And I will make sure to enact laws so that you will live the way I think you should… because, you know, I am a dean at Georgetown University, an influential and powerful inside-the-Beltway institution.

More seriously, some of us at NoVaPolitics are at times troubled by the Republican incumbent Congressman Frank Wolf’s proclivities, including his fondness for government spending. But as the saying goes, “Don’t make perfect the enemy of good.”

On the whole, I find Wolf to be far from perfect, but certainly a better choice for my district than his challenger Democrat Judy Feder by a wide margin. Let me repeat my earlier observation of her after I heard her in person — I found Feder to be “a bespectacled, nasal-sounding political commissar long on left-wing ideology and criticism of Bush, but short on credible, coherent plans to make things better.”

Had the Democrats chosen someone more “centrist” and “down-to-earth,” they might have had a better shot at Wolf given the anti-incumbent and anti-GOP mood this year. But they did not, and I expect Wolf to win the contest if by an uncomfortably close margin.

A close-run thing, as the Duke of Wellington said.

Next Tuesday we exercise our traditional voting rights for members of the Congress - - - in Virginia, we will vote for one US Senator and for our particular U S Representative.

Electing senators and representatives who will vote for Republican organization of their respective chambers is simply essential to winning the war we are in, and thus to defending America successfully - - - whatever the individual imperfections of any individual Republican candidate.

Some of our brethren unfortunately have not grasped the full dimension of the Islamic radicals’ war against the US. These conservatives see our fight as a distraction from other parts of our agenda, rather than as the preeminent challenge which the nation must surmount - - - along with the critical work of getting control of our borders, right-sizing government, taking back education from bureaucrats and multi-culturalists, and advancing a low-tax, job-growth economy.

All of us who work to help those conservatives and others see how the world we once knew is ending, should read and digest Mark Steyn’s definitive (to date) primer on this war and why we must win it. Steyn titles his book America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It.

Victor Davis Hanson in his review of America Alone spells out the heart of Steyn’s message:

“Instead, day in and day out, on the op-ed pages of the British, Australian, Canadian, and American daily papers, Steyn has brought home the simple fact of this war: whatever mistakes we have made are not fatal if we keep our heads. As he puts it near the end of the book, the problem is not merely that we are only employing a fraction of our physical power: ‘This book isn’t an argument for more war, more bombing, or more killing, but for more will.’” [Underscoring added.]

Read the rest of this entry »

As I mentioned earlier I attended the debate among the candidates for the 10th Congressional District, sponsored by the League of Women Voters (of both Loudoun and Fairfax) on Tuesday, October 17th.

Usually, such debates are not particularly good for analyzing detailed policy positions. Candidates generally stick to talking points without specifics. However, such occasions are somewhat useful for evaluating how candidates look, sound and “feel” to audiences. Since Congressman Wolf is well-known to his constituents, the onus was on Judy Feder, the Democrat challenger, to make an impression.

First the incumbent: Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) is surely an experienced campaigner and speaker, but he struck me — visually — as seemingly defensive and somewhat stodgy. There was a palpable lack of energy on his part (with one exception — more on that below). He appeared to be almost irritated, perhaps even distressed to be at the debate.

In response to most questions, he rattled off what legislations and commissions he sponsored and how much money he brought to the district. These are surely noteworthy achievements, but I wish he had spoken more forcefully about his principles and political views and contrasted them sharply with Judy Feder, rather than sounding like a bureaucrat ticking off checklists of “have done’s.”

Read the rest of this entry »

I was at the debate among Congressman Wolf (R-VA), his Democrat challenger, Judy Feder, and two other less known candidates last night. I’ll write my impressions of the debate and of the contestants a little later. Please stay tuned.

There are too many reports of conservatives acquiescing in a 2006 Congressional defeat, perhaps escaping into their fantasy that Republicans will somehow be “punished” for straying from historic principles, and that a consequently “cleansed” party can return to power easily in 2008.

Theirs is a perilous path to follow. Jim Geraghty in National Review Online addressed this line of thought last May:

“Your effort to re-conservativize the Republican Party in Washington by staying home this year will have the effect of massacring the actual conservatives and empowering the moderates who you disdain. Perhaps we can call this counterproductive maneuver ‘RINO-plasty.’

But that’s okay, the staying-at-home-conservatives insist. The GOP will win back the House and Senate in 2008, establishing a true conservative majority.”

Geraghty explained:

“. . . [w]hat kind of lengths do you think the Democrats will go to in order to keep power once they’ve got it? Does the “Fairness Doctrine” ring a bell? You think Pelosi and Reid wouldn’t try that tactic to hinder conservative talk radio? How about McCain-Feingold 2.0, with a particular focus on controlling “unregulated speech” on the Internet and blogs?”

Read the rest of this entry »

As many Virginia conservatives know, one of our most urgent objectives today is to keep the Organized Left from winning control of the U. S. House of Representatives.

But when our own Tenth District incumbent Frank Wolf develops chronic tin ear, it puts conservatives in a hard place.

On the one hand, Wolf-challenger Judy Feder would be a consistent and diligent advocate of big and intrusive government.

Whatever expansive government schemes Mr. Wolf might flirt with and nurture, we can be sure that Mrs. Feder would proceed in lock step with the House Democratic Caucus, systematically to rein in both our enterprise and our liberties.

On the other hand, conservatives must have the forebearance of a saint in coming to terms with Mr. Wolf’s unrevealed earmarks and his apparent indifference to our property rights.

