Scott Rigell

(Difference between revisions)'''Scott Rigell''' (born May 28, 1960 in Titusville, Florida) is a car dealership owner and the [[Republican]] U.S. Representative-elect from [[Virginia]]'s 2nd congressional district, defeating [[Democrat]]ic incumbent [[Glenn Nye]].'''Scott Rigell''' (born May 28, 1960 in Titusville, Florida) is a car dealership owner and the [[Republican]] U.S. Representative-elect from [[Virginia]]'s 2nd congressional district, defeating [[Democrat]]ic incumbent [[Glenn Nye]].He is a supporter of gun control and was one of the few Republicans who didn't vote to hold [[Eric Holder]] in contempt of Congress. http://www.libertynews.com/2013/03/republican-congressman-from-virginia-joins-democrats-in-calling-for-gun-control/[[Category:Representatives-elect]][[Category:United States Representatives]]

Scott Rigell (born May 28, 1960 in Titusville, Florida) is a car dealership owner and the Republican U.S. Representative-elect from Virginia's 2nd congressional district, defeating Democratic incumbent Glenn Nye. He is a supporter of gun control and was one of the few Republicans who didn't vote to hold Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. http://www.libertynews.com/2013/03/republican-congressman-from-virginia-joins-democrats-in-calling-for-gun-control/

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Sen. Gillibrand fundraises off of potential Scott Brown run in NH

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) sent out a fundraising email on behalf of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) after former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) suggested he might run for Senate in New Hampshire.

"If he enters this race, Jeanne will immediately become the top target of Karl Rove and the Tea Party Super PACs," Gillibrand wrote in the fundraising email sent out on Friday. "Jeanne needs our help now to prepare for the attacks from Brown and his allies. They’ve launched a 'Granitebomb' campaign to fight back."

Less than 24 hours earlier Brown was asked about a possible campaign in New Hampshire. Shaheen is up for reelection in 2014.

"I don't think I'm done with politics, but I'm not going to rule out anything right now because I really haven't thought a heck of a lot about it," Brown said, according to CNN.

In her fundraising email, Gillibrand described Brown, who lost reelection to now-Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in 2012, as a "billionaire-backed Republican."

"You read that right: A billionaire-backed Republican from Massachusetts who voted against equal pay and critical job-creation bills wants to take on Jeanne Shaheen – a tremendous champion for our progressive values," Gillibrand writes in the email.

"Brown raised $37 million in 2012 and spent it on partisan negative attacks against Elizabeth Warren."

Gillibrand's goal in the email is to raise a total of $100,000 to "send a message to Scott Brown and his Tea Party allies that we have [Shaheen's] back."

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No, Batwoman’s Engagement Doesn’t Solve DC Comics’ Orson Scott Card Problem

Over at io9, Rob Bricken asks whether Batwoman’s in-costume proposal to her girlfriend Maggie Sawyer will earn DC Comics good-will that it lost by hiring National Organization for Marriage board member and virulent homophobe Orson Scott Card, or “is this too little, too late for the company”?

I’m 99% sure the only reason DC hasn’t mentioned Batwoman’s marriage to the press is because it would call attention to the furor caused by the company’s recent decision to hire Orson Scott Card, scifi author and ardent detractor of gay rights, to write Adventures of Superman. Angry fans and retailers alike are planning to boycott the Superman comic in general, and some DC in particular unless Card is removed.

It’s too early to tell if Batwoman’s proposal will at all mitigate DC’s public relations problems with Card, or even if Card might have a problem collecting a check from a company whose works seemingly condone gay marraige. But at the moment, at least Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer are happy, even if nobody else is.

I’m always delighted to see more, and richer depictions of gay characters, especially in a medium where they were marginalized by the Comics Code and the disapprobation of Congress, a panic fed by cooked research. But this plot development won’t save DC Comics, and not just because a proposal on the page doesn’t really outweigh the harm Card’s speech and actions cause in the real world. Who gets hired to create content and what content ends up on the page are issues that are often related, but that function separately. People who care about where their money goes and the values of the content that they consume are going to care about both of those elements.

Something I wish I’d said more clearly the first itme I wrote about DC’s decision to hire Card to write Superman is that calls to fire him don’t appeal to me that strongly because it separates out his hiring from DC’s other hiring practices, which among other things, have produced a staff with very few women and no lead African-American writers on any comics titles. A decision by comics stores not to stock the title, demonstrating that Card’s values turn them off from a product that otherwise might have been profitable for them, makes more sense. And what would be most interesting to me is an explanation from DC about what process lead to Card’s selection. What made his pitches’ stronger than other writers? How did they weigh the likely publicity challenges from his employment against what appears to be a larger institutional imperative to modernize the brand by telling stories about committed gay couples? If DC Comics wants its image to be gay-friendly, then it should have been expected to be evaluated for consistency. More same-sex engagements doesn’t eliminate the appearance of a glaring contradiction in DC’s image.

