Carrie Wigal

Temporarily Moved

Carrie Wigal — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:23:32 +0000

Due to some technical challenges I’ve been having with this blog site, I have relocated my current commentary to http://carriewigal.blogspot.com/. While I hope to get the kinks worked out on this site, I encourage you to visit me over at my other blog and join in the conversation there.

See you there!

Fluvanna Citizens Support Charlottesville Tea Party

Carrie Wigal — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:15:17 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2009

Citizens all across Fluvanna County will make their way to the Downtown
Mall at 3:00PM on April 15, 2009 to join the Charlottesville Tax Day Tea Party.

Working in conjunction with a national grassroots effort promoted by Glenn Beck’s The 912 Project, Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions, and other conservative activist groups found at TaxDayTeaParty.com, folks all across the county will gather in Charlottesville in protest over the massive government spending in Washington DC.

“I’m so sick of watching our government spend our money in Washington — and Palmyra, for that matter – as if the stuff grew on trees,” laments Cunningham resident Carrie Wigal, “but then again it’s quite clear they recognize that it does grow on trees since the Treasury just printed a trillion dollars last week…perhaps using the timber cut from fields here in Fluvanna.”

Lake Monticello resident Pat Graziano asks, “Isn’t it time Congress AND our local AND our state lawmakers, realize taxpayer money doesn’t come out of the “petty cash box”?” She continues, “There are now millions of people in this country who have lost their jobs, yet Congress gets a $4700.00 raise?? This has to change.”

Plans are under way for a rally/march to take place in Charlottesville starting at the east end of the Downtown Mall near the Pavilion and finishing in front of Congressman Tom Perriello’s office. Participants are encouraged to bring tea bags to give to the Congressman as a reminder of the event and food donations for the Charlottesville Emergency Food Bank.

More information on The Tax Day Tea Party can be found at
http://taxdayteaparty.com. Or at http://www.vateaparty.wordpress.com

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My Journey with Glenn Beck

Carrie Wigal — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:47:43 +0000

Do you watch Glenn Beck or listen to him on the radio? I first heard of him when Huckabee was being interviewed on his show over a year ago during the presidential primary season. The next time I saw/heard him was on a Youtube clip of an episode where he had interviewed Sarah Palin on his show. (I was trying to learn more about Sarah Palin prior to her being tapped for the GOP VP slot.) While these were the only two occasions I heard him speak prior to 2009, I thought he sounded rather reasonable.

Then in January he signed a contract for a show on FoxNews. While I don’t have access to cable television, I try to catch him online as often as I can. It was the first part of this month, that I heard about his “We Surround Them” campaign. He listed 9 principles and said if anyone agreed to at least 7 of them, then we were not alone. He asked all those like-minded individuals willing to submit a picture, to do so online, so I sent mine. And the result is this incredible mosaic.

Well, I’ve been struggling for the past year over what to do concerning the direction of this country. I was very perturbed over the media and political pundits’ treatment of Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul during the primary season (I wasn’t really paying much attention to the Clinton/Obama coverage, but in retrospect there was a lot of problems there as well.) I was mad that John McCain was forced upon us as the Republican nominee…and if you don’t believe that’s what happened, I’ll be happy to explain my reasoning.

I’m sick and tired of being considered a right-wing radical because I happen to think “spreading the wealth around” sounds an awful lot like “socialism”, and just because I bring up subjects like “natural born citizenship” as it pertains to the US Constitution, I’m called a “nutjob” and “dingbat”. Well, I’m an American who happens to love her country. I recognize the price that was paid for my freedom and I want my children to enjoy that same freedom.

Glenn Beck has been rallying folks all around this country to join together and unite over common principles and a desire to get this country back on track. And I have risen to the occasion and stepped out to help organize a group of like-minded folks in the Charlottesville area to band together, educate ourselves about the founding fathers and what makes this country great, encourage one another and demand more from our employees, the government.

If you’re not familiar with Glenn Beck and what he’s been saying recently, then watch this. He calls on us to “do the right thing”, to “trust ourselves” and be empowered. I believe in God and I believe that He has the whole world in His hands (America included). But Christ has commissioned me to “Love my neighbor”, and I believe standing up for my Country is one way of doing so.

My fellow Americans are being lied to, my government refuses to listen to “we the people”, and my family’s future is in jeopardy. If you are concerned about the direction of this country and feel powerless to do anything about it, I strongly encourage you to be a part of The 912 Project, launched by Glenn Beck on March 13th of this year. Find a local group near you that also agrees with the 9 Principles & 12 Values and get engaged. There’s more of us than you might realize.

