Home Blog Page 30

New Report “proves that Jen Kiggans has always been in the pocket of big corporations and shady billionaires”

By
Blue Virginia
-
4

From the Democratic Party of Virginia:

NEW: By Pushing for Millions of Taxpayer Dollars to Benefit Big Corporations, Jen Kiggans Proves She Doesn’t Serve Middle-Class Virginians

Richmond, VA – A new damaging report from Politico highlights how Congresswoman Jen Kiggans requested $7.4 million in taxpayer money for a natural gas pipeline that could specifically help two big corporations whose PACs recently donated to her campaign.

The two corporations – Rocket Lab and Tyson Foods – could both benefit from the expansion of a Maryland natural gas pipeline into Eastern Virginia. Rocket Lab was reportedly eyeing to use the fuel for its spacecraft launches, and Tyson Foods would likely be among one of the key customers of the pipeline, Daniel Lippman writes.

This is just one of many examples of Jen Kiggans’ determination to deliver for wealthy corporations at the expense of middle class Virginians. Kiggans supports Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans’ plans to cut taxes for billionaires, which would give more than 40% of benefits to those in the top 5% income bracket.

“This report proves that Jen Kiggans has always been in the pocket of big corporations and shady billionaires. It is clear that she is determined to hurt middle class Virginians,” DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker said. “Over the past two years, Coastal Virginians have seen straight through her lies and extremism and are ready to elect Missy Cotter-Smasal, who will fight for Virginia’s hard-working families.”

VA State Sen. Aaron Rouse, a Democratic Candidate for Virginia Lt. Governor in 2025, Announces He Raised $450k in 1H24

By
lowkell
-
5

See below for a press release from the Aaron Rouse for Lt. Governor campaign, announcing that “in just more than two months – the Rouse for Virginia campaign committee has raised more than $450,000 with more than $410,000 in the bank.” It will be interesting to see how Rouse’s Democratic rivals for the nomination – Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, Prince William County School Board Chair Babur Lateef – do in terms of fundraising over the same period. Stay tuned…

Virginians are ready for Aaron Rouse: Record-breaking support in first fundraising report of Lt. Gov. campaign
Rouse raises $450,000 in the first half of 2024, ends quarter with more than $410,000 in the bank

VIRGINIA BEACH (July 12th) — Today, Senator Aaron Rouse released his first fundraising haul in his race to be the next Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Since the launch of his Lieutenant Governor campaign – in just more than two months – the Rouse for Virginia campaign committee has raised more than $450,000 with more than $410,000 in the bank.

This is the most money raised by a Lieutenant Governor’s campaign at this point in the cycle. Rouse received strong support from across the Commonwealth with almost 90% of his donations coming from Virginians.

Senator Aaron Rouse said the following regarding his first financial report, “Virginians have my back and I’ll always have theirs. I have received donations from my family, neighbors and everyday Virginians who believe that change is coming in 2025. Together, we believe Virginia can truly be a place of opportunity – where a kid that grew up in public housing can beat the odds, work hard and become the next Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. I’m running because I believe we can invest in a quality education for every child, fight for an economy that works for all, protect our fundamental rights and freedoms and build a commonwealth where everyone has a true shot at success and no one is left behind.”

“This is just the first benchmark of a long campaign ahead. However, our showing on this report is proof that our campaign is growing in momentum and can win back the Lt. Governorship in 2025.”

Aaron has built up an extensive coalition of leaders in the General Assembly including endorsements from Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas (Portsmouth and Chesapeake), Senate Democratic Caucus Chair Mamie Locke (Hampton), Senator Angelia Williams-Graves (Norfolk), House Communications, Technology and Innovation Cliff Hayes Jr. (Chesapeake and Portsmouth), House Counties Cities and Towns Candi King (Prince William County and Stafford) , Delegate Delores McQuinn (Charles City, Chesterfield and Henrico), Delegate Alex Askew (Virginia Beach and Norfolk), Delegate Shelly Simonds (Newport News), Delegate Bonita Anthony (Norfolk and Chesapeake), Delegate Nadarius Clark (Isle of Wight, Franklin and Suffolk), Delegate Phil Hernandez (Norfolk) and Delegate Michael Feggans (Virginia Beach). Senator Rouse has earned the endorsements of the most members of the General Assembly and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus than any other candidate in the Lieutenant Governor’s race. 

