How will Americans like paying for abortions through Medicare? If they won't, they won't like Obama's commitment to repeal the Hyde Amendment and sign the Freedom of Choice Act. Many Americans don't want abortions, period - they certainly won't want to pay for them (though some states do use Medicaid money to pay for abortions, but not all by any means). Other Americans say ok to choice, that it is a woman's right to do with her body and unborn baby as she sees fit - but they may still not want to PAY for the termination of the baby. Obama says it will be for the poor, who can't afford an abortion. Well, they may have to learn from the expense that abortion is not a means of birth control that makes economic sense. Aside from the poor, you can bet that new people groups would take advantage of any funding like this.

I don't know why McCain isn't talking about this issue more - it is a direct intrusion into America's moral rights - our right to distance ourselves from this deplorable practice. The Hyde Amendment needs to be left intact - as it covers the conditions of rape and incest. People may not agree with even those conditions for abortion, but at least it is a boundary.

-Jack

Legendary sportscaster Jim McKay passed away yesterday at the age of 86. For those of us who grew up enthralled by ABC's Wide World of Sports and knew McKay as the original voice of the Olympics (Sorry, Bob Costas) this is a sad loss indeed. McKay was one of the classiest guys in his field and was a true storyteller, having brought us such moments as the 1980 U.S. Hockey victory and the debut of the Jamaican bobsled team in 1988. The sports world won't be the same without him.

Of course, McKay will be best remembered for his role in talking horrified American TV viewers through those tense 16 hours when 11 Israeli atheletes were taken hostage at the Munich Olympics in 1972. McKay's haunting phrase "They're all gone" is surely as sorrowful, terrifying and unforgettable today as it was 36 years ago.

Everytime you hear that signature phrase "the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat" you can pause and remember one of the greats: Jim McKay.

2-4, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 3 R with two of those runs scored in the same inning!!

I'd say that line is pretty good for a first game back from the DL.

The 19 total runs scored by the Tigers tonight against the Rangers doesn't hurt either.

After a slow start, it looks like it could be a fun summer in Motown.

As many of you may have noticed by now, I have accepted an invitation to join the excellent team of bloggers over at Bearing Drift. I am truly honored to have been asked to join the premier conservative blog in Virginia and look forward to the opportunity this collaborative effort provides.

Unfortunately, that opportunity also means that some changes are in store for this site. SST has been a part of my life for more than 3 years now and, as such, I can't completely say goodbye to it. Thus, SST will remain in existence, but will probably just be used more as my personal blog mostly for things Virginia-related and non-political. If you are looking for my political commentary, that will be found at Bearing Drift and perhaps also occasionally at the Tertium Quids blog, which I have also been asked to join.

Thanks to all of those who have supported us here at SST and I hope you'l come back from time to time just to check on us. In the meantime I hope you'll read and enjoy my work elsewhere, just as I'll enjoy delivering it.

Sic Semper Tyrannis,
Old Zach

The Virginia blogosphere is abuzz this afternoon with the potential entry of U.S. Attorney John Brownlee into the Attorney General's race. Virginia Virtucon and Bearing Drift are among those who have their takes.

BD brings up a good point about the potential for another round of NOVA v. ROVA griping in a Cuccinelli v. Brownlee race, but I agree that this one is not so clear-cut. Those who argue that you have to be from NOVA to perform well in NOVA are simply ignoring the facts. Was Gilmore from NOVA? Was McDonnell?

The fact is that many folks who live in NOVA aren't even from NOVA. Therefore geography doesn't matter as much there as it does elsewhere in the state and it is easier to win voters over with your message, no matter where you are from.

Brownlee is in an enviable position of not only having spent the last 7 years in the most Republican area of the state, but also being able to transcend his geographic base in a way that, sadly, Jerry Kilgore was never able to do. I think that Brownlee has the ability to do well in NOVA if he can make himself familiar to the GOP voters up there quickly enough.

In any case, it should be an interesting race to watch and this definitely puts the heat on anyone else (Paul Harris?) who might want to get in to make the move quickly.

The Roanoke Times reports that U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia John Brownlee is set to announce this afternoon that he is stepping down from that position effective May 16. There is no word yet what he will do after that, but there has obviously been much speculation that Brownlee is considering a run for Attorney General.

I think that Brownlee would be an excellent candidate for AG and I hope that he decides to run. The press conference is set for 2:30 this afternoon. Based on Brownlee's announcement, we may have more analysis of his potential candidacy later this evening.

