Unintended Consequences

In the aftermath of the recent convention, a few finer points of factual county history are in order.
I referred to an "A" team in a Face Book posting, and it caused a reaction from a Chapman team member. One who hasn't been here long enough to understand the reference.

Back in 2007, and 2008, the Loudoun County Republican Committee had a Mass Meeting to elect a new Chairman. That Meeting was contentious as well. But at the heart of that meeting was the fight for a direction for the Committee. In the ashes of that contest, Glen Caroline had the victory, and the different factions of the Committee came together under Glen's excellent leadership to form the most successful election team to evolve from those years. I had been one of the most vocal critics of the old leadership and even I was brought onboard and served in a Chair position in the new Committee. I had previously left the Committee and was fully prepared to go to war with them before that Mass  Meeting.

That Team masterfully assembled and rolled out an election machine that met the Obama Wave, and held it back in small measure to 6 points better positioning than our surrounding counties did. Having proved the mechanism worked, we rocked it again in 2009, when Robert McDonnell enjoyed a win in the Governor's race and we also took the Lt. Governor and Attorney General's races. Loudoun County's Team posted an amazing 61%  figure in that race. The feat was never duplicated in all of the Commonwealth.

So, when I say "the A team" , I'm referring to the elements of that team in the history of Loudoun County's rise to power in the Commonwealth. With a couple of defections, that team is the one who endorsed and pushed for readdressing the mistakes by the current Sheriff, as relayed by the Commonwealth's Attorney of Loudoun County, Jim Plowman, a fellow Constitutional Officer, I might add..

But, it get's worse. When I explained that my candidate lost by a razor's edge vote, and that I didn't have any enthusiasm for campaigning for the winner, because ...quite frankly, I (and a full crew of Noble supporters) were dragged thru the mud with lies, misinformation....and then.... personal insults.
Why on earth would I, or any members of our team even bother to pull any duty for such a campaign? And then it came. The "expectation" that we just would. It was "our duty" ,in their arrogant stance.

If Mike Chapman is HALF as smart as he's supposed to be, he'd be warming phones up right now with the folks who shaved him in a contest where 30 KNOWN votes for Noble didn't show up. The race could have been the exact opposite result. If that had been the case, I can guarantee that we'd have been calling their team to personally put any animosity to bed ASAP....and get to smoothing things out before they smolder too long.

As has happened in Loudoun before, there are politically astute people, and there are horribly misguided folks who just couldn't be bothered with the ramifications of what comes on the tail of winning with distortions and lies, and personal attacks on a sitting REPUBLICAN Commonwealth's Attorney and the team that just happened to be dissatisfied with a fact-filled record of the past three years, and a line by line examination of a budget. We brought facts and documentation. They brought innuendo and oft-repeated misinformation.

In the aftermath, and some cooling off, some of the bitterness will never shake off. There are unintended consequences of saying things you cannot take back. But a little humility and a few sugar cubes thrown in while seeking this excellent team's assistant might do wonders.  ...And that phone still isn't ringing.

Update: In yet another display of complete and fulfilling arrogance, the campaign team has made another bad choice. There were only two roads set before them: Pour the charm on, even if they had to fake it, and bring on people who've done the brunt of the grassroots elections in the County.....
OR..... go into the second round of insults and argumentative diatribe guaranteed to drive the wedge in further.

I don't have to move an inch. If they were smart, they'd figure out that they need me and those like me. A couple of slaps on the back, cold beer and selling points is the order right now, not speeches about how I'm supposed to drop what I'm doing and come running to support someone because the Party tells me to....or that it's expected.

Hey, Obama....if you hadn't spent millions of taxpayer money, and dispatched a whole team to Israel to help defeat Netanyahu....sent Secretary of State  Kerry to Germany to meet with Herzog's team....you probably wouldn't look so inept and shocked this week. You tied YOURSELF to Herzog's hip. That alone made you the laughing stock of the Israel and American news cycle, not Bibi.
 Mkay, thanks.

The Great "Divide"?

Many of you were around when this blog was started to address a few local politicians who had lost their way.

A whole host of us endeavored to put them back on the path...and later to remove them when they ignored gentle prodding.

 Now, I've been involved in any number of efforts to welcome all conservatives to our Party, no matter what their ethnicity. I've endeavored to empower them inside the framework, all while priding myself on not seeing color, but relishing each individual's character and contribution to the efforts of conservative principles.

