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During the recently completed statewide campaign, Family Foundation Action, our sister organization, conducted its largest ever voter education and mobilization effort — Winning Matters 2009. We know those efforts were not in vain as a record percentage of values voters voted in the November 3 election. Our work, though, is not through, and your financial support is needed.

In November, Virginians — to the great consternation of hyper liberals — resoundingly  chose Senator Ken Cuccinelli, with 58 percent of the vote, as their next Attorney General. However, his election created a vacancy in the Virginia Senate. Now, there will be a special election in the 37th Senate district (Fairfax County) on January 12, 2010, to fill out the remainder of the term. Because this seat is critical to advancing our pro-family agenda, we are planning to continue our Winning Matters efforts for the duration of this campaign. Our project manager and two area coordinators will continue their work on focusing, educating and mobilizing values voters for this upcoming special election.

Senator Cuccinelli has been a champion for issues that are important to the family and to Christians. He has been a leader in the fight to defund Planned Parenthood, protect property rights, bring transparency to government spending and strengthen marriage. In 2006, he was the only elected official who actively campaigned for the Marriage Amendment in Fairfax County. This year, he successfully shepherded the “Choose Life” license plate bill through both houses of the General Assembly.

It is vitally important that his seat be filled by another pro-family conservative. Senator Cuccinelli’s senatorial district has become very competitive. The last Senate race there was decided by only 92 votes. In a special election, the turnout is typically very low and every vote carries an even greater importance.

The Family Foundation plans to educate pro-family voters on the contrasting views of the two candidates and needs your gift to do so. Please donate today.

The Republican candidate for the seat is Steve Hunt, a long time conservative activist, and a former elected at-large member of the Fairfax County School Board. The Democrat candidate is Delegate Dave Marsden (D-41, Burke). Delegate Marsden did not live in the 37th Senate district but “moved” into a friend’s house in the district to be eligible to run for the seat. He earned a 20 percent score on The Family Foundation Action’s 2008-09 General Assembly Report Card.

We believe it is every Christian’s sacred duty as a citizen to participate in the electoral process and vote their Biblical values. Our Winning Matters staff is dedicated to making sure that happens on January 12. To ensure that voters are educated about where the candidates for this Senate seat stand, we are producing a Special Election Voter Guide for the 37th Senate seat. This guide will not only educate voters, but also remind them of this special election — less than one month away.

But to do all that we have planned we need your support. We spent nearly all of the funds raised for Winning Matters during the general election. So, to support Winning Matters’ efforts in this very important election, we hope that you will click here and send a special “Win the 37th!” Winning Matters contribution.

Regardless of who you intend to vote for on Tuesday, polls showing large gaps in the statewide races are no excuse to not vote. Every pro-family, pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-traditional values Virginian must take the responsibility of voting seriously and exercise that sacred freedom at every opportunity. We urge you to ignore the polls and news stories and vote on Tuesday.

The Family Foundation has produced one million non-partisan Voter Guides to educate voters for this year’s elections so that citizens can be prepared when they vote. If your church has yet to distribute these guides, we urge you to contact us at 804-343-0010 so we can get them to you in time. Sunday is the last opportunity to educate your fellow church members concerning where candidates stand on pro-family issues.

Please click here to review the statewide Voter Guide that includes the races for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. Read the Voter Guide and study where the candidates stand. Also, please forward this blog post link to your family and friends and on your social networking sites, so others can be informed.

We also urge you to watch our online Video Voter Guide and share it as well. You can even  download it to a disk to show at your church. This is another way in which we are trying to educate Virginians prior to this year’s crucial elections.

Samuel Adams, one of our nation’s leading Founding Fathers, said:

Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote . . . that he is executing on of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.

We I trust that you will vote on Tuesday, and that your vote will reflect your values.

During this critical time for our nation, learn how your congregation can pray and live out 1 Timothy 2. If you are a Richmond-area pastor, please join us for the “Winning Matters 2009″ Richmond Pastor Briefing on Thursday, July 23, from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m., at the Wyndham Richmond Airport Hotel, 4700 Laburnum Avenue. If you are not a pastor, but think your think your pastor may be interested, please forward this information to him. 

