Scott Garrett

Liberty University Fails To Gain Control of Lynchburg City Council

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 5/5/2010 10:07 am

Despite having spent months registering students and alumni to vote and urging them to participate in the election for three open city council seats in an effort to gain majority control, even going so far as to hold a special convocation and cancel classes yesterday, it looks like Liberty University's efforts to use its voting power to take over the Lynchburg City Council failed badly: 

Liberty University junior Caroline Biggs posted herself in front of a fleet of poll-bound buses on campus, waving a homemade sign that read “Vote Republican: Cary, Hannon, Good.”

Behind her, hundreds of LU students boarded the buses bound for Heritage Elementary School, the polling pace for LU’s on-campus students.

The students had just emerged from LU’s special Election Day convocation where Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. joined forces with Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, in urging the students to vote. To boost participation in the election, LU canceled classes until 2 p.m. and sent out e-mails and texts through its emergency alert system reminding students to vote.

Of more than two dozen students interviewed for this article, the majority voted the Republican ticket — Hunsdon “H.” Cary, Ted Hannon and Don Good — who were popularly coined the “pro-Liberty candidates.” Students cited property restrictions on LU, taxes and moral values as their top issues.

While the Republican slate dominated the Heritage precinct, Hannon and Good failed to garner enough votes citywide for one of three at-large council seats. Nor did LU student Brent Robertson, who netted 588 votes at the Heritage precinct and finished last in the eight-way race.

The election winners were Mayor Joan Foster, Interim Councilman Randy Nelson, and Cary. 

Cary finished third and his two pro-Liberty running mates finished fourth and fifth.

LU Cancels Classes for Lynchburg City Council Election

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 5/4/2010 11:44 am

While I fully support efforts to get people registered to vote and encouraging them to exercise that right, the idea of canceling classes and busing students to the polls for a election to fill three at-large seats on the city council seems to be a bit much, doesn't it: 

Liberty University has canceled classes until 2 p.m. and has begun busing students to Heritage Elementary School, the polling place for students registered under LU’s dorm address.

...

Weeks of campaigning will come to an end today as Lynchburg voters head to the polls to pick their next three at-large City Council members.

All voters throughout the city will be able to vote for three of the eight candidates seeking office.

...

The school will still offer a special Election Day shuttle service from its campus to Heritage Elementary. It will also hold an additional convocation this morning during which Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. is expected to speak and encourage students to vote.

LU has been conducting an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign among its students, faculty, staff, alumni and general supporters within the community.

The school recently conducted an online mock election through its website. It declined to release the results of that exercise.

Across the city, there are 48,671 registered voters. Turnout for council elections is generally low.

As we've noted before, Liberty is intent on getting its zoning status changed and the current City Council has been reluctant to do LU's bidding, so officials have made this election a central focus for LU students and alumni.

And considering that LU students represent nearly 10% of registered voters in Lynchburg, it seems quite likely that, by tomorrow, the university will be well positioned to weild a significant amount of control of workings of the Lynchburg City Council.

UPDATE: Here is more information on the special LU convocation held today:

Liberty University students headed to the polls this morning following a special convocation in which LU Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. urged them to vote.

“You need to exercise your God-given right to vote locally so the city councilmen are thinking about you when they sit down to decide whether to spend your tax dollars on fancy stone sidewalks and traffic circles downtown or whether to spend those dollars on improvements to make Wards Road safer to cross,“ Falwell told students.

LU canceled classes until 2 p.m. today to boost student participation in the election, in which eight candidates—four Republicans, four independents—compete for three at-large seats on Lynchburg City Council.

Falwell cited the meals tax and conditional-use permit process as other reasons to vote. LU officials have said the tax for eating at restaurants—6.5 percent—is burdensome to students and have said the city’s permit process inhibits the university’s growth.

“We’re not going to tell you who to vote for,“ Falwell said, “but we’re going tell you to vote your values and to vote for the candidate who is most closely aligned with your values and belief system.“

Del. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, also spoke at convocation and emphasized family values and fiscal conservatism.

“Your vote matters. Value your vote and vote your values,“ Garrett said.

Robertson's ACLJ Files Anti-DC Marriage Brief On Behalf of 39 GOP Members of Congress

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 1/6/2010 3:02 pm

Today, the American Center for Law and Justice announced that it had filed a brief on behalf of 39 Republican members of Congress against marriage equality in Washington DC, arguing that the "Board of Elections and Ethics wrongfully denied [the] proposed initiative and its decision should be reversed":

We have just filed an important amicus brief in defense of marriage. This time the venue is the District of Columbia, where the city council has authorized same-sex marriages. In our brief, we're representing members of Congress in a very significant legal challenge.

A group of citizens has applied for the right for D.C. residents to vote on an initiative to halt same-sex marriages in D.C. However, the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has wrongly rejected that application.

The D.C. residents have filed suit to challenge the Board’s ruling, and the ACLJ – with the support of 39 members of Congress – has filed an amicus brief with the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in support of the citizens asking the court to reverse the decision of the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics.

The brief [PDF] lists the following Republican members of Congress as having signed on:

Amici United States Senators James Inhofe and Roger Wicker and Representatives Robert Aderholt, Todd Akin, Michele Bachmann, Gresham Barrett, Roscoe Bartlett, Marsha Blackburn, John Boehner, John Boozman, Eric Cantor, Jason Chaffetz, John Fleming, Randy Forbes, Virginia Foxx, Scott Garrett, Phil Gingrey, Louie Gohmert, Jeb Hensarling, Wally Herger, Walter Jones, Jim Jordan, Steve King, Jack Kingston, John Kline, Doug Lamborn, Robert Latta, Don Manzullo, Michael McCaul, Thaddeus McCotter, Patrick McHenry, Cathy McMorris Rogers, Jeff Miller, Jerry Moran, Randy Neugebauer, Mike Pence, Joe Pitts, Mark Souder, and Todd Tiahrt are currently serving in the One Hundred and Eleventh Congress. Under the United States Constitution, they serve as members of the ultimate legislative authority for the District of Columbia and the very body which delegated to the District its limited legislative power under home rule. As members of the District’s ultimate legislative body, amici are concerned about the extent of the District’s delegated legislative authority, the preservation of Congress’s constitutional authority, and the interpretation of home rule. Amici also support the right of the District electors to directly participate in the legislative process pursuant to the initiative and referendum rights, under the Initiative Referendum and Recall Charter Amendments Act of 1977. It is precisely these concerns which lead amici to support Petitioners in seeking a reversal of the denial of the proposed initiative.

Liberty University Take Credit for VA House Win

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Wednesday, 11/4/2009 11:40 am

Last year, Jerry Falwell Jr. declared that he wanted to see Liberty University "go down in history as the college that elected a president" and set about registering students to vote, canceling classes on election day, and busing them to the polls. 

It didn't matter, as John McCain lost the state of Virginia, but Falwell was undetered and decided to do the same thing this year, canceling classes and busing students to the polls:

Liberty senior Caleb Mast, chairman of the College Republican club at Liberty University, worked past 4 a.m. Tuesday putting up campaign signs on campus and at Heritage Elementary School.

He returned to Heritage — the voting site for on-campus Liberty students — by 6:45 a.m. to greet student voters arriving by the busload.

As many as 3,200 LU students were eligible to vote. Mast said he kept an unofficial tally at Heritage and counted upwards of 800 student voters when he left at 5 p.m. More than 2,300 votes were cast at the precinct altogether.

To encourage a high turnout, Liberty cancelled classes and ran buses between the campus and the voting precinct every few minutes. The school did not keep track of how many students went to the polls, said Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr.

And while there was no presidential election at stake this time around, Mat Staver, Dean of Liberty University School of Law, declares that their efforts were responsible for delivering the local House of Delegates race for the Republican candidate:

In dramatic fashion, Virginia ushered in three pro-life, pro-family, conservative Republican candidates -- Governor-elect Bob McDonnell, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Conservative Republican candidates picked up five state House of Delegates seats, including a dramatic come-from-behind victory for Scott Garrett in Lynchburg, who unseated the Democratic incumbent, Shannon Valentine. Valentine was ahead by about 1,400 votes after 19 of the 20 precincts were counted. After the final precinct votes were counted at Heritage Elementary School, Garrett jumped ahead by 210 votes. The stunning victory is attributed solely to the voting block of the students, faculty and staff at Liberty University. Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. encouraged the students at Liberty to register and vote locally, resulting in more than 3,000 new voters. The majority of the students vote in Precinct 20 at Heritage Elementary School. The students voted for pro-life and pro-family values and for limited government.

TEA Partiers To Descend on DC And Dwarf Inauguration Numbers

Submitted by Kyle Mantyla on Tuesday, 7/14/2009 5:07 pm

Last week I mentioned that the National Taxpayer Protest is scheduled for September 12.  Hosted by a variety of right-wing and anti-tax groups like the National Taxpayers Union, Americans For Tax Reform, Young America’s Foundation, The Club for Growth and many others, the effort seeks to bring millions of Americans to Washington D.C. for an organized and centralized TEA party-like protest:

It’s time to take the tea party movement directly to Washington, D.C. Please join thousands of local organizers and grassroots Americans from across the country as we gather in our nation’s capital to deliver a message to the politicians: Enough!

We’ve had enough of the out of control spending, the bailouts, the growth of big government and the soaring deficits. And we reject the future tax increases to pay for all of this spending and debt down the road. We are gathering on 9-12-2009 to deliver our message in person that we’ve had enough!

And they have some pretty big plans:

"Our mission is to present a unified voice of concern over the current administration's policies regarding taxation, our economy, foreign and domestic policy, as well as our individual constitutional rights as American citizens," said Grassfire national coordinator Darla Dawald in an open invitation to the public to join the Sept. 12 taxpayer march in Washington, D.C. "America is in trouble, the problems and issues are broad and complex and it will take a monumental effort to stop, change and reverse the destructive course that this administration and Congress has put us on. Together, We the People can effect that change!"

On Sept. 10 and 11, the groups will host grassroots training seminars and Sept. 11 "We'll Never Forget" memorial. The taxpayer march is scheduled to begin at the Lincoln Memorial at 10 a.m. Sept. 12 and culminate with a rally at 1 p.m. in front of the Capitol.

The National Taxpayer Protest website offers detailed information on travel and hotel accommodations, including directions to the event. Tea party attendees may RSVP there as well.

More than 9,000 people have already registered through the protest website, and the number is growing rapidly.

"Obama managed to have 4 million show up at the Capitol grounds," Dawald told WND. "We need to do the same if not more. The financial situation is dire, but as one gentleman said, 'If I have to sell my belongings and crawl there, I will – because it's that important!'"

I assume that when Dawald says Obama had 4 million show up at the Capitol, she's referring to the crowd that attended his inauguration, although the estimated size for that event was actually only 1.8 million.

But heck, if they want to set 4 million attendees as their goal, who am I to complain?

And frankly, with a thrilling proposedl line-up like this, I can't see how they could possibly fail to reach that lofty goal:

Invited Speakers and Guests (for the 3 day event) Include:

Dick Armey - FreedomWorks (CONFIRMED)
C. Boyden Gray - FreedomWorks (CONFIRMED)
Steve Forbes - FreedomWorks Foundation
Yaron Brook - Ayn Rand Center for Individual Liberty
Chris Chocola - Club for Growth
Grover Norquist - Americans for Tax Reform
John Tate - Campaign for Liberty
Mike Tanner - Cato Institute
Dan Mitchell - Cato Institute

John Stossel
George Will
Tucker Carlson
Michael Barone
M. Stanton Evans
Thomas Sowell
Andrew Napolitano
Thomas Woods
Peter Schiff
Michelle Malkin
Glenn Reynolds
P.J. O’Rourke
Drew Carey
Andrew Breitbart
Jonah Goldberg
Penn & Teller
John Allison
John Mackey
Dennis Miller
Rick Scott

Sen. Jim DeMint
Rep. Ron Paul
Rep. Jeb Hensarling
Rep. Jeff Flake
Rep. Doug Lamborn
Rep. Virginia Foxx
Rep. Marsha Blackburn
Rep. Tom Price
Rep. Scott Garrett
Rep. Mike Pence
Rep. Michele Bachmann
Rep. Paul Broun
Rep. Todd Tiahrt
Rep. Tom McClintock

Glenn Beck - Fox News
Neil Cavuto - Fox News
Laura Ingraham
Mark Levin

42 Members of Congress Protest Recognition of Ramadan

Submitted by Anonymous on Friday, 10/5/2007 5:44 pm

The House passed a resolution this week recognizing the commencement of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, denouncing extremists of that faith, and praising moderates. No members of Congress voted against the symbolic measure, but—in a move reminiscent of protests when a Hindu chaplain gave an opening prayer in the Senate—41 Republicans and one Democrat declined to approve of the resolution, instead voting “present” in an act of protest.

"To offer respect for a major religion is one thing, but to offer respect for a major religion that has been behind the Islamic jihad, the radical jihad, that has sworn war upon the United States, its free allies and freedom in Iraq, is another thing,” explained freshman Michigan Rep. Tim Walberg, who won his seat last year by defeating an incumbent of his own party in a right-wing primary challenge. Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn—who similarly captured the support of the far Right in a bitter primary, earning the repudiation of the retiring Republican who had held his seat—said, “I couldn't bring myself to vote 'yes' on that resolution,” adding that he “hope[s] that we have more and more moderate Muslims speaking out about the cause of peace in the future.”

Another argument made by opponents of the resolution is the claim that it represents an unfair treatment of Christianity. Rep. Tom Tancredo—who has suggested the U.S. threaten to bomb Mecca as a means “to deter them from attacking us”—claimed that the Ramadan resolution was “an example of the degree to which political correctness has captured the political and media elite … I am not opposed to commending any religion for their faith. The problem is that any attempt to do so for Jews or Christians is immediately condemned as 'breaching' the non-existent line between Church and State by the same elite."

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) likewise said he was “troubled”:

"There were a number of members who, as we call it down here, 'stayed off' that vote and did not support it because I think that they looked at it as something that Congress really should not be doing, should not be picking one faith out and commending that faith."

Garrett says during his five years in Congress he does not remember the House ever approving a resolution commending Christians for celebrating Christmas or Easter.

Garrett may not have noticed that, among other acts, the federal government marks Christmas as an official holiday every year, a recognition significantly more substantial than a symbolic House resolution imparting “respect.” Similarly, Garrett might not remember voting less than two years ago for a resolution in favor of Christmas. One can almost understand Garrett’s difficulty in making the connection, because while the Ramadan resolution is designed to encourage moderate Muslims while condemning violent ones, the purpose of that Christmas resolution was to escalate a trumped-up “war on Christmas” charade then making the rounds on the Right.

Syndicate content

Scott Garrett Posts Archive

Liberty University Fails To Gain Control of Lynchburg City Council
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 05/05/2010, 10:07am
Despite having spent months registering students and alumni to vote and urging them to participate in the election for three open city council seats in an effort to gain majority control, even going so far as to hold a special convocation and cancel classes yesterday, it looks like Liberty University's efforts to use its voting power to take over the Lynchburg City Council failed badly:  Liberty University junior Caroline Biggs posted herself in front of a fleet of poll-bound buses on campus, waving a homemade sign that read “Vote Republican: Cary, Hannon, Good.” Behind her... MORE >
LU Cancels Classes for Lynchburg City Council Election
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Tuesday 05/04/2010, 11:44am
While I fully support efforts to get people registered to vote and encouraging them to exercise that right, the idea of canceling classes and busing students to the polls for a election to fill three at-large seats on the city council seems to be a bit much, doesn't it:  Liberty University has canceled classes until 2 p.m. and has begun busing students to Heritage Elementary School, the polling place for students registered under LU’s dorm address. ... Weeks of campaigning will come to an end today as Lynchburg voters head to the polls to pick their next three at-large City... MORE >
Robertson's ACLJ Files Anti-DC Marriage Brief On Behalf of 39 GOP Members of Congress
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 01/06/2010, 3:02pm
Today, the American Center for Law and Justice announced that it had filed a brief on behalf of 39 Republican members of Congress against marriage equality in Washington DC, arguing that the "Board of Elections and Ethics wrongfully denied [the] proposed initiative and its decision should be reversed": We have just filed an important amicus brief in defense of marriage. This time the venue is the District of Columbia, where the city council has authorized same-sex marriages. In our brief, we're representing members of Congress in a very significant legal challenge. A group of... MORE >
Liberty University Take Credit for VA House Win
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Wednesday 11/04/2009, 11:40am
Last year, Jerry Falwell Jr. declared that he wanted to see Liberty University "go down in history as the college that elected a president" and set about registering students to vote, canceling classes on election day, and busing them to the polls.  It didn't matter, as John McCain lost the state of Virginia, but Falwell was undetered and decided to do the same thing this year, canceling classes and busing students to the polls: Liberty senior Caleb Mast, chairman of the College Republican club at Liberty University, worked past 4 a.m. Tuesday putting up campaign signs on... MORE >
TEA Partiers To Descend on DC And Dwarf Inauguration Numbers
SUBMITTED BY: Kyle Mantyla, Tuesday 07/14/2009, 5:07pm
Last week I mentioned that the National Taxpayer Protest is scheduled for September 12.  Hosted by a variety of right-wing and anti-tax groups like the National Taxpayers Union, Americans For Tax Reform, Young America’s Foundation, The Club for Growth and many others, the effort seeks to bring millions of Americans to Washington D.C. for an organized and centralized TEA party-like protest:It’s time to take the tea party movement directly to Washington, D.C. Please join thousands of local organizers and grassroots Americans from across the country as we gather in our... MORE >
42 Members of Congress Protest Recognition of Ramadan
, Friday 10/05/2007, 5:44pm
The House passed a resolution this week recognizing the commencement of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, denouncing extremists of that faith, and praising moderates. No members of Congress voted against the symbolic measure, but—in a move reminiscent of protests when a Hindu chaplain gave an opening prayer in the Senate—41 Republicans and one Democrat declined to approve of the resolution, instead voting “present” in an act of protest. "To offer respect for a major religion is one thing, but to offer respect for a major religion that has been behind... MORE >