Posted on 07/18/2006 1:26:54 PM PDT by RWR8189
Wait, I'm sorry. That question makes it sound a bit like I give a hoot about your opinion. My sincere apologies.
Golly gee. Another class of '98er that's rarely seen. Been getting yer info on another site that recently got shut down? :-D Welcome back!! You're in the big leagues now, Bozo!
I don't think voters are going to want another Good Ol Boy with a southern accent. Two in a row are enough for me.
George Allen is most decidedly a Virginian and has been since his days at UVA.
Sure, here's my answer without having to look things up.
I first met him over 20 years ago when he was in the House of Delegates. Didn't hear much more about him until he ran for Congress. I was impressed. I should also tell you that some of my friends were running his campaign. That continued.
When he ran for Governor, he started at a huge 30 pt. deficit. He focused on the issues and turned around to beat Mary Sue Terrier by 19 pts.
He ran that race for the Governorship on four key issues: The abolition of parole, educational standards, welfare reform and tax cuts. The day he walked into office his staff had a four year plan on exactly how they were going to accomplish each of those.
Contrast that with Jim Gilmore who ran on the "No Car Tax" pledge with no clue as to how he would implement it.
Allen managed to fulfill 3 out of 4 campaign promises. The RAT controlled General Assembly denied him the tax increase. But it certainly wasn't because Allen didn't try.
He also championed Virginia's parental notification law, and refused to sign it until his fourth year in office when the General Assembly finally got it right.
From working with him and for him, and closely with many of his most trusted associates, I know that he is a many of principle, a man of integrity.
I know for a fact that as Governor he read and understood every piece of legislation and correspondence that came across his desk.
He's a thinker and he loves the process of the debate. That's why some FReepers think they can play the "gotcha" game with him. He thinks things through and has a reason for each of his action. It would betray a confidence to give you some specifics, but I have several examples where he put principle over politics. That's just who he is.
He is the same in private as in public. He gets criticized for assuming the good ol' boy cowboy persona. It's not an act. It's genuine.
He served Virginia well as Delegate, Congressman, Governor (the best in at least the last 50 years in Virginia, if not longer, and now as Senator.
Those are just a few reasons.
Take a look at an electoral map.
I was under the impression he managed to eventually get some sort of tax cuts through?
You are wrong about that! I live in Oklahoma which is referred to as flyover country by the east and west coast elitist. Speaking for my fellow Oklahoma Republicans, we like plain speaking, down to earth candidates like George Allen.
Guess you never heard of Ronald Reagan another Cowboy? (sarcasm)
He managed tax relief for seniors, corrected the mistakes that had wrongly taxed federal retirees and enacted incentives for large scale business investment.
What the GA denied him was increasing the personal and dependent exemption on state taxes and eliminating the Business and Professional Occupation Licensing tax.
You can say this again. Allen shows up on this Iowan's radar.
I haven't known George Allen as long as Corin, I met him while working in his Senate campaign. I was just a volunteer, but I was (and still am) very active in grassroots gun rights activism with the Virginia Citizen's Defense League and the NRA, and had the opportunity to discuss his position on gun rights and the 2nd Amendment. Bear in mind that this was during the days of the Clinton "Assault Weapons Ban". I felt that he would be receptive to my discussing the topic with him since he was a champion of gun rights while he was governor, and I was right.
He and I discussed the "AWB" and why it wasn't constitutional, and bad crime fighting policy. For the most part he listened to me, but he didn't promise me anything other than that he would closely monitor the results of the ban and would either vote to renew or repeal it based on what he decided was it's net effect. He tempered that statement a little later, probably due to the advice of his handlers that he would vote to renew it if it turned out to be effective.
Back in 2003 and 2004 I had the opportunity to discuss the subject with him again at his request. I could see that he was definitely moving in the direction of repealing the ban. Later in 2004 he voted against a poison pill amendment to an otherwise good pro-gun bill that would've renewed the ban. I like to think that I had a hand in repealing this unconstitutional infringement of our rights.Corin will tell you as well that George Allen weighs each issue on it's merits and assesses it against the constitution. He also has a very good sense of humor and oft times uses it to defuse a situation.
I have never once felt that he was talking down to me, or that he was not interested in what I had to say. He asked very intelligent questions, and gave sound reasoned responses that made me feel like he was really on the ball. He has been gracious enough to introduce me to his wife and family, and has not failed to call me by name every time we have seen each other. The last time I talked to him was at the Virginia Shad Planking in April, and we didn't even talk politics, we talked high school football since we both played in the same league in California at roughly the same time.
OK, part of the reason I'd like to see him become president is be cause I consider him a friend, and who wouldn't want to be friends with the president, but the main reason is because I know him. I know how he thinks, and I know the high regard he has for this country, the constitution, innocent human life, and the rights of all Americans. That is why I will vote for George Allen. For me no one else currently being discussed even comes close.
Again, I am sorry for my earlier response. I ask you to forgive me.
Best regards,
P8riot
Please. George Allen wouldn't know Thomas Jefferson from George Jefferson. Jefferson wouldn't have agreed with the modern Republican Party's Federalist-like greed and avarice. Today's Republican Party, as opposed to Jefferson's, is selling out America by refusing to stop illegal immigration.
If there was ever a time we needed someone as if not more conservative than W, it'll be in 2008. The Dems and Lindsay Graham types will want a "kinder, gentler" WOT. The media and the Dems will try to cast this as "Bush's war," and that we can "make a fresh start" without all the "abuses" and blah blah blah.
Which is PRECISELY what Al Qaeda and the rest are waiting for. Just as they were waiting for Kerry to get in.
Two years is NOTHING for terrorists to wait; they are in this for the long haul. They are methodical and plan long-range. Which is why one thing in this article I liked is that Allen is all for W's WOT moves.
I'll look at your answers again and add other info as I find it. Thanks for the responses, they're much appreciated, as I don't know much about Allen.
(And now that I've got what I was looking for, all is forgiven. ;)
Allen is a candidate America can trust to be exactly the same person as President as he was as a nominee.
He's very much like Dubya in that regard (but more conservative).
I can tell when I see him speak that he's a real man of principle, and I like his character.
But above all else I will trust Allen with the Presidency, and it appears I will always harbor doubts about everyone else.
bttt
Stop squeezin' so tight Holden. You've obviously cut off the blood supply to your brain.
I agree that Sen. Allen would be a great president, because of his experience as a U.S. Rep., governor, and U.S. Sen. and because of his conservative voting record. His ratings from the National Right To Life Committee and American Conservative Union are about 90%. His ratings from the ACLU and AFL-CIO are 5%-10%.
If he wins the presidential nomination, who should his running-mate be? I hope that he chooses Jennifer Dunn. She was the chairwoman of the Washington state Republican Party, 1980-'90, and a U.S. Rep., 1993-2005. She's as conservative as he is. If he chooses her, he might win Washington, which has 11 electoral votes.
His father was from Michigan, and George grew up in California and Illinois.
No doubt being more Old Virginia than most Virginians may have helped Allen in state politics, but he would have done better to keep in touch with his Midwestern roots if he wants to make it to the White House.
Republicans tend to do well in the South even without trying, but if a GOP candidate can't win over Midwestern voters, he won't have much of a chance in November.
Yes, I know that which is why I said "since his days at UVA."
I have no worries about him winning over the midwest.
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