Allen to appear at Staunton breakfast on Friday
U.S. Senate Candidate George Allen will be a guest at a dutch-treat breakfast at Shoney’s in Staunton on Friday at 8:30 a.m.
Those who plan to attend can order from the menu or enjoy their breakfast bar.
The get-together will take place in the private dining room.
Kaine: ‘All of the above’ on energy
The black-white debate on energy production between Republicans and Democrats generally speaking comes down to the merits of oil production vs. clean energy.
It doesn’t have to be an either-or proposition, though.
“We need to use every domestic source that we have. But I think we ought to be preparing for a long-term shift toward energy sources that are lower carbon or no carbon,” said U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine, a self-described “all of the above” guy on energy production.
Kaine, a Democrat, supports efforts to explore and develop energy using the plentiful domestic natural-gas reserves available to us – and also supports offshore drilling off the U.S. coast. Continue reading “Kaine: ‘All of the above’ on energy” »
Kaine raised $1.65M in fourth quarter
The Tim Kaine U.S. Senate campaign announced today that it raised $1.65 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and has $3.3 million cash on hand.
Since the campaign kicked-off on April 5, 2011, Kaine for Virginia has raised more than $5.2 million from over 12,000 supporters.
“I’m overwhelmed and sincerely grateful for the enthusiastic support we’ve received in the first nine months of this campaign,” Kaine said in a statement. Continue reading “Kaine raised $1.65M in fourth quarter” »
Kaine: Focus foreign policy on economic strength
United States foreign policy could use an overhaul.
“With the close of the war in Iraq and the drawdown in Afghanistan, we need to be focused more on our international economic strength,” said U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine in an interview with AFP editor Chris Graham.
Graham had asked the former Virginia governor to think about the different thrusts of foreign policy over the past two-plus decades. Foreign policy in the 1990s was about free trade and consensus-building. The 2000s, defined by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the U.S., were about the war on terror and military might. Continue reading “Kaine: Focus foreign policy on economic strength” »
Kaine: Deficits do matter
Tim Kaine didn’t run for governor in 2005 promising to cut the state budget to the bone, but that’s pretty much what he had to do as the state faced down the recession a year into his term.
The key lesson that he learned: You can’t do across-the-board cuts.
“Everything isn’t worth everything else,” said Kaine, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for the United States Senate. “Some things you cut deeply, some things you maybe completely let go. But other things, you either cut a little, or even put more money into them, because you’ve got to always be investing as you go.”
Another lesson learned: cut for tomorrow, not for today. Continue reading “Kaine: Deficits do matter” »
Kaine addresses economic issues
Tim Kaine has been taking some heat from political rival George Allen over his support for the economic-stimulus package that President Barack Obama championed as a cornerstone to an economic recovery.
Funny thing, to the Democrat Kaine – the stimulus package that the Republican Allen has criticized played a key role in the decision of Amazon to invest in a new Chesterfield County facility by providing funds for an interstate-interchange project that Amazon said was a critical factor in its location decision.
The Amazon news is positive momentum for Virginia, and there are more and more positive economic signs out there – a good Christmas retail season, for example – even as there are some weaknesses that still need to be overcome – notably, the ongoing economic crisis in Europe. Continue reading “Kaine addresses economic issues” »
Kaine aims to ‘fix Washington’
Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine was “surprised” when U.S. Sen. Jim Webb announced in Feburary 2011 that he would not seek re-election.
Kaine had hinted after finishing out his term as governor in 2010 that he might be done with electoral politics, even as he stepped at the time into the job of chairman of the Democratic National Committee at the behest of President Barack Obama.
It wasn’t hard to figure out why. At the time, Webb and Mark Warner, both Democrats, held the state’s seats in the United States Senate, and with Virginia governors prohibited by state law for running for re-election, the next chance he seemed to have would have been another run for governor in 2013, as unlikely as it would be to see that happen.
So when Webb decided to step aside from a run for re-election in 2012, Kaine had an opening, and it didn’t take him long to decide to step up to the challenge. Continue reading “Kaine aims to ‘fix Washington’” »
Allen raises $1M for Senate campaign in fourth quarter
The George Allen for U.S. Senate campaign announced today a strong fundraising total in the fourth quarter of 2012, raising $1,062,132 in the period beginning Oct. 1 and ending Dec. 31.
