A Major Let-Down

The other day, I went to meet Senator George Allen at a cookout. I met him and I must say that he's a genuinely kind person. I know this because he had a coherent and meaningful conversation with me even though he's not campaigning for any office so it's not like he is trying to win a vote. He is a true people person who never once said in his speech that he gave while everyone was eating that we have to "beat the liberals" or "make Virginia red again" which to me showed that he is not a divisive politician like so many are. To make this speech even better, he stared me right in the eye when he said the last line about, well, I don't quite remember, but it was pretty powerful because it made me have butterflies in my stomach.

Long story short, George Allen has my vote any day.


As the dinner continued, former Governor and Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Virginia, Jim Gilmore, arrived along with State Senator and Attorney General candidate Ken Cuccinelli.

Gilmore was given the floor after Allen had spoken, using his time to discuss his run for U.S. Senate. He started out by talking about the liberals' plan to increase your taxes and how the Democrat Mark Warner is not good for Virginia. Being swept up in emotion after being in the presence of a Senator and Governor, I thought that he was a god amongst men. I liked some of the things that he said such as most of the social issues and about three-quarters of the economic issues (aside from the extreme tax cuts), but what really got me is his personality. To me, a Virginian is a gentlemanly character that is capable of leading a nation through times of strife and prosperity with sound decisions. Jim Gilmore is not this.

Gilmore is the epitome of a divider. He wants to get all of the conservative vote in Virginia to vote for him, assuming that it would easily propel him to Capitol Hill. To do this, he thinks it is necessary to start bashing liberals and saying that they have no good ideas because it is in the interest of the state. Um, Mr. Gilmore, who said that you are able to determine what is good for the state? That's right: no one.

I can almost say that I will not vote for Republican Jim Gilmore in the 2008 Virginia U.S. Senate race. I do this because, after having the honor and privilege of working in Senator John Warner's (R-VA) office, I can say that it would take an honorable and universalizing person to fill John's large and distinguished shoes. Now, this goes without saying that I am not totally convinced on Mark "Chompers" Warner, either. He has his faults, but I think that he could do a very good job at representing the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Senate. I am actually more inclined to vote for him rather than Gilmore. Amazing, I know.

But this candidate's discrepancies are becoming more common throughout Virginia and stem all the way back to the Republican Party of Virginia. Ever since Allen's ousting as a junior Senator by bull-headed Jim Webb, the Party in the state has been seen on a decline. Now with Representative Davis (R) retiring and Connolly (D) likely to replace him we are seeing even more losses across the state, not necessarily showing a change of ideology, but rather a change in the faith of the leaders.

Frankly, I am pissed. I am sitting here seeing great possible candidates I would love to rally behind get the shaft from a state Party that has terrible leadership and even worse organization. We need to get Allen back in the game and forget about people like Gilmore who damage the party more than anything else. Pull in out-of-staters or start getting wholesome conservative mayors or town/city councils elected, just do something, G.O.P.-VA.

But I digress.

By the way, Cuccinelli also has my vote for A.G. and anything else; he saw me about to drive away with my coke can on top of my car and held his hand in a "stop" gesture. He then proceeded to retrieve the can from by roof and hand it in to me through the window. Good guy, Ken is.