Posted on 11/05/2001 10:16:14 PM PST by KQQL
Vote Earley
Bush, Giuliani, and Bishop Loverde pitch in.
By John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru
November 5, 2001 11:00 a.m.
Behind in the polls and badly outspent by his opponent, Virginia's GOP candidate for governor brought America's two most popular politicians and an important religious leader into his campaign over the weekend. Mark Earley's campaign mailed a brochure displaying a big picture of Earley walking half a step behind President Bush on what appears to be a tarmac. Inside, there's a quote from Bush: "I appreciate his strong stance on holding the line on taxes and cutting the car tax in Virginia." Bush recorded a phone message on behalf of Earley and two ticket mates, lieutenant governor candidate Jay Katzen and attorney general candidate Jerry Kilgore: "Mark Earley, Jay Katzen and Jerry Kilgore are the experienced leaders Virginia needs to keep the state moving forward--with a positive agenda for lower taxes, accountable schools, more jobs, and a safe and secure commonwealth." Earley's campaign also aired a new ad featuring New York mayor Rudy Giuliani: "If I were a Virginian, I would vote for Mark Earley." Voters who tuned in to the start of the World Series game last night would have seen it.
In northern Virginia, Earley may benefit as well from a letter by Catholic Bishop Paul Loverde that was either read at Masses or inserted into church bulletins over the weekend. In it, Loverde reminds parishioners of their "moral responsibility to vote" on Tuesday. "Respect for the dignity of the human person must be part of our consciousness as we enter the voting booth," continues the two-page letter. It also reminds voters of "the priority to protect the human life of all persons, pre-born and born."
The letter would have been stronger if Loverde had mentioned specifically that Earley is the pro-life candidate in the race and that his opponent, Democrat Mark Warner, supports abortion rights. In other words, there's more than just a moral responsibility to vote; there's a moral responsibility to vote for Mark Earley. Another possibility would have been to attach a scorecard showing how Earley and Warner (plus other candidates down the ticket) differ on abortion. Earley, for instance, supports legislation to require parental consent before a minor may obtain an abortion, while Warner won't commit past the parental-notification law that Earley helped enact.
As things stand, the bishop's letter leaves voters on their own to figure out the candidates' positions by tomorrow's election day. Perhaps they're sophisticated enough to know where Earley and Warner stand. Then again, perhaps not--and they won't receive much help from Earley's campaign website, which focuses on taxes, education, and safety issues.
But it's a good conclusion to what has been a lackluster campaign. In the end, though, the only thing that may salvage the hopes of those who intend to vote Earley is if they somehow manage to vote often.
Stupidity?! Perhaps...but I prefer to use the term "IGNORANCE," which is correctable over time, with some hard work educating and with some major patience. I saw where a CNN Exec said, when explaining FoxNewsChannel's "O'Reilly" whuppin' up on Larry King Live in the ratings, "You can never underestimate the stupidity of the American people." I like to think that at least some of the American People are not quite as IGNORANT as they used to be.
FReegards...MUD
This is a tough loss for us, but I'm bouyed by the House of Delegates victories. That will stem some of the damage Warner can do, but I don't think they will be able to do anything about the damaging appointments Warner will make to cabinet positions such as the Board of Eduction and the liberals he will place at the state universities. After eight years of Republican governors, conservatives were finally starting to show up on college governing boards.
George Allen once said that we can't win unless both wings of the party "flap together." If a lot of conservatives stayed home this election, then it probably had an impact. Hopefully, everyone can find a candidate to rally around in four years. I won't be joining the "get John Warner" bandwagon. I already supported former Reagan OMB Director Jim Miller to unseat Warner, and it's a waste of time to try again. I'd rather spend my time going after Democrats than popular Republicans.
Keep the faith!
The conservatives didn't stay home; the liberal/moderate/country clubbers/blue bloods/(a lot)hager supporters/whatever they are calling themselves today RINOS are the folks who stayed home election day and the entire election cycle. They didn't lead, they didn't follow and they didn't get outta the way at the end. We have some serious house cleaning to do in the RPV and there is a common denominator with a lot of these traitors- mccain!
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