If all DC wants is our money, rather than our social approval, that’s fine. But it needs to recognize that fishing for money on the grounds that it’s producing progressive and game-changing content is going to be a more difficult task if there’s a disconnect between what the content is, and who the money spent on it ends up going to.

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Scott Walker Proposes Budget That Cuts Taxes While Reducing Funding For Public Schools

Governor Scott Walker (R-WI) is proposing a budget that would fund a variety of right-wing priorities by slashing support for public services and local communities, according to an outline of the plan given in Walker’s “State of the State” address Wednesday night. Walker, who had already cut taxes significantly in his first term, proposed an additional $630 million in cuts (about half of which come from income taxes):

With this in mind, I am pleased to announce an income tax cut of $343 million. You, the hardworking taxpayers of this state helped to create the budget surplus, so it is only right that we put more money back into your hands. Over the next decade, this will lower income taxes $1.7 billion…Overall, our budget includes more than $630 million in tax cuts.

Walker touted the tax cuts as a way to boost Wisconsin’s economy, but they give relatively little money back to middle-class families, limiting their stimulative effect. A four-person family with a total yearly income of $80,000 would only see an extra $8 per month under Walker’s plans. But even tax cuts with limited effects cost the government money — $1.7 billion over the next decade, according to Walker. And while he says it will be paid for a projected surplus, that’s the same thing former President George W. Bush said about his budget busting tax cuts.

Moreover, Walker’s budget proposes several dangerous changes and cuts to critical public services that could hurt the economy. Despite the fact that “a decade of research has shown no academic benefit from sending students to voucher schools,” Walker proposes a significant expansion of voucher funding, which will come at the expense of public schools. He also plans to freeze state financial support for municipal and city level programs. A similar move in Ohio caused problems for localities when it came to funding fire and police departments.

Walker also doubled down on his refusal to accept Obamacare Medicaid support, a move too irresponsible even for Florida’s hard-right Governor Rick Scott. Walker’s proposed budget also contains provisions requiring “non-elderly, able-bodied adults” on food stamps to attend job training programs in order to get food support.

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Scott Brown in talks for job at Fox News

Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) is in negotiations with Fox News to become a contributor to the network, a spokesperson for the channel said Wednesday.

Brown would be the second former legislator to join the network this year, alongside former Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who debuted late last month. Brown, who lost his reelection bid to freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), said last week that he would not seek the seat opened by former Sen. John Kerry's (D-Mass.) appointment as secretary of State.

At the time, Brown said he was not convinced another run for Congress was the best way to advocate for his policy goals.

“I was not at all certain that a third Senate campaign in less than four years, and the prospect of returning to a Congress even more partisan than the one I left, was really the best way for me to continue in public service at this time. And I know it’s not the only way for me to advance the ideals and causes that matter most to me," Brown said in a statement.

Earlier Wednesday, the former senator announced he was joining the board of directors of Kadant Inc., a paper company.

"I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to Kadant and learn more about the challenges of an international business," Brown said in a statement. "Kadant has been on the forefront of designing and manufacturing equipment to recycle and produce paper for decades. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experiences and contributing to the future direction and growth of this global leader."

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Gov. Scott Walker might have been right – leads Barrett by 6

It looks like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker might have been right last month when he said would win the recall fight.

Three recent polls have found Governor Walker at 50 percent and leading Democrat Tom Barrett:

According to Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin, Republicans appear to hold an advantage in likely turnout for the June 5 recall election. Republicans are more likely to say they are “absolutely certain” to vote on June 5, at 91 percent, than are Democrats and independents, both at 83 percent.

Marquette poll also reports a shift in the balance of Republican and Democratic partisanship:

In January there were two percentage points more Democrats than Republicans in the poll. That rose to eight points in February but has since declined to six points in March, three points in April and now just one point in May. When independents are asked if they feel closer to a party, the balance tips to a one-point Republican advantage in the May data.

The poll also notes that the Democrat Public Policy Polling, finds a similar trend.

Retreating from the collective bargaining rights which were the initial focus of the kerfuffle between Wisconsin public workers’ unions and Governor Walker over the state’s budget, the campaign against Walker is now focused on jobs. Walker appears to be winning that battle as well.

Wisconsin state officials now report a gain of 23,321 jobs (public and private) between December 2010 and December 2011, which represents Governor Walker’s first full year in office. That’s much better than the much-cited earlier report of an estimated loss of 33,900 jobs for the same 12-month period.

