From the Archives: More Virginia political leaders react to news of Osama bin Laden’s death

More Virginia political leaders react to news of Osama bin Laden’s death
May 2, 2011 10:22 AM MST

In the hours since President Barack Obama officially announced the killing of al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden in a lightning raid by U.S. forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan, various Virginia political leaders offered their thoughts and comments on the news.

Not all of them reacted immediately. Some of their statements were issued late last night; others have trickled out this morning. A common theme is “vigilance.”


‘We cannot rest’

Governor Bob McDonnell distributed a statement to the media dated May 2:

"This is a great and historic moment for America and the world. I applaud President Barack Obama, his Administration and the brave men and women of our military for this successful operation. The death of Osama Bin Laden brings final justice to the evil perpetrator of the attacks of 9/11. Justice has truly been served. While we celebrate this news, we must also remember that The War on Terror is not over. We cannot rest until our nation is secure, and all threats to our freedom and our people are eliminated. On this day, and every day, we continue to remember those we lost on that tragic day in September 2001, the brave service men and women who have died defending our nation in the years following that attack, and the family and friends they have left behind. We will never forget."

Democrats

Former Delegate Brian Moran (D-Alexandria), now the chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party, also issued a statement:

“This is a great victory for our nation and our world. President Obama and the brave men and women of the armed services and the intelligence community succeeded in bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice for the murder of thousands of Americans on September 11, 2011.”

Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA3) said, in part:

"It is my hope that this victory will provide some comfort to the families of those victims of his decades of terrorist acts all over the world, especially the victims of the embassy bombings of the late 1990s, the attack on the Norfolk-based USS Cole in 2000, and the 9/11 attacks in 2001. We also need to honor and remember the thousands of men and women who have given their lives over the last decade fighting terrorism and their families.”

Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) repeated the phrase, “Justice has been served,” but added:

“President Obama made it clear from his first days in office that bringing down Bin Laden was a top priority. I applaud his persistence and that of our nation's military and intelligence community in seeking out Bin Laden. I'm confident our forces will continue to aggressively pursue other Al Queda leaders and weaken this vile terrorist organization.”

Eighth District Democrat Jim Moran does not appear to have issued any comment on the bin Laden news, but his 2010 Republican election opponent, Patrick Murray, said in an email message to supporters: "This is a blow to Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists, but it does not mean that our fight is over. In fact this is likely to lead to retaliatory attacks against us and our interests around the world, so we must remain vigilant."

Republicans

The "justice has been served" meme also appeared in a brief statement released by longtime Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA10):

"Justice, indeed, has been served. The killing of Osama bin Laden is critically important in the United States’ fight against terrorism and I want to congratulate and thank the hard working men and women in our Armed Services and in the intelligence community who have dedicated themselves day-in and day-out to bringing our enemies to justice. I also want to congratulate President Obama and President Bush for their leadership. Hopefully the demise of Osama bin Laden will bring closure to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11. We must remain vigilant, however, as we continue to fight terrorists around the globe. The threat remains very real and we should not let down our guard."

Vigilance appeared in the reaction of freshman Representative Morgan Griffith (R-VA9):

“The announcement that Osama bin Laden has been killed is a true victory for the United States. Almost 10 years ago, the 9/11 attacks cost thousands of innocent American lives. Our men and women in uniform and the intelligence community have fought tirelessly to protect our nation – many of them sacrificing everything. I thank them for their dedication to justice. The fight against terrorism is not over. We must continue to remain vigilant.”

Like Bobby Scott, First District Republican Congressman Rob Wittman noted a local connection in the news:

“Today, America marks a major victory in the war on terror following the announcement that the world’s most wanted terrorist and the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks and the bombing of the Norfolk-based USS Cole (DDG 67) on October 12, 2000, has been killed by American forces. Americans stand proud of a job well done by our military and intelligence communities and we honor the lives lost of those fighting to defend freedom and see justice served for nearly a decade.”

Representative Robert Hurt (R-VA5), who represents the Charlottesville area in Congress, said:

“The death of Osama bin Laden marks a great victory in the War on Terror and is welcomed news for all Americans. It is my hope that this announcement brings some amount of justice and closure to the families of the victims of September 11th and to those who have lost loved ones throughout the War on Terror.”

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA4), concluded his press release by saying:

“As Americans, we proudly celebrate this victory and join President Obama in commending the brave men and women that made this day possible—the day when we can finally say that Bin Laden is dead. The streets once filled with twisted steel and smoke are now rightfully filled with celebration. Yet, we must remain vigilant against the metastasized threat from al Qaeda and its affiliates and resist the temptation to allow our joy to lure us into complacency. I am committed to supporting our men and women in uniform and will not waiver in my duty to ensure that our Armed Forces remain ready to protect the United States at home and our interests around the globe.”

Neither Senator Mark Warner nor Senator Jim Webb have put out a news release. Similarly, there has been no official reaction from the offices of Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.


Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on May 2, 2011. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site went dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Video Proof: Congressman Tom Garrett's Charlottesville Town Hall

Over at Bearing Drift, I have a brief report on U.S. Representative Tom Garrett's town hall meeting, which was held last week at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. (Coincidentally, the meeting took place in a classroom in the Batten School's Garrett Hall.) The town hall was scheduled for 90 minutes but extended to two hours. It was moderated by Dean Allan Stam, who noted that the previous week he had hosted a similar discussion by one of Garrett's predecessors as the representative for the Fifth Congressional District of Virginia, Tom Perriello, who this year is running for governor. (Other predecessors include James Madison, Virgil Goode, and Robert Hurt.)

