National Pundits Are Picking Up On Morgan Griffith's Momentum In VA-09

Folks, the momentum in Va-09 is so clear you can feel it. Just head over to Morgan's Facebook page and you'll see he's already hit dozens of events throughout the entire 9th District. He is literally the hardest working candidate I've ever seen.

The momentum is so clear that even national pundits are taking notice and modifying their race ratings. A seat that was universally safe or likely Democratic has now been moved to the leans Dem or toss up category by pretty much everyone. Congressional Quarterly is the latest to make the move.

However, buried in the CQ article is what I've been saying all along - this race will turn on whether or not Morgan can raise the money.

The current Majority Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates should prove to be a solid fundraiser. He brought in over $100,000 in two weeks in March before his first federal filing deadline. But Griffith’s next fundraising report (due to be filed by July 15) will be highly anticipated, since both parties will be watching to see if he’s made any substantial headway in closing the huge financial disparity that he faced in early May. At that point, Griffith showed just $110,000 in his campaign account, compared to Boucher’s more than $1.9 million warchest.

As you can see, pundits and both parties are waiting to see what Morgan reports on July 15th. This single report will be one of the most important moments in the campaign. As such, it's imperative that we put our money where our mouths are and support Morgan financially. Whether it's $20 or $2,000, he needs our support and he needs it now. Only donations received by the end of June will be counted.

No matter how small, please click here to donate to Morgan and send a message to Democrats and the national pundits that Morgan Griffith will be the next Congressman from Virginia's 9th District.

Delegate Morgan Griffith is Special Guest at Pine Tavern -- Friday, June 25 at 6PM

Please join Delegate Charles Poindexter for his 2nd Annual Evening at the Pine Tavern ( 611 Floyd Highway North. Floyd, Virginia 24019) on Friday, June 25, at 6:00 PM. This year, special guest is Delegate Morgan Griffith, our outstanding 9th District candidate for Congress. If you or a friend are interested in attending or sponsoring this event please RSVP by Tuesday, June 22, to Charles@VotePoindexter.com or call Janet at (540) 489-8989.

Also, don't forget to mark your calendar for our next committee meeting located at the Salem City Courthouse, on June 22, 2010, at 6:00 PM. We have lots to talk about including the 2010 elections and our Olde Salem Days Republican Breakfast and Booth. We will also receive a legislative update from Senator Ralph Smith.


Kjersten Croke, Salem Republican Committee Chair

UPCOMING EVENTS

1) Salem Republican Committee Meeting - June 22, 2010. 6:00 p.m. Salem Courthouse.

2) Salem Republican Committee Meeting - August 10, 2010. 6:00 p.m. Salem Courthouse.

3) Roanoke County Republican Shrimp Fest - August 13, 2010. 6:00 p.m. Vinton Senior Center

4) Olde Salem Days Republican Breakfast - September 11, 2010. 8:00 a.m. Salem Civic Center.

5) Salem Republican Committee Meeting - October 12, 2010. 6:00 p.m. Salem Courthouse.

Tragedy in the Gulf --- June 18, 2010

Congressman Goodlatte’s Weekly Column: June 18, 2010

Nearly two months ago an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. This explosion, which tragically took the lives of eleven hard working Americans, resulted in an environmental catastrophe like we have never seen before. The oil spill continues to have an enormous impact on the Gulf Coast region, its economy, and the environment.

Our first priority must be to stop the leak and do everything possible to preserve the livelihoods of those in the area. The most recent estimates suggest that between 40 million and 115 million gallons of oil have been spilled into the Gulf. This far exceeds the Exxon Valdez disaster. While all of the initial attempts to stop the leak have failed, BP has been successful in containing approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day while they drill two relief wells which should stop the leak altogether.

The U.S. Coast Guard has already deemed both Transocean, the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig, and BP, the owner of the well that was being drilled at the time of the explosion, at fault in this horrific accident. This means that Transocean and BP are responsible, under U.S. law, for one hundred percent of all cleanup costs, including those incurred by any government agencies. American taxpayers shouldn’t pay a dime.