Imagine my surprise when I was targeted by elements who have labeled me a "coward" and a "nativist" when I continued along my path and endorsed John Guevera to win a Fairfax District where a less conservative white guy is also running.

That's right. They've stooped to calling Mr. Guevera an "anchor baby", I suppose as a thinly laced reference to their own racism against the TEA Party that dares to run people like Mia Love, Tim Scott, and other black Americans against the "establishment" that is trying desperately to hold the Party's old guard in place.

There was even nasty and totally uncalled for name calling aimed squarely at Dave Brat, who handily beat their fellow Eric Cantor in a level playing field...and did it by reciting the Republican Creed. GASP!!!

So I'm a little put out by the establishment types who have now turned to lying, calling names, backing democrats and  now exercising racism themselves as they point at others and project it to those of us with documented histories to the contrary.

Mama mama, we're all crazy now.....

I sat in astonishment at the blatant attempt to introduce a global version of wealth redistribution by a bimbo at the State department the other day. Really?

I can't really blame her for her failings. She was raised by two well known liberal entitled individuals and she never had to adapt to the real world because they sheltered her and her "elitist" notion that she was smarter than the rest of us.
The notion that she was obviously smarter than the rest of us echoed all thruout her "double down" remarks that her detractors couldn't be right about her idiotic remarks....they just were not "nuanced" enough to appreciate them.

She suffers from the same illness as the President and a whole host of administration idiots who are convinced of their intellectual superiority over the rest of us. In their world, they've been hoisted onto high horses and those who put them there have both insulated them from critical opinions, as well as actively assaulted those who would dare point out the stupidity of any action they might take, however demented that position might be.

Welcome Back Carter , part II

As predicted in my opinion piece , appropriately subtitled Welcome Back Carter , I ran down a list of failures in Carter's Presidency. They showed that Carter, and liberals in general, have NO clue what they're doing when it comes to the economy, foreign policy and a whole host of other issues.

As we enter the 6th year of this President's incompetence, We have to update his list of failures.

Benghazi -- leaving four Americans to die at the hands of our enemies, while he catches up on sleep for yet another fundraiser.

IRSgate -- Use the Internal Revenue Service to punish his enemies (his words, not mine) for organizing to give the States and people more power, to reign in the spending, and support the free market system....all things that were stellar patriotic activities just 30 years ago.

Fast and Furious -- gun running to Mexico....with a twist. Those guns were in turn used on our own Border Patrol agents.

Hostage swaps -- not only is the one soldier he went to free a traitor and deserter, he trades five TOP LEVEL enemy combatants for the guy.

NSA spying on everyday law-abiding citizens--- at every point in their daily lives.

Stepping around Congress to use his Executive Orders , after complaining that Bush did it....and exceeding the Bush orders by some twofold.

Great going.... no wonder the people have begun to fight back and 2014 looks to be a stellar year for the Conservatives running to reestablish the proper order in the Congress.

Obama and fumblers out-manuevered by Putin....again.

Back when Syria was initially involved in a massive civil war and their administration professed to have Weapons of Mass Destruction in form of gases and such....
Putin and Russia had not actually had a presence in the Middle East in nearly 20 years - when a number of their countrymen were actually taken in the same timeframe as our Iranian Hostage situation.
Within a two week period, President Obama and his minions allowed Putin and Russia to one-up them by sliding right around the US to offer to extract those pesky gases and delivery systems for the U.N.
Here, after meddling in the Ukrainian State, the Obama State Dept. had officially and thru it's channels , signaled their desire to see Ukraine join the European Union. They "masterfully" deployed assets to prop up a group inside Ukraine that would facilitate their desires. When that group backfired on the Administration and did not deliver the goods, they tossed out the Ukranians who would not facilitate them, and attempted to install some who would.
Now, they're shaking their paper tiger at Putin as he smirks at them in amusement.

John Flannery NAILED it in his Mid-March column in the Purcellville Gazette. Evidently, he agrees that the United States and the State Department OVERSTEPPED their authority in attempting to bring about the effects that they desired for Ukraine. Throughout the whole opinion piece, he was never able to type the words State Dept. or Obama.
Someone at the Purcellville Gazette must have noticed that he was speaking out-of-turn on democrat talking points, however,  and now that column is no longer viewable at the Purcellville Gazette. There is a rebuttal by Lovettsville resident Malcolm Baldwin that DOES include the "proper" talking points, and that is still visible at the site.