Newsflash: Apparently promoting strong, healthy families is good policy and saves the government money:

The high rate of divorce and unwed parenthood is costing U.S. taxpayers a minimum of $112 billion annually, a study in these areas indicated Tuesday.

"This study documents for the first time, that divorce and unwed childbearing ... are also costing taxpayers a ton of money," David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, said in a news release.

Four policy and research groups -- Institute for American Values, Georgia Family Council, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, and Families Northwest -- collaborated on "The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and all 50 States," presented at the National Press Club.

Several factors contributed to the costs, including anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs, and lower taxes paid by adults "negatively affected by increased childhood poverty caused by family fragmentation," said investigator Ben Scafidi, economics professor at Georgia College & State University.

"This report now provides the basis for a national consensus that strengthening marriage is a legitimate policy concern," Blankenhorn said. "The report's numbers represent an extremely cautious estimate ... and have been vetted by a group of distinguished scholars and economists who have attached their names as advisers to this report."

Duh.

There is a very serious and important discussion taking place around the blogosphere this week. Unfortunately this discussion was brought on by the events in Augusta County last week, but fortunately it has forced many Republicans to look a little deeper at the problems that have plagued our Party in recent years.

First, I am confident that most of the individuals who have commented on this dust-up have the same goal, advancing and strengthening the Republican Party. However, there certainly seems to be a real difference of opinion about exactly what ails us and exactly how to fix it.

Brandon Bell identifies a reckless power grab that stands on no principle but the accumulation of more power as one potential cancer that infects the Party. D.J McGuire counters that the problem stems from a geographic division within the Party and the priority of social conservative issues against economic conservative issues. Shaun Kenney steps in to moderate the debate, to ask what the central principle of our Party is and to remind us who our real enemies are (The Democrats).

Frankly there is way too much material here to respond to in a single post, but all of the points are good and deserve to be read. I simply have a few observations of my own to throw into the mix.

While I don't claim to know the motivations of either side of the debate in Augusta, wherever there is power to be obtained, there will always be those who seek nothing more than to obtain it for its own sake. I have to agree with Brandon that the solution to these disagreements is not a scorched-earth campaign. The difference between what happened in Augusta and what apparently happened in a somewhat similar situation in Montgomery County is how the losing parties dealt with it. Disagreements can be resolved without resorting to personal attacks and parlimentary chicanery. Yes, elections can sometimes result in bitterness (though not the Barack Obama variety). But allowing bitterness to turn into anger and irrationality is simply destructive.

As to D.J.'s and Shaun's points, the problem is simply that there is no single overriding principle that guides our Party, and there never will be. Our Party, just like the Democrats, is a coalition of idea-groups that choose to work together for the benefit of all. The Republican Party can be generally described as a Party of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and national defense conservatives. However, the fact is that while the majority of members of the Party adhere to these views, not every individual in the Party adheres to all three, and not every individual weighs these issues in the same proportion as everyone else.

And you know what? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Frankly, what I think is laughable is the fact that so many people seem to think that they are the gatekeepers of what is and is not a "real" Republican. I have great respect for Brandon Bell and I feel confident saying that, despite disagreeing with him on some issues, he is a Real Republican. I do not know Emmett Hanger as well, but the fact that he has won both primaries and general elections in a very Republican district tells me that he's probably a real Republican. If not, what does that make all the Republicans who voted for him?

To be clear, this is not to say that I would rather have Hanger in office than someone else. Obviously, I would much rather have a more fiscally conservative Republican in office who didn't vote for tax increases at every opportunity. But the point is that some people seem much too quick to impute ill motives and launch personal attacks against fellow Republicans with whom they have policy disagreements. I submit that this is not the best way to build a Party.

There is a time and place for the disagreements and there is a proper way to conduct them. However, if conservative Republicans want moderate Republicans to accept the results when they win primaries and chairmanships, then conservatives must afford the same courtesy to moderates when they win fair and square. Respect, like much else in life, is a two-way street.

On the heels of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announcing his intention to run for re-election as Lt. Governor in 2009, applicants are already lining up for the 3rd spot on the ticket, that of Attorney General, which will be vacated by Bob McDonnell as he mounts a campaign for Governor.

Below are the resumes of seven of the top Republicans being mentioned for the job of Attorney General. As of today, Sen. Ken Cuccinelli is the only one of them who has declared his candidacy.

On Monday, former AG candidate Steve Baril announced he will NOT be running for AG again, to which I am certain Republicans everywhere responded by immediately exhaling. In all seriousness, though, the announcement does illustrate that the clock is ticking for anyone else who might be interested in running. The longer Sen. Cuccinelli remains the only horse in the race, the easier it is for him to consolidate the support of the base behind him.