A just-released Congressional scorecard under the auspices of the American Land Rights Association gives Mr. Wolf only a 68 per cent rating - - - compared with 100 per cent ratings for four other Virginia U. S. Representatives (Eric Cantor, Thelma Drake, Virgil Goode, and Bob Goodlatte).

Read the rest of this entry »

On Friday, I argued that the “U.S. House of Representatives has, on most survival issues, been the unrecognized strongpoint for conservatives.”

Yesterday National Review on Line commentator Mark Levin struck and amplified the same chord. Levin writes:

“The fact is that the House is more conservative than either the Senate or, in many cases, the executive branch. The House pushed for energy exploration in places like ANWR, only to be thwarted in the Senate. The House pushed for a border-security- first agenda, against the “comprehensive” amnesty bill first demanded by the Senate and the president. And while the House can be blamed legitimately for spending too much, the Senate spends more and the president refuses to use his veto. Moreover, some of those who condemn House spending are unwittingly condemning the House for getting behind the president’s big-government initiatives, including Medicare prescription drugs, expanded farm subsidies, and federalizing education.

We conservatives need to be honest with ourselves. If the House, the most conservative of the elected bodies, is not conservative enough, then the Republican Senate and the Bush presidency are worse. Yet I don’t hear much clamoring for sweeping the Senate clean or much criticism of the president from our corner. And the most effective politician at obstructing many conservative polices initiated by the House and the president is John McCain. But McCain is said to be among the top candidates for the Republican presidential nomination. Somehow he escapes the wrath of those who are frustrated with Republicans. As I write, he is busy traveling the country raising money, securing endorsements, and campaigning for, well, Republicans.”

After watching the Republican pundits “pile on” and patronize House majority whip Roy Blunt during the January leadership contest, I began to suspect many center-right bloggers of sharing some of the same class outlooks as their left-wing contemporaries.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are just four weeks and a day or two between now and the Congressional elections.

The consequences of Democratic control of the U. S. House of Representatives would be appalling, and former presidential speech writer (and occasional Administration critic) David Frum spells them out:

“. . . [T]hey will seek to harry and destroy the administration through the use of Congress’s investigative powers. For them, one useful thing about investigations is that the investigators are not required to agree in advance that any wrongdoing actually occurred. Left-wing Democrats convinced that the country was deceived into war by a sinister neoconservative cabal can work alongside more moderate Democrats, who will tell themselves that they are just asking neglected questions. And both factions can then happily go fishing for something damaging to turn up.

For those on the receiving end, a groundless investigation is every bit as time-consuming and excruciating as a meritorious one. And for those on the questioning end, investigations can be nearly equally damaging. They tempt senators and their staffs to see plots rather than problems, to seek revelations rather than solutions, and to think like prosecutors rather than policymakers.”

These are not normal times, but a time of war, even if many people of both parties do not accept that fact.

• We are in a world war against the terror-masters of Iran and Syria, abetted from time to time by North Korea and other unfriendly states.
• We are in struggle on our doorstep to preserve our electoral system, law and order, and our economy against indiscriminate opening of our continental borders.
• We are in a longer-term cultural battle to restore teaching the fundamentals of western civilization within taxpayer-supported and many private schools systems (from K through graduate school). Far too many schools no longer transmit our heritage, propagating instead a “multi-cultural” vision hostile to traditional values as well as sound learning of fundamental skills.

The Bush Administration does not have a perfect record in all these matters. But this is not the place to reiterate their shortcomings, which most conservatives understand quite well.

Read the rest of this entry »

The House-Senate conferees on the FY 2007 Department of Defense authorization bill reportedly have dropped the House of Representatives-approved safeguard allowing military chaplains freedom of conscience and speech in their public prayers. (For background, see my earlier post.)

The House safeguard had stated:

Each Chaplain shall have the prerogative to pray according to the dictates of the Chaplain’s own conscience, except as must be limited by military necessity, with any such limitation being imposed in the least restrictive manner feasible.

But Defense Department voices had objected:

This provision could marginalize chaplains who, in exercising their conscience, generate discomfort at mandatory formations. Such erosion of unit cohesion is avoided by the Military’s present insistence on inclusive prayer at interfaith gatherings–something the House legislation would operate against.

Read the rest of this entry »

(***Scroll down to an important Loudoun County meeting on the “Hallowed Ground” scheme next Tuesday.)

The “culture of governmentalism” can beguile even long-time Republican House and Senate incumbents, and certainly their unwary staffs.

Such appears to be the case with H.R. 5195, “Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act of 2006,” whose principal House sponsor is Frank Wolf of Virginia, and its Senate counterpart, S.2645, sponsored by George Allen.

In prepared testimony this morning before a House of Representatives panel, Peyton Knight of the National Center for Public Policy Research declares:

“Worse than run-of-the-mill pork, which wastes federal tax dollars, this legislation would actually purchase preservationist special interest groups, many of which have histories of anti-property rights activism, and encourage them to urge State and local lawmakers to restrict land use, modify zoning and even acquire private property or interests in private property.” [Emphasis added.]

Knight, the director of environmental and regulatory affairs at the National Center, explains:

“Specifically, H.R. 5195 would create a 175-mile long federal corridor, the boundaries of which encompass portions of Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. It would assign a ‘management entity’ consisting of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) Partnership (an umbrella group of preservation activists and lobbyists who stand to directly benefit from the bill’s passage) and the Interior Department to oversee development and land use in the area.”

Read the rest of this entry »