Posted on 11/16/2005 10:45:50 AM PST by JZelle
Former Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III yesterday said he will be a candidate for public office again because Republicans are losing elections by giving inconsistent messages on taxes. Mr. Gilmore, the last Republican to hold the state's top job, said Republican gubernatorial nominee Jerry W. Kilgore was not critical enough of the $1.38 billion tax increase championed by Gov. Mark Warner last year. "I'm frankly concerned," Mr. Gilmore told The Washington Times. "My intention is to speak out on these issues and help provide leadership any way I can and speak up on what direction I think the state should be going." Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat who ran as Mr. Warner's logical successor, was elected governor last week by a six-point margin. Under Mr. Warner, the Republican-controlled General Assembly last year narrowly passed the largest tax increase in state history, raising the sales, cigarette and real estate transaction taxes and cutting the food tax and income taxes for the poorest Virginians. Mr. Kilgore opposed the tax increase and pledged to veto any others unless they had been put to voters in a referendum. However, his reluctance to try to repeal the 2004 tax increases cost him support among proponents of fiscal restraint. Mr. Gilmore said the state Republican Party must develop a message that protects taxpayers. "The Republican Party is going to have to make a decision that it will have to make a stand on principles and values," he said. "It is about what they can do for the taxpayers and working people of the state. We have to speak up for the people. If we don't do that, they may as well elect Democrats."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Said the governor who passed a spending item disguised as a tax cut.
If he wants to show leadership why doesn't he "lead" the party and make the legislature repeal these darned taxes?
Richmond ping.
You want to help us, Governor Gilmore? Take a stand against illegal aliens and the growing gang activity across the Commonwealth. You're not going to get people motivated over taxes anymore - We have too many "Commie Mommies" (sorry, can't come up with anything to rhyme w/ "dads") living here for that to work any longer, sadly..
What do you think happened in Herndon? The outlying areas where illegal immigration "seemed" to be an issue, went for Kaine, while Kilgore did bring it up as an issue. I don't get it....is it an issue or not?
Oh great. All we need now is for Marshall Coleman to crawl out from under his rock...
Northern Virginia is a lost cause, and the Party has every right to treat it as such. We're no more Virginia than we are an extension of Lower New York City ("The Northeast") at this point. Way too many Democrats here.
What I'm worried about is that VAB and Southside went for Kaine. That thought truly terrifies me. I think the Party chieftans really need to study those areas hard and find out exactly what went wrong before they even think about starting the next election cycle...
What's going to happen when DOD closes Oceana down? That's somewhere in the neighborhood of 60,000 fairly conservative voters who're being shipped off to, what is it, Florida? What's that going to mean for VAB?
Hopefully that'll be balanced out by sending more high-ranking DOD personnel to Ft. Belvoir, but it'd take a LARGE population to offset the large population of chum-bucket liberals we have around here...
I don't know that Oceana will be shut down. I thought I had heard recently that Florida decided they didn't want to be the master base anymore. Not that it takes the heat off VA. Beach but there isn't the pressure from someone else wanting the base pushing the issue anymore.
Now there's a name from the past....
I think BRAC is still planning on scrapping it, as they won't vouch for the "crash areas" being safe, and the City won't blatantly condemn the land surrounding Oceana.
You might be right.
I know N VA is pretty blue, but the exurbs went for Bush. It just seemed like the Herndon illegal immigrant work center was a popular issue...most were against, and yet Kaine won by supporting that issue.
If only we could resurrect Dick Obenshain.
I would have to vote for him again, after all he did get rid of the car tax, right?
You're kidding, right?
Jim Gilmore did NOT eliminate the car tax. As I've said countless times, it was great campaigning, lousy policy.
What the car tax legislation did had nothing to do with how much you owe in personal property (car) tax. You still owe the same amount.
The only difference is that for whatever the current rate of "reduction" is, the state pays your portion.
So yes, YOU are paying less out of your pocket for car tax. But the state is paying the balance for you. Call it Car-Welfare.
Now, this certainly wasn't the only thing that lead to the (non-existant) budget "crisis" but it was prominent enough in the debate to be blamed for all the "troubles." (there was never a deficit)
The end result?
Governor Mark Warner and Governor Tim Kaine.
I won't support a Gilmore candidacy.
A purge is needed.
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