In their third head-to-head debate on Thursday at the
Capital One Conference Center in McLean, former Virginia Governor’s Tim Kaine
and George Allen discussed some of our country’s most pressing issues, trying
to convince Virginia’s voters why they deserve to be elected to the U.S. Senate[1].
While the debate was civil, policy specifics were not as
forthcoming as one would have hoped, especially for George Allen.
Tim Kaine did show however, more so than his political opponent,
a willingness to step outside of the name calling and partisanship that has
brought congress to a standstill. In response to an attack by Allen, Kaine
responded, “We can debate policies, but that’s the kind of name calling we’ve
seen too much in Washington, and what’s wrong with Washington is not going to
be fixed by more of that.”[2]
Indeed, George Allen’s political career has been much less
about working “across the aisle” or practicing civility than using his public
pulpit to belittle Democratic Party candidates and, yes, their staffers as
well.[3]
Thus, George Allen’s is the kind of political record that
makes it difficult to imagine that, if elected to the U.S. Senate, he would
attempt to compromise with the Democratic Party, thereby adding to the gridlock
that has all but alienated the American people towards their federal
legislature.[4]
Regardless of what George Allen claims, his derogatory and
negative comments in the past have defined who he is and how other members of
congress perceive him. Allen is a partisan bull-dog and a non-pragmatic
politician to boot (e.g. balanced budget amendment!).[5]
If Virginians are serious about ending the gridlock in the
U.S. Congress, they’ll vote for Tim Kaine to be our next U.S. Senator.
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