Welcome to the first edition of the weekly Elections and Values newsletter. We will be focused on the November elections in Virginia. The purpose of this missive is to offer you information and perspectives on major issues that will be discussed in the current election cycle. Virginia is one of only a few states holding elections to statewide offices this year, so significant attention and money will be spent here as a run-up to the national 2020 elections.
This weekly series will address a single topic of interest each week. We intend to provide you with information about a number of major topics with details within that topic. For each topic, we will identify prior bills filed in the General Assembly that failed, and who sponsored and voted for/against that legislation. We will define broad Tea Party positions, which may or may not line up with your personal positions. This may spark discussion and research on your part, if it is a topic of particular interest to you. We are hoping our information will tap into your passions and lead to you creating inquiries to local candidates, both face-to-face and in writing, regarding their positions. The information can also be used to draft Letters to the Editor regarding the topic in question. We will provide links to information and talking points to assist you in forming a constitutional, conservative perspective on the topic at hand.
It is not our goal to spoon feed you with prepared language for you to re-package and send to local candidates. Rather, we want to provoke you from thought into action. You may be involved with a local candidate, knocking doors and addressing envelopes. We want to broaden your reach; to assist you in being able to articulate both the good and bad points about specific candidate platforms, call them out when they seek your vote, and explain your positions in support or opposition.
This will not be a comprehensive list of issues. Also, there are likely to be local issues not addressed here that are of critical importance to you. We will be transparent in where our data comes from so you can use the same sources in further educating yourself on those issues that resonate with you. Among our sources are CoLA analysis, the State Legislative Information System, scorecards prepared by other issues organizations, scholarly articles, political advocacy group platforms, and the like. One source we hope you will utilize is vpap.org. They offer statistical analysis and unbiased data on candidates, their donors, lobbyists, and trends over time.
It is our hope that we can assist you in cutting through campaign rhetoric and identifying candidates’ positions which eventually leads to legislation that affects our daily lives.
Friend, we hope this newsletter will become a spark to civic involvement for both you and Virginia conservatives far and wide.
In Liberty,
The Virginia Tea Party Elections Committee
