I haven't hidden my belief that George Allen is unfit to be returned to the U. S. Senate. I've known Allen since 1974, so I have a long range perspective both on his personality and his policies while Governor of Virginia and during his one term in the U. S. Senate before being defeated by Jim Webb six years ago. Neither Virginia nor the nation as a whole need another term of George Allen in office at any level. Thankfully, the Virginian Pilot recognizes this reality and has endorsed Tim Kaine (pictured at left) for U. S. Senate. Among the reasons cited are Allen's own role in rubber stamping the George W. Bush policies that led the nation to a financial melt down in 2008 and the bloated deficit that now saddles the nation. Here are highlights from the endorsement:
The candidate chosen to succeed Democratic Sen. Jim Webb will need to work closely with other senators and the president - whoever that may be. He must collaborate on solutions that protect the national interest without sacrificing Virginia's.
That leaves the following as the most instructive question voters can ask before casting a ballot on Nov. 6: Which candidate would work effectively in Congress with Republicans and Democrats, with President Barack Obama or with a President Mitt Romney? Without a doubt, the answer is Tim Kaine.
Deficit reduction is his priority, and he has advocated a compromise that includes discretionary spending reductions and a return to pre-2001 tax rates for those making $500,000 or more a year. He supports a common-sense solution to permit the federal government to negotiate prices for prescription drugs covered by Medicare, as it does for those covered by Tricare.
He supports overhauling No Child Left Behind to promote excellence instead of proficiency, and he promises to push for more comprehensive job-training programs that help reintegrate returning military veterans into civilian society.
Kaine is willing and able, unlike his opponent, to discuss in detail his plans on those matters and others critical to people here and across the country.
Many of the fiscal challenges that marked Kaine's tenure as governor - including budget cuts and state employee layoffs - stemmed from irresponsible actions taken by lawmakers in Washington. Then-Sen. George Allen was caught up in all of it. . . . .
Allen's record from his single six-year term in the Senate, starting in 2001, is plagued with the kinds of votes that are toxic to any fiscally responsible voter, as well as the candidate Allen now claims to be: authorization for unfunded wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, repeated increases in the federal debt ceiling, "yes" votes to raise his own pay, expansion of an unfunded Medicare drug benefit. The list goes on.
Allen has failed to offer meaningful assurances that he can be trusted not to slip into his old Washington ways if voters send him back to the Senate. Near the outset of this campaign, Allen signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge, recklessly promising not to raise taxes or any additional revenue if elected. Politicians without real convictions pander to voters by signing this pledge.
It's no surprise, then, that Allen utterly fails to engage constituents with any level of specificity, or any credibility. He is a candidate who, after losing to Webb in 2006, went into the political wilderness shaken and emerged for this campaign without the swagger or confidence that once characterized his style. When asked substantive questions, Allen reflexively recites canned talking points.
In a debate this month, Allen cast a long-term energy plan - expanding oil and gas drilling offshore and on land, and increasing coal mining - as an immediate solution to the nation's dire fiscal situation and averting the cuts to defense spending set to kick in next year. It was a response out of touch with reality and economics, and its incoherence was compounded by his oft-repeated declaration that one of his top priorities is forcing another contentious vote to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act.
These are unserious proposals acceptable only through the lens of politics as sport, which is Allen's specialty. Scorching opponents, freezing out dissent, serving a political "team" before fulfilling a duty to the public - those are the products of such an approach.
The only candidate in this race offering an effective, collaborative approach - and realistic solutions - is Tim Kaine.
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