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Here are two photos that tell a story to which I was a witness. It’s a story about the Richmond City Republican Committee, a small, but aggressive organization, and its Democrat counterpart, a large organization, that runs much of the city’s political machinery. From the get-go of last Saturday’s Que Pasa Festival, Richmond’s largest Hispanic cultural event and party, the Richmond GOP was active putting up and distributing signs (in Spanish and English), handing out stickers and literature, and manning a booth, among other activities. The city Dems, up until 1:00 p.m. (an hour into the event), were pretty much M.I.A. A couple of college student-looking lads showed up around 12:45 and walked around with clipboards and not doing much else. At 1:00 they had a table stocked and somewhat staffed (the photo below was at 12:30).

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell and Republican attorney general candidate, Senator Ken Cuccinelli attended the event as well, and worked the crowd which received them warmly as city committee members followed them handing out stickers and information, and pointing out local media. To his credit, Democrat A.G. candidate Delegate Steve Shannon showed up for a while later in the day. But the city Dems (who left an hour early after showing up late), and their standard bearer, who claim to stand for so many minorities, seem to have taken the Richmond Hispanic vote for granted.

The moral of the story: Those who stereotypically report that one party or another writes off certain voters may be correct, but it may not be the one they claim — at the very least, the Richmond city GOP showed they don’t take anyone for granted (and not for the first time). Might the Richmond Dems be doing what they accuse Republicans of doing?

(Admin’s note: The pictures and ”scoop” here was going to be an exclusive, but I waived my claim, and other blogs may have picked this up over the weekend.)

Apoyamos McDonnell, Bolling y Cuccinelli. Ready, willing and able. An underdog Richmond GOP took on its bigger opponent on their own turf.

Excuse me, anyone home? I’m looking for some Deeds material? Perhaps Wagner?

This November, Virginians will be one of only two states in the nation with statewide elections. There is much anticipation nationally, as well as in the Commonwealth, as both parties will make Virginia a battleground to prove or disprove President Barack Obama’s popularity and build momentum for the national mid-term Congressional elections in 2010.

What will our voting say about the approval or disapproval of President Obama’s policy agenda? Having voted for the first time in decades for a Democrat president, will Virginia remain blue? Do the traditional values most Virginians share matter in elections anymore?

Two weeks ago, Republicans chose their nominees for statewide office (McDonnell, Bolling, Cuccinelli) and, on Tuesday, Democrats chose their ticket (Deeds, Wagner, Shannon). But it’s not just the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General that will chart the course of our Commonwealth. All 100 House of Delegates seats are up for election in November and, at this point, it appears that up to two-thirds of those may be contested. 

With such high stakes, and perhaps a historic level of national interest in an off-off-year election, many have inquired as to the involvement of The Family Foundation to ensure that our values and our pro-family agenda is endorsed through representative candidates in November.

Someone actually asked if we were we were engaging in an ”ACORN-esque” program for the upcoming election. Since we intentionally do not follow ACORN’s illegal and unethical activities — nor partake in the “stimulus” gifts it receives — the individual referred to ensuring that citizens who agree with Virginia values are legally identified, registered, educated on candidates and mobilized to vote. 

With that in mind, today, we formally announced “Winning Matters” — a 2009 election project of The Family Foundation and The Family Foundation Action. Winning Matters is a four-step action plan encompassing: 

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.

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

This voter identification and mobilization plan is the largest in our history — potentially larger than the 2006 Marriage Amendment campaign. In the weeks to come, we will tell you more about this project and how you can, and must, be a part of the work we are doing with (and for) pro-family Virginians for the future of our Commonwealth.