- The Washington Times - Friday, November 2, 2012

Polls show the race is neck-and-neck to fill Jim Webb’s vacant U.S. Senate seat in Virginia. According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, Republican George Allen, the former governor and senator, is in a statistical dead heat with Democrat Tim Kaine, recent chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and former governor. Only about 3 percent are undecided. Why this is so close is a mystery. America is on the ropes under Democratic mismanagement. The candidate in the Virginia race who can contribute to turning this country around and fixing the economy is George Allen.

On the issues, Mr. Allen wins this one hands down. His common-sense conservatism is based on maintaining a strong military, cutting government spending and reducing the tax and regulatory burden to give the private sector confidence to invest and create jobs. “Reckless, irresponsible Washington spending has resulted