I noted some of the issues covered in the wide-ranging conversation:

There were many other topics discussed during the town hall: health care, immigration, energy, climate change, presidential tax returns, rescheduling marijuana, gas pipelines and eminent domain, the federal budget and its impact on the University of Virginia. Originally scheduled to last 90 minutes, Garrett agreed to extend it another half hour and promised to seek a larger venue the next time he holds a town hall meeting in Charlottesville. (According to another news release from his office, dated April 3, “Garrett’s next radio town hall is scheduled for April 13 from 7-9 pm with Joe Thomas on WCHV 107.5 and in person on May 9 in Moneta, Virginia.”)

I also was able to capture the entire discussion on video, now posted to YouTube, in four easily digestible segments of unequal length. Watch them below.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

For a special bonus, here is an excerpt of the interruption early in the town hall, staged by protesters who chanted: "Hey hey, ho ho, white supremacy's got to go!" (To which Garrett replied, "We agree.")

After the forum, I had an exclusive interview with Congressman Garrett about foreign policy issues, particularly those that concern him as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organization. You can read an article based on that interview at Sub-Saharan Monitor.

From the Archives: Morgan Griffith, Robert Hurt vote against Rohrabacher amendment on medicinal pot

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on May 30, 2014. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site was scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Morgan Griffith, Robert Hurt vote against Rohrabacher amendment on medicinal pot

Early in the morning of May 30, the House of Representatives voted to approve an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015 (HR 4660) that has the effect of prohibiting the federal government from interfering in the production or distribution of medical marijuana in those states that have legalized it.

Introduced by Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-California), the amendment passed on a vote of 219-189, with 49 Republicans and 170 Democrats voting in favor of it. It was the first time the House had voted on a bill related to this topic since 1998.

Virginia Members vote 'no'

Among the members of the Virginia delegation, Representatives Rob Wittman (R-VA1), J. Randy Forbes (R-VA4), Robert Hurt (R-VA5), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6), Eric Cantor (R-VA7), Morgan Griffith (R-VA9), and Frank Wolf (R-VA10) voted no, while Representatives Scott Rigell (R-VA2), Bobby Scott (D-VA3), Jim Moran (D-VA8), and Gerald Connolly (D-VA11) voted yes.

Morgan Griffith's “no” vote came as something of a surprise, since he has introduced legislation similar to the Rohrabacher amendment. In April, Griffith submitted HR 4498, the ``Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marijuana Act'' or the ``LUMMA''. The bill would restrict the federal government from applying the Controlled Substances Act (as it relates to cannabis) in states that have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana.

Robert Hurt's “no” vote was not as surprising, although in an exclusive interview with the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner before the Rohrabacher amendment came to the floor, the Fifth District congressman said he was open to the concept.

Hurt explains his position on cannabis
Speaking specifically about Griffith's bill, Hurt told Examiner.com that “I think that the case that [Griffith] makes is very compelling.”

Hurt explained that “it's not good when the government gets between patients and their physicians,” such as when doctors “diagnose chronic and significant pain, nausea, and other issues that could be ameliorated by this treatment.”

The policy change envisioned by Griffith's bill, he said, is “something that we ought to look at and, as Morgan points out, the Virginia law [on medical marijuana] would allow for this if there was no federal ban.”

(Former Delegate Harvey Morgan, a Republican from Gloucester, sought to clarify and strengthen Virginia's medical marijuana statute several years ago.)

Hurt was careful to note that, although he has “the highest amount of respect” for Congressman Griffith, “it's important to just point out that I am not, and never have been, in favor of legalizing marijuana. I don't think it should be legalized.”

The Chatham Republican added, with regard to legalization efforts in Colorado and Washington state, “that those states that have done that in the West, I fear they're going to be sorry that they've done that [and] gone down that road.”

Hurt said he has not yet taken a position on Griffith's medical pot bill, but he is looking at it carefully.

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Original URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/morgan-griffith-robert-hurt-vote-against-rohrabacher-amendment-on-medicinal-pot

From the Archives: Congressman Scott Rigell on the challenge of reaching independent voters

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on March 28, 2012. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site went dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

This piece became particularly relevant today as Virginia Congressman Scott Rigell (R-Virginia Beach) became the first sitting Member of Congress to endorse Libertarian Gary Johnson for President.

Congressman Scott Rigell on the challenge of reaching independent voters

When Congressman Robert Hurt (R-VA5) hosted a meeting for online journalists in the U.S. Capitol on March 27, he provided an opportunity for them to discuss policy issues and politics with members of the Virginia congressional delegation, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA7).

During the lunchtime conversation, which was cut short by a call to vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, three Members of Congress from Virginia – Rob Wittman (R-VA1), Scott Rigell (R-VA2), and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6) – answered a question posed by the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner about how Republicans can reach out to libertarian-leaning individuals to earn their votes on Election Day.

Wittman replied first, followed by Rigell, who wondered whether libertarians were a significant component of the voting population in Virginia’s Second Congressional District, which he has represented since 2011.

Second District libertarians

“In the Second District,” he began, “I would not put the percentage of the electorate who self-describes as libertarian” as very high, though he averred that “maybe it’s broader than I believe.”

Rigell said that he “certainly” respects the views of libertarians and that he has “always said that I’m a conservative with a libertarian streak. It comes out every now and then, I suppose, in things that I say.”

He pointed out that the alternative that libertarian voters have to the GOP “would be the Democratic Party” but that “we’re the ones [who] are just absolutely committed to keeping government at its smallest possible state.”

‘Where’s the delta?’

Rigell suggested that “it might be helpful” to have a discussion about the differences in thinking between libertarians and Republicans. As he put it, “Where is the delta between a libertarian and a Republican?”