Leaders at the local level from across Virginia know Aaron understands the challenges localities face and his effectiveness as a former Councilman in Virginia Beach, the largest city in the Commonwealth, and are lining up behind his candidacy to be the next Lieutenant Governor. Supporters include Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea, Blacksburg Mayor Leslie Hager-Smith, Montgomery County Supervisor Mary Biggs, Fairfax Supervisor Rodney Lusk, Fairfax Supervisor Walter Alcorn and Loudoun County Supervisor Kristen Umstattd. 

After launching his campaign, Senator Aaron Rouse released his campaign launch video, “Know Me” in May. You can watch the full video here. The video serves as the centerpiece of an extensive digital advertising campaign since its release. The video features the Friendship Village neighborhood in the Seatack Community of Virginia Beach, where Rouse and his family grew up. Rouse shares how his teachers lifted him up; how he was the first in his family to go to college; and that after his NFL career, he came back home, served the city on Virginia Beach City Council, and fought for a new park and basketball court for Friendship Village. Then, he ran for the Virginia Senate to protect reproductive freedom in Virginia (and won!). Now he’s running for Lieutenant Governor to be a voice for all Virginians, from Abingdon to Arlington and everywhere in between.

To learn more about Aaron’s race to be the next Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, visit www.rouseforvirginia.com .

Friday News: “Just-right inflation opens door to a Goldilocks economy”; “‘The overlap is tremendous’ between Trump’s campaign platform and Project 2025”; NPR Poll Finds “the race doesn’t appear to have changed much, if at all”; “Biden buys time: 5 takeaways from the NATO press conference”

By
lowkell
-
23

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, July 12.

YOUNGKIN HYPOCRISY ALERT #105: Glenn Youngkin Continues To Take Credit For Clean Energy Jobs Created By Legislation He Opposed 

By
Blue Virginia
-
3

From the Democratic Party of Virginia; Glenn Youngkin’s dishonesty knows no bounds:

YOUNGKIN HYPOCRISY ALERT #105: Glenn Youngkin Continues To Take Credit For Clean Energy Jobs Created By Legislation He Opposed 

Richmond, VA – What do you call someone who takes credit for Virginia becoming a leader in clean energy – which has created thousands of jobs – largely because of the funding that he opposed? A hypocrite.

Glenn Youngkin can be called a hypocrite for a lot of reasons. His repeated pattern of taking credit for the economic growth and jobs created by funds from the Inflation Reduction Act is at the top of the list. On Wednesday, he announced that a submarine cable manufacturer will invest $681 million to build a facility that will result in 330 full-time jobs. He used the announcement as a way to tout Virginia as a leader in offshore wind industry manufacturing. But the only reason that Virginia is a leader in the industry is because of the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act, which Youngkin called a White House “gimmick”.

“Because Glenn Youngkin has failed to deliver for Virginians, he continues his pathetic attempts to take credit for the work of President Joe Biden and Virginia Democrats that he wrongfully claimed would hurt Virginians,” DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker said. “Democrats are responsible for the creation of thousands of clean energy jobs – don’t be fooled by Glenn Youngkin’s desperation to claim an accomplishment.”

This is just the latest example of Youngkin’s hypocrisy on the Inflation Reduction Act. In May, he said he was “thrilled” that a global clean energy manufacturer chose Virginia to build a factory that would be “key to scaling clean hydrogen production.” In December, Youngkin took credit for “building the world’s largest nuclear energy hub” when an international leader in nuclear energy invested $49.4 million to expand facilities in Lynchburg. Both of these projects were made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Republicans Falsely Claimed that VA Dems Passing 100s of Pieces of Progressive Legislation in 2020-2021 Would Drive Business Away. Uhhh…Actually, We’re Now “America’s Top State for Business!”