Obama and his minions are responding with checkers moves to a rather high prized game of Russian Chess....but they do not have the experience...or intellect to continue.

Barbara Comstock Endorsement coming

I have officially backed Barbara Comstock for the 10th District House seat.
While I love Bob Marshall to death, and identify heavily with his views, Barbara has the winning record in the portion of the District, as well as being the gender less likely to be affected by the first dead cat that liberals will pull out of their gunny sack.
I'll write more when I have the time.

I've also selected Ed Gillespie as the Senate candidate and will put my shoulder into both races as we approach selection time.

Update: Congratulations to Ed Gillespie on securing the nomination. Looking forward to restoring a working relationship with Shak Hill as we move past this development.

Vote Today for Whitbeck.

On an interview yesterday on WMAL, the democrat in this race got tangled up in her own shoe strings. She didn't want to get mired down in the arguments and her exact views  on On Demand Abortions , despite having that laughable commercial about her misleading assertions on Whitbeck.

Then, there is her professional career in regards to her  goading Whitbeck as a candidate who'll wage a "war on women" if elected. This democrat who is a former prosecutor has already done that...

Wexton's Shameful Record

2004: Loudoun Circuit Course Case Number 14750 (mugshot available upon request)

Travis Crosby allegedly breaks into a Cascades Commons apartment and rapes a woman at 2:30am. He is charged with rape, breaking and entering, destruction of property, assault, and abduction with intent to defile.

Wexton enters plea deal dropping the abduction with intent to defile charge, leading to a sentences that allows Crosby to be released next year.
This is the case Wexton shamefully exploits in her first TV ad

2001:Loudoun Juvenile Court: JA009201, (01-05)
Undocumented immigrant Samuel Flores allegedly abducts a woman, then beats and rapes her 4 times over the course of day. He is charged with 4 counts of rape and one count of abduction with intent to defile.

Wexton drops 3 counts of rape and one count of abduction, and reduces one count of rape to misdemeanor sexual battery.
Flores is sentenced to time served (less than 2 months)

2001: Loudoun County General District Court, Case ID: GC01002309-00
Undocumented immigrant Walter Hernandez allegedly takes a woman into the woods and rapes her. He is charged with rape and abduction.

Wexton drops the abduction charge and reduces the rape charge to misdemeanor sexual battery
Hernandez is sentenced to time served (about 4 months)

2001: Loudoun Circuit Court Case 14025
David Antonio Moya-Guillen allegedly punches a woman in the face as she leaves work, then abducts and rapes her. He is charged with rape and abduction with intent to file.

Wexton drops the abduction charge and reduces the rape charge to battery
Moya-Guillen is sentenced to time served (4 months)

Now, I'd call that a WAR ON WOMEN.

And Joe May? Living in someone's basement (in case he loses) in order to run for this office is bad enough, but trying to bleed votes off of the conservative AND the liberal is pretty low conduct for such a former proud lawmaker. I guess the draw of living large off of the offices he's held in the Commonwealth is just too great.

Whitbeck is an unabashed conservative who is fiscally conservative and will not be a tax and spend Senator. He deserves the support of all the citizens who find the Commonwealth's spending problem insulting.

Vote Whitbeck and we will have the control of the Senate and the House of Delegates going forward in a battle over McAwful (Remember Kaine's folly?) bankrupting the State over the next years.

National Assoc. for Gun Rights weighs in in 33rd

The Natl Assoc. of Gun Rights weighs in on the race in the 33rd Delegate Race in Virginia.
Joe May didn't even do them the courtesy of repsonding to a survey they sent to both candidates.
This was a no-brainer. Really.

But Joe May has a history that prevents this. In 2009, Joe voted to support a Gun-free zone in and around restaurants....enabling criminals to be assured that their intended victims would be unarmed in those areas.
Senate Bill 1035 was intended to abolish these gun-free oversights....and Delegate Joe May was johnny-on-the-spot trying to kill that measure. Thankfully, the measure was overturned in 2010. He went right back at it with the vote to limit purchases to one gun per month .

True to his nature, Joe May tried again in 2012, when trhe repeal of the one gun a month Bill was introduced. Thankfully, that law was also repealed.