I continue to have grave concerns regarding the Federal government’s slow response to this disaster. The effort has been disorganized and distracted from the beginning, and it hasn’t provided the effective, energetic, hands-on leadership that is necessary during a crisis.

I also have strong concerns about the Administration’s recent announcement that there will be a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling. This will have a devastating economic impact on the Gulf Coast communities who are already suffering. Deepwater wells generate 80 percent of the Gulf's oil production and 45 percent of its natural gas. The moratorium will affect 33 oil rigs and companies have already started moving those rigs out of the Gulf to foreign waters where they are allowed to drill. Some reports have estimated that the moratorium on offshore drilling could result in the loss of as many as 120,000 jobs. In an already struggling economy this will have a devastating effect. It will also immediately make us far more dependent on foreign oil and the environmental risk that comes with many more oil tankers bringing oil from foreign countries into U.S. waters.

It is important that we learn from this disaster to strengthen the safety and security of oil and natural gas exploration and production. Our country needs to become energy independent and cutting off our access to these supplies is not the answer.

I remain committed to finding solutions to lessen our reliance on foreign energy, and allow us to become energy independent. A comprehensive energy policy which encourages environmentally-responsible exploration, innovation, and conservation is the only way to lower energy prices for the long term for consumers and create millions of new jobs.

To contact me about this or any other matter, please visit my website at www.goodlatte.house.gov.

Salem Republican Committee Meeting --- June 22, 2010

If you haven't already done so, please mark your calendars now and plan to join us for a committee meeting on June 22, 2010. We will meet at the Salem City Courthouse at 6:00 PM.

The Salem City Courthouse is located at 2 E Calhoun St, Salem, VA. The courthouse is located one block off of Main St and at the intersection of Broad and E Calhoun.


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Update to follow on a possible speaker.


Kjersten Croke
Salem Republican Committee Chair
(540) 588- 3625

Protecting Consumers from Identity Theft

The Federal Trade Commission recently estimated that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. Identity thieves use identifying information such as a consumer’s Social Security number, credit card numbers, or other financial account information in order to conduct such fraud as opening up new credit cards and gaining access to bank accounts. The ramifications can be financially disastrous for citizens and can be extremely difficult to resolve.

In fact, the fear of identity theft is consistently cited as a reason many Americans are cautious about engaging in more transactions online. This is unfortunate because of the multitude of ways the Internet can help consumers shop, do business and communicate efficiently and at low cost.

Identity theft is a serious and growing threat and we must crack down hard on these technological thieves. While the U.S. has many federal statutes targeting identity theft, some of these laws were weakened by a recent Supreme Court case. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that the language of those federal statutes require not only that the criminal use the identification documents of another person, but also that the criminal knew the documents were those of another actual person.

The context of that case was that an illegal alien had given an employer counterfeit social security and alien registration cards containing his name but the identification numbers of other individuals. He was charged with two immigration offenses as well as aggravated identity theft. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction on the aggravated identity theft count explaining that the language of the relevant statutes required prosecutors to prove not only that the defendant used identity documents that were not his own, but also that the defendant knew the identity documents were those of another actual person.

With identity theft growing, we must be particularly mindful of how we can strengthen our privacy and protection laws, which is why I was pleased to introduce bipartisan legislation to strengthen the federal criminal laws punishing identity theft. My legislation would amend these federal statutes to make clear that when an identity thief intentionally and unlawfully uses identity documents that are not his own, prosecutors do not need to show that the criminal also knew that the identity documents were those of another actual person.

Identity theft occurs when someone intentionally and unlawfully uses identity documents that are not his own. Our federal statutes should reflect this reality. By strengthening our laws we will help prosecutors put identity thieves behind bars and will help safeguard American citizens from their crimes.

To learn more about how you can protect yourself from identity theft, please visit my website at http://goodlatte.house.gov.