Posted by Admin on September 3, 2010
CHRISTIANSBURG _ The Republican challenger for the Ninth Congressional District says President Obama’s statement endorsing the construction of a mosque near the site of the 9-11 terrorist is troubling. Morgan Griffith also believes our current Congressional leaders must answer questions about the issue.
“Obama is out of touch with the feelings of Americans,” he said. A recent poll showed as many as 70 percent of Americans oppose this effort.
“This has nothing to do with religious freedom, instead it has everything to do with letting the souls of those killed in this tragedy to rest in peace. It does not help with the healing process that still continues today.”
Griffith like others here in the Ninth District also wants to know why our current Congressman is not standing up and echoing the opinions of those here in southwest Virginia. “In my travels over the past week, people have come up to me and asked why this is being allowed. He (the President) needs to quit dancing around the subject.”
“To many people, this is a slap in the face,” he concluded.
Posted by Admin on September 3, 2010
HILLSVILLE _ Morgan Griffith, the Republican candidate for the Ninth Congressional seat, says agriculture is a major employer in southwest Virginia, and we have to expand the global markets for more of our products.
“By doing so, agribusiness will continue to thrive,” he said during a stop Saturday at the Carroll County Fair at the Southwest Virginia Farmer’s Market. “If elected, I will push state and federal agencies to do a better job in marketing both our agricultural and forest products to the world. We have a lot to offer, and we can provide others something that will spur the economy here in our area.”
But it does not stop there, the candidate said.
“We also need to review all federal regulations to ensure they don’t affect the industry,” said Griffith. “I will work to strengthen protection of personal property rights.”
Griffith also points to events like the Carroll Fair being so important to showcase southwest Virginia’s role in agriculture, “I salute the organizers for such an outstanding weekend.”
The candidate and his family enjoyed a day at the fair, and his two young boys seemed to really enjoy the fair’s annual tractor pull. “Community fairs are important for youngsters of all ages as they can really learn where the food they eat really comes from—it’s not just a grocery store.”
The Republican also took the opportunity to express his support for a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte to improve the conditions of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
“I agree with Goodlatte and Rep. Randy Forbes that H.R. 5509, the Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act, takes a more reasonable approach than a proposed U.S. Senate bill. It will strike a balance that protects our farmers while defending our environment,” said Griffith.
“The Goodlatte bill avoids some of the federal mandates that would affect both farmers and local governments that are included in the Senate bill.”
Criticism to the Senate bill centers around the reduction of runoff into waterways. Many farmers have said they could not implement many of the original regulations without being drastically affected financially. “We do not need to force farmers to spend more money during a tough economy. Instead, we need to be doing things to help them,” Griffith said.
H.R. 5509 would use existing federal programs to help farmers expand the use of nutrient management plans on their land; better coordinate the collection and analysis of the bay’s environmental health; and continue to encourage voluntary farm programs instead of federal mandates.
Griffith had been scheduled to attend a forum in Washington County on Monday to discuss agribusiness, but the event has been cancelled.
Posted by Admin on September 3, 2010
CHRISTIANSBURG _ Morgan Griffith, the Republican candidate for the Ninth Congressional seat, responded to a full-page attack launched this morning in newspapers across southwest Virginia. The ad claims Griffith’s opposition to President Obama’s “Cap and Trade” legislation would send jobs to China.
“Rick Boucher’s radical environmentalist friends are attacking me over my opposition to coal-killing Cap and Trade legislation. The Natural Resources Defense Council (who sponsored the ad) supports Cap & Trade because it is bad for coal. Their suggestion that windmill jobs are going to get outsourced to China is completely ridiculous.”
Griffith says Cap and Trade will kill the southwest VA coal industry, send more manufacturing jobs to China, and raise monthly electric bills. “Simply put, Cap and Trade will not protect local jobs, but send them overseas.”
Sec 425-427 of the Cap and Trade bill deals with “Climate Change Worker Adjustment Assistance.”
“The cap and trade bill Rick Boucher helped write specifically includes provisions for the workers who are going to lose their jobs because of it,” says Griffith.
“This bill would drastically affect southwest Virginia, and our current Congressman has sided against the very people that have elected him in the past. He is out of touch with what we need in southwest Virgina.”