Not really learning anything, nor of any inclination to mend his errant ways, Joe was at it again this year ...when he voted for SB 1378 --which is again determined to punish law-abiding gunowners for criminal's actions.

Do yourself and Virginia a huge favor....lose this guy...and Voter for LaRock!

Continued desperation in politics

Another funny mailer just made it's way to the house.In it, Joe May's desperate campaign just launched another lie. This time, they've insinuated that Dave Larock has been sued for fraud.

The truth is that LaRock and his wife sold a house...their own house... to a poor chap and his desperate quest to flip an already well-equipped home for a profit. This occurred at about the top of the housing market, but probably RIGHT AT THE TURN in the market.

When he purchased the house, he was cash poor, so the LaRocks bent over backwards to try to help him afford the house. In the end, God only knows what financing tricks this fellow  enlisted to afford the house. Then a tumbling market left him upside down.
His solution? Hit LaRock for insufficient electrical/workmanship quality and the likes.
And remember, that this is the house that LaRock personally lived in...not one of his builds, but the one he would move his family into. That was reason enough to look at the slub who bought at it with a microscope.
Now he blames the LaRock family. For his own creation. Go figure.

I have also been made aware that Joe May's campaign is crying foul and claims that Larock is slinging mud. Nothing could be further from the truth. Joe May has an abysmal record of service, and pointing it out is completely within the foul lines. Anyone could find the same record with a quick search of the official record of his votes. He hikes taxes like a madman, he isn't keen on pro-life issues, and he doesn't exactly like gunowners rights, either. All of this is proven stuff, folks....to the letter of his past votes.

I also recieved two more pieces of mail today that are independent of Dave Larock's campaign. A pro-life group sent out a list of questions to both candidates. Only Larock answered the questions.

Alist of tax questions went out from a liberty organization to both candidates. Only Dave Larock answered that one.

Don't be fooled by the outright lies and attacks on the character of Dave Larock. Send Joe May packing on June 11th.

But do not be surprised when he runs as an Independent, either.

Joe May's Desperation

I collected the mail today and laughed so hard, my neighbors must have wondered what the heck was so funny.
Joe May just lost this election primary. If you have to condemn the party of an ongoing case as automatically guilty (before the courts have even been convened) then you're pretty desperate.

While I seriously support property rights of individuals, I have a new take on Joe.
I highly recommend that the woman who had the sign displayed for her "gentleman's " club in West Virginia to call Gallopin' Joe May and have him do a 60 second spot of endorsement for the club.

Since he's so quick to point out the sign grabbing, can we now just say that "Joe supports the degradation of women's rights  and family values"...?

This election, Joe has been pretty much fibbing in EVERY flier that has come to the house. He's raised taxes 5 times with five different votes. He's no friend of the gun owners of Virginia. And he has a 75% rating with the National Abortion Rights Advocacy.

We just watched him complete the last tax hike a couple of months ago and I remember very well that it was later altered, because in it's original form at the time of the vote, it was UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

Send Ol' Joe packing for a nice long retirement with his grandchildren. Vote LaRock on June 11.

Traitors in the US Senate

Specifically, Warner  in Virginia..... who is content to vote against a measure that keeps the 2nd Amendment as the soveriegn law of the United States, and gives it authority over the UN Treaty to remove ownership of firearms.
Here is the rest of the group of Dems that voted against the 2nd Amendment.

http://www.publiusforum.com/2013/03/25/these-senators-voted-to-give-away-your-second-amendment-rights-to-the-un/

Update: This WILL be used against Mark Warner when Gillespie challenges his seat.

Bulletproof endorses Lingamfelter For LT. Governor.

Details coming, but please peruse his site and consider this Conservative as your choice as the Lt. Governor of the Commonwealth. This year was especially painful in that I do like and know so many who wanted this post.
Had a brief meet with Susan Stimpson and really like that girl. She's got fire in her. She also has some pretty ill-prepared supporters (having identified that they were not even part of her staff or official campaign)  that botched the great impression that she made on me when they blind-sided another conservative. Note to the Stimpson campaign -- your message was spot on, but  if your enthusiastic supporters are back-biting other campaigns , they can cost you the race. Who was it that said "the political arena could get bloody, and that entering it was not a matter of if there is damage, but how much?" Those folks should be talking up their preference in a candidate, not lobbing insults at another candidate.