The way the two groups approach “better roads, better schools, national defense spending,” and other issues might, he said, be “worth exploring, just a little bit.”

For Rigell, the “real challenge,” he explained, “is the competition for the hearts, the minds, the trust, and eventually the vote of the independent voter.”

He added that he would “love to to talk a bit about that,” emphasizing that a discussion about independent voters is “not to diminish the role and influence of the libertarian voters.”

Still, he concluded, “that independent voter’s going to determine where we go” in future elections.

Up next: What Congressman Bob Goodlatte thinks about the “common ground” of libertarians and Republicans.

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With the demise of Examiner.com, the original URL for this article is no longer available.

From the Archives: Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt discusses U.S. policy in Syria and Iraq

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on October 8, 2014. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site was scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt discusses U.S. policy in Syria and Iraq

Just before a campaign rally at Republican party headquarters in Albemarle Square on October 8, U.S. Representative Robert Hurt (R-VA5) spoke to Charlottesville area news media about a range of issues, from health care and education to job growth and presidential usurpation of congressional authority.

In an exclusive interview with the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner, Congressman Hurt answered questions about foreign policy issues, starting with the use of military force in Iraq and Syria.

Last month, Hurt voted against an amendment to authorize the Secretary of Defense to provide arms to certain Syrian rebel groups, as part of the Obama administration's strategy to fight the so-called Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL). Hurt was in the minority, as the amendment passed on a vote of 273-156.

'Grotesque organization'
Hurt explained that he thinks that “the President has made the case – and I'm convinced based on all the briefings that I've attended – that we really do face an existential threat from ISIL, certainly as it relates to our allies in the Middle East, as it relates to our American interests in the Middle East, and then, finally, ultimately, here, if this grotesque organization is not destroyed.”

The Fifth District congressman added for emphasis: “We need to destroy them.”

The reason he voted against the so-called McKeon amendment, he said, was “in large measure due to the fact that the President has not asked for congressional authorization to use military force in Iraq and Syria.”

President Obama, he explained, “claims that he has the power to do it under the 2002 and 2001 military authorizations; I just simply disagree: Different time, different conflict, different parties.”

The President, Hurt said, “needs to recognize that he has a constitutional obligation to come” to Congress, where “we'd have an honest and candid debate about what is going to be required of the American taxpayer [and] most of all, what's going to be required of the American men and women in uniform.”

Moreover, he added, the President has to explain what victory will look like.

Hurt said he does not believe that the President has “laid out that case, so I think it's something that needs to be debated in Congress.”

Asked whether the U.S. military can effectively end a conflict in the Middle East that has been going on for 1,300 years, Hurt replied: “It's a very hard question.”

'Secure in our homes'
He said that “it's unlikely that we can solve these problems. The best that we can do is destroy the immediate threat [ISIL] and degrade the long-term threat and, hopefully, get to a place where we can at least be secure in our homes here on our soil and certainly provide for safe passage for those Americans who are traveling across the world in different countries, [and for] business that's being done internationally. Those are all important things.”

Admitting some uncertainty, Hurt added: “I don't know that we'll ever be able to solve those problems. Like you said, it's been going on a pretty long time, and I think it's unlikely that we can do that but I do think that we need to destroy the immediate threat as soon as we can.”

Robert Hurt is running for re-election to a third term in the House of Representatives. He has three opponents: Democrat Lawrence Gaughan, Independent Green Kenneth Hildebrandt, and Libertarian Paul Jones. The election takes place on November 4.

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Original URL:  http://www.examiner.com/article/virginia-congressman-robert-hurt-discusses-u-s-policy-syria-and-iraq

From the Archives: Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt discusses Africa policy, Ebola threat, and AGOA

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on October 10, 2014. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site was scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt discusses Africa policy, Ebola threat, and AGOA

At a campaign stop in Charlottesville on October 8, U.S. Representative Robert Hurt talked to reporters about a wide range of political topics and policy issues.

He answered questions posed by the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner about foreign policy matters. In an exclusive interview, he explained his position on U.S. military assistance to Syrian rebel groups and the Obama administration's strategy to defeat the Islamic State (also known as ISIL or ISIS).

In reply to other questions, Hurt talked about U.S. policy toward Africa, with reference to the threat of Ebola and also with regard to trade and investment under the umbrella of AGOA (the African Growth and Opportunity Act), which comes up for reauthorization by Congress in 2015.

'Public health threat'
“The Ebola epidemic definitely poses a public health threat to the United States,” Hurt said, noting the death of Liberian Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas a few hours earlier that day.

“We need to be able to know exactly who's coming into this country,” he explained, adding that the Ebola problem “highlights the need for border security, not just for terrorism but obviously for public health issues.”

With regard to the U.S. government's decision to send several hundred American troops to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone to help manage the Ebola epidemic in those West African countries, Hurt warned that “we have to be very careful in deploying our military for humanitarian reasons. I know we do it from time to time but I think there has to be a demonstrable, justifiable use of our military for that purpose.”

The reasons for caution, he said, include that “it's a huge risk to the members of the military but” also that “the United States can't be the world policeman. We can't be all things to all people.”

Asked whether he planned to vote to reauthorize AGOA next year, Hurt said, “I need to look at it. We'll obviously have some time to look at that.”

AGOA and free trade
He explained that, “whenever you're talking about any kind of trade agreements, I think that we have to look for what's in the best interests of the United States.”

Hurt said that “we've seen instances where trade agreements have hurt us, and they've hurt very deeply people in places like Virginia's Fifth District, where you look at what's happened in the southern part of our district, in Martinsville and Danville and those sorts of places.”

