Blog Archives

Earlier this morning, we heard from Rep. Rob Wittman, who will be running for re-election, but Blogs United 2009 allowed us the opportunity to hear from the other 1^st Congressional District challengers, Scott Robinson and Krystal Ball, along with the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 5^th District.

Col. Robinson is a Northumberland County native, who graduated from Catawba College. Robinson would vote yes for the current Congressional/Senate Health Care bills, because he believes they would reduce the deficit and provide care for everyone. You can learn more about Robinson from his website. Robinson is starting to utilize new media with his campaign and even mentioned that he tweeted before arriving at the meeting.

Scott Rigell spoke next about his run for Congress in the 2^nd District. Rigell owns an automobile dealership. Rigell thinks the health care proposal in Congress is bad for the nation. Also, of note, Rigell is very active with new media.

Ben Loyola is also running in the 2^nd District. Loyola was born in Havana, Cuba, and endured many struggles before being allowed to come into the country. Loyola graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and is still in the Reserves. Loyola is a businessman, who runs Loyola Enterprises. Loyola is a fiscal conservative, pro-life, and a strong defender of the Constitution.

Kenny Golden was a former Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach, and he is running for Congress. Golden is a 31-year Navy Veteran and a University of Virginia alumnus. He mentioned the need for new media and how people need to be informed about the blogosphere.

Scott Taylor is also running in the 2^nd District. Taylor was a Navy SEAL and is a real estate broker and a health club owner. Taylor is running to serve the residents in the 2^nd District, and he does not like the direction our country is headed in, i.e. the budget. Taylor mentioned that there is a great learning curve, when it comes to new media and technology, and how it reaches out to others.

Mike McPadden is running in the 5^th District. McPadden mentioned the new media movement as modern day pamphleteers. One of McPadden’s campaign platforms is individual liberty, and how the Obama Administration/Congress is walking away with our liberties. McPadden mentioned some of the lost liberties he would like to restore, such as the amount of taxes. Sound money and Constitutional restraint are the other two platforms. When it came to explaining the sound money concept, McPadden mentioned the decline in the American dollar. He would support the Audit the Fed amendment that Rep. Ron Paul has recently passed through Committee.

Coby W. Dillard will be filing to run in the 3^rd District against Rep. Bobby Scott. Nothing has changed in his leadership. Dillard is running to be a different voice. Dillard is a blogger (Dillard Doctrine) and he is an active Twitter-er.

Krystal Ball is running in the 1^st Congressional District, and she is a University of Virginia alumna. Ball is a small business owner with a educational software design business. Ball is running to improve the education system and wants to work to create jobs. Ball also mentioned that she wants to focus on environmental reform. Ball mentioned that social media is reaching out to voters. Ball believes more resources need to be given to teachers and attracting new teachers and is not a strong advocate for vouchers. Ball would also support President Obama’s mandate on giving the Environmental Protection Agency control to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, which would take power away from the states (Maryland and Virginia).