The end of the year report will show that the Allen campaign raised over $4.5 million in 2011 and will start 2012 with $2,037,405 cash-on-hand.
“Susan and I are greatly appreciative of the encouragement and support we have seen from people in every region of Virginia. The mission of our campaign is to bring Virginia’s voices and values to the U.S. Senate,” said Allen. Continue reading “Allen raises $1M for Senate campaign in fourth quarter” »
Kaine rallies local Democrats in Staunton
Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine looked a little surprised when he saw the packed house at Mill Street Grill in Downtown Staunton.
“The fact that you’re here on Jan. 7 – this race isn’t until November. That you are here in this number on Jan. 7 really gives me energy and enthusiasm,” Kaine told the gathering of around 100 local Democrats.
Kaine has been locked in a tight battle with another former governor, George Allen, for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the pending retirement of Democrat Jim Webb. Tight races are not necessarily anything new for Kaine, a former lieutenant governor and Richmond mayor, who has won seven elections, but not won a contested race with more than 53 percent of the vote going in his favor. Continue reading “Kaine rallies local Democrats in Staunton” »
Radtke asks for clarification on Senate ballot access
Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Jamie Radtke sent a letter last evening to Speaker Bill Howell and Senate Republican Leader Tommy Norment, seeking their assurance that the General Assembly will take legislative steps to prevent confusion in the ballot access procedures for 2012 Senate candidates.
“According to the ‘Candidate Bulletin’ issued this week by the State Board of Elections,” said Radtke, “two significant ballot access issues could arise this year because the General Assembly has failed to complete Congressional redistricting in a timely manner.”
State law mandates that candidates must collect at least 10,000 signatures of Virginia voters, with a minimum of 400 of those signatures coming from each of Virginia’s 11 Congressional Districts. According to the SBE bulletin, the window for gathering petition signatures opened on January 1, meaning that the 400-signature requirement currently applies to voters in the existing Congressional District lines. Continue reading “Radtke asks for clarification on Senate ballot access” »
GOP leaders call out Kaine on health-care reform
Fifth District Congressman Robert Hurt joined a pair of Virginia state legislators Thursday in an effort to paint Democratic Senate candidate Tim Kaine as a loyal Barack Obama ally.
“The president’s health-care law has produced devastating effects for Fifth District Virginians and all Americans since passage. It has expanded the size of the federal government, imposed billions of dollars of new taxes on small businesses and individuals, and perpetuated an economy of stalled job creation at a time when far too many Fifth District Virginians are out of work,” said Hurt, who narrowly won election in a tough 2010 race with then-incumbent Tom Perriello and will face his first re-election battle in November 2012.
Hurt joined State Del. John Cox and State Sen. Steve Martin on a conference call arranged by the George Allen Senate campaign that was big on the use of the word “Obamacare.”
“Obamacare has placed a significant burden on America’s already struggling economy, hampering our small businesses freedom to invest and grow their companies,” said Cox, R-Hanover.
“I am convinced that Obamacare represents not only a threat to the health care community, but a threat to our economy as well. With unemployment stuck at above 8 percent for months on end, Obamacare is yet another impediment to job growth in a weak economy,” Martin said.
Poll: Kaine builds lead in Senate race
For the first time in the walkup to their anticipated 2012 U.S. Senate race, Democrat Tim Kaine has built a small lead over Republican George Allen.
A Public Policy Polling survey of Virginia voters released Thursday has Kaine with a 47 percent-to-42 percent lead over Allen in the matchup of former governors. The race had been a tossup in three previous PPP polls in 2011. The Kaine surge is due to a switch in preferences of independent voters, who at one point this year had given Allen a nine-point edge, but now favor Kaine by four points.
Kaine has a significant lead among the 34 percent of Virginia voters who say they do not consider themselves Southerners – with 61 percent of those voters saying they plan to vote for Kaine, and 29 percent saying they will vote for Allen. Allen leads among the 66 percent of voters who say they do consider themselves Southerners – by a 47 percent-to-41 percent margin.
Both candidates are close to break-even in terms of favorability ratings with voters. Kaine is viewed positively by 40 percent of those surveyed and negatively by 41 percent. Allen gets a positive rating from 38 percent of voters and a negative rating from 39 percent.
More details on the poll: www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2011/12/kaine-leads-allen-by-5.html.