Each trade agreement “is different,” he explained, so “you have to take it on a case by case basis and try to figure out what's the best deal.”

Congressman Hurt added, however, that he views free trade in a positive light. “Free trade – generally speaking – I'm all in favor of it.”

He favors free trade, he said, “because it does open up markets for our producers and for our manufacturers, so we want to open those markets – but we have to do so in a careful way.”

Referring to the situation on the ground in his own congressional district, Hurt illustrated his point by describing what Central Virginia farmers grow on their land.

“We were just coming down Route 29 and looking at the soybeans. A lot of the soybeans that are going to be harvested in Virginia [will] go down to Hampton Roads, [and] get on a ship” carrying them to China.

That, he concluded, is “a good thing for our producers, so where we can find those advantages, we want to pursue them” in appropriate trade agreements.

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Original URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/virginia-congressman-robert-hurt-discusses-africa-policy-ebola-threat-and-agoa

From the Archives: Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt speaks out for free trade in Charlottesville

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on June 13, 2015. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site was scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt speaks out for free trade in Charlottesville

Appearing at the monthly Albemarle County Republican breakfast on June 13, Congressman Robert Hurt (R-VA5) vigorously defended his vote in favor of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the House of Representatives on June 12.

Noting that opposition to the TPA and related bills (Trade Adjustment Assistance, or TAA, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP) comes largely from labor unions and left-leaning liberals like Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Hurt said that support for free trade is a conservative principle that “would make Ronald Reagan proud.”

In an interview with the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner immediately after his breakfast remarks, Hurt explained what the TPA does and what it does not do, and emphasized that there is not yet an agreement for the Trans Pacific Partnership – that the TPP is still being negotiated.

“What we voted on yesterday was the Trade Promotion Authority, also known as TPA,” Hurt said. The bill “passed with a large Republican majority in support.”

Framework and authorization
He explained that TPA sets up a framework and gives authorization to the President “to finish negotiating trade agreements” that have been under consideration for years. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, he noted, “was begun under George Bush, so this is not like this is Obama's idea. This was initiated under a previous president.”

Hurt pointed out that “in order for us to even consider a free trade agreement – which was not on the floor – in order for us just to consider it, we had to pass a Trade Promotion Authority to give the president the ability to finalize the negotiations with the other 11 countries (in the case of TPP) and, not only that, but it gives Congress and the American people a tremendous amount of transparency” that would not be available without the TPA in place.

The congressman said that “as it is now [the President] doesn't have to share anything with Congress. That's why the negotiating text of a free trade agreement that does not exist is classified. That's because the Administration has the power to control that negotiating text and doesn't have to do anything with Congress.”

Under TPA, he said, “the President not only has to give us access to it currently and in the future, [he] also has to make it publicly available before anybody votes on anything for at least two months prior to it is even considered by Congress so that our constituents can hear and can look at every single word and see what the agreement does and what it doesn't do.”

Hurt explained that since he has been in Congress, he has voted for two free trade agreements (with Colombia and Panama) and voted against another (with South Korea).

“The devil's always in the details,” he said. “For people who are getting so upset about this bill, I think there's some misunderstanding that somehow what we voted on Friday was a free trade agreement. It was not a free trade agreement.”

Asked whether a trade agreement like this would get pushback from conservatives if it were promoted by President Romney rather than President Obama, Hurt demurred.

“Great question,” he said, adding “I don't know. It's hard to say. It's hard to attribute motive.”

That question makes the point, he suggested, that “this President has so soured any reasonable relationship with Congress and he is so distrusted among so many of the American people because of his abuse of the rule of law in this country that people push back for that reason – but this vote yesterday had nothing to do with President Obama.”

Hurt stated that he does not “trust President Obama to follow the rule of law. He's demonstrated again and again that he cannot.”

Setting that aside, he said, the TPA does not give the President “any authority to do anything that he cannot already do. It gives him restrictions in negotiating objectives that are in TPA but it doesn't give him any additional power to make any law.”

'Hogwash'
Hurt cited Internet rumors like “'this means we're going to give the president the authority to change immigration law!'” Those, he said, are “just totally, 100 percent false. It does not.”

He explained that, contrary to those rumors, “in order for any law of the United States to change, it has to come through Congress.”

Moreover, he said, “if it's pursuant to a free trade agreement, it has to come through Congress twice, because it has to be adopted as a free trade agreement and, secondly, the actual change of the law has to be adopted through implementing legislation, which would be a second shot at the apple.”

Taking aim at the Internet rumor mill, Hurt asserted that “the idea that this President can affect any of our laws unilaterally or that we're going to submit to some international tribunal is just hogwash.”

Hurt also emphasized how free trade will benefit his constituents in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District.

As a legislator, he said, “I have to look at the economy of the Fifth District the way it is in 2015, not the way it was in 1980 or 1990 or 2000. Our economy has changed a tremendous amount” over the past thirty years.

He pointed out that “agriculture is huge,” the largest sector in Virginia's economy, with $75 billion in output each year. The Fifth District has 23 counties and cities and “with the exception of Charlottesville and Danville, it is mostly rural, mostly agricultural.”

'Opportunities for growth'
“There are huge opportunities” in agriculture, he said, “but let me tell you this: There are opportunities for growth. There are opportunities for our manufacturers to access these foreign markets and sell our products that we make here there and we get their cash.”

If the Trans-Pacific Partnership is finalized – a prospect that Hurt says is a year or more in the future “I will look very carefully and make my best judgment as to whether or not this is good on balance for the people I represent.”