If you do not live in the Richmond area you are welcome as well. But click here for a list of “Winning Matters” pastors events that may be closer to your home.

“Winning Matters 2009″ is a project of Family Foundation Action and The Family Foundation and its outreach arm, Pastors For Family Values. We seek to assist churches across Virginia to register those who are not registered to vote, educate on issues that are important to people of faith and encourage them to vote on November 3rd. 

We are honored and excited that Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., of Hope Christian Church of Beltsville, Md., will be the featured speaker. Bishop Jackson has written a book with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and is interviewed often in the national media. A complimentary buffet breakfast will be provided to all pastors in attendance. To get an idea of why Bishop Jackson is considered one of the new, great voices of Christianity in America, see the video below.

These briefings are nonpartisan, and do not promote any political parties or candidates. To RSVP, or for more information, contact Vanessa at (804) 343-0010 or e-mail info@tffaction.org.

After hearing him, it’s easy to understand why Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., is one of the rising voices of Christianity in America. 

Last week we, and our sister organization, Family Foundation Action announced the “Winning Matters” campaign that will register to vote people who believe in Biblical and traditional values. Since Virginia is one of only two states holding statewide elections this year, our decisions will be intently watched across the country. So voting with an informed conscience is especially inportant. The four point Winning Matters plan includes:

1. Identifying more Virginians who share our values;

2. Turning concerned citizens into values voting Virginians by registering them to vote;

3. Educating newly and previously registered voters on the differences between candidates on matters of life, marriage, parental authority, religious liberty and constitutional government; and

4. Motivating and mobilizing these informed voters to make a wise choice and to vote on election day.

In addition, Pastors For Family Values has launched its own Winning Matters 2009 Campaign. PFFV is not interested in which party wins, but rather that Biblical values are victorious when people make their way to the polls this November. So, Pastors For Family Values will travel the Commonwealth this summer holding various pastors events designed to educate, empower and encourage pastors to use the influence they have to continue to hold up Biblical values in their congregations and communities.

These events will feature outstanding, nationally known speakers and provide real tools, such as voter registration kits, TFF Action General Assembly Report Cards and voter guides. All events are free of charge.

Pastors For Family Values Winning Matters 2009 Pastors Events

» Roanoke: June 26, Golden Corral, 8-10:00 a.m.

Speakers: Pastor Rick Scarborough, Ph.D., of Vision America; and Mat Staver, Dean, Liberty University School of Law

* * * * *

» Harrisonburg: July 7, Shoney’s, 8-9:30 a.m.

Speakers: Local pastors reporting on the recent Watchman on the Wall Conference; and Mickey Mixon, Area Coordinator Winning Matters 2009 Campaign

* * * * *

» Fredericksburg: August 4, Fredericksburg Expo and Convention Center (tentative), 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Speakers: Jonathan Falwell, Pastor, Thomas Road Baptist Church; and Bishop Harry Jackson, Pastor, Hope Christian Church, Washington, D.C.

* * * * *

» Richmond: July 23, Wyndham Hotel, 7:30-9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Bishop Harry Jackson

* * * * *

» Norfolk: August 20, Spring Hill Suites by Marriott, 7:30-9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Pastor Rick Scarborough

If you are a pastor, please mark your calendar and be sure to make it to at least one of these great events. You won’t be disappointed. If you are not a pastor, please bring this schedule of events to your pastor’s attention and encourage him to attend. To RSVP for any of these events, or for more information, call (804) 343-0010.

Here’s the video of Victoria Cobb’s official statement upon the release of The Family Foundation Action’s 2008-09 General Assembly Report Card (click here to see, download or print your own, or to order hard copies).

Below is the statement given by Family Foundation Action President Victoria Cobb at a recently completed news conference releasing the organization’s 2008-09 General Assembly Report Card. The Report Card is available at www.tffaction.org.

TFF ACTION PRESIDENT VICTORIA COBB ON THE RELEASE OF ITS 2008-09 GENERAL ASSEMBLY REPORT CARD

Good afternoon, I’m Victoria Cobb, President of The Family Foundation Action. The Family Foundation Action is a non-partisan and non-tax deductible organization whose mission is to protect families and promote responsible citizenship by giving Virginians the tools they need to hold their elected officials accountable. While The Family Foundation’s primary role is education and Advocacy, The Family Foundation Action’s primary role is Accountability. Both organizations engage in issue advocacy, citizen education and grassroots organization and mobilization. 

