May
23
Not So Frank: Congressman Wolf Refuses to Debate
Filed Under Debate, Frank Wolf, Press Release, Republicans | Leave a Comment
Contact: Michael Parrish
540-539-7733 or vern@mckinleyforcongress.com
Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia’s Tenth Congressional District has not faced a Republican primary challenge since he first won his seat as part of the “Reagan Wave” in 1980. Today, he faces strong criticism from many conservatives for turning from the “Reagan Values” that he once campaigned on. Vern McKinley, Republican challenger in the 10th district, is running a campaign on these issues. McKinley is an experienced policy expert who would bring vast federal government, international and private sector experience to Congress, along with a vision of limited government.
At least four independent efforts have been made over the past few weeks to organize a debate of the issues between Congressman Wolf and McKinley: the Politics Hour on WAMU with Kojo Nnamdi; the “Road to…” show on FCAC Channel 10; the Sterling Foundation; and the Loudoun County High School Young Republicans, all of which were turned down by the Congressman. The 10th Congressional District has a long-standing history of political debates. During Congressman Wolf’s early campaigns in the 1970s then-Congressman Fisher made himself available for debates several times against then-challenger Frank Wolf. Next week McKinley will debate the two Democratic Candidates in the 10th Congressional district to get out his message. This week he also debated the Libertarian Party candidates for President, including Bob Barr and Mike Gravel.
May
23
Vern McKinley Debates Barr, Gravel, Root
Filed Under 2008 Election, Debate, Foreign Policy, Immigration, Press Release, big government | Leave a Comment
Vern McKinley Debates Others Because Frank Wolf Won’t
Ashburn, VA – Reason Magazine held a debate on Libertarian and Republican principles on May 20th. In attendance were Vern McKinley, Mike Gravel, Bob Barr, and Wayne Allen Root. Each of them answered a variety of questions from Reason Magazine’s reporter David Weigel and took questions from the audience.
McKinley talked about immigration, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, limiting the role of government, and drug policies. He said that he would have voted for a more targeted attack of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, but would oppose any type of nation building. As for Iraq, he would have voted “no” to go in.
Each of the candidates got to express their opinion on getting rid of a department and Vern chose Commerce, Energy, and Education. He said that Republicans talked about it in the 80s and 90s, but “this time around, we need to get serious and get rid of them all,” McKinley stated.
On the topic of drug prohibition, McKinley stated that the Constitution leaves that issue up to the states.
For those who weren’t there and would like to watch it online, can do so at http://www.reason.tv/video/show/431.html
For further information please contact Michael Parrish at 540-539-7733 or mparrish03@gmail.com.
McKinley is a financial expert who advises foreign countries, has worked for the FDIC, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, and has done policy analysis for the Cato Institute and the American Enterprise Institute. He is running for the Republican nomination in the 10th District of Virginia for the House of Representatives. The primary is scheduled to be held on June 10, 2008.
May
22
Vern McKinley Speaks Out Against Court Decision On Abortion
Filed Under Abortion, Press Release, Regulation | Leave a Comment
Ashburn, VA – Vern McKinley spoke out against the US Court of Appeals’ (4th Circuit) decision, which said that Virginia’s law on late term abortion was unconstitutional because it is more restrictive than what the Supreme Court approved last year.
McKinley has always been someone that has championed pro-life positions. He would support and cosponsor the Taxpayer’s Freedom of Conscience Act of 2007 (HR 1095), the Sanctity of Life Act (HR 1094), and the Right to Life Act (HR 618). Vern believes in a federalist approach to the abortion problem and would remove federal jurisdiction which would return the issue to the states.
“There is no authorization in the Constitution that permits the federal government to interfere with state restrictions on abortion,” McKinley stated. “With the Supreme Court’s injudicious ruling in Roe v Wade, the court is legislating from the bench instead of respecting the will of the people through their legislators.”
More information about Vern’s stance on pro-life issues can be found at http://mckinleyforcongress.com/issues.html#pl
For further information please contact Michael Parrish at 540-539-7733 or mparrish03@gmail.com.
McKinley is a financial expert who advises foreign countries, has worked for the FDIC, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, and has done policy analysis for the Cato Institute and the American Enterprise Institute. He is running for the Republican nomination in the 10th District of Virginia for the House of Representatives. The primary is scheduled to be held on June 10, 2008.