If, by his consideration, the agreement is not good on balance for the Fifth District, “I'll vote against it and work for its defeat. If it is good, on balance, for the people I represent, [if it] creates jobs and opportunity and growth and it projects American strength in a very sensitive area geopolitically, in the shadow of China,” he said, he will vote for it.

As to free trade in general, Hurt concluded, “I think it's consistent with Republican principles, consistent with conservative principles. It would make Ronald Reagan proud.”

Note: the full audio of this interview with Congressman Robert Hurt is available as a podcast from Bearing Drift.

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Original URL:  http://www.examiner.com/article/virginia-congressman-robert-hurt-speaks-out-for-free-trade-charlottesville

From the Archives: Congressmen Bob Goodlatte and Robert Hurt comment on WDBJ-TV killings

Publisher's note: This article was originally published on Examiner.com on August 26, 2015. The Examiner.com publishing platform was discontinued July 1, 2016, and its web site is scheduled to go dark on or about July 10, 2016.  I am republishing this piece in an effort to preserve it and all my other contributions to Examiner.com since April 6, 2010. It is reposted here without most of the internal links that were in the original.

Congressmen Bob Goodlatte and Robert Hurt comment on WDBJ-TV killings

Two Virginia television journalists were murdered during a live broadcast on Roanoke station WDBJ on Wednesday morning. The killer, Vester Flanagan, a former employee of the same TV station, was chased across the state and died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds in a Northern Virginia hospital.

Two Members of Congress who represent the area covered by WDBJ-TV offered messages of condolence.

In a statement issued by his office, Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA6), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said:

“The horrific murders that occurred this morning have impacted the entire Roanoke community. Maryellen and I offer our condolences to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward during this very difficult time"

Goodlatte noted that he "had the great opportunity to work with Alison and Adam, and they will be dearly missed by those in our community as well as their loved ones and colleagues at WDBJ. I continue to keep the WDBJ family as well as Vicki Gardner, who was wounded this morning, in my thoughts and prayers."

Gardner was being interviewed on the air as a spokesperson for the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Goodlatte continued: "As we continue to learn more about this terrible tragedy, I am thankful for the coordinated efforts of multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in responding quickly."

Congressman Robert Hurt, whose Fifth Congressional District is near Roanoke, offered a similar message in a news release distributed by email to reporters.

“I am deeply saddened by the horrific act of violence that occurred in Franklin County this morning," Hurt said. "Our prayers are with the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward and the entire WDBJ team."

Hurt also mentioned that Vicki Gardner was in his prayers and he thanked "the local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel who worked diligently to apprehend the suspect and prevent further harm to our communities."

SUGGESTED LINKS

Congressman Bob Goodlatte 'skeptical' about U.S. military intervention in Syria
U.S. Representative Robert Hurt discusses eminent domain and redistricting
Congressman Bob Goodlatte finds ‘common ground’ for libertarians and GOP
Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt speaks out for free trade in Charlottesville
Virginia Congressman Robert Hurt reacts to federal unemployment report

Original URL: http://www.examiner.com/article/congressmen-bob-goodlatte-and-robert-hurt-comment-on-wdbj-tv-killings

Has my interview with Ed Gillespie gone viral?

U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie

Last weekend I interviewed Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Virginia, at the terminus of the annual Crozet Independence Day parade.

My line of questioning was designed to discern how Gillespie, author of the 2006 book, Winning Right: Campaign Politics and Conservative Policies, would like to roll back the size and scope of government. Specifically, I asked him which three federal programs he would like to eliminate because the private sector or state governments should perform their functions.

Rather than answering my questions -- because candidates generally prefer not to be specific about anything -- Gillespie pointed me to his overall "Ed Gillespie's agenda for economic growth" (EG-squared), saying

One of those five points on that agenda is cutting wasteful spending, balancing the budget. We're going to roll out specifics of that over the course of the summer, just as we just rolled out the specifics on our energy plan, which was one of the five points as well, last week. So we're looking at various areas of the budget where we can cut wasteful spending, reduce spending, eliminate programs. One that I have said already that I believe should not be reauthorized and doesn't deserve to be continued in funding is the ExIm Bank, but we'll roll out more details later as we go along.

The version of the interview published on Examiner.com seems to have struck a nerve -- not with Gillespie or his campaign, but with his opponent, incumbent Senator Mark Warner, and Warner's supporters.

First the Warner campaign cited the interview in a press release that drew an analogy between Gillespie's answer and Texas Governor Rick Perry's famous "oops!" moment during the 2012 Republican presidential primary debates. (The link on that press release increased traffic to my Examiner.com pages by a factor of 20 or more.)

The Democratic blog, Blue Virginia, republished the Warner press release on Monday afternoon without commentary.

Then the Augusta Free Press picked up the Warner news release and basically reprinted it without crediting Warner's campaign.

Tuesday night, DailyKos, the national left-leaning blog site, took its cue from the Augusta Free Press but also drew upon a chunk of my original article.

Most recently, former Reason magazine contributor Dave Weigel, writing in Slate today, headlined his story "The Export-Import Bank Is Your New Populist Fig Leaf."

Weigel explained:

Longtime Republican operative Ed Gillespie is making a long bet that any Republican can win in 2014. The post-Bush Republican Party has largely rejected what Bush stood for, which is remembered (in shorthand) as spending on entitlement programs and immigration reform. Gillespie was the chairman of the RNC for part of Bush's first term and a counselor to the president for the last part of it. He does not make an obvious "libertarian populist," let's just say. So he's spent a strange amount of time ribbing Sen. Mark Warner for supporting a balanced-budget amendment in 1996 but not in 2014 (i.e., after two wars and the Bush tax cuts made it slightly harder to balance the budget). He has admitted that the Bush-era GOP "spent too much," generally speaking. And in this interview with the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner,* he found a populist cause.

