Thank You (and apologies)

THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the 11th District Convention yesterday. You were one of only a few hundred people who came out to determine the course of the Republican Party for a district with a population of nearly three-quarters of a million residents.

I especially want to thank my supporters. Special shout-outs go to my volunteers, my financial supporters, and the many of you who signed up to be first-time convention participants because you shared a vision for new ideas and a renewed focus on growing the party and winning elections. Extra special thanks goes to my family, who endured many extra nights when I was away from home, and weekends when I was tied up making phone calls or writing campaign materials.

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I also want to apologize for the unacceptably long delay between the first and second ballots. This was caused by a tabulation spreadsheet and voting machines that were not in synch with each other. I noticed a possible problem with the tabulation spreadsheet a week ago when it was sent to me for review as a candidate, and I did express my concerns to a couple of party officials, but in retrospect I did not press hard enough to get this resolved in advance of the convention when my concerns were ignored.

If you have not heard the results, all three incumbents in the race were reelected; I came in fourth. Personally, it is undoubtedly for the best - I will have more time to spend with my family and turning out the Republican vote in the Providence District of Fairfax County.

As long as I have been involved in the Republican Party in Virginia, I have seen that the real influence and the lion's share of the hard work of freedom is at the precinct level, where people talk with their neighbors, and network around their schools and community groups, and knock on doors in their larger neighborhood. That will continue to be the case. And I will continue to do everything I can to equip, motivate, and respect the volunteers who make this all happen, particularly in the Providence District which has recently made me their Chairman.

I hope you will join me. We have a primary coming up on June 12 to choose our Congressional and Senatorial candidates for this year. Not only should you vote in this primary, but it is also an excellent venue for recruiting yet more volunteers who will be more boots on the ground to help us win Virginia in November. Please save the date, and contact your precinct captain to let him or her know if you can help out for a couple of hours at the polls. (If you don't know who your precinct captain is, please email me your name and address and I'll redirect you to the right person.)

After seeing how things go on June 12, you can decide for yourself whether you think primaries or conventions do more to grow our party, and please make your voice heard on this issue.

I also will continue to be an advocate for reforming the convention system for intra-party races. More than ever, I believe it is disenfranchising for far too many people, too technologically backward, too arcane for most activists to understand, and too often fails its purported purpose of engaging and energizing local activists.

The new 11th District Chairman Terry Wear and State Central Committee members David Ray, Patsy Drain, and Keith Damon deserve congratulations for their well-fought win yesterday. They all can frequently be found at local GOP events, so please make their acquaintance if you haven't already, and know that you are welcomed and encouraged to voice your thoughts about the local and state GOP to them.

What matters most of all, of course, is that we take back our Country, our State, and our District from the statists who are robbing us of our freedoms and our children of their future. I look forward to all of the GOP races being settled by the middle of next month, so we can all jump in the same boat and start oaring together at ramming speed. I hope to be pulling an oar next to you.

Gratefully,
Lillian

Convention Rules Update

If you're registered as a paid delegate to the 11th District convention tomorrow, you should have received a mailing from me this week that included a more detailed explanation of how participation in the convention and voting will work. This information is also available on this website by clicking on "How Does This Vote Work" above.
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Since then, you may have heard that the Rules Committee for the convention was considering changing the voting method from majority (winners must get over 50% of the vote) to plurality  (whoever receives the most number of votes wins, even if less than 50%). The majority method was specified in public notices that went out months ago, but plurality would take less time because only one round of voting would be required.

The Rules Committee decided NOT to make the change during their meeting late last night. That means the majority rule still stands (unless the participants in the convention amend the rule from the floor).

An important point you should know about the majority rule is that voting a full ballot will help the convention finish sooner. In other words, if everyone chooses 3 candidates each for State Central Committee and National Delegate, it is more likely that some or all seats will be filled on the first ballot. If you only vote for 1 or 2 people, there will be fewer votes to go around, and fewer people will be selected by at least 50% of the voters.

If the convention proceeds to a second or subsequent ballot, please pay close attention to how many people you may vote for in each race, and who is still left for consideration. E.g. if only Candidate A for State Central Committee wins a majority in round one, you need to be careful to select only two candidates in round two, and do not select Candidate A as one of the two, because he or she has already been seated. If you vote for more candidates than you are allowed in a round, all of your votes for that position will be invalidated, though your votes for the other positions may still be counted.