Posted by Admin on August 30, 2010
Joe Dashiell
Reporter, WDBJ
Ninth District Congressional Candidate Morgan Griffith says a full page attack ad in The Roanoke Times is “preposterous.” Monday afternoon, he said it’s his opponent’s support for cap and trade legislation that will kill jobs in southwest Virginia.
The ad was financed not by the campaign of Democratic incumbent Rick Boucher, but by an environmental group called the Natural Resources Defense Council.
http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-story-griffith-ad-083010,0,5860207.story
Posted by Admin on August 29, 2010
McDonnell will host a fundraiser Tuesday evening for Griffith — who is seeking to oust Rep. Richard Boucher (D) from office — at The Virginian golf club in Bristol.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/08/griffith_to_get_funding_boost.html
Posted by Admin on August 27, 2010
The Candidate’s Forum hosted by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce scheduled for Monday in Abingdon was cancelled today after Congressman Rick Boucher refused to give any response to the repeated requests of organizers about his attendance. His Republican challenger in this November’s election, Morgan Griffith questions why he keeps dodging debates and public forums where differences in the two candidates can be raised.
“What is Rick Boucher scared of? His own voting record?” asked Griffith while talking with voters in downtown Galax on Thursday. “Rick Boucher should at least have the courtesy of giving his own constituents a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ when they take the time to invite him to a civic event. Folks in southwest Virginia don’t deserve this behavior from their own congressman. As a public servant, Mr. Boucher’s salary comes from the very taxpayers he chooses to ignore.”
Boucher has also failed to respond to the Southwest Virginia Realtors, the Montgomery County League of Women Voters and the Virginia Tech Student Association about planned forums.
Griffith says this is a disservice to the informed voter. “I would like to have the opportunity to debate Mr. Boucher numerous times, and let the public decide where he stands on certain issues. But it does not seem that will happen in this election process.”
Posted by Admin on August 22, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
By DEBBIE HALL – Martinsville Bulletin Staff Writer
Locating businesses in Southwest Virginia, and particularly in the 9th Congressional District, may be easier were it not for federal regulations that hamper economic growth, Del. Morgan Griffith said Friday as he campaigned in Stuart.
While at the Virginia State Peach Festival in Patrick County, Griffith, R-Salem, who is seeking to oust long-time incumbent U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, said many regulations pushed at the federal level are job killers.
In addition, a proposed cap and trade measure is a huge issue that “will not only kill coal jobs but also make our electric bills skyrocket,” Griffith said of an initiative also known as allowance trading, according to www.generationgreen.org/cap-trade.
Under the proposed system, facilities would be given allowances representing the amount of pollutants they could emit. Facilities having less than the allowable limit could sell their leftover allowances.
Boucher initially supported a cap and trade measure that some in his party said will cause electric rates to skyrocket. The measure has been stalled in the U.S. Senate.
Entire article at http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=24958
Posted by Admin on August 20, 2010
http://tricitiessports.com/house-majority-leader-morgan-griffith-named-honorary-starter-of-upcoming-fo-p44762-141.htm
TriCitiesSports.com
August 17, 2010
Food City officials recently announced that Virginia House Majority Leader and 9th District Candidate for Congress, Morgan Griffith has been named Honorary Starter of the Food City 250 Aug. 20.
“Food City operates 20 locations in Southwest Virginia and we’re proud to have one of the area’s top legislators serve as Honorary Starter of our event,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.
House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith has been a member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 1994 and has served as House Majority Leader since 2000. A graduate of Emory & Henry College, Morgan is one of the most influential members of the Virginia General Assembly, writing and passing landmark legislation that keeps Virginians safer from violent crime, holds down taxes, protects our constitutional freedoms and makes Virginia a great place to live, work, run a business and raise a family. Morgan is currently a candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 9th Congressional District.
Morgan is also committed to giving back to the community and the Commonwealth. He is a member of a number of civic and professional organizations in Southwest Virginia. Morgan and his wife Hilary have three children.
“I’m honored to have been invited to participate in such a prestigious event,” Griffith said. “As a graduate of Emory & Henry College, it’s great to be back in Southwest Virginia. Food City and Bristol Motor Speedway are incredible assets to the region and I’m thrilled to serve as the Honorary Starter for the Food City 250.”
Each year, Food City selects an individual to serve as the event honorary starter. A number of public officials and well-known figures have been privileged to drop the green flag on one of the most popular venues in the Nationwide Series.