The Family Foundation Action is not a PAC and cannot endorse candidates. It can distribute voter educational on materials and direct mail pieces that inform citizens about the position candidates take on important issues. Along with today’s Report Card, this organization will be producing and distributing voter guides for the statewide campaigns and select House Of Delegate races in the fall. 

Since 1991, this biennial Report Card has been one of the most anticipated documents in Virginia politics, setting the stage for a meaningful dialogue about issues and elected officials. It is my pleasure today to unveil this important piece.

This pro-family Report Card has become a tradition of Virginia politics. This document reveals to citizens where their representatives stand on key issues based on their actual votes in the General Assembly. The Report Card cuts through the rhetoric of campaigns and the warm and fuzzy pictures of political Websites straight to the votes legislators actually took. Legislators have come to expect that they will be held accountable to for their votes on matters important to Virginia families.

As with each Report Card distributed over the years, we reviewed hundreds of votes taken by our legislature during the past two sessions. You can read on the first page the criteria we used in determining which votes to include in the Report Card. Non-partisan and broadbased, this report card seeks not to benefit one party or one candidate over the other, but to arm voting Virginians with the information they need to make an informed choice when they go to the ballot box.

In addition, you can see analysis of voting patterns for recent General Assemblies on the inside cover page. Here you can see voting records of the Senate and House. 

Some interesting things to note in this year’s Report Card: In the House of Delegates, two-thirds of members voted in favor of The Family Foundation legislative agenda more than half the time, indicating a broadbased, bipartisan support for The Family Foundation’s commonsense proposals. Interestingly, the Democrat Minority Leader, Ward Armstrong, scored a very high 81 percent, illustrating that The Family Foundation agenda has broad bipartisan appeal. Another note of interest: Several Family Foundation priorities received unanimous or nearly unanimous votes in both the House and Senate during the past two sessions, again, showing an agenda that is very mainstream.

This year, there are 42 House members that scored 100 percent, an increase of seven over the previous report card. There are, however, only four 100- percenters in the Senate; yet that is twice as many as 2007. On the flip side, there are no zeroes in the House or the Senate.

You can see on the analysis page the continued disparity on values issues between the House and the Senate. While those elected every two years, and thus are closer to the people, continue to shift back toward traditional values, the State Senate continues to distance itself from the people.

It is our hope that Virginians will use the Report Card, along with voter guides that Family Foundation Action will distribute in the fall, to educate themselves about sitting legislators as they begin their comparisons and make their choices about who better represents their values. These resources give citizens the confidence to make knowledgeable choices. We encourage Virginians to review this Report Card, compare legislator votes with their campaign promises of the past and present. We encourage them to personally contact those running for office and ask them specific questions regarding specific proposals and then, when possible, compare their responses to their actual votes. The more information a voter has the more likely they will choose a candidate that best fits their values. 

It is vitally important that pro-family citizens get involved, stay involved and continue to hold their elected officials accountable. This Report Card is intended to help citizens fulfill that civic obligation. Toward that end, The Family Foundation Action plans to give out more Report Cards than ever before — in fact, 100,000 Report Cards distributed throughout Virginia.  This doubles our distribution from the last edition, which was the highest distribution in our history.

Family Foundation Action today officialy released its 2008-09 General Assembly Report Card. A Capitol Square news conference is underway.  Below is the official news release from the orgnization:

FAMILY FOUNDATION ACTION RELEASES GENERAL ASSEMBLY REPORT CARD

RICHMOND — The Family Foundation Action today released the tenth edition of its non-partisan General Assembly Report Card. The educational document, released at a capitol press conference, informs citizens on key votes taken by the General Assembly during the 2008 and 2009 sessions. 

“In the House alone two-thirds of the members voted in favor of The Family Foundation’s agenda more than half the time, indicating a broad based, bipartisan support for The Family Foundation’s commonsense proposals,” said Victoria Cobb, president of The Family Foundation Action. ”It is our hope that the Report Card, along with Voter Guides that will be distributed in the fall, will motivate citizens to vote, and help them make informed choices when they go to the voting booth.” 

