Go time for George Allen

Chris Graham

Former Virginia governor and United States senator George Allen, as expected, has thrown his hat into the ring for the 2012 Senate Republican nomination. Allen on Monday announced his candidacy for the seat that he held for a single six-year term from 2001-2007. A once-popular Republican, Allen, governor from 1994-1998, had been looked at as…

Study: Virginia urban areas are congested

Chris Graham

A study of urban traffic congestion ranks three areas in Virginia among the most congested in the United States. The Texas Transportation Institutes’ 2010 Urban Mobility Report lists Washington D.C./Northern Virginia as the nation’s most congested region when measuring average annual delay. Virginia Beach and Richmond also rank high for congestion delays. “This study reinforces…

House votes to repeal health-care law

Chris Graham

The House of Representatives voted 245-189 on Wednesday to pass a resolution to repeal the health-care reform that was signed into law by President Barack Obama last year. The resolution had been promised by the new Republican leadership in the House. The vote isn’t likely to lead to any effective repeal with a Democratic majority…

McDonnell names redistricting panel

Chris Graham

Gov. Bob McDonnell on Monday signed an executive order creating the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting, though its powers are limited to a review and recommendation capacity. “As Virginia redraws its legislative districts later this year, the process should take place in a manner that is fair and open,” McDonnell said in naming the…

McDonnell: Lack of access to health care is ‘just not the case’

Chris Graham

Democrats are jumping on a comment made by Gov. Bob McDonnell on “Fox News Sunday” defending Ken Cuccinelli’s effort to challenge the constitutionality of the federal health-care reform signed into law in March. “The fact is a lot of people that don’t have insurance are getting it right now. They’re not denied in the emergency…

Retired auto exec challenges Dems to reclaim small-town values

Contributors

Retired Ford executive Bob Terrell was reminded of his childhood while working with a U.S. soldier returning from Afghanistan struggling to get back on his feet. “In 2001, we sent our young men and women to war to die and be wounded and maimed, and here at home 98 percent of us have gone on…

Dem legislator to RPV chair: ‘The people expect you to lead’

Ken Plum

A snarky letter sent by Republican Party of Virginia chair Pat Mullins to Democratic state legislators prompted a response in kind from Del. Ken Plum, D-Reston. “Your party controls two of the three bodies necessary to pass legislation, the House of Delegates and the governor. The people expect you to lead. I do not think…

Palin: The road back to nowhere

Contributors

Rampant speculation continues over what Sarah Palin’s plans regarding 2012 might be. The conventional wisdom: She’s running, no question about it, yep, she is, damn the torpedoes, or she’s not, because she’d rather be a conservative celebrity, because being a conservative celebrity pays more than being a presidential candidate. I’d like to throw in a…