Thomas Paine Delivers Common Sense in 2009

Carrie Wigal — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:58:10 +0000

What would Thomas Paine say about the state of affairs in America today?

Who is Thomas Paine, you ask? Don’t worry, I wasn’t too clear on what his accomplishments were except that he was a founding father and made some famous quotes. But today I learned a little bit more about the man and his role in the American Revolution and our Declaration of Independence.

He wrote “Common Sense“, the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain. This is a pamphlet that is easy to read & comprehend. It will give you a clear idea of what the mindset was of our forefathers at the time of our nation’s birth as a Free Country.

I encourage you to print out the whole document…read it and absorb the content. Then read it to your children and talk to them about it. While it’s printing, go ahead and watch this video, a dramatic presentation of what Thomas Paine might have to say in this day and age given our current situation. It’s very inspiring.

Join a Tea Party Revolt on April 15th near you or organize your own and take to the streets. Be a part of “The 912 Project” with me and help rally our communities around principles and values that unite us. Political parties aside, we are Americans first. Let’s get together and peaceably fight for our Country. She’s worth fighting for.

For those in the Charlottesville VA area, join me at the “Charlottesville We Surround Them/912 Project” Group. We can make a difference!

RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick Responds to Allegations

Carrie Wigal — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 23:18:48 +0000

I received the following email from RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick earlier this week:

Dear Republican Friend,

Less than one year ago, thousands of our party’s activists and volunteers attended the 2008 State Republican Convention in Richmond. It was at this gathering that I was overwhelmingly elected chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia (RPV).

At that Convention, my message of a Republican Party that would be driven by the beliefs and convictions of the grassroots carried me to a clear and convincing victory. I won nearly 60% of the vote, carrying 8 of Virginia’s 11 Congressional districts. As my four immediate predecessors had each been initially elected by the members of the RPV State Central Committee, I became the first Chairman in 12 years to initially win election at a convention, and the first in 16 years to win a contested convention.

Regardless of whether you voted for me or even attended the 2008 Convention, I want you to know that I’m proud that I have honored the commitment to refocus our party’s priorities on the grassroots, as opposed to the top-down approach we had taken for so many years to disappointing – and sometimes disastrous – results at the ballot box.

I’m further proud of the achievements we’ve made at the RPV in less than 10 months. We have aggressively communicated a consistent conservative message in the mold of Ronald Reagan; surpassed the Democrats in the use of technology; and established field-representatives in every area of the state to serve our local Party units.

Despite an extremely challenging national environment for Republicans, RPV raised over $1 million during my first seven months as Chairman to support our candidates and grassroots efforts. And, those monies were in addition to resources provided by the Republican National Committee (RNC), where combined, led to RPV spending an unprecedented $5 million on behalf of our candidates last year.

More recently, we have actively assisted the resurgence of our party in special elections, where our candidates have made great strides in districts Barack Obama won by large margins.

All of this was accomplished in less than a year, in large part because we changed the way RPV did business and listened to the voice of the grassroots.

Unfortunately, many of the same Party insiders who overwhelmingly opposed me last year have decided to wage a campaign to overturn the results of last year’s State Convention and remove me as State Party Chairman. Because they never supported me, my removal has been a consistent focus of theirs almost from the moment I took office.

Because I would not step aside, this group served me with a list of “charges” as a pretext to vote me out at a Party meeting to be held April 4. Disappointingly, several of these individuals have already declared their intentions to remove me at that meeting regardless of my response to these charges. In effect, they have decided to prejudge what is supposed to be a fair and deliberative process.

As I have stated from the beginning, I will not abandon the chairmanship and break my pledge to the rank-and-file Republicans who elected me less than a year ago. The votes and decisions of the thousands of the Party faithful who attend our conventions, where we select our party’s nominees and elect our Party’s leaders, must be respected. Overturning them because the results do not fully comply with the choices of long-time Party insiders would be a violation of the trust the Republican Party must hold with its own conservative base. Elections should mean something, after all.

