warner isn't that great and with one dissapointed so called senator aka webb, we don't need another. if he wins, virginia is for dem losers...prepare for the liberal agenda to be set, for illegals to flood the states and sexual perverts to go free...

Gov. Gilmore couldn't even work with his own Republican led Legislature. Was that because of their Liberal agenda?

Gilmore is a product of a deeply flawed system of candidate selection by the state ( and local )party.
His chances of winning are about the same as snowstorm in July.
Maybe the Democrats, by inflicting failure, may finally bring about some reform amongst the Republicans. We will see.

agreed. The Va GOP is run by a closed circle of a few that would not allow a primary to choose the nominee. This just guaranteed Gilmore's disasterous nomination. He was dead from the start as a credible candidate. They have given the seat to the Dems.

Re: Gov. Gilmore couldn't even work with his own Republican led Legislature. Was that because of their Liberal agenda?

Actually, yes. That Republican led legislative body then waited for a Gov. (Mark Warner)to come along with similar liberal leanings, and raised our taxes by $1.5 billion.

Anon, Give us a break!

Taking responsibility and paying for what you get, used to be a basic philosophical principle for Conservatives.

Repudiating the current Anarchist approach to taxes does not make one a Liberal.

It should give us reason for pause that we are suggesting that the best candidate is the one with the most money. What does a Senatorial seat cost anyway? What concerns me is that Gilmore may not have enough resources to have his message heard. Refresh my memory about the fiscal "mess" he caused. I recall that he balanced a budget every year, earned a AAA bond rating, put more money in the Rainy Day Fund than any Gov., and had larger cash balances at the end of each year. His car tax initiative only took about 8% of the state's revenues. I just don't see where he did any worse managing the state's finances than any other Gov.

It should give us reason for pause that we are suggesting that the best candidate is the one with the most money. What does a Senatorial seat cost anyway? What concerns me is that Gilmore may not have enough resources to have his message heard. Refresh my memory about the fiscal "mess" he caused. I recall that he balanced a budget every year, earned a AAA bond rating, put more money in the Rainy Day Fund than any Gov., and had large cash balances at the end of each year. His car tax initiative only took about 8% of the state's revenues. I just don't see where he did any worse managing the state's finances than any other Gov.

Bob: Gov. Gilmore did not balance the Budget every year.

He may have submitted balanced budgets, but not all of them were realistic. His Finance people openly admitted that they submitted revenue estimates which would not exist when an actual budget was implemented.

The killer was when he and the Republican Legislature could not agree on a budget and Virginia was left without one.

That came perilously close to costing Virginia the AAA bond rating which prvevious governors of both parties had earned and maintained.

Forsaking leadership for adherence to a political philosophy which eqautes fiscal policy with morality and ethics, he left his successor (Warner) and the Commonwealth with a fiscal mess.

That he had to be fired as Chairman of the Republican National Committee should not be ignored either.

We're not looking at a Haley Barbour here.

I appreciate your view however budgets reflect a Governor's policy choices. Every Governor has to match resources to his own initiatives. Gilmore did so. In each of his budgets he found the resources needed. It is not "realistic" to expect him to find the resources for his successor's policy decisions as well.

The legislature failed to amend the existing two-year budget; Va. was never without one however. Of the three bond rating agencies, only one even raised an eyebrow and all noted the $1 billion Gilmore deposited for Warner's rainy day.

What concerns me more is when two years into his term Warner blames Gilmore for a fiscal mess and the need for the largest tax increase in history. Yet, three mos. after it was approved he disclosed that he actually had a $300m surplus which turned out to be $1 billion. What's more, Warner could have changed any of Gilmore's policies with the stroke of his budget pen. Why didn't he? If Car Tax was the problem, why didn't Warner simply put a freeze on it until there was better times?

If we allow Warner to blame Gilmore two years after he was out of office, then shouldn't we then blame Warner for Kaine's $2 billion budget shortfall?

Bob, facts don't matter.

Bob - Revisionist Historian Supreme!

Facts are stubborn. From my view, Warner did a decent job considering the recession he faced. I just do not accept the premise that it was anyone's fault that revenues declined and especially not Gilmore's who was long gone. Governor's have to govern in bad times as well as good.

Facts indeed are stubborn.

When they are accurate!

Sieg Heil Bob - you would have goose-stepped if you'd been born in Germany in 1920. Gilmore is a thug just like Tom DeLay, Dick Chenney, Duke Cunningham, Jack Abromoff, and the rest of your Republikan patriots. Go put on your Jackboots.

ubersturmbahnfuhrer: ...Have some more koolaid.

Virginia has already become a tax-and-spend blue state. Will the voters wake up to their senses? Especially Northern Virginia. Gerry Connelly is a dirty politician just soaking up the auto lever-pulling liberal votes in Fairfax County. Come on liberals, just keep blindly pulling the lever for your Democrats. Connelly takes the power, thinks up some big money projects for his friends and then raises taxes to pay for them.

Taxes are the Root of All Evil!

We should never have to pay for anything, Anything!

Government officials who have us pay for what is delivered to us are irresponsibnle Tax and Spend Libruls!

We should not let them get control of the levers of power. We need eight more years of the current economic policy.

Warner is a multi-millionaire. He made his money in a method that is now illegal, is anyone going to report on this?

Peter, no. You will love Mark Warner. You will be assimilated.

Nazis nazis everywhere!

I miss this thread already.