Thursday's Fairfax Chamber of Commerce debate? Does this follow the line of thinking of, "Better to be silent and thought a poor debater than to open your mouth and prove it"?

Details of the debate:

Bob McDonnell, Republican gubernatorial candidate and former Attorney General of Virginia, will participate in the gubernatorial community forum on the campus of Virginia Union University tomorrow night, Tuesday September 22, beginning at 6:15 pm. The exact time of Mr. McDonnell's now individual portion of the program is still to be determined.

The Community Forum is sponsored by Radio One Inc., the Chesterfield Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Rho Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and the Richmond Crusade for Voters in partnership with Virginia Union University.
All members of the media are invited and encouraged to attend. What: Bob McDonnell Participates in Community Forum at Virginia Union UniversityWhen: Each Candidate's New Separate Time Still to be Determined; Event Will Start at 6:15 pm; Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009Where: Coburn Hall, 1500 N. Lombardy Street, Virginia Union University, Richmond

Bob McDonnell for Governor 2009

The real story behind the Bolling-Wagner debate

Over the weekend when the lib bloggers began broadcasting their talking points that the debate between Republican Bill Bolling and Democrat Jody Wagner was off, they put the blame on Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.

Something didn't ring quite true with me. I've known Bill Bolling for six or seven years and I've never known him to run from anything ... especially a debate with an opponent. The man is charismatic and a great public speaker, and he seems to thrive when in circumstances such as debates and grassroots discussions.

So when I began to read that the Wagner campaign was accusing the Bolling campaign of "backing out" of the debate, a red flag went up and I did a little research.

Try this out for truth about the matter ... information from the Bolling campaign:

Unfortunately, earlier today the Wagner campaign released a statement accusing us of attempting to back out of the debate, and changing rules that had previously been agreed upon. Neither of these charges were true, and we have no idea why they chose to release such a statement, other than an obvious attempt to score some cheap political points, which seems to be their standard mode of operation.

At this point, it became painfully clear to us that the Wagner campaign was more interested in debating about debates than actually holding a debate. No final rules had ever been agreed to, and to state otherwise is simply a lie. In addition, the organizers of the debate had requested that we keep all discussions on rules, etc private and out of the press. The Wagner campaign's attempt to score cheap political points at the expense of our organizers is inexcusable. Frankly, behavior like this is the kind of thing that turns people off of politics.

Read the entire explanation of what happened at the Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor website.

WaPo- McDonnell up 4

The fourth poll of the week comes from the Washington Post, with Bob McDonnell at 51 percent and Creigh Deeds at 47 percent.
Interesting fifth paragraph
A sizable majority of voters also say they want the state, which has been run by Democrats for the past eight years, to move in a new direction.
Those looking at the poll include:
Blue Virginia
Tertium Quids
Below the Beltway
Bearing Drift
Fishersville Mike
We Will Rock Dem
Blue Commonwealth

Daily Kos - McDonnell up 7

A gubernatorial debate and two polls in 24 hours. How about some overload?
Research 2000/Daily Kos offers its latest poll, with Bob McDonnell at 50 percent and Creigh Deeds at 43.
They polled 600 likely voters, with a party breakdown of 39 percent Democratic and 34 percent Republican.
Those looking at the numbers include:
Blue Virginia
HOV
Tertium Quids
NRO's Campaign Spot
Below the Beltway
Fishersville Mike
Too Conservative

Rasmussen - McDonnell up 5

Rasmussen Reports' latest poll has Bob McDonnell at 47 percent and Creigh Deeds at 42 percent. When Rasmussen asks which candidate undecided voters lean toward, the poll becomes McDonnell 48, Deeds 46.
The August Rasmussen Poll had McDonnell up 47 percent to 38 percent. With leaners, it was 51 percent to 43 percent. A poll done Sept. 2 had McDonnell up by nine when leaners made a decision. Links to that Rasmussen poll now go to the poll released today.

Reactions from
Augusta Free Press
Below the Beltway
Too Conservative
Blue Virginia
Tertium Quids

SWAC area loses more jobs

Western State Hospital in Staunton is laying off 25 workers due to Commonwealth budget cuts, a move that will affect workers who come from surrounding areas.

Today it was announced that McQuay in Verona will lay off 48 workers effective Monday. That plant was hit with a workers' picket in June 2009, at which time I posted, McQuay union employees picket ... have they not seen the economy?

What drove Augusta County-based McQuay's employees to stand on the street and picket yesterday? Union members of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America lined the street and held signs proclaiming they wanted a fair contract from the company.

Right down the street from McQuay, American Safety Razor has downsized to the point where the employee parking lot is overgrown with weeds. In surrounding Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro, hundreds of jobs have been lost as companies struggle in these very difficult economic times ... companies such as Invista, Mowhawk Carpet, Gem Ply, Unifi, Hershey. Citizens have tightened their belts because of job losses, decrease in wages, and cutback in hours.

Is the timing right to stand on the street and protest?

Now 48 workers are being let go.

The economy is not rebounding, as erronerously reported by the Obama administration. Jobs are still being lost, companies are still folding, employees are taking pay cuts, and senior employees are retiring to make room for younger workers.

Look at the millions of dollars in lost pay from approximately 75 jobs just to the SWAC area.

Double Talking Deeds

Creigh Deeds does some of the finest double talking.
He says we wont have any tax increases in Virginia.
There won't be any new taxes. But he won't sign a pledge.
Oh yea, by the way, there might be some new taxes for transportation.
Go see the video at YankeePhil

New polling group - McDonnell up 5

A new group - Clarus Research Group - enters the polling field and has Bob McDonnell leading by five percent with 20 percent undecided.
Those taking a look at the numbers include:

Blue Virginia
NRO's Campaign Spot
Below the Beltway
Tertium Quids
VB Dems
Blue Weeds
Virginia Virtucon
Right-wing Liberal
Write Side of My Brain
Bearing Drift

Tom Perriello is given a lesson by a voter

Over at YankeePhil, there is a video showing Tom Perriello getting schooled.

Deeds finally on top.

The only way he is getting there this year

See more at RedNoVa
Also posted at YankeePhil

Slippery Mark

Mark Warner tries to get smart with a questioner. See the video at Yankee Phil.
Mark Warner apparently skipped over 10th Amendment in the Bill of Rights

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Survey USA - McDonnell up 12

A SurveyUSA poll, taken Sept. 1 to 3, has Bob McDonnell at 54 percent and Creigh Deeds at 42.
Those checking out the numbers include:
Blue Virginia
Bearing Drift
Mason Conservative
Fishersville Mike
Right-wing Liberal
Virginia Right
SWACgirl
Carl Kilo
Shaun Kenney
NRO's Campaign Spot

Rasmussen: McDonnell up nine

Rasmussen Reports released a poll Wednesday, giving Republican candidate Bob McDonnell a nine-point lead over Democrat Creigh Deeds.
Those looking at the numbers include:
Augusta Free Press
Right-wing Liberal
Too Conservative
Below the Beltway
Virginia Right
Virginia Virtucon
Bearing Drift
Contemporary Conservative
Tertium Quids
Politico

Still up by a touchdown

Four weeks after leading in their poll by 14 points, Bob McDonnell's lead in the latest Public Policy Polling poll is seven points.
Those checking out the numbers include:
Not Larry Sabato
Blue Virginia
Fishersville Mike
Below the Beltway
We Will RockDem
Tertium Quids