"That reveals what we knew already." Weigel continued:

Gillespie is savvy, and spotted an issue that was burbling up from the activist base and large conservative organizations like Americans for Prosperity and the Club for Growth. As luck would have it, the Bush-era reauthorization votes for Ex-Im came in 2002 and 2006, years when Gillespie was neither at the RNC nor the White House. He's got clean hands on this one!

This episode reminds me of what happened in 2010 when a teachers' group ran a TV ad supporting then-Fifth District Congressman Tom Perriello and lambasting then-candidate Robert Hurt for his views on eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, quoting from another article of mine published on Examiner.com.  At the time, I thought Hurt's comments were uncontroversial; the NEA thought differently.

By the way, the asterisk in Weigel's article likens Examiner.com to AOL's defunct Patch.com.

Virginia's 'Sprawling' Eighth District?

Get well wishes are due Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), who injured himself -- breaking a rib and fracturing other bones -- while campaigning for the Democratic party's congressional nomination in Virginia's Eighth District.

Or should I say Virginia's "sprawling" Eighth District, as that is the unlikely adjective used by the Washington Post's Patricia Sullivan in a squib appearing in Monday's print edition.

Sullivan writes:

Hope has been trying to visit every precinct in the sprawling district, which covers Alexandria, Falls Church, Arlington County and part of Fairfax County. He will have to abandon that effort, Tribbett said, and will now have to wear a rib belt, take painkillers and rest. Hope is one of seven Democrats vying to win the June 10 primary in a bid to succeed U.S. Rep. James P. Moran (D).

"Sprawling" is an odd word to use to describe this congressional district, which is geographically the smallest and arguably the most compact of Virginia's eleven districts. "Sprawling" more accurately describes the Fifth District, represented by Robert Hurt (R-Chatham). The Fifth stretches from the North Carolina border to the outer Northern Virginia suburbs of Fauquier County. It is often noted that the Fifth District is about the size of New Jersey.

As to the Eighth? It's no wonder that Delegate Hope has been doing door-to-door retail campaigning. He's running in just about the only congressional district in Virginia where that makes sense to do.

It's no wonder that Sullivan (or her editors) has omitted the word "sprawling" from a longer version of the story on the Post's web site.

Will Fifth District Democrats refuse to challenge Robert Hurt in 2014?

Robert Hurt in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda

It appears there is a good chance that Fifth District U.S. Representative Robert Hurt will not face a Democratic challenger in the 2014 general election.

About two months ago, Bearing Drift broke the news that Ben Hudson of Fluvanna County, a retired U.S. Army officer, was seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Hurt. Hudson had run for the same office in 2012 as a write-in candidate, getting 388 scattered votes.

Subsequently, another candidate emerged. Last month, the Daily Progress reported that television and film actor Lawrence Gaughan of Albemarle County had thrown his hat in the ring.

Both candidates submitted their candidacy papers properly by the April 1st filing deadline. They will both be on the ballot at a convention of Fifth District Democrats to be held at Fluvanna County High School on Saturday, May 31.

A funny thing happened on the way to the nomination, however.

Fifth District Democratic leaders are unimpressed, and in some cases displeased, by the choices they have before them.

Hudson, for instance, despite the tepid results of his write-in candidacy in 2012, had actively opposed Democratic nominee John Douglass. One local Democratic activist told me that he was puzzled over the fact that Hudson had expressed views at odds with Democratic policy positions on about five key issues, positions that he has now reversed without explanation.

For his part, Gaughan -- who has lived outside the district for about five years, until recently -- tried to run against incumbent Virgil Goode and challenger and future congressman Tom Perriello in 2008 as a candidate for the Green Party, but the party's central committee refused to nominate him.

Neither Gaughan nor Hudson has reported any campaign receipts or expenditures to the Federal Election Commission. (During the reporting period ending March 31, Congressman Hurt's campaign received $643,625 in contributions with $378,679 cash on hand and no debts.)

It appears Fifth District Democrats are looking for a way to avoid fielding a weak candidate against Hurt, in the belief that no candidate is better than one who may bring disrepute upon the party.

In fact, "no candidate" is one of the choices that will be on the ballot at the May 31 convention in Fluvanna.

During the delegate selection process, which will take place in the form of "assembled caucuses" in each of the district's cities and counties, according to the convention call,

After caucus participants have been certified as eligible to participate, all participants will be asked to assemble into caucuses, with one caucus for each filed Congressional candidate, a “No Candidate” caucus, and an “uncommitted” caucus.

and this:

A delegate candidate or alternate candidate may indicate a preference for a filed Congressional candidate on his or her filing form, or he or she may file as a “No Candidate” delegate or alternate or as an “Uncommitted” delegate or alternate. If a delegate or alternate candidate fails to indicate a preference on the filing form, the committee shall list such persons as “uncommitted”.

Most pertinent, the convention call exercises an option offered in Section 12.5 of the Democratic Party Plan implemented in September 2013 -- essentially "none of the above" as an alternative to selecting a candidate:

The Temporary Rules Committee shall prepare the pre-printed ballot, which shall be on white paper and which shall contain the names of all filed candidates for Congress as well as the option of selecting "No Candidate".

While Fifth District Democratic party leaders cannot prudently advocate in the open for the "no candidate" option, they are hoping that its prominent inclusion will nudge delegates in that direction. Like their counterparts in the Seventh Congressional District, who are running nobody against House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, they are calculating that having no candidate to run against an incumbent Republican is better for Fifth District Democrats in the long run than having a candidate who will embarrass the party.