By
lowkell
-
2

See below for some reactions to Virginia being named “America’s Top State for Business in 2024” by CNBC. As Speaker Don Scott puts it, “When Democrats returned to the majority in the General Assembly [in 2020-2021], we got Virginia back on track.” And as Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell notes, Virginia’s #1 again “even with a $12/minimum wage, collective bargaining for local government employees & the robust changes we made in 2020-21″ (e.g., hundreds of pieces of progressive legislation passed and signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam).

Bottom line: Virginia achieving the top business ranking comes not in any way/shape/form BECAUSE of Glenn Youngkin (who loves to falsely take credit for stuff he had nothing to do with – and the media lets him get away with it!), but in SPITE of Glenn Youngkin and in SPITE of Virginia Republicans falsely fear mongering that raising them minimum wage, etc. would totally *destroy* Virginia’s attractiveness to business. To the contrary…

By the way, note this key line from CNBC’s writeup about Virginia being “America’s Top State for Business in 2024”:

“Democrats also stood in the way of Youngkin’s effort to institute a 15-week abortion ban. Opponents argued that among other things, the ban would have hurt the state’s ability to attract younger workers to the state.”

In other words, if there hadn’t been a Democratic “brick wall” in the State Senate, and/or if Democrats had lost the legislature in last November’s elections, Republicans would have rammed through an abortion ban that would have harmed Virginia’s attractiveness to business, and almost certainly cost the Commonwealth its #1 ranking.

VA07 Democratic Nominee Eugene Vindman Added to DCCC’s Coveted ‘Red to Blue’ Program

By
lowkell
-
2

From the DCCC on what is, for sure, a must-win US House race for Democrats this November!

Eugene Vindman Added to DCCC’s Coveted ‘Red to Blue’ Program

Eugene Vindman will keep Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District blue and help take back the House majority

Today, the DCCC announced that Eugene Vindman has been added to the committee’s highly competitive ‘Red to Blue’ program, signaling that the DCCC is invested in providing Vindman, a top-tier candidate, with the support needed to continue building a winning campaign as he runs for Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District.

“Eugene Vindman is the proven leader and strong advocate for our freedoms that Virginians deserve. His bravery, commitment to service, and emphasis on lowering costs resonates with Virginia voters. Derrick Anderson’s anti-abortion and MAGA extremism is alarming. Voters will reject his far-right agenda and elect Eugene Vindman to keep this seat in democratic hands and deliver real results for Virginians,” said DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene.

Eugene Vindman is an American hero and dedicated public servant ready to serve his country and community in a new capacity. After 25 years of service in the Army, Eugene joined the White House as the National Security Council Senior Ethics Official and blew the whistle on Donald Trump asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a personal political favor in an obvious quid pro quo. Trump’s decision to fire Eugene for coming forward didn’t deter him from looking for new ways to serve his community and his country. Eugene has stepped up once again, this time running for Virginia’s Seventh Congressional District to protect democracy, restore abortion rights, lower costs, and fight for Viriginians.

Cook Political Report rates this district as Lean Democrat and Eugene Vindman has raised 4.5 times the amount Anderson has so far this cycle.

Red to Blue is a highly competitive and battle-tested DCCC program that arms top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support to help them continue building winning campaigns. Additionally, through Red to Blue the DCCC provides strategic guidance, staff resources, candidate trainings, and more.

Core Inflation “lowest in more than three years”; “Democratic leadership in Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration helped restore and maintain a strong economy”

By
lowkell
-
8

See below for this morning’s superb inflation news, as well as statements by President Joe Biden (who should get a HUGE amount of credit, along with Congressional Democrats, for the rapid decline in inflation – combined with low unemployment and strong economic growth – after COVID; better than any of our OECD peer countries), Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08), etc. The bottom line, as Rep. Beyer put it: “Democratic leadership in Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration helped restore and maintain a strong economy with record job growth and historically low unemployment while fighting to control inflation, bring down costs, and build an economy that benefits all Americans.” And they SHOULD get credit for that, including AT THE POLLS this November!