While these resumes are not exhaustive, they do attempt to hit the highlights and strengths of each candidate. Simply based on the information provided below, which of these resumes do you, the voters of Virginia, find to be the strongest? Further, is there anything you are looking for in an AG candidate that you don’t see below?

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli
• Member of State Senate since 2002
• Partner in Law Firm Cuccinelli and Day, PLLC, patent attorney
• Court-appointed attorney in hearings for the mentally ill since 1997
• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UVA
• Masters in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason
• J.D. from George Mason School of Law
• Married with five daughters and one son

John Brownlee
• US Attorney for the Western District of Virginia since 2001
• Former Assistant US Attorney in Washington, DC
• Former Associate attorney at Woods Rogers law firm in Roanoke
• Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Sam Wilson in Abingdon and Roanoke
• B.S. from Washington & Lee
• J.D. from the College of William and Mary
• Former Army Infantry Officer, Airborne, Ranger, and Major in U.S Army JAG Corps
• Married with two daughters

Paul Harris
• Chairman, Americans for Prosperity – Virginia
• Former member of VA House of Delegates, 1998-2002
• Former Deputy Associate US Attorney General
• Undergraduate degree in Political Science from Hampton University
• J.D. from George Washington University
• Married with three children

Sen. Ryan McDougle
• Member of State Senate since 2006
• Member of House of Delegates 2002-2006
• Founding Partner, McDougle Law Firm, PC
• Former Hanover County prosecutor
• Founding member, Hanover County Child Advocate Response Team
• B.S. in Political Science and History from James Madison University
• J.D. from the College of William and Mary
• Married

David Foster
• Attorney, Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP; Washington, D.C.
• Former Chairman, Arlington County School Board
• B.A. and J.D., The University of Virginia
• Member, Arlington Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Youth Internet Safety Task Force

UPDATE: Delegate Rob Bell and State Senator Mark Obenshain* announced this week that they have removed themselves from consideration for the 2009 Attorney General's race. Bearing Drift has the full text of Sen. Obenshain's email to supporters, which is titled "Not This Time" thus leaving the door open for a future run.

Meanwhile, Bob Gibson has the official word from Camp Bell. Being an expectant father is one of the no-doubt best excuses for passing on a statewide campaign. We here at SST wish Rob Bell and his family all the best.

*In the interest of full disclosure, I am related to Mark Obenshain. I am not aware that this information changes anything about his resume, but I thought it only fair for the reader to be aware of it.

Forgive the Poker analogy, but with Rob Bell apparently folding his hand this week and Ken Cuccinelli sitting on the big blind, time is running out for the other potential players to make their call.

Personally, I think a three-way race between Cuccinelli, Harris and Brownlee has tremedous potential with Cuccinelli as the Social Conservative hero from Northern Virginia, Harris as the Small Government/Business Conservative from Central Virginia and Brownlee as the Pro-Law Enforcement candidate from Southwest Virginia.

Sen. Cuccinelli was in Roanoke last night at the Reagan dinner introducing himself to the folks in Southwest Virginia. As Sen. Ralph Smith pointed out, Ken is an extremely smart guy and a great advocate for conservative principles. In addition, he also seems to already be forming a vision for what he wants to do as Attorney General. He will be tough to beat in a convention and if anyone wants to have a shot at doing it, they'd better make the call soon.

With McDonnell and Bolling taking all the drama out of the up-ticket race, we junkies need some down-ticket action to keep us entertained. We'll see if anyone is willing to take on the challenge.

Yesterday, I spent a good porton of the day travelling around the Roanoke Valley going to various GOP committee meetings and mass meetings, concluding with the excellent Reagan Day Dinner put on by the Roanoke City Republican Committee. Congratulations go out to Roanoke GOP Chair Adam Boitnott for an outstanding event!

For many Americans, their only exposure to politics is going to the voting booth once or twice a year and whatever they get watching Fox News or CNN. However, for political junkies like myself, yesterday's events represent what is so great about our American political system. It is people giving up their Saturday to freely assemble in local schools and government buildings to elect their local party representatives, listen to speeches from candidates and their surrogates, and discuss the issues of the day with other political animals.

In addition to experiencing American government at its most essential level, I also observed some encouraging signs for our Party. First, Republicans seem to be coalescing around John McCain. While there is still some grumbling when his name is mentioned, for the most part, the Republicans I have talked to realize that 1) He is the most electable candidate that we could have nominated and 2) He is way, WAY better than the alternatives.