If you want to get updates on your mobile device to help you keep track of what's going on during the convention, please provide your email and/or mobile phone number by clicking here and checking the "May 19 Rapid Response" box. You can also come to my table just outside the #6 entrance and ask questions of me or my volunteer helpers.

As a final note, the Rules Committee also determined last night that each of the candidates for Chairman of the 11th District will be allowed to speak for 3 minutes, and each of the other candidates will be allowed to speak for 1 minute. This gives you a brief opportunity to see them in person, but not enough to get to know them well, so I encourage you to read and bring the emails and mailings you have been getting from all of the candidates to get to know them better. Please arrive at Oakton High School no later than 11:00 a.m. in order to see the candidate speeches.

See you tomorrow!

Lillian

* P.S. In case you're wondering what my position is on this majority vs. plurality issue... I would have preferred a plurality vote when the rule was originally set by the 11th District Committee back in February, because the convention would take less of your time and it would be less confusing. However, I do not support a last minute change to the rules, especially when the person appointing the Rules Committee members potentially stands to benefit from the change. So I was glad to see the Rules Committee act independently and keep the original rule. If the convention participants choose to change the rule from the floor, however, I believe that is a fair process.

Honored to Become Providence District Chair

Thanking Providence for their support
and announcing my leadership team.

This evening, the Providence District members of the Fairfax County Republican Committee voted to approve me as their new Chair for the 2012-2013 election cycles. I am thankful for everyone's support, and for new FCRC Chairman Jay McConville selecting me for this position.

I am also thankful to Matt Ames, who has served so ably as Providence District Chair for the past 4 years. Together we have built an amazing grassroots organization in a district that is tough for Republicans. We are proud to have helped to elect Patty Reed as our school board representative, the first Republican-endorsed candidate elected in Providence in decades, and an incredibly able and affable community leader. Matt Ames was rightfully named District Chair of the Year in 2009, and thereafter put in charge of countywide Operations on the basis of his excellent organizational leadership in Providence.

One might be intimidated by the thought of having such big shoes to fill. I prefer, instead, to think of it as taking over as the engineer for a well-built train engine. (Perhaps I have been watching too many Thomas the Tank Engine episodes with my children.) By keeping this engine well-maintained and well-fueled, I am confident we will keep steaming ahead down the right track.

Please join me in thanking Matt Ames for his four years of excellent service to the Providence District. And please never hesitate to share with me suggestions and even criticisms to help us do ever better as an organization. Much of Matt's recipe for success was based on being a good listener who was always willing to learn and adapt from the experiences of other activists in the district, and I intend to continue on that tradition.

Gratefully,
Lillian

P.S. In case you're wondering whether I will have time to serve both as District Chair and as a State Central Committee represented if elected on May 19, it is worth noting again that the State Central Committee ordinarily meets only 4 days per year. I believe holding both positions would enhance my service in both, as I would have very tangible experience in understanding how the state party governing board impacts the county party governing board and vice versa, and how to make those relationships even more smooth and beneficial to the ultimate goal of equipping activists to elect Republican candidates to public office.

Constitution and Supreme Court Talk: Not Just for Lawyers Anymore!

In front of the Supreme Court on 3/28/12

What an exciting week it has been for Constitution-lovers! Every time I turn on the radio or TV or look at Facebook, so many people, "average Joes" included, are talking about the different Supreme Court Justices and using words like "severability" and "enumerated powers" and might even throw in an old court case name like "Wickard v. Filburn." Suddenly the American people are paying as much attention to the judicial branch as to the elected branches!

This is such a positive change from twelve years ago, when my interest in the Constitution prompted me to start applying to law schools, since virtually no one outside of the legal profession was talking about these issues back then.

Few people know that my undergrad degree was in English Secondary Education. I never thought about law school back then, though I did love following conservative political news, and had a keen interest in education policy. After graduating I ended up working for organizations providing school choice through private charity, but I still had a hankering for teaching. So when I saw a call for volunteer English as a Second Language teachers in my church bulletin, I signed up.

I was assigned to teach a citizenship test preparation class. When I got started, I was distressed to see the students were just going through worksheets to memorize the answers to 100 possible questions such as "what are the colors of the flag?" or "when is Independence Day?" or if the examiner wanted to get tough "which President signed the Emancipation Proclamation?" No one was explaining what the questions or answers really meant. Call me crazy, but I think voters--and these students would soon earn the right to vote--ought to understand the basics of our form of government. So I started developing my own curriculum for the class.