Apr
29
National Taxpayers Union Rates Congressman Wolf C-
Filed Under 2008 Election, Press Release, Taxes | 7 Comments
Contact: Brad Jansen
703-470-5042
vern@mckinleyforcongress.com
Congressman Wolf of the 10th Congressional District of Virginia received a C-, or 44 on a scale of 100, on the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) 2007 annual rating for members of Congress which was released earlier this month. The NTU rating is the most broad-based assessment of member voting records on fiscal and regulatory issues as the index assimilates 427 recorded votes in the House.
Congressman Wolf’s rating has seen a steady decline since it reached a peak of 80 in 1995 in the aftermath of the Contract with America and the Republican takeover of Congress and is now at its lowest point since the rating was created in 1992. Of the eight Republicans representing Virginia in the House, Congressman Wolf was dead last by far. Representative Cantor led the group with an A rating of 87. After being summarily defeated and losing their majority in the 2006 elections, Republican members improved their NTU rating from 60 in 2006 to 69 in 2007.
Vern McKinley is the Republican challenger to Congressman Wolf in the 10th Congressional District, which stretches from McLean to Winchester. “When you have an independent body review over 400 votes to come up with a rating on fiscal and regulatory responsibility, and a representative’s score is so embarrassingly low, it is a clear indication of how much Congressman Wolf has drifted since he was a signer of the Contract with America. If elected, it would be my goal to get an A rating each and every year from the NTU,” stated McKinley. Other taxpayer watchdogs have given Congressman Wolf similar poor grades: Citizens against Government Waste (20); and Club for Growth (36). “The Winchester Star, a prominent newspaper in the 10th District, had it right when they called the Congressman a tax-and-spend Republican,” McKinley concluded.
To learn more about the McKinley for Congress campaign, please visit www.McKinleyforCongress.com.
Apr
20
Contact: Brad Jansen
703-470-9893
This week the McKinley for Congress campaign submitted petitions with signatures of registered voters to the Chairman of the Republican Party in the 10th Congressional District. Virginia law requires 1,000 signatures of qualified voters in the Congressional District to get on the ballot for the June 10, 2008 primary election. The General Registrar for Loudoun County has certified that the campaign met the threshold.
Vern McKinley is challenging sitting Congressman Wolf, who has been in office for 14 terms. The primary election this year is historic as it is the first time since Congressman Wolf’s election in 1980 that he has been challenged in a primary. Since then he has had prior challenges by Democratic opponents in the general election, but not in a primary.
“We are very thankful to all those who collected signatures for us and who signed our petitions,” noted McKinley. Throughout the course of the past few months, the campaign confronted restrictions that are in place on signature collection. “The collection of these signatures is yet another hurdle that makes it difficult to put together a challenge to an incumbent. We look forward now to a clean and honest race based on the issues,” McKinley concluded.
Mar
18
What Should Be Done About the Mortgage Market?
Filed Under Economics, Press Release, Regulation | 1 Comment
Contact: Brad Jansen
703-470-9893
The mortgage market bubble has burst and in Washington efforts continue to find the right solution to falling real estate values that have brought on a weakening economy. The most common spin on the mortgage market has been that private markets have failed and now government intervention is needed to straighten everything out.
This focus on market failure has led to a number of proposals to make fundamental changes to the mortgage market. One such reform is the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007 which relies on increased federal involvement in the mortgage process. This legislation, championed by Chairman Barney Frank of the Committee on Financial Services, has passed the House and now awaits action in the Senate. The Bush Administration has come out strongly against it noting it would cause greater uncertainty and increased litigation which would worsen the current credit crunch.
The reality is that government meddling contributed to the housing bubble. Government policy since the early 1990s, whether it was the Clinton Administration with its “National Homeownership Strategy” or the Bush Administration, which largely continued these policies, has had its almost sole focus to boost homeownership rates. This focus has seemingly had little concern for whether homeowners could actually afford those homes.
As evidence of this push, homeownership rates (p. 4) were for most of the 1980s at a level of 64% to 65%. The increased aggressiveness of government programs of the Clinton and Bush years, such as the Federal Housing Administration, Housing and Urban Development, and Community Reinvestment Act, artificially pushed this rate up to 69% by 2004. With the collapse of the housing bubble this rate is now headed downward.