Second, Republicans are excited about our ticket in 2009. As I said before, Bill Bolling may now be the most beloved Republican in Virginia for sparing his party from a bitter nomination fight. The McDonnell-Bolling team looks extremely strong and I believe that Republicans are going to be super-motivated to get back into the Governor's mansion for the first time since 2001.

Third, Jim Gilmore is ready for a fight. I've heard Gilmore speak three times in the last week and what has impressed me the most is the way that he has gone right after Mark Warner. While I was not initially thrilled at the prospect of Jim Gilmore as our Senate nominee, to me, Gilmore looks more like Senatorial timber every time I see him. Of course, he'll need that fighting spirit in order to get by the vigorous campaign of Bob Marshall. Marshall's supporters are very committed and they are engaging in some heavy duty arm-twisting among delegates to the state convention. Gilmore's delegate counters are going to earn their money.

In any case, I feel that all of the above is good for our Party and the longer the Dems fight amongst themselves, the rosier things look for John McCain and the GOP in '08. There are many months ahead and a great deal of work left to be done, of course, but there is no reason for Republicans to be hanging their heads and predicting doom for November. Instead, we need to work that much harder to ensure that the playing field doesn't shift back the other direction.

Yesterday I talked a bit about last weekend's excellent YRFV Convention in Richmond. The success of this convention was due to many factors, including a top-notch lineup of Virginia GOP speakers. However, the majority of the credit again has to go to YRFV Chair Lori-Ann Miller and Cristen Vehorn for organizing the thing and pulling it off.

Following the morning panels, we were treated to a delicious lunch provided by the Omni Richmond. At lunch, we first heard from Delegate Saxman on behalf of the John McCain campaign. Delegate Saxman is a great advocate for Sen. McCain because you can tell that he actually believes that McCain is the best candidate to lead our nation and that he is truly inspired by McCain's story. As someone who can identify with Del. Saxman's admiration for McCain, it only helps our Party to have strong conservatives like Saxman making the case for McCain.

Later we had the opportunity to hear from the two candidates for the GOP's US Senate nomination, Jim Gilmore and Bob Marshall. I was very interested to hear from both of these candidates back-to-back and compare their styles and their messages. Former Gov. Gilmore spoke first and delivered a solid stump speech that seemed to have two goals: 1) establish his resume and 2) draw contrasts with Mark Warner. I'd say that Gilmore achieved both goals and that a continued emphasis on his military and national security credentials, as well as Warner's thin and duplicitous history, is the best way to run. Bob Marshall followed with a strong recitation of his credentials as a soldier on the front lines of the culture wars. The problem that Bob seems to face, however, is the perception that he is a weaker candidate against Warner than is GilmoreUnfortunately, his speech did nothing to address or dispell those notions.

After lunch, we heard speeches from the two candidates for RPV Chair, John Hager and Jeff Frederick. Again, I looked forward to hearing from these two as I remain uncommitted in the Chairman's race. Incumbent Chairman John Hager, who took over 8 months ago upon the departure of Ed Gillespie, spoke first. I am certainly more familiar with Mr. Hager and probably went into the day leaning towards supporting his re-election. John articulated the view that what RPV needs the most right now is consistent leadership and continuity after several years of turmoil. In addition, he noted some accomplishments that he felt were attained under his watch and did not sy away from ackowledging remaining challenges. He also noted that he has the complete confidence of the McCain campaign, which is certainly important this year. Mr. Hager also answered a number of questions from the convention attendees regarding issues like fundraising and candidate recruitment.

After Mr. Hager spoke, Jeff Frederick had an opportunity to speak. Del. Frederick gave an empassioned speech detailing what he believed were the problems at RPV and why he was the right person to fix them. He spoke about losing ground in the General Assembly and the importance of redistricting, he spoke about winning in Northern Virginia and other democratic areas of the state, he spoke about fundraising, he spoke about grassroots and he spoke about making RPV an effective helper for campaigns all over the state. I have to admit that it was a very impressive speech and I agreed with many of the arguments that he made.

However, after the speeches I remain unconvinced that Jeff Frederick is the right person to lead RPV going forward and I also remain unconvinced that John Hager deserves the blame for some of the problems down in Richmond. In any case, it was an interesting contrast of styles and visions for the GOP in the Old Dominion and I have no doubt that the contest will remain an interesting one.

For more on the RPV Chair race, I recommend reading the following posts for Hager (Conservativa and Shaun Kenney) and for Frederick (Mason Conservative and BVBL).