In early 2000, I started a unit on the Bill of Rights amendments to the Constitution. As I prepared my materials and taught the students, I kept noticing that the plain words of the Constitution didn't seem to match up with the way the government actually worked in the present. Why was that? How did the government justify what it was doing under the Constitution? Was there any hope of moving back toward the original intent? I was hungry for answers, and found the only folks who were talking about these things were lawyers, particularly those associated with The Federalist Society.

At the time I was also considering the next step in my career path, and decided going to law school would not only allow me to study these questions, but also open new doors of opportunity. I chose the University of Virginia School of Law because its faculty represented a diversity of legal philosophies, including some leading originalist (as in original intent of the Constitution) scholars like John Harrison, who served in the Reagan Administration, and Lillian BeVier, a highly respected conservative expert on the First Amendment.

The Federalist Society provided me with ample opportunities, in addition to some of my classes, to deepen my knowledge of Constitutional law. In my second year I joined the UVA chapter leadership and interned at the national headquarters in DC once a week. In my third year I served as chapter President and focused on growing our membership through an excellent program of events and guest speakers, and specific outreach to women, many of whom I found to be "quietly conservative." Through the UVA Federalist Society, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Justices Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, and the late Chief Justice Rehnquist. When I interned with a law firm one summer, I also had the privilege of proofing and editing the joint brief of the Republican and Libertarian political parties challenging the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law before the Supreme Court. (Unfortunately, former Justice O'Connor woke up on the unconstitutional side of bed when that case was decided.)

It was all so interesting and important, yet as soon as I stepped outside of the legal clique, virtually no one knew what on earth I was talking about. That finally started to change after Obama was elected. I give the tea party movement a ton of credit for bringing the Constitution and Supreme Court to widespread public attention.

I think it is making a difference! The Supreme Court Justices rightly are not elected and can't be lobbied like the elected branches, but I think they are subtly influenced by what people are saying in the public square. If the only people talking about them are legal academics and lawyers, then most of the talk will be from liberals, and the Justices will find it hard to swim against that tide. But with so many Americans talking now about the Constitution and Supreme Court from the perspective of original intent and preserving individual liberty, it makes it much easier for Justices like Anthony Kennedy to say things like "here the government is saying that the Federal Government has a duty to tell the individual citizen that it must act, and that is different from what we have in previous cases, and that changes the relationship of the Federal Government to the individual in a very fundamental way."

So to all lovers of the constitution, whether you have a Juris Doctor or not, I say "let's keep up the great work!"

Fairfax Republicans: Strong and Growing

Just one-third of the FCRC convention participants shown in this photo!

Yesterday, approximately 800 registered delegates and 200 other guests came together to elect a new Chairman for the Fairfax County Republican Committee. This was the highest convention participation in over a decade.

Though the election between two strong candidates was very close, the race was never bitter. As soon as Jay McConville was announced the winner, Matt Ames announced he would continue to serve as FCRC's first Vice-Chair for Operations alongside Jay. We are fortunate to have a great captain and co-captain, along with 9 strong magisterial district chairmen and hundreds of precinct captains, Republican women's club members, etc. ready to equip thousands of grassroots activists throughout the county and lead Republicans to victory this year.

Clearly, Republicans in Fairfax County are stronger and more united than they have been in a long time. But does our representation on the State Central Committee reflect this same unity and dynamism? What part have the incumbents played in building the Fairfax County GOP to this point? Do the State Central members outside Northern Virginia hear from the 11th District representatives what has worked so well at the grassroots level in Fairfax, and what the state party can do differently to enable NoVA Republicans to do even better? These are important questions we need to be asking as we decide who should represent the 11th District on the Republican Party of Virginia's governing board for the next 4 years.

Spotlight on Prince William County

In 2010, when Republican Keith Fimian fell less than 1,000 votes short of unseating Gerry Connolly (one of the closest races in the nation!), Prince William County voters played a large part in selecting the 11th District's nominee and almost electing him to Congress.

2012 is shaping up to be a tougher year for the Prince William County Republicans. Redistricting has completely changed the parts of of Prince William County that are or are not in the 11th District.

