The Top Story: Seriously … Sarah Palin?

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham [email protected] She has executive experience, but let’s put Sarah Palin’s Alaska in perspective. It has a population of 670,000 and a state budget of $6.6 billion. Which, essentially, makes it Fairfax County (population 1 million, operating budget of $3.3 billion), only colder. So maybe we can dispense with the…

Virginia ’09: McAuliffe for governor?

Chris Graham

Analysis by Chris Graham [email protected] Terry McAuliffe for governor, huh? In Virginia? Really? “I was a kid who grew up in Syracuse,” said McAuliffe, a former Democratic National Committee chair and key advisor to the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, after speaking to the Virginia delegation at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. “I started…

Political quandary

AFP

A View from the Right column by Mike Hodge I have an important question to pose to you, but first an observation. You’ve heard all the hoopla about Tim Kaine being Barack Obama’s VP. I wanted to tell you why this is a good thing for Valley Republicans. Bill Bolling running for governor and Bob…

Valley legislators test poorly on conservation

Chris Graham

Analysis by Chris Graham [email protected] Even grading on a curve, Shenandoah Valley legislators didn’t score well on the Virginia League of Conservation Voters annual Legislative Conservation Scorecard released yesterday. The scorecard, based on a series of votes on conservation issues in the 2008 Virginia General Assembly session tracked by the League, rated each of the…

Deeds returns money from Australian company that had lengthy donor list

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham [email protected] Democratic Party gubernatorial-nomination candidate Creigh Deeds has authorized the return of $1,500 in campaign contributions from the U.S. subsidiary of an Australian toll-road company that recently broke ground on a HOT lanes project in Northern Virginia. Transurban Inc. is a U.S. subsidiary of an Australian company and is thus not…

Bad money after good to play to the base

Chris Graham

The Politics Beat column by Chris Graham [email protected] More of your taxpayer dollars are headed toward the wastebasket. “It is my belief that Virginia’s partial-birth abortion ban, passed overwhelmingly by the people’s elected representatives in the General Assembly, is constitutional. Given the significance of the issues at stake, and the fact that the United States…