The question that remains is this: Will the Libertarian Party or the Independent Green or Green parties take advantage of this potential vacuum to run a challenge against Hurt, who is seeking his third term? Stay tuned -- there may be more news to come.

This article has been cross-posted from Bearing Drift.

@rick_sincere | facebook.com/ricksincere

Recent Articles on Examiner.com: Virginia Politics, Tina Fey, Paranoia, and JFK

Over the past few weeks, I have posted a number of articles as the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner on Examiner.com, mostly interviews about the upcoming (November 5) Virginia election but also some author interviews and reports on events in Charlottesville and around Virginia.

Topics included (in no particular order) the government shutdown, Robert Sarvis, NSA spying on American citizens, Tina Fey's visit to the University of Virginia, birthers and truthers, John F. Kennedy's legacy as President, political paranoia, drones, Syria, Ken Cuccinelli, gay marriage, liquor laws, civil liberties, Tareq Salahi, the Supreme Court, Calvin Coolidge, the Boston Marathon bombers, E.W. Jackson, marijuana legalization, Terry McAuliffe, Charlottesville city council candidates, religious liberty, Gary Johnson, free markets, and former Republican presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon.

Here's the list in reverse chronological order:

General Assembly hopeful Laura Delhomme 'thrilled' to share ticket with Sarvis
Former NM Governor Gary Johnson talks about shutdown, surveillance, and Sarvis
JFK was 'cautious, conservative' says UVA political scientist Larry Sabato
Larry Sabato discusses Cuccinelli, McAuliffe, Sarvis in 2013 election
Virginia Film Festival to include documentaries on Kennedy, Nixon, Santorum

Robert Sarvis visits Charlottesville, talks about shutdown, health care, polls
TV star Tina Fey argues for importance of the arts at University of Virginia
Historian Jesse Walker discusses birtherism, trutherism, and AIDS conspiracies
Author Jesse Walker discusses political paranoia and conspiracy theories on 9/11
Congressman Robert Hurt expresses 'grave concerns' over potential Syria war

Congressman Bob Goodlatte 'skeptical' about U.S. military intervention in Syria
Virginia candidates gather in Buena Vista to launch campaign season
Two former Virginia governors assess 2013 gubernatorial campaign
GOP Senate candidate Shak Hill thinks government is 'overreaching'
Virginia LP governor candidate Robert Sarvis will push for liquor-law reform

Heritage Foundation's Matthew Spalding assesses the Calvin Coolidge revival
Attorney General Cuccinelli calls Charlottesville ABC sting operation 'overkill'
Charlottesville civil liberties lawyer assesses 2012-13 Supreme Court term
Libertarians praise Supreme Court's gay marriage ruling in DOMA case
LP gubernatorial hopeful Robert Sarvis aims for marriage equality in Virginia

Six Virginia Libertarian candidates advance to 2013 general election ballot
Journalist Christian Caryl investigates Boston's 'lone-wolf' Tsarnaev brothers
GOP candidate Ken Cuccinelli says no to including Libertarian nominee in debates
Former Congressman Tom Davis comments on IRS scandal with warning for GOP
GOP lieutenant governor candidate E. W. Jackson 'certainly used marijuana'

Seven candidates seek Virginia GOP's nomination for Lieutenant Governor
Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe hosts campaign kickoff event at PVCC
James Robinson discusses 'why nations fail' at George Mason University
Charlottesville Republicans present two City Council candidates for 2013
Current politics has Nixons but no Eisenhowers, says biographer Jeffrey Frank

Veteran journalist Evan Thomas draws contrast between Obama and Eisenhower
Amity Shlaes discusses significance of Calvin Coolidge at Heritage Foundation
Moving Picture Institute announces first annual Liberty in Film Awards
Breaking: Ex-prosecutor Steve Deaton enters Commonwealth's Attorney race
Virginia governor hopeful Tareq Salahi is 'pro-same-sex marriage,' pro-hemp

Ken Cuccinelli clarifies remarks on marijuana legalization as federalism issue
2013 Charlottesville voters may have historic election for constitutional posts
Rutherford Institute asks local lawmakers to speak out against drones
Governor McDonnell, President Obama proclaim 2013 'Religious Freedom Day'
Steve Forbes makes the moral case for free markets and free people

That list of 40 articles goes back to the second week of January 2013. Whatever else gets published this year will be featured in an end-of-the-year rundown on December 31.

PVCC's 2011 Commencement Exercises at UVA's JPJ

After a fast-moving thunderstorm drenched the afterparty of last year's outdoor commencement ceremonies at Piedmont Virginia Community College, a new, indoor venue was sought and found.

It turns out, however, that the first choice -- University Hall -- became unavailable two weeks before the scheduled May 13 (that's Friday the 13th,, by the way) and a back-up plan became necessary.  Fortunately, the John Paul Jones Arena had no bookings that night, and PVCC officials worked quickly to adapt their seating and platform arrangements to the JPJ space.

Strategically placed black curtains set off most of the JPJ, permitting PVCC's 38th annual commencement exercises to be held indoors but without getting lost in the cavernous basketball arena's vastness.

About 400 students were awarded degrees of certificates, cheered on by family, friends, and teachers.  They heard speeches from Fifth District Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Chatham) and from graduating student Shagun Adhikari, who came here from Nepal to earn two degrees, one in computer science and the other in engineering, with plans to continue his studies at the University of Virginia.