The Virginia Senate lines drawn last year also carved up the county in such a way that, even though 57% of votes cast in Prince William were for Republicans in 2011, only 40% of Prince William County's Virginia Senators are Republican. The Prince William County Republican Committee passed a resolution last November asking the Republicans in the legislature to give them relief from this situation in the Congressional redistricting, which was completely ignored. Prince William continues to be split between 3 congressional districts, though many residents were shifted to a different district.

One of the 11th District candidates for State Central Committee this year is a magisterial district chairman from Prince William County: Bob Patten. I have gotten to know Bob on the campaign trail over the past couple of months, and we share the goals of refocusing the State Central Committee on winning elections and growing the party, and truly representing the views of Republican activists in the 11th District instead of our own private agendas. I also agree that Prince William County Republicans deserve representation on the State Central Committee. So I hope you'll join me in supporting Bob.

Remember, you get to vote for 3 people in the State Central race. In fact, because of the procedure set up by the incumbents, it is important to select three people when you cast your first ballot. Selecting only one or two will only ensure that there will need to be multiple rounds of ballots and drag the convention out all afternoon.

If you're not yet registered to vote in the 11th District convention, Prince William County and Fairfax City residents can still register through March 31. (Click here for more information about how to register.) Unfortunately, the deadline has already passed for Fairfax County residents, but you can still help by leaving an endorsement message, donating to the campaign, or volunteering to help hand out stickers and flyers at the Fairfax County Republican Committee convention at West Springfield HS the morning of March 24.

FAQ: What Does the State Central Committee Do?

Several people have asked me, "What does State Central Committee do? How often does it meet? And why is it important?" All excellent questions! Here are your answers:

Licia Ronzulli, representing Italy in the European Parliament,
gets a little help with voting. I don't plan on bringing kids
to State Central meetings, but I do find this photo adorable.

How often? State Central Committee regularly meets four times a year, and calls special additional sessions when needed. So this is not a commitment that interferes with working or family life, or even with being actively involved in precinct-level political activity.

What does it do? State Central Committee makes decisions for the Republican Party of Virginia, statewide. Chief among these is choosing between primaries and conventions as the method for nominating statewide candidates (President, Senator, Governor, Lt. Gov., and Attorney General). State Central can amend the "Party Plan," which is like the bylaws of the Republican Party of Virginia, and controls much of what local units like the Fairfax County Republican Committee can and cannot do. They approve the annual budget for the state party, which means they have an important role to play in how the RPV raises money and how it is spent.

State Central representatives also sit on their own Congressional District committees. These committees choose between primaries and conventions for their own congressional district's nominations, and they determine the rules for their own party conventions (i.e. the May 19 convention at Oakton HS for the 11th District). They also play an important role in supporting Republican candidates with fundraising and grassroots assistance at the congressional district level.

Why is it important? The choice between holding a primary and a convention often makes or breaks certain candidates where the Republican nomination is contested. Conventions tend to favor candidates who have been involved in Virginia GOP politics for a long time, or who provoke enough intense feelings from a certain group of voters to inspire them to navigate the complex process and spend a day in Richmond voting. (As you can imagine, they also favor candidates who live closer to Richmond.) Primaries favor candidates who have the organizational capacity to reach out to a broad base of voters throughout the state, including voters who want to have a say in the nominating process but aren't willing or able to give up an entire Saturday to do that.

Other rules set by the State Central Committee can critically impact elections in Virginia, and local party operations. For instance, State Central has the power to make the changes I've suggested in recent posts: providing statewide online registration and allowing sensible proxy voting for conventions. State Central also plays an important role in defining the Republican "brand" in Virginia.

FAQ: Can I Register or Pay Online for the Convention?

Here's another common question from the campaign trail: can I register for the convention online, or send a credit card payment for my registration fee online?

And again, the answer is NO.

Is this 2012 or 1992? The party plan of the Republican Party of Virginia still does not allow electronic signatures, so we're still stuck with paper forms and paper checks. Not only is this inconvenient for voters who want to register, but it's enormously time consuming for the staff and volunteers who have to enter the information from these forms by hand into databases.

If elected to State Central Committee, one key, common sense reform I will work hard to see adopted is a single, online registration form for all of Virginia. Put in your address, the system automatically figures out which districts you're in, check the boxes for what you want to participate in, enter a credit card, and that's it, you're done. The data and payments automatically get transmitted to the right district chairmen, in electronic form to add to their lists, and that's it, they're done.