Congressman Wolf of the 10th District was the only member of the Republican House delegation in Virginia to vote for the Mortgage Reform Act. Vern McKinley, Congressman Wolf’s Republican primary challenger, has argued for a number of years that a wide range of government programs such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the Community Reinvestment Act have put too much emphasis on directing credit to the mortgage market. “The lack of demand for housing is likely to get worse in the years to come rather than better. Aging baby boomers will be selling their homes in future decades as they downsize or move out of homes. The mortgage market will need to retain its flexibility to absorb these continuing changes in demand,” McKinley concludes.
Mar
18
McKinley Earns 100% from Virginia Gun Owners
Filed Under 2008 Election, Frank Wolf, Gun Control, Press Release | 1 Comment
Contact: Brad Jansen
703-470-9893
Vern McKinley, Republican challenger to Congressman Wolf in the 10th Congressional District, earned a perfect rating of 100% by the Virginia Gun Owners Coalition (VGOC). The rating was based on responses to a survey of federal legislative priorities for the VGOC on a range of issues regarding the right to keep and bear arms, including the Washington, DC gun ban, the Brady Act, background checks, concealed carry and gun free school zones.
Congressman Wolf is probably best known among 2nd Amendment advocates in Virginia for a 2004 vote against a repeal of the Washington, DC gun ban. At that time, the VGOC awarded Congressman Wolf its “Hall of Shame Award” as he joined Congressman Tom Davis of the 11th Congressional District as the only Republicans in the Virginia House delegation voting against the repeal.
The issue of the 2nd Amendment is in the news this week because of the Supreme Court’s review in the Heller case. For the first time in 70 years, the Court will consider whether the Constitution grants an individual the right to own a gun.
Just this past weekend, McKinley spoke at mass meetings of the Warren County and Loudoun County Republican Committees. He talked to many gun owners who have this issue at the top of their list of priorities and who remember Congressman Wolf’s vote. McKinley noted his hope that “the Supreme Court will restate what is painfully obvious from the plain words of the 2nd Amendment: the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Feb
18
It’s Still the Economy (Stupid)
Filed Under 2008 Election, Economics, Press Release, Taxes | Leave a Comment
Contact: Brad Jansen
703-470-5042
Ashburn, VA—Voters in last week’s Potomac Primaries in Virginia and Maryland responded that the economy was the top issue of concern to them in the midst of weakening economic growth and a potential recession. The House and Senate passed and President Bush signed into law last week a plan of action or “stimulus package” to address these concerns. What passed was a two-year $168 billion economic stimulus package that is meant to give the economy a boost. At the core of the economic package are one-time tax rebate checks to be handed out over the coming months.
When assessing the sensibility of the stimulus package the first question is whether the economy is actually in a recession. Although the economy is slowing, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is the arbiter of that issue and they have not weighed in one way or another yet. Historically, the NBER weighs in well after a recession starts, as they did not proclaim that the 2001 recession had in fact begun until eight months after it started. So last week’s stimulus package was approved even though it is uncertain whether we are in the midst of a recession. Further, a $168 billion stimulus package in an economy of $14 trillion is insignificant if it is intended to counteract a recession.
Another question to ask is where the money is coming from for this stimulus package. It is a misnomer that the government is injecting money into the economy, as a better way to describe it is moving money around. As the economy has been running at a deficit in the years since the last recession started in 2001, the money is being moved across generations.
“I think that politicians in Washington want to be seen as ‘doing something’ about the troubled economy,” notes Vern McKinley, who is challenging Congressman Wolf for the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District of Virginia. Congressman Wolf of Virginia voted for the stimulus package as did most members of the House.
“There are a few good provisions in the package, but the idea that giving out rebates in this manner will give a significant boost to the economy is silly. Any stimulus of this size would not stop a recession if one is already ‘baked in the cake.’ In order to pay for the rebates the government is going to have to borrow in the market. Borrowing from future generations to pay for consumption today is not a good idea. I think we have done enough of that the past few years,” notes Vern McKinley. “We need to focus on longer term issues, like getting the corporate tax rate down or extending the earlier round of tax cuts, which will improve long-term growth prospects,” McKinley concluded.