PVCC president Frank Friedman, board chair Suzanne Morse Moomaw, and vice presidents John Donnelly and William Jackameit also offered brief remarks, as did Sasha Gong, a member of the State Board for Community Colleges.  Voice student James Tubbs sang the national anthem, as he did last year, and the Charlottesville Municipal Band offered a musical prelude and accompaniment to the processional and recessional.  (Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" for the former, naturally.)

After the ceremony, I was able to interview Congressman Hurt for Examiner.com.  His answers to my questions resulted in two articles, "U.S. Representative Robert Hurt discusses eminent domain and redistricting" and "Robert Hurt answers questions on pending legislation and the Constitution."

After I finished, Hurt faced the cameras from Jessica Jaglois of the Newsplex and Derick Waller of NBC29.

The Daily Progress also has a report on the commencement ceremony.

Here are video highlights of the occasion, in four parts.

Part I features the procession of faculty and graduates, plus the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Part II has PVCC President Frank Friedman's welcome and demographic topology of the graduating class, and Sasha Gong's brief words.

In Part III, Congressman Robert Hurt delivers his commencement address, after an introduction by Suzanne Morse Moomaw.

Part IV starts with vice president for instruction and student services John Donnelly's introduction of student speaker Shagun Adhikari, followed by closing comments by vice president for finance and administrative services William Jackameit, and a final benediction done call-and-repeat style by Mr. Adhikari.

Note:  After last year's ceremony, I interviewed Virginia Secretary of Education Gerard Robinson and Delegate Rob Bell.

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Has Virgil Goode Fully Abandoned the GOP?

With little fanfare, former U.S. Representative Virgil Goode has joined the national executive committee of the Constitution Party, essentially severing his ties with the Republican Party.

This is not the first time Goode has switched political parties. Having served in the Virginia State Senate as a Democrat for almost 25 years, he was elected under that party's banner to the U.S. Congress in 1996, becoming an independent in 2000 (after having been one of the few Democrats to vote for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998), and finally switching to the GOP in 2002.

Goode ran as a Republican until he was defeated by one-term Democratic Congressman Tom Perriello in 2008, after a recount showed a razor-thin (727) vote majority. (Perriello was subsequently defeated by state Senator Robert Hurt of Chatham this past November 2.)

According to Richard Winger at Ballot Access News,

On November 18, former Virginia congressman Virgil Goode accepted an appointment to the Constitution Party’s national Executive Committee....

Goode has been somewhat involved with the Constitution Party ever since he left congress. He has spoken at several Constitution Party national meetings during the past two years.

Winger draws an analogy to Goode's joining of the CP's national committee to Bob Barr joining the national committee of the Libertarian Party. Barr, a former Member of Congress from Georgia, said at the time that he had no intentions of running again for public office, but in 2008 he sought the LP's presidential nomination and received it.

Whether Goode has ambitions to be a presidential candidate -- one could not say that a nominee of the Constitution Party has ambitions to be President -- is not known. Commenters on Ballot Access News suggest a CP presidential ticket that would include Goode and former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, who this month placed second in the race for Governor of that state, ahead of the Republican party's nominee.

Tancredo and Goode share a visceral xenophobia that would make them compatible as national ticketmates, regardless of which one was the presidential nominee and which was the vice-presidential nominee.

It should be noted that Virgil Goode's wife, Lucy Goode, is a vice chairman of the Fifth Congressional District Republican Committee.

The Constitution Party's press release welcoming Goode to its leadership ranks can be read here.

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Teachers' Union Cites Me in Anti-Robert Hurt TV Ad

When, wearing my "Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner" hat as a political writer for Examiner.com, I interviewed state Senator Robert Hurt (R-Chatham) a few days after he won the GOP nomination for Congress in Virginia's Fifth District, what was most striking about the candidate's replies to questions was their blandness.

When asked, for instance, to name three federal programs that he would favor eliminating or privatizing, Hurt could think of only one, the Department of Education, whose purpose, he said, was "not clear."

Such a response was both non-controversial and disappointing. Non-controversial, because eliminating the federal Department of Education has been a goal of the Republican Party since at least 1980. Disappointing, because his answers showed Hurt to lack bold thinking about how best to limit -- or shrink -- the size and scope of the federal government.

So it came as quite a surprise when, months later, the National Education Association began to air a TV ad favoring Hurt's opponent, incumbent Congressman Tom Perriello, and attacking Hurt for those very positions he took in his interview on Examiner.com.

In fact, the NEA cited the "Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner, 6/13/10" in its campaign commercial, which has been broadcast frequently on local Charlottesville television stations (NBC29, Newsplex) for about two weeks. In the meantime, it has had just 357 hits on YouTube since it was posted there on October 19.  (By comparison, a rough-hewn, meant-for-TV ad posted by independent candidate Jeff Clark has had 360 hits since September 28.  For contrast, check out Hurt's first on-the-air ad, which has had 1,435 hits on YouTube since August 24.)

Here's the NEA's ad, which runs 31 seconds in length (and seems interminable in its frequency on local television):

The NEA's television commercial does not cite my earlier interview with Hurt, in which he asserted that Tom Perriello "dances with Nancy," referring to the current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).  Nor does it cite my interview with Perriello himself, in which he made strange claims to having a "libertarian undercurrent" in his political thinking, or the refutation (one might say "refudiation") of Perriello by actual, local libertarians.

Whether the NEA's ad discourages voters from casting a ballot for Hurt because they disagree with his position on the Department of Education, or whether it encourages other viewers to vote for him because they agree with that position, remains to be seen in the results of the election on November 2.

The fact that the nationwide teachers' union finds Examiner.com -- still a newcomer to the media stage -- a reliable and credible source speaks volumes about the positive potential of this publishing platform.

(This blog post is adapted slightly from an earlier article on Examiner.com.)

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