Below you will find a summary of my response to the “charges” against me. A comprehensive response containing much greater detail accompanied by supporting documentation is being sent to every member of the State Central Committee (SCC). These are the seventy-seven individuals who will vote on my Chairmanship on April 4. (more…)

Notice of Removal Attempt: RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick

Carrie Wigal — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:26:45 +0000

Here is an abbreviated version of the “Notice of Intent to Remove Jeff Frederick” referenced in the AP announcement dated March 12, 2009 issued by the State Central Committee of RPV:

Notice of Intent to Remove Jeff Frederick as State Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia

1. Failure to transmit, in a timely manner, online contributions

2. Repeated failure to fully comply with a July 22, 2008 directive

3. Unauthorized expenditures of RPV funds

4. Failure to provide members of the State Central Committee with a reasonable time to review and consider the proposed 2009 budget

5. Disregard for the minimal rights of members of the State Central Committee

6. Corruption of process by failing to conduct a proper vote on the 2009 budget

7. Failure to “promptly convene” the Appeals Committee

8. Circumventing the State Central Committee by appointing committees

9. Damage to the reputation and effectiveness of the Republican Party of Virginia

10. Failure to notify the Executive Committee of a possible breach of security

You can find the complete letter at Bearing Drift.

Keep in mind, these are charges/accusations…this is not evidence. I strongly advise against rushing to judgment based on only hearing one side of the story.

I’ll comment further on this in a future post.

UPDATE 3/17/09 1:45 PM: Jeff Frederick’s response to these charges, point by point are laid out on the homepage of RPVNetwork.org

My Response to Attempted Removal of RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick

Carrie Wigal — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:45:07 +0000

I sent the following email tonight to members of the State Central Committee of the Republican Party concerning the Attempted Removal of RPV Chairman Jeff Frederick.

Dear Republican Party Leader,

My name is Carrie Wigal. My husband and I are delegates for Fluvanna
County (5th District) to this year’s GOP State Convention, and we were
delegates to last year’s State Convention. That was our first exposure to
politics at that level.

It was Governor Mike Huckabee running for President that motivated me to
get in the political game.

I jumped straight into “grassroots” campaigning before I was even really
active in our local GOP committee. (Things got a little crazy in our local
unit with the changing of the guard [unit chairman], so we got a late
start in campaigning for our GOP candidates.)

My personal grassroots efforts included leading a sign waving on Route 29
in Charlottesville and 2 outside the gates to Lake Monticello, a gated
community comprising half the population of Fluvanna County. We were on
the local news…I was on TV on two separate occasions, and I was
interviewed on NPR (National Public Radio). I was in the local newspaper a
couple of times, and I and a handful of others drove around town for weeks
with our candidates name and values written on our car/van windows &
windshields. I made homemade T-shirts and yard signs, distributing them
along with fliers and other campaign materials throughout our county. I
worked the polls in my local precinct, and I have hosted both private and
public events…all with the aim to promote the Republican candidate I
endorsed. This was all done independent of the Republican Party and my
local Republican unit. Oh yeah, I’m a blogger, too, and very involved in
various social online networks.

At last year’s state convention, I and my husband voted for Jeff Frederick
to be the new RPV chairman. Why? We needed a fresh face…someone who
could reach out to the young crowd, someone who stood strong for
Conservative values, someone familiar with modern technology, and someone
who understood the value of the Grassroots*. I also helped campaign for
Jeff at the convention. He won the election last year, fair and square and
by a large margin.

Almost two weeks ago, I discovered that folks were seeking to remove Jeff
as Chairman, and I was stunned. When I tried to find out why, I couldn’t
find anything concrete. Then I read an article somewhere that Bob
McDonnell had said he should be removed and that this was the desire of
the grassroots of the party. What? I didn’t want him to be removed. I
contacted a few of my “grassroots” friends in my district (who also voted
him in) and they didn’t want him removed either. I couldn’t and still
can’t understand why he was asked to resign.

Secondly, I knew that HuckPAC had endorsed McDonnell. After all that the
Huckabee supporters did to rally around Huckabee last year and Saxby
earlier this year…as a strong grassroots effort, I couldn’t believe how
out of touch McDonnell was to suggest it was the grassroots that wanted
Frederick out.

I implore you, unless you have some hard evidence of serious wrongdoing,
do not disenfranchise the grassroots of this party by throwing our choice
out. If you do have such evidence, it is in the best interest of the party
to present them publicly, since the intention to have him removed has
already been made public. If this is not aired out for all to see, then
there will be great animosity and further division within the party.

Our local committee went through some nasty power-play politics last year
with the overturning of our mass meeting at the 5th district. Thankfully
the SCC overruled that decision and the Fluvanna County voters were not
disenfranchised. Last year we had 15 delegates go to the state
convention. This year…as a result of strong grassroots efforts, we have 51!

