Changes

==Governor==

==Governor==

McDonnell was selected to give the Republican response to [[President Barack Obama]]'s 2010 state of the Union address. <ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/21/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6125701.shtml</ref> McDonnell ran for governor as a conservative, but in 2013, he betrayed conservatives by signing into law the largest tax increase in Virginia history.<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/26/va-gov-mcdonnell-faces-conservative-ire-tax-hike/</ref> When the Virginia House of Delegates had passed a bill to make a transvaginal ultrasound a prerequisite for having an abortion in Virginia, McDonnell watered down the final law to remove that particular requirement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/02/22/virginia_gov_bob_mcdonnell_changes_his_mind_about_ultrasound_law.html|work=Slate|date=February 22, 2012|title=Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Backs off the Invasive Ultrasound Law|accessdate=August 16, 2013}}</ref>

McDonnell was selected to give the Republican response to [[President Barack Obama]]'s 2010 state of the Union address.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/01/21/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6125701.shtml</ref> McDonnell ran for governor as a conservative, but in 2013, he betrayed conservatives by signing into law the largest tax increase in Virginia history.<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/26/va-gov-mcdonnell-faces-conservative-ire-tax-hike/</ref> He shifted the [[gasoline tax]] from a retail tax that was collected at the pump as cents per gallon to a wholesale tax that was collected as a percentage of the wholesale price of gas.  As a result, the wholesale gasoline tax will automatically grow with inflation, while the former tax was limited because the state legislature refused to increase it for decades.

 

 

When the Virginia House of Delegates had passed a bill to make a transvaginal ultrasound a prerequisite for having an abortion in Virginia, McDonnell watered down the final law to remove that particular requirement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/02/22/virginia_gov_bob_mcdonnell_changes_his_mind_about_ultrasound_law.html|work=Slate|date=February 22, 2012|title=Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell Backs off the Invasive Ultrasound Law|accessdate=August 16, 2013}}</ref>

McDonnell accepted a $5,000 campaign donation from "Bobby Thompson" who was head of the United States Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), a organization who had been refused registration to allow it to solicit charitable contributions in Virginia.  USNVA's lobbyists then got the General Assembly to pass a bill that would exempt such veterans groups from the regulations applicable to all other charities.  While the law was awaiting Gov. McDonnell's signature, the ''St. Petersburg Times'' ran a series of investigative stories on how the USNVA was a fraud.  The sponsor of the bill in the State Senate asked McDonnell to veto the bill, but he signed it anyway.  Later his campaign donated the $5,000 to a real veterans' charity.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/mcdonnell-give-away-5k-navy-vets-charity|last=Sluss|first=Michael|date=18 May 2010|title=McDonnell to give away $5K from Navy vets charity"|work=Roanoke Times|accessdate=September 5, 2014}}</ref> Thompson was later convicted of fraud and identity theft in Ohio in conjunction with his nation-wide scam.<ref name=tampa>{{cite web|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/nonprofit-under-investigation-wins-registration-exemption-in-virginia/1096783|title=Nonprofit under investigation wins registration exemption in Virginia|work=tampabay.com|date=22 May 2010|accessdate=September 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/247014|title=Fla. contributor to Va. campaigns raises questions|work=Roanoke Times|date=16 May 2010|authors=Dan Casey and Michael Sluss}}</ref>

McDonnell accepted a $5,000 campaign donation from "Bobby Thompson" who was head of the United States Navy Veterans Association (USNVA), a organization who had been refused registration to allow it to solicit charitable contributions in Virginia.  USNVA's lobbyists then got the General Assembly to pass a bill that would exempt such veterans groups from the regulations applicable to all other charities.  While the law was awaiting Gov. McDonnell's signature, the ''St. Petersburg Times'' ran a series of investigative stories on how the USNVA was a fraud.  The sponsor of the bill in the State Senate asked McDonnell to veto the bill, but he signed it anyway.  Later his campaign donated the $5,000 to a real veterans' charity.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/mcdonnell-give-away-5k-navy-vets-charity|last=Sluss|first=Michael|date=18 May 2010|title=McDonnell to give away $5K from Navy vets charity"|work=Roanoke Times|accessdate=September 5, 2014}}</ref> Thompson was later convicted of fraud and identity theft in Ohio in conjunction with his nation-wide scam.<ref name=tampa>{{cite web|url=http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/nonprofit-under-investigation-wins-registration-exemption-in-virginia/1096783|title=Nonprofit under investigation wins registration exemption in Virginia|work=tampabay.com|date=22 May 2010|accessdate=September 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.roanoke.com/247014|title=Fla. contributor to Va. campaigns raises questions|work=Roanoke Times|date=16 May 2010|authors=Dan Casey and Michael Sluss}}</ref>