Such a simple, cost-effective and time-saving solution. I think we have a right to ask our State Central representatives, "why hasn't the RPV done this yet?"

Until they do, please see the registration guide to make sure you have the opportunity to vote for more forward-looking leadership for our party. There's only about a week left to get the registration forms in the mail, so don't delay!

FAQ: Can I Vote in a Convention by Proxy?

Over the past couple of weeks that I've been running for State Central Committee, I have gotten this question several times: "I will be out of town on May 19. Can I vote by proxy?"

The short answer is, NO. But I don't think the discussion should stop there!

Why can't you vote by proxy? Because the Republican Party of Virginia Plan doesn't permit proxies for participation in conventions or mass meetings.

Who does this impact? A lot of people! First, and most egregiously, it means our servicemen and women who are required to be away from home on the day of a convention are denied the opportunity to have a vote because they are serving our country! It also disenfranchises people who are required to work on the day of the primary (usually a Saturday) or who have religious restrictions on that day. Family obligations also prevent many people from participating, whether it is kids' athletic schedules, the difficulty of bringing young children to a long convention, or out-of-town travel. Health conditions keep yet other people from participating - for instance, I didn't participate in the 2008 state convention in Richmond to select our Senate nominee because I was 39 weeks pregnant. So many of the people who are busy being patriotic Americans, serving our country, raising children, working for a living, etc. are not able to have a voice in these conventions.

Why does RPV not allow proxies? Goodness knows! It may be as simple as inertia, but we should ask State Central to justify (or change!) this rule. It is particularly ironic that the State Central Committee members, who have the power to change the Plan, give themselves the right to vote by proxy at State Central Committee meetings.

What can I do about this? If you don't have a conflict on May 19, please register for the 11th District Convention ASAP using the proper form (remember, Fairfax County forms must be received by March 10, so there isn't much time left to mail it in). Then please vote for me on May 19, because I will be a tireless advocate to reform the RPV to make participation in the party easier, not harder, and that includes pressing to allow proxies at conventions.

If you have a conflict, you can't have an official proxy, but you can urge a Republican friend or two or three to register for the convention and vote for change on May 19. As a matter of fact, you can encourage as many Republican friends as you like to register and participate in this process together. Let's make this Party our party!

Help! How to Complete the Fairfax Convention Filing Forms

Fairfax City and Fairfax County registered voters can start filing now to participate in the upcoming Republican committee and congressional district conventions. But gosh those forms can be confusing!

So here are the Fairfax form completion guides to help you through the process. (Please don't complete the color-coded guide; it won't be accepted as a valid form. Download and print the official form and then use the guide as a reference.)

Jurisdiction	Deadline*	Official form	Form completion guide
Fairfax City	Saturday, March 31, 6:00 p.m.	Download here
Fairfax County	Saturday, March 10, 12:00 noon	Download here	(for help looking up your districts see steps 1 & 2 here)

* NOTE: the form and payment must be received by this time. Postmarks do not count! Mail it in now and you won't have to worry about hand delivery to meet the deadline.

Prince William County voters, we're still waiting to get a copy of your form. As soon as I can I'll provide a guide for you too.

What Reagan Teaches Us As We Celebrate His 101st Birthday

From Lillian Vogl's announcement speech to the Fairfax Country Republican Committee:

Today is Ronald Reagan's 101st birthday. Everyone loves Reagan, myself included. Let us never forget why Reagan was so successful--he won over the "Reagan Democrats." He didn't compromise his principles, but he communicated conservative values in terms that were understandable and attractive to people who didn't already identify themselves as Republicans. That's what we still need from our party leaders today.

It's not about compromise, but it is about communication.

And that is what I do for a living. Every day I'm on Capitol Hill, fighting the good fight against tax increases and burdensome regulations on things that are fundamental to your economic security, like your health insurance and 401k.

I do this by listening. Listening to Congress, to the press, to conservative groups, to talk radio, and listening to liberal groups too. I synthesize all this to figure out what messages are going to convince enough people to get the job done.

This is also how we win elections, folks. Not by compromising our principles, and neither by ignoring the other side, but by communicating our principles in a way that will win over the other side.

In short, we must be Great Communicators.

Announcing My Candidacy

Please join me at the Fairfax County Republican Committee meeting this evening, February 6, at West Springfield HS. Social hour at 7, meeting begins at 8 pm.