Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Warner, Gilmore spar for Senate seat
Former Virginia governors Mark Warner (D) and Jim Gilmore (R) took the stage in Fairfax on Sept. 18, both repeating familiar campaign themes in the second debate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican John Warner.
Though the candidates were asked about specific issues ranging from the recent banking crisis to Sunni-Shiite relations in Iraq, both men returned frequently to their old battle over their records.
Since the campaign began, Warner has been working to paint Gilmore as the financially irresponsible governor who caused a statewide economic disaster.
For his part, Gilmore has been trying his best to convince the public that Warner is a liar who will raise taxes if elected.
And both men stuck to those themes last Thursday during the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce debate.
“The person who was dishonest about Virginia's budget was Jim Gilmore,” Warner charged. “His own party said that.”
Not to be outdone, Gilmore insisted at every chance that Warner “broke his word. The people of Virginia want someone who can keep their word.”
Both are right.
As governor, Gilmore made good on his campaign promise to phase out the car tax but the endeavor proved to be far more expensive than predicted. That budget problem caused a major divide in the Republican party, pitting Gilmore and his conservative allies (primarily in the House) against moderate Republicans (primarily in the Senate). Gilmore got his way and the car tax phase-out continued but the massive car tax cuts, coupled with spending increases, resulted in a huge hole in the budget that didn’t fully materialize until after Warner took office in 2002.
Warner had promised during his campaign not to raise taxes, but when he took office, the state's economy was in bad shape, in part because of Gilmore's policies. Warner successfully pushed for what he calls “tax reform” and what Gilmore supporters call “the largest tax increase in our history.”
Six years later, the history of that battle has been rehashed throughout the campaign, though Gilmore has been getting the worst of it. He's the underdog in this race, hurting for money and lacking support from his own party, at least in part because of lingering hostility over his gubernatorial budget.
Not one to mince words, debate panelist Jeff Shapiro asked Gilmore if his funding problem is due to preconceptions about the election, distaste for his policies and record or “a dislike for you personally?”
Gilmore opted not to answer the question.
On the issues, Gilmore and Warner found little to disagree about – during the debate, at least. Both said more regulation is needed in the banking and lending industry, both support the rights of gun owners and both stressed the need for a new energy policy that covers both oil and alternative fuels.
The question of whether to drill for oil was one of the few policy differences that came up during the debate: Gilmore supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Warner does not. Both, however, support offshore drilling.
By and large, Warner spent much of the debate touting his own bipartisan record, which has been bolstered by the endorsements of prominent state Republicans.
Gilmore spoke often of his own ability to keep promises, stating repeatedly that “bipartisanship is no substitute for honesty.”
The Republican also linked Warner to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, using the two names together so many times that it eventually provoked laughter from the audience.
“We can make matters worse,” Gilmore said of the national economy. “If Barack Obama becomes president of the United States, with the support of Mark Warner, he's going to raise taxes.”
Warner believes the Bush Administration's tax cuts should expire for the wealthiest Americans while Gilmore wants to leave them in place.
The Democrat said he's happy to be linked to Obama, but that he takes issue with the notion that he'll be on any politician's team.
“I'll tell you who's team I'm going to be on; I'm going to be on your team,” he told the audience. “I'm going to be on Virginia's team. I'm going to be on America's team.”
Warner said Americans have lost faith in both parties and that what's most important now is to send people to Washington who can reach across party lines and get something done.
Not so, Gilmore countered.
“It isn't a matter of getting things done,” he said. “It's what you get done.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.