Beyer Statement On June Inflation Decline

July 11, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) – Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Senior House Democrat on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement on today’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showing that overall prices declined in June:

“Today’s CPI report is unequivocally good news for the American people. After being flat in May, prices declined overall in June for the first time in years, and both overall and core inflation were cooler than expected. Wages continued to rise faster than inflation. Energy prices went down, grocery prices went down again, and housing inflation slowed. This is exactly what we want to see.

“Prices are still too high for the American people, but we have a strategy to solve this problem and that strategy is working. Democratic leadership in Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration helped restore and maintain a strong economy with record job growth and historically low unemployment while fighting to control inflation, bring down costs, and build an economy that benefits all Americans.

“This approach stands in sharp contrast with proposals championed by the former President and Republicans in Congress to spend trillions on tax giveaways to the wealthy and large corporations while enacting a crazy tariff scheme that would make inflation so much worse. As leading economists and analysts have noted, that road leads to economic disaster for the country.”

 

NY Times Editorial Board Declares “Trump Is Unfit to Lead”; “DANGEROUS IN WORD, DEED AND ACTION”

By
lowkell
-
6

Even the friggin’ NY Times – which has had like a 90%-10% ratio of coverage hostile to Joe Biden than to Donald Trump – recognizes that “Trump Is Unfit to Lead,” adding that Trump is “DANGEROUS IN WORD, DEED AND ACTION”; “has shown a character unworthy of the responsibilities of the presidency; “has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for the Constitution, the rule of law and the American people“; “is animated by a thirst for political power: to use the levers of government to advance his interests, satisfy his impulses and exact retribution against those who he thinks have wronged him”; etc.  The editorial concludes, accurate:

“When someone fails so many foundational tests, you don’t give him the most important job in the world”

Exactly – like, literally ZERO Americans should even CONSIDER voting for this unhinged, extremist, vengeance-obsessed, evil excuse for a human being. Now, as Jennifer Schulze puts it, “the NY Times must meet the moment with a drumbeat of coverage over days/weeks so voters know you mean it.”

 

Thursday News: “Biden Praises and Trump Denigrates a 75-Year Alliance”; CNN Finds “at least 140 people who worked for [Trump]” Involved in “Project 2025”; “Biden’s political position is rapidly deteriorating as critical news conference looms”

By
lowkell
-
20

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 11.

Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA10) Shares Video Debuting New AI Voice Model

By
lowkell
-
4

Great stuff from Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA10)’s office. So inspirational.

Wexton Shares Video Debuting New AI Voice Model

Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) shared a video debuting a new Artificial Intelligence-generated model of her voice as it was before being impacted by her Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) condition. PSP has affected the volume and clarity of Wexton’s speech, and she has relied on a text-to-speech app for public speaking engagements over the past few months including on the House floor and in committees.

“Since I first began using an augmentative and alternative communication – or AAC – device for speeches on the House floor and in committee, I’ve received an outpouring of supportive messages from disability rights advocates about the importance of demonstrating that just because people like me may not be able to use our voices in the same way, doesn’t mean our words are any less ours or any less important to hear. You don’t understand how important of an issue accessibility is until it’s you who relies on a walker, or an AAC device, like I have learned to over the past year. I hope that this new step of adopting an AI voice model can also be a moment to start a conversation about new and creative ways we can continue to empower people facing the kinds of health and accessibility issues as I have, and to show that our abilities do not define who we are,” said Rep. Wexton.

The AI voice model was created through ElevenLabs, a software company that specializes in developing natural-sounding speech synthesis software using deep learning. The model was generated consensually using a collection of previous public speeches from Rep. Wexton provided by her team. Any additional questions about the ElevenLabs technology can be directed to press@elevenlabs.io.

1...293031...3,276Page 30 of 3,276












EVEN MORE NEWS

POPULAR CATEGORY

©