I am also very active in my community, and I assure you the average person
on Main Street is sick to death over party politics. They and myself
included want our elected officials to work on our behalf, for the
betterment of our communities and country, not for their own self
interests. We don’t want them playing politics anymore. If this removal is
purely a power play, then the people will see right through it, and that
will be the fall of the Republican Party.

Thank you for your service, and I pray you will do the right thing. Please
feel free to contact me anytime. Thank you for your time and
consideration.

Sincerely,
Carrie Wigal

*What I mean by “grassroots” is action from the bottom up. It is folks
like me who get out where the people are and “campaign” for whom we want
because *we* want to, not because someone higher up told us we needed to.

Fluvanna Citizens Launch Petition Drive to Place Water Authority on Ballot

Carrie Wigal — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:50:17 +0000

March 4, 2009 – Equipped with petitions and clipboards, Fluvanna citizens are canvassing the County to collect 1800 signatures ahead of a March 18 Board of Supervisors public hearing. At the hearing, supervisors are expected to approve creation of a James River joint water authority with Louisa County.

The petition asks that the following question be placed on the ballot: “Shall Fluvanna County join Louisa County in the formation of a joint Water Authority?” Citizens backing the petition hope to present enough signatures from Fluvanna voters to halt the Board’s decision and put the water authority before voters.

“We’re not taking a stand on the water authority one way or the other,” says Doug Johnson, who is spokesperson for the petition drive. “We just want an open airing of the issues. County officials have not given citizens sufficient time and facts to understand all the pros and cons or to provide informed feedback at the public hearing.”

The petition drive was launched when a few concerned citizens met together. “The subject of the meeting was the pipeline, and as we all discussed the issues and realized how overpowering the questions were, we decided we had to do something before it was too late,” says Johnson.

Both Fluvanna and Louisa officials want the joint water authority to promote economic development at Zion Crossroads. Fluvanna also hopes to ease water supply problems in Fork Union and at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women. “It may be good for Louisa. It may be good for businesses and the prison. But are the joint authority and the pipeline really good for the majority of Fluvanna taxpayers who will never directly benefit and probably won’t ever get paid back for subsidizing this venture? That’s our question,” says Johnson.

Leroy McCampbell (589-1599), who is distributing blank petitions and collecting the signed petitions, says there are too many unknowns about the joint water authority. “March 18 will be citizens’ only opportunity to speak out on this issue, yet there are so many critical, unanswered questions. It was just a month ago that the counties formally agreed to this and only a week ago that we learned the date of the public hearing. This whole thing is being rushed to the detriment of citizen information and input.”

Johnson says the community information meetings last spring focused on the nuts and bolts of the pipeline, not the joint authority. “Since then, Fluvanna citizens have been given little or no information about the authority and its powers, no cost/benefit analysis, no update on pipeline costs. The County expects us, the taxpayers, to blindly foot the bill for this without having sufficient facts.”

What many residents don’t realize, says Johnson, is that, once created, the joint authority will endure for many years and set in motion events that will affect people’s pocketbooks, property and their ability to influence pipeline decisions in the future. “Think about it. Louisa officials are unaccountable to Fluvanna citizens, yet they’ll get equal say over a pipeline that cuts entirely through Fluvanna lands,” he states. “On the six-member joint authority board, Fluvanna voters will have only one elected official whom they can try to influence and hold accountable on pipeline issues. There’s a big sovereignty question here.”

Other issues that concern the petition drive group include:

· Louisa County will pay half on the pipeline, but is 50/50 adequate compensation for the use of Fluvanna’s land and access to the James River?

· Virginia statutes give the joint authority eminent domain powers and the pipeline will cut through some 200 Fluvanna properties, according to some supervisors. Should the joint water authority – half of whose voting members are from Louisa – have eminent domain authority over Fluvanna lands?

· Is Fluvanna striking the best deal with Louisa given the disproportionate impact on Fluvanna citizens and natural resources?

· If the pipeline is such a great business proposition, why don’t plans call for it to be supported by revenue bonds instead of general obligation bonds? (With revenue bonds, the system finances itself; with general obligation bonds, taxpayers underwrite the cost.)

· Does it make good fiscal sense to saddle Fluvanna taxpayers with a 6.1 percent initial pipeline tax increase on top of a projected 41 percent increase in real estate taxes for phase one of the Domino Plan?