At the basis of this race, Scott is no moderate, he is not "squishy", and he often takes things upon his shoulders and votes with his convictions against the odds of the rest of his peers in the GA. I see the Cuccinelli "compass" in him. I have little doubt about his votes being directed for his constituents and the State's best direction....often against his own best interest.
The above paragraph should not be viewed as an attack against Ms. Stimpson, either. But it's a shame that I have to write that before someone actually uses it as a quote from me....because, in this race, some of them will indeed try to.


I've also been around the net today, and this was a priceless piece that offered some pretty good views to "inside baseball", as my friend Stone says. It's a campaign to campaign analysis of the LG run, and it also addresses yet another attack series that Lingamfelter has had to endure. (not remotely connected to the Stimpson supporters mentioned above).

http://fortgilmer.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/lg-contest-update-and-a-note-about-cowardice/


Please use the link below to familiarize yourself with Scott for around a week. I'll have more to say then.


http://www.scottforva.com/

Youtubes that you won't see unless you look for them

Here is the testimony that the brain-washed media won't dare show you....

The list of traitors in the Virginia House

I am speechless when I began to read the names of those who foisted this travesty upon us. There, in type were the names of at least three local republicans that I held in high regard until I realized that they were really just "tax and spend" liberals using the GOP to get elected.

There is no excuse for the voting...and these wannabees need to be set free in their respective and upcoming election bids. They are liberal-lites....in the best light.

13th Va. Senatorial District makes moves.

Proving that he's a well-rounded and very dedicated conservative (one of two local guys in that senate that have a spine) and that he can use a five or six-speed transmission to great effect... Senator Dick Black has just championed some hard work on three important  topics of interest to real Virginians (as opposed to those folks who merely exist among us at election time before they go home to whatever rock they crawled out from under after the elections.)
____________________________________________________________________

It is very doubtful that the 2013 session of the Virginia General Assembly will have a week more eventful than this one. Amendments to the biennial budget, the continuing debate over transportation funding proposals, and crossover, all garnered headlines this week. But with just two weeks remaining until the scheduled end of session on February 23, there's still a lot to be done.

BUDGET

The Commonwealth of Virginia operates under biennial budgets. Since the General Assembly approved the 2012 to 2014 Budget last year, we only make amendments to the budget this year. Still, there are a lot of changes being made to the state's spending plan.

READY FOR 300,000 NEW WELFARE RECIPIENTS?

The Medicare amendment that was transmitted from the Senate to the House of Delegates represents the biggest welfare expansion in decades. Unfortunately, this expansion will provide "Cadillac-style" coverage to about 300,000 additional low income Virginians.

I voted against this expansion because I am tired of taxpayers footing the bill for benefits they often cannot afford themselves. The welfare benefits are out of control. From free cell phones with taxpayer funded internet access, to better healthcare than many taxpaying families have, the benefits and lack of cost oversight are providing an incentive not to work because the quality of life is better on welfare.

Medicaid expansion advocates claim that the Federal Government will pick up most of the cost for this massive expansion of benefits. However, the Federal Government often uses an initial "hook" by promising free money to states that later dissipates, leaving the states to shoulder enormous burdens. It is my belief that this will cause Virginia financial difficulty down the road.

It is now up to you and the members of the House of Delegates to stop the expansion of Medicare. The silence from taxpayers has been deafening, and I ask you to please get involved right away. You can contact your delegate by visiting this link, and forwarding it to your families and friends.

The Senate's package of budget amendments was approved on Thursday. Next week, the House and Senate will appoint conferees to negotiate the differences between their two plans.

TRANSPORTATION

The effort to reach agreement on a transportation funding plan this year is proving somewhat elusive, so far. The house approved a proposal this week and the Senate did not. But, it wasn't for lack of trying. I even presented my own transportation plan, which would not raise any taxes. Every Republican senator voted for a transportation at some point in the process. Some Senate Republicans voted for two different plans. Senate Democrats, however, did not vote for any.

Without at least one Democrat senator supporting a transportation plan, none can be approved. That's because a transportation funding plan is considered a revenue bill, falling into one of the few legislative measures for which the Lieutenant Governor is prohibited by the Constitution from breaking a tie. As a result, the Senate could not get a plan approved.