Feb
18
Long-Time Incumbents Gilchrest, Wynn Trounced in Primaries
Filed Under 2008 Election, Economics, Frank Wolf, Press Release, Republicans | Leave a Comment
Contact: Brad Jansen
703-470-5042
ASHBURN, VA—Last week’s Potomac Primaries on February 12th in Washington, DC, Virginia and Maryland revealed some big surprises. Much of the focus for the evening was on the McCain-Huckabee-Paul and Obama-Clinton contests at the presidential level. But Maryland also held its congressional primaries. Virginia will hold its congressional primaries in June. In Maryland, long-time incumbents Wayne Gilchrest and Albert Wynn, who had both served since the early 1990s, were resoundingly defeated in their primary contests.
Politico.com put the significance of the losses in clear perspective when it noted that these were the first primary losses in nearly two decades suffered by sitting incumbents in Maryland. The fact that two such incumbents were defeated on the same evening, neither of whom was involved in a scandal, made the losses even more significant. Even more surprising, Gilchrest and Wynn could only manage to attract one third of the votes cast in their respective primaries.
Based on these results, 2008 may be a difficult year for incumbents. “We highlighted the early signs of rank-and-file discontent in the Republican Party last summer. In particular we highlighted Andy Harris’ challenge to Wayne Gilchrest,” observes Vern McKinley, who is challenging incumbent Congressman Wolf for the 2008 Republican nomination in the 10th District of Virginia.
The Andy Harris challenge in Maryland was backed by the Club for Growth, a pro growth organization that believes in the limited government economic principles of President Reagan. The Club spent $600,000 highlighting Congressman Gilchrest’s stand on key economic issues, such as pork barrel spending and anti-growth policies. The Club for Growth’s own Congressional Scorecard, which gives ratings from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest), rated Congressman Gilchrest at 40, while Congressman Wolf was given an even lower score of 36. Another scorecard published by the Club for Growth, its Repork Card, focuses on how much wasteful pork barrel spending members support. Congressman Gilchrest was given a rating of 0%, meaning he voted for pork projects 100% of the time, while Congressman Wolf was given a rating of 4% meaning he voted for pork projects 96% of the time.
“Recent polls show that economic issues are going to be most important for voters in upcoming elections. On key economic issues, Congressmen Gilchrest and Wolf are nearly indistinguishable. Both are long-term incumbents who have drifted away from the Republican principles of limited government. We give Republican voters in the 10th District the option of a limited government candidate,” concluded McKinley.
Dec
13
Vern McKinley Signs Taxpayer Protection Pledge
Filed Under Frank Wolf, Press Release, Taxes | Leave a Comment
Brad Jansen
703-470-5042
Ashburn, VA—Vern McKinley, who is the Republican challenger to incumbent GOP Congressman Frank Wolf in the Tenth District of Virginia, has signed the Americans for Taxpayer Reform (ATR) Pledge to oppose tax increases. “Americans, now more than ever, need leaders committed to fiscal responsibility and pro-growth economic policies,” said Grover Norquist, president of ATR. “By signing the Pledge, Mr. McKinley demonstrates his allegiance to hard-working taxpayers nationwide, as well as dedication to taxpayers in Virginia. I applaud him for his leadership and dedication to the ideals of limited government.”
The ATR Pledge is a rite of passage for Virginia Republican candidates. For example, during the recent 2007 Virginia state races, many of the key state senate candidates took the Pledge: Patricia Phillips, Jill Holtzman Vogel, Ken Cuccinelli and Bob Fitzsimmonds. The ATR Pledge is a rite of passage for everyone, that is except Congressman Wolf. He is one of only eight Republicans in the House of Representatives, and he is the only member of the Virginia House Republican delegation who has not signed the Pledge. President Bush has also signed the Pledge.
“I think there is a very good reason why Congressman Wolf has not signed the Pledge as he is leaving the door open to increase taxes, especially in the context of addressing entitlement spending,” notes McKinley. A recent joint press release issued by Congressman Wolf and his co-sponsor on an entitlements proposal Congressman Cooper (D-TN) clearly states: “Every day that we do nothing means bigger tax hikes and more draconian benefit cuts in the future.” So the Wolf-Cooper plan clearly puts tax increases on the table. A recent article entitled “Congressman Wolf’s Bill Opens Door to Massive Tax Increase,” summarizes this plan well.
“I think most people, and certainly nearly all Republicans, agree that the problem with runaway entitlements is not that we are taxed too little in the form of payroll, Medicare or income taxes, but that the programs are just out of control on the spending side. Republicans in Virginia are looking for leadership and vision that are consistent with traditional Republican principles,” McKinley concluded.
-
Loading...
Login
Register
Retrieve password