For more information about the petition, call Doug Johnson at 286-6982, Leroy McCampbell at 589-1599, or go to www.FluvannaBlog.com. The joint authority public hearing will be at 7 p.m., March 18, at the Fluvanna circuit courtroom in Palmyra.

Why I’m Not Voting For John Brownlee

Carrie Wigal — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:32:52 +0000

I personally spoke to John Brownlee, candidate for the Republican Nomination for Virginia Attorney General, last month at a mixer held in Fluvanna County. Just to be fair, I pledged myself as a Ken Cuccinelli delegate early on in the race before there were any contenders. But I heard there were two more running who called themselves “conservative”, and I wanted to do my homework before locking in my vote…so I attended this event.

Among other issues such as Life and Traditional Marriage, I addressed a concern I had regarding the Constitutional requirement that a President be a “natural born citizen”. This Constitutional issue concerning Barack Obama has been completely ignored by…well, by everyone who has the power to do something about it.

I pointed out how this was an issue for Senator McCain last spring and right or wrong, the Senate unanimously* passed a resolution (SRS 511) declaring Senator McCain was “natural born” partly because he was born to US Citizen parents (PLURAL…both parents were US Citizens at the time of his birth). Yet when questions arose concerning Obama’s “natural born” citizenship, everybody was silent…and still is.

Obama readily admits his father was not a US citizen at his birth. He readily admits he had dual citizenship at birth. How can he be considered a “natural born” citizen (I’m not saying he’s not a US citizen, I’m saying there is serious doubt over him being “natural born”) when both of his parents were not US citizens? There was also grave concern over Obama’s hiding his vault copy of his Birth Certificate. Even with that aside, there is clearly a concern over this Constitutional requirement.

What was Brownlee’s reply? Well, Mr. Obama is our president now, and we need to focus on the issues…that’s where the debate needs to be. WHAT?

When I learned that this man was a Federal Prosecutor and he demonstrated to me this kind of apathy towards defending the Constitution and seeking the truth in the matter, I was appalled. While it seems that this man has a lot of good qualities, I don’t see how on earth anyone can vote for him as our next Attorney General, given his experience as a prosecutor and a military man (which he touts so readily) and his complete lack of concern for the Rule of Law…our US Constitution.

Maybe he was blindsided by my question…I was very calm and informative when I spoke to him. I wanted him to say this was a legitimate concern and that it should be looked into…that the truth should come out concerning this issue. I wanted him to demonstrate that the US Constitution mattered to him. But it seemed like he was trying to be politically correct, and we don’t need anymore “political correctness”. We need people who are willing to stick their necks out and act on principle…not politics.

I haven’t had the chance to speak to Cuccinelli about this yet, but I will before I cast my vote this spring.

*Point of Interest: The Co-Sponsors of this Senate Resolution included both Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama. Hmm. Makes me wonder if there was some political back-scratching here…we declare you Natural Born, you turn a deaf ear to BO’s Natural Born status…deal? Apparently so…because not a single Senator has stuck his/her neck out on this issue as it relates to Barack Obama.

Read US Constitution: Irrelevant Concerning Obama for more on my discovery of this issue.

Grassroots Conservatives: Turning Up the Volume

Carrie Wigal — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 02:55:21 +0000

It looks like it’s time for me to get back into the fray here concerning local, state and federal politics. There is just too much at stake to stay quiet and passive any longer.

If you are pleased as punch at the way the Obama/Pelosi/Reid Political Machine is continuing to steer our country into a Socialist state…at an alarming rate, then this blog is not for you.

If you are thrilled to your toes with the RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) bashing the Conservative Base in the Republican Party or the Liberal Media casting Christians as criminals, then hit the back button at the top of your screen. You’re not going to like it here.

And if you are tickled pink over the trillions of dollars being spent and closed-door decisions being made without giving ear to the public outcry, then you’ll have to find your kicks & giggles elsewhere. Because…

I’m not playing “Mrs. Passive Polly” any longer. I refuse to play the political game; I stand on principles, and I have a spine. I don’t claim to be perfect, but I claim to be genuine. I care about this country. I care about this state and this community. I care about my family. And believe it or not, I care about you…personally.

So be forewarned…it’s going to get a little uncomfortable for the squishy conservatives, the liberal left and the professional politicians. The lukewarm are going to be challenged and the Enemy is going to get mad. For those Grassroots Conservatives who are like-minded…pull up a keyboard, join the conversation and let’s get loud. We’ve got a country to save, and too many folks are going to hell in a hand-basket.

I’m determined to do my part, how about you?