A statement from Walker campaign spokeswoman Ciara Matthews indicated Walker was understandably pleased with the new jobs report:

“With more than 33,000 jobs created since Governor Walker took office and the unemployment rate plummeting to its lowest since 2008, it is certain the governor’s bold reforms and leadership are moving Wisconsin forward. Governor Walker’s policies have helped employers put more people back to work and our economy is moving toward greater prosperity for all. In contrast, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is presiding over a 28 percent spike in unemployment during his reign as mayor of the nation’s ninth poorest city. Wisconsinites cannot afford to undo the forward progress made under Governor Walker and go backward with Mayor Barrett and his failed record.The quarterly data issued today by the DWD is comprised of reports issued to 96 percent of Wisconsin employers (over 150,000 Wisconsin employers). The size of the reported universe makes quarterly data much more reliable, as monthly jobs numbers are created from a small sample – only 3.5 percent – of Wisconsin employers.”

You can watch a video in which Department of Revenue Chief Economist John Koskinen discusses various surveys used to calculate Wisconsin’s job numbers here.

The data for the new jobs report is obtained from more than 96 percent of Wisconsin employers, approximately 160,000 employers, compiled quarterly and submitted to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unlike the new jobs report, the earlier report used a much smaller sample of Wisconsin households and employers — just about 3.5 percent of working age Wisconsinites.

The new report will be a big help to Walker because the Marquette poll also reported that Voters continue to hold negative views on jobs in the state, with many saying the state has lost jobs over the past year.In addition, the new jobs report confirms other indicators that show Wisconsin is on the right track:Wisconsin’s unemployment rate is 6.8 percent in March of 2012 — the lowest since 2008.Wisconsin’s per capital income is growing and is now 11th in the nation.

No wonder team Obama continues to slink away from the Wisconsin union fight. Even the DNC is reported to be sitting this fight out.

From Right Side Politics

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Eric Cantor Tries to Stop Stalwart Scott Keadle in NC-8

This has been a tough week for conservatives in Washington.  Republicans in both houses are caving on the postal bailout, highway bill, appropriations, Ex-Im Bank, Violence Against Women Act, and the student loan bailout.  It’s not going to get easier when they come back from recess in May.  This is why we need game-changers like Scott Keadle in Congress.  Keadle is running in NC-8, the seat currently held by born-again blue dog Larry Kissell.

As I search out conservative candidates throughout the country on behalf of the Madison Project PAC, I’m struck by how few candidates truly grasp the problems at hand within the Republican conference.  Sure – they all talk about repealing Obamacare, a balanced budget, and out-of- control spending.  But it is some of the aforementioned issues that separate the real supporters of free-markets from those who merely offer a pale-pastel contrast from the Democrats.

I’ve spent a lot of time with Scott Keadle, and have come to realize that he is one of the biggest super stars of this election cycle.  This is a guy who will get it right on every issue.  And he truly understands the problems inherent with our current leadership.  Perforce, it comes as no surprise that Eric Cantor and his “Young Guns” are taking their show on the road to NC-8.  This, from Hotline:

The super PAC affiliated with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has made its first independent expenditure in support of a Republican challenger, according to FEC filings. And it comes in a race where another powerful conservative outside group has lined up on the other side.

The YG Action Fund, which is run by ex-Cantor aides, has spent $22,750 on a mailer supporting Richard Hudson for the Republican nomination in North Carolina’s 8th District, currently held by Democratic Rep. Larry Kissell. The GOP race also includes Scott Keadle, a dentist and former county official who is one of six House candidates who received endorsements from the Club for Growth this cycle.

Hudson is a longtime Hill aide who served as chief of staff to Texas GOP Reps. Mike Conaway and John Carter and Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C.

There is a reason why this is Cantor’s first independent expenditure on behalf of a Republican challenger.  Keadle will never beat to the drum of leadership.  Richard Hudson is a creature of Washington with his robust ties to GOP establishment leaders.

People often ask me where they could get the best value for their political contributions.  There are a few good stars this cycle, but if I were forced to pick the best individual to support, it would be Dr. Scott Keadle.  If you don’t believe me, just ask leadership.

The primary will be held on May 8, but there will be a runoff if no candidate receives 40% of the vote.  Let’s help end it on May 8.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

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RS Interview: Dr. Scott Keadle (R-CAND, NC-08 PRI).

 

North Carolina’s Eighth District is currently held by Larry Kissell, with an emphasis on ‘currently;’ some long-overdue redistricting reform in that state ended up making the two-term Democrat’s seat… precarious. I talked to one of the conservatives running for the Republican nomination: Dr. Scott Keadle, a dentist and former county commissioner from the region. We talked about the race, as well as a little about its wider implications:

Scott’s site is here.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

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