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Marshall takes aim at Gilmore in U.S. Senate run
Conventional wisdom suggests former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R), who attacked the party's more moderate elements by saying “Rudy McRomney is not a conservative, and he knows he’s not a conservative,” should not have to worry about his own right flank while running for U.S. Senate.But try telling that to western Prince William County Delegate Bob Marshall (R).
The nine-term delegate is running as the more conservative alternative to the former state attorney general and governor in the Republican primary for Senate. Marshall is focusing on three issues core to the party’s base: abortion, taxes and illegal immigration.
“Gilmore is riding on a false reputation with conservatives,” said Marshall.
Abortion
Marshall routinely introduces bills to the House of Delegates that would criminalize those who perform abortions in Virginia if the Supreme Court ever reverses its decision on Roe v. Wade. Those bills usually die in committee.
During his abbreviated run for president, Gilmore’s campaign Web site stated “Jim Gilmore’s leadership led to successful legislation which he signed into law that created a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion, required parental notification for minors seeking an abortion and banned partial-birth abortion.”
Not written on the Web site was that Gilmore has consistently said that abortions should be legal through the first eight weeks of a pregnancy.
Marshall said he had talked to Republicans on the campaign trail who told him “I’m just learning this” about Gilmore’s stance on abortion.
Staunch pro-life Republicans within state government, like Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and Attorney General Bob McDonnell, both back Gilmore’s candidacy, as do Prince William delegates Scott Lingamfelter and Jeff Frederick.
All of them have praised Gilmore’s record on abortion and said that he is the candidate most likely to defeat former Gov. Mark Warner (D) in a general election if Warner secures the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
“It says I’ve got to clear up the confusion, because again he’s going on the false premise,” said Marshall, whom Lingamfelter considers a friend despite his endorsement of Gilmore.
Gilmore’s Senate campaign staff canceled a March 10 interview with the Times and declined to reschedule one before the end of the month, citing the former governor’s extensive traveling schedule.
Taxes
Marshall also called out Gilmore for not following through on his promise to completely eradicate the car tax during his term as governor.
The car tax has been significantly reduced over time, but fights within the General Assembly over how to produce new revenue for transportation have kept it in place.
Marshall, who also represents parts of lower Loudoun County, criticized Gilmore for not joining his successful lawsuit to prevent the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority from levying taxes.
The Virginia Supreme Court unanimously decided recently that the NVTA does not have the power to levy taxes for transportation because its members are not directly elected.
“For a guy who says he’s mister conservative, anti-taxer, he had the legal right to join my lawsuit,” said Marshall. “He refused.”
Immigration
Marshall said he opposes the notion that the federal government should reimburse local governments for costs associated with illegal immigrants. He supports giving states “collateral power” to revoke business licenses of companies that hire illegal immigrants.
His overall position on illegal immigration is the same as most hardliners already in the Senate: Secure the border first and offer no pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the county.
Though Gilmore has campaigned on a similar platform, Marshall slammed the former governor for comments he made in 2001 supporting the president’s guest-worker program.
War
The two have similar viewpoints on the war in Iraq, with neither suggesting the U.S. should pull out of the country any time soon.
“There aren’t enough ships and planes to remove all the equipment we brought over there,” Marshall said, calling the concept of an immediate pull-out “complete fantasy.
“The Vatican, which was against us going in there, says we can’t up and leave until we have something stabilized,” said the Catholic delegate.
Black sheep
In an unusual twist to the campaign, Marshall actually flaunts the fact he does not have the support of the Republican establishment in Virginia.
“The grassroots are madder than hell at their leaders who are selling them out,” declared Marshall, adding that Gilmore and Warner are both part of that establishment.
“I am not another establishment politician, period. I don’t mind getting into policy fights,” he said.
Some elected officials, like Manassas Del. Jackson Miller (R-50th), have lined up behind Marshall.
“With Bob Marshall, there’s never any spin, and it’s always very clear and precise with where he stands on an issue,” said Miller. “And a lot of people hate him for that because sometimes that means [he’s] quite blunt.”
Miller added that he does not oppose Gilmore’s candidacy and would support him if he makes it to the general election.
But with Marshall, Miller said, “more than any politician I’ve ever known, including myself, he’s stayed true to his convictions.”
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