Finally, before adjourning into our YRFV business meeting, we heard from Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling on his way to a well-deserved week-long vacation. Lt. Gov. Bolling might well be the most popular man in the Virginia GOP right now for his selfless and inspired decision to run for reelection in 2009. Bolling's decision not only spares the Virginia GOP from undesireable intersquad squabbling, but it also gives the GOP an extremely strong top 2/3 of the ticket headed into '09. Bill Bolling's leadership is going to be a valuable asset to our Party for years to come and we are lucky to have him.

Finally, I want to extend my thanks to the YRFV Executive Committee for voting to charter the Roanoke/New River Valley Young Republicans Chapter that I started down here in January. I look forward to continuing to work with Lori-Ann Miller and all the great YR's I met this past weekend to continue building our Party, electing Republican candidates and bringing more and more Young Professionals from across our Commonwealth together to achieve our shared goals.

Congratulations to the YRFV on a great convention and I expect to see even more of you folks there next year!

A number of bloggers have already weighed in with their impressions of last weekend's YRFV Convention in Richmond, and all have done so superbly. However, I had such a good time at the convention that I wanted to add my own thoughts and observations to the mix.

I highly recommend also checking out Virginia Virtucon, Crystal Clear Conservative and a quartet of Conservativa posts here, here, here and here, for additional coverage.

First, I have to note the hard work of YRFV Chair Lori-Ann Miller and Richmond Chapter Chair Cristen Vehorn whose efforts made this gathering such a success. There are exciting things going on at YRFV and Lori-Ann's energy is an irreplacable component of that progress. It was a great pleasure meeting so many enthusiastic young Republicans last weekend. Anyone who doubts the strength of our Party in years to come need only spend a few moments speaking with these individuals to be reassured.

As to the festivities, the convention featured a number of panels that were both informative and encouraging to those who may be worried about the direction of our Party. The welcome speech by AG Bob McDonnell proved that we will have a strong advocate for time-honored and tested conservative principles at the top of our ticket in 2009.

This was followed by a legislative panel featuring Delegates Chris Saxman, Ben Cline, Bill Janis and Senator Ryan McDougle. The most interesting part of this panel was hearing the different stories about how each of these guys got involved in politics. All four of these men are great young advocates for our pParty and our principles. Each of them would also make a geat statewide candidate someday. Certainly many have already discussed the statewide potential of Del. Saxman and he did not disappoint his fan club this weekend (myself included). The legislator and small businessman from Staunton was absolutely everywhere and gave an impassioned and memorable defense of Sen. John McCain at Saturday's lunch.

After the intial panel was a discussion of immigration policy by former Del. Jack Reed and Save the Old Dominion's Greg Letiecq. While it might have been interesting to have another panelist presenting a different perspective on this issue (especially a conservative Republican), the panel was nonetheless informative. I was particularly impressed with Mr. Letiecq, who I was hearing for the first time. With all that has been said about him, I half expected him to emerge breathing fire from three heads or something. Yet, despite all the outrage his efforts have generated, I found his comments to stick closely to the facts of illegal immigration and its impacts and I did not find him engaging in the type of racial demagogery of which he is often accused.

Once again, Mr. Letiecq's example demonstrates that a rational, fact-based approach to the important issues facing Americans is often more successful than the emotional schoolyard taunts engaged in by the left. It is these types of realizations that make me proud to be a Republican and a conservative who gives the people of this great nation the credit they deserve. Fortunately for us, the liberal bag of tricks hasn't changed much in the last 40 years, nor is it likely to in the near future.

Part II will be forthcoming.

My beloved Detroit Tigers finally got off the mat tonight and logged their first win of the season against the Boston Red Sox.

My feeling has been that the 0-7 start was attributable to everyone on the team trying too hard to win each game with every single pitch and every single at-bat, rather than just playing the game, outcome be damned.

The weight of expectations can often be crushing. Let's hope that tonight's win allows the Tigers to loosen up a little and have some fun.

Garren Shipley and his NV Daily colleagues have put together a wide-ranging podcast on the Bell case -- interviewing family members, politicians, law enforcement officials...it's worth listening to in its entirety.

The sense of betrayal in the voice of Sgt. Timbrook's father is palpable -- as is the sense of relief in the voice of the grandmother of three of Edward Bell's children.

It's easy -- too easy -- to say that Governor Kaine has smugly allowed his personal dislike for the death penalty to intrude on the legal process. That's especially so in this case, which reached a heightened degree of notice during the 2005 gubernatorial election.

Perhaps he did allow it to happen. But I'm not so sure. And maybe that's desperately naive on my part. However, the only other conclusion is that Kaine not only deliberately lied to the people in 2005, but he's also used executive fiat to make that lie the law -- however temporarily -- in 2008.