The effort to reach an agreement on transportation funding will get another chance in the coming week. I will support a transportation plan that does not raise taxes, adjusts our budget to make transportation a priority, puts a lock on the Transportation Trust fund so it is not raided for pet projects, does not eliminate the gas tax in favor of other taxes, and changes VDOT’s road project priorities to focus money on heavily traveled roads.

The transportation plan approved by the House will come over to the Senate for consideration. Whether or not Senate Democrats decide to actively participate in the debate over funding will ultimately determine the fate of transportation funding proposals for this session.

SECOND AMENDMENT UPDATE

This year, all of the gun control measures have failed. There are, however, a few pro-Second Amendment bills making their way through the General Assembly. One of them is SB1335. I voted for this bill, which was introduced by Sen. Mark Obenshain, because it will further protect lists of concealed carry permit holders from having their names and addresses published by newspapers or any other organization.
I was recently appalled to see a newspaper in New York publish the names and addresses of law-abiding gun owners in order to punish them for exercising their Second Amendment rights. This exposed law-abiding gun owners, victims of domestic violence, families of prison guards and judges to threats of violence and home invasions. As one of the most law-abiding groups of people in the country, we need to protect their right to privacy and from intimidation from the media and radical anti-gun groups.

CROSSOVER

Crossover, the legislative halfway point of the General Assembly session, came this week. Of the more than 1,700 bills filed by delegates and senators, nearly 1,000 were still alive at the halfway mark. The Senate approved more than 400 of the bills filed by its members, all of which are now being considered by the House.
Of course, the Senate must now consider the nearly 550 bills approved by the House. That means that we have to act on over 50 bills per day from now until session ends. The final two weeks of session are going to be very, very busy in the Senate.

I’ll provide an update on the latest on the progress of legislation and the transportation funding debate next week. Until then, have a great week.

Warm regards,
Richard H. Black
Senator of Virginia, 13th District

____________________________________________________________________
And you know what? In all of that legislation and update...I didn't see the word abortion one time. Proving , yet again, that Senator Black's critics don't actually have legs to stand on, so they prefer invisible crutches.

Addressing the voter fraud issue in Virginia

There are democratic operatives in Virginia, as well as Leesburg (specifically) that say this doesn't happen.
I personally know of three cases out in Dulles District that altered the 2008 Presidential race. Seems that the Dulles addresses started recieving Obama mailings with a completely different name on them than the legal owners of the residence (who had actually lived in the house for 17 years on one such address).
Tracing the names took the investigator out to Oregon State where the individual's home address was found. Scouring for an absentee ballot was all but useless, because the SBE is understaffed and won't conduct such business without three registered voters complaints from that District.

Remember Steve Hunt out in Fairfax? He won the election with walk-in voters, only to lose when those unaccounted for absentees arrived.  I'll believe till I'm done that the effort was a beta rollout for later efforts at turning the vote in dems favor.

So, it is with great joy that I see Rob Bell offering a cure to all this under-handed malfeasance.

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=131&typ=bil&val=HB1764&submit=GO

This follows an issue in 2008 where 194 individual cases were uncovered.
voter fraud is real

                  and , of course, there's a Moran ready to point out exactly how it get's done.

Keep an eye on Dems and liberals on this matter. They're already spitting insanity on disenfranchisement already. How dare we address the issue of taking votes from people who cannot legally cast those votes because they've violated the issue when they cast their second vote?

For your consideration

I view the readers and longtime followers to be pretty independent thinkers and some of the more intellectually gifted among our peers.
Watch this and see that the whole ball of wax that could be deployed alongside of the effort to rid you of your firearms.

BEWARE!

There should be one of these signs at every entrance to the Commonwealth. And I've taken to wearing my holster on the outside of my belt these days just so folks know that we're legally armed.

I'm kinda digging the West Virginia variation as well.

Government styles evaluated

 

2005 map of Worldwide Governance Indicators, which attempts to measure the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society...

The breakdown of the colors on this map of the countries in the map is as follows:

 Dark green (90th-100th percentile)

Light green (75th-90th percentile),

Yellow (50th-75th percentile)

Orange (25th-50th percentile)

Pink (10th-25th percentile)

Red (0th-10th percentile).

It is important to note that the Dark Green areas are all democracies, Republics and Constitutional Monarchies where authority is vested in a parliament...but NOT those parliamentary republics whose parliaments are effectively supreme over a separate head of state.