The mission of The Family Foundation Action is to protect families and promote responsible citizenship by giving Virginians the tools they need to hold their elected officials accountable. The Family Foundation Action is not a PAC and cannot endorse candidates. This organization will also be producing and distributing voter guides for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and select House races in the fall. The Family Foundation Action plans to distribute 100,000 Report Cards throughout Virginia in the coming months, double the number from the 2007 distribution. 

As with each Report Card distributed over the years, hundreds of votes taken by legislature during the past two years were reviewed. The first page of the report card explains the criteria used in determining which votes to include. Non-partisan and broad-based, the Report Card seeks not to benefit one party or one candidate over another, but to arm voting Virginians with the information they need to make an informed choice when they go to the ballot box.

This year’s Report Card has seven more “100 percenters” in the House than the last edition, bringing the total to 42. There are four in the state Senate, twice the number from 2007. In addition, there are no “Zeros” on this Report Card in either the House or the Senate.

“Demand for the Report Card continues to increase with each release,” added Cobb. ”We distributed 50,000 copies of the last edition, not including those that were downloaded from the Action Website. We hope to distribute twice that number with this edition to ensure that more Virginians know exactly where their elected officials stand on important values issues.”

Copies of the Report Card are available by contacting The Family Foundation Action at 804-343-0010 or at www.tffaction.org.

If you’ve glanced at our extensive blogroll since yesterday you will have noticed some funky symbols for the sites listed at the top. There’s a reason for this. For some reason our WordPress program won’t let us breakup the many linked blogs into categories. Ideally, we’d have categories for state political blogs, blogs by media outlets, etc. Since we wanted to add some new blogs and Web sites from affiliated organizations, we had to figure a way to group them together and highlight them. WordPress only lets us list by alphabetical order, so designating them with symbols was the only method to keep them grouped together; the symbols also supercede the alphabet, so that also highlights them. Until we figure out how to work around the category limitation, this will have to suffice.

Here’s how to decipher the secret code: We have our own Internet presence with The Family Foundation of Virginia and Family Foundation Action Web sites. They are at the top of the blogroll with an asterisk.

Those with a + is a Family Foundation of Virginia state affiliate or chapter; following them with an @ is a national organization with which we have an affiliation of some type. The former are The Fairfax Family Forum and The Valley Family Forum. The latter consist of: Alliance Defense Fund,  American Family Association, Citizen Magazine, Citizen Link, Citizen Link Take Action, Focus On The Family, Focus Action, Family Research Council, FRC Action and FRC Blog. All of these are excellent resources for news, issues education, research and citizen action. We hope you visit all of them often.

About those initials — ODBA: We are very pleased to announce that we now are included in the Old Dominion Blog Alliance — or at least its site. The ODBA is the outstanding confederation of conservative Virginia bloggers. We haven’t heard anything official but noticed our posts popping up on its site, which is an aggregator, and our link is on its blogroll. We’re very proud and honored to be included with some of the best minds and commentators in Virginia’s highly respected blogosphere. We added the ODBA site to our blogroll and have had almost all of its members on our blogroll since we created it.

Membership in the ODBA means (we think) the inclusion on all its many members’ blogrolls in addition to the ODBA site. So we look forward to the expanded Internet presence such inclusion entails, which will result in yet more visitors to our already highly trafficked blog. If you’ve found us through the ODBA, welcome, and we hope you come back often.

Previously, we were included on Righty Blogs Virginia, also an aggregator. Aggregators post a member blog’s most recent posts on its site practically in real time. They’re a kind of central meeting point for readers and clearing house of current opinion and comment. We hope you visit both ODBA and RBV often to get the latest from the cream of Virginia’s blogosphere.

We continue to add links of all sorts to make this site the best possible resource for pro-family, pro-traditional values and constitutional government comment, information and citizen action. We offer our warmest thanks for your continued readership and support.

Neither The Family Foundation of Virginia nor The Family Foundation Action endorse political candidates. The organizations are forbidden to do so by IRS regulation. Any statements made to the contrary at today’s Republican Convention, from the podium or by representatives of either campaign, are completely inaccurate.