Watch AG McDonnell’s speech to the to the Advance attendees at lunch on December 6, 2008. All I can say is: it rocks.
And here’s a copy of the speech:
For Public Release
Remarks of Attorney General Bob McDonnell
2008 Republican Advance
The Homestead Resort – Warm Springs
December 6, 2008
Good afternoon my fellow Republicans!
I want to thank our great Lt. Governor Bill Bolling for his kind comments.
Bill is a good friend and an exceptional public servant and conservative leader.
I am proud to call Bill Bolling my running mate – and together, we are going to put our commonsense conservative principles to work to get results for the people of Virginia.
We are going to offer bold innovative ideas to solve problems and get Virginia’s economy moving again.
I also want to thank Congresswoman Thelma Drake for her outstanding career in public service. Thelma you will continue to be a leader for our party and our team! We are so grateful for all that you do.
And thanks to all of you great leaders from around the Commonwealth. You are the heart and soul of the Party.
I am extremely honored to be your nominee for Governor next year! Thank you for your support and confidence in me.
And I want to say a quick hello to the love of my life, my wife Maureen, and our daughter Cailin who are here with us today.
Friends, we meet today in unusually challenging times for the families of Virginia and America.
Our state and national economy have been severely jolted.
Thankfully here in Virginia we are in better shape than many across this country.
We can be thankful that our pro-business climate and right to work laws provide a comparatively sturdy foundation on which to build for the future.
But even here in Virginia, we face massive budget shortfalls, mounting job losses and rising unemployment claims, static incomes, and businesses cutting payrolls and investment.
The middle-class families of Virginia are the ones hit hardest.
For many citizens, their job situation is precarious. Their home values have declined. They face skyrocketing food prices, energy costs and tuition bills. The funds they invested for their retirement or their children’s college education have suddenly lost much value. And there is the constant threat of more taxes and regulation- from Washington, from Richmond and from local governments.
The families facing these daily challenges are from all parts of Virginia, of all races and religions, and all walks of life.
They are people just like us, and it is for people just like them that we are active in political life. It is why we are here on this weekend instead of watching football or shopping.
We do this because we believe our ideas and solutions can make a positive difference in our lives, and their lives.
These families who face such financial insecurity in this troubled economy are not Republican families, and they are not Democratic families. They are Virginia families.
And they are what this campaign in 2009 is going to be about.
Bill and I are going to make our record of leadership and our commonsense principles the sure foundation on which to build a more prosperous and more unified, safer Virginia.
We are going to offer new ideas and practical solutions that are soundly rooted in those principles of limited and efficient government, strong families, and free enterprise, and equal opportunity, and personal responsibility that are the reasons all of us here have long committed ourselves to public service through politics.
We have seen how the people of Virginia will respond when we offer that kind of leadership.
And that is where Bill Bolling and I have the great advantage over the candidates from the other side.
Together, we’ve spent nearly 35 years in office fixing problems and finding solutions.
We know how to fight for our values and our principles, and we know how to reach across party lines to get things done.
Four years ago I stood before you as a candidate for Attorney General and pledged to run a positive, innovative campaign.
With your help, despite a tough political environment and numerous obstacles, we won in 2005.
We won Prince William and Loudoun counties. We won Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Henrico and Chesterfield. We won southwest Virginia.
We won because we laid out a forward-looking vision for making Virginia safer and stronger.
Then, we went to Richmond, and got to work and got things done.
Working together we established a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence for sexual predators who commit violent crimes against children.
Working together, we cracked down on drug dealers with tough new sentences.
Working together, we became a national leader fighting Internet Crimes Against Children
Working together we defended Virginians against identity theft.
Working together, we reduced gang violence.
Working together, we curbed frivolous prisoner lawsuits.
Working together, we helped protect Virginians from terrorist threats.
And we worked together to secure Virginians’ private property rights.
Each of these accomplishments represented not only a promise made at election-time, but a promise kept at governing-time.
The great challenge facing the next Governor of Virginia will be to renew the economic promise of Virginia for all our citizens.
We cannot tax our way to prosperity. We must now prioritize and cut state spending. State spending has doubled in the past 10 years. It must be brought under control.
There is only one alternative for our future prosperity, and that is to grow the economy.
That’s the way to pay for the excellent schools our children need.
That’s the way to keep college affordable and available.
That’s the way to build new roads and reduce traffic congestion.
That’s the way to fund public safety and keep our neighborhoods safe.
That’s the way to preserve our environment for future generations.
That’s the way to create better-paying jobs and ensure rising incomes for the middle-class families who are the backbone of our economy.
The question for the people of Virginia next November is, who can they really trust to make it happen?
Who will provide the leadership, management and ideas to strengthen our economy and our state. Talk is cheap, and politicians have an endless supply of hot air. People want results, not rhetoric.
I learned from my parents not to make excuses, and to take responsibility.
I was raised in Fairfax County by a dad who was a World War II veteran and a mom who balanced family and work. Growing up in Northern Virginia, I learned from them the values that have lasted a lifetime – close family, hard work, faith in God, following the Golden Rule. When my dad talked about luck he’d say, “The harder you work, the luckier you get.” And the Scriptures taught me that whoever wants to be a leader, must be a servant.
I represented Virginia Beach in the House of Delegates and served under both Democrat and Republican governors. I learned that you can make a real difference if you don’t mind who gets the credit. Ronald Reagan proved that to be true.
During 21 years in the Army I learned the value of sacrifice and teamwork in overcoming difficult challenges. I saw the strength and satisfaction that comes from being part of an enterprise that’s far bigger than yourself. I looked from freedom’s soil on our side of the Iron Curtain into the dark soul of tyranny on the other. And it brought home America’s love of freedom and America’s greatness to me in a very vivid way.
As a corporate manager, I saw what it took to balance a budget and to make a business profitable. I saw the productive power that is unleashed when we empower hard working people to work and save, to invest and create, to compete vigorously and to give generously.
During those years we lived in the suburbs of Atlanta, Chicago, and Kansas City. I was working for the company while raising my constantly growing family!
I didn’t really know the politics of the states we called home during those days. I wasn’t on a first-name basis with any officeholders, and, frankly, I didn’t ever see myself running for public office.
So when elections would roll around I voted as a father who worked long hours providing for his wife and children, who wanted government to do the big things right.
I wanted good roads to get me to and from work on time.
I wanted good schools for my kids to attend.
I wanted a safe neighborhood where they could play outside without their mother and me having to worry.
And I voted for the candidate who I believed could get the job done.
That is the kind of leader I have always strived to be. That is the Governor I will be.
Today homeowners see their appraisals rising, their property taxes increasing, and the worth of their homes falling. I will be the Governor who works for them.
Today drivers see their commute times increasing from traffic congestion, and their quality time at home decreasing. I will be the Governor who works for them.
Today workers see their companies struggling, their salaries flat, and prices going higher. I will be the Governor who works for them.
Every Virginia parent worries about their children’s future.
All my kids went to excellent public high schools in Virginia. I am concerned that many of our young people don’t get to attend the kind of great schools that they did. Every child deserves to attend a school that provides them with a quality education. For every parent who worries at night that their child’s school is failing them, I will be the Governor who works for them.
Our twin boys are getting ready to apply for college. Will there be enough room for them at the Virginia colleges they want to attend, at a reasonable price? It’s a conversation that thousands of Virginia parents have every night. And I will be the Governor who works for them.
Our oldest children are finishing college, starting their careers. Will there be good jobs for them? Will the same opportunities for success that have defined the American Dream still be around for their generation?
This is what we talk about when the McDonnell family gets together. It is what thousands of Virginia families talk about when they get together. And I will be the Governor who works for them.
My dad is a retired Air Force officer who taught me much about life. He is now struggling with Alzheimer’s and chronic illness. How will he best pay for his long term care and medical needs? We aren’t alone in facing this situation. It’s a common conversation in Virginia living rooms and kitchens. I will be the Governor who works for every family struggling with these issues.
People across Virginia today are making tough choices, cutting back on spending so that there is money enough to meet their basic needs. They expect their government to do the same thing.
They expect their leaders to go through the budget line by line, pulling out every single bit of waste and cutting every single program that isn’t getting results for taxpayers. They are right. I did that as Attorney General in our office. And I want to be the Governor who works for them.
The people of Virginia are good and decent. They work hard. They deal fairly. And they expect a state government that reflects those values.
They want a leader who will wake up on every one of his 1,460 days as Governor and say, “Today, it is my honor to go to work for the people of Virginia. How can I make government work better, at a lower cost, and produce better value for our people today!”
I want to be Governor to govern that way for them.
Yes, we face challenges ahead in Virginia. We all know that.
We are blessed to live in a great and wonderful Commonwealth, yet we need a resurgence of innovation, stewardship, charity, and hard work to secure that prosperity and freedom in the years ahead.
President Harry S Truman once said: “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
That’s the America I know.
That’s the Virginia I know.
God has given us a great Commonwealth
We possess courage, imagination and determination.
Now let’s join together and get to work
My fellow Republicans: we’re a little down, but we’re not out!
My fellow Virginians: times are tough, but much brighter days are ahead!
Now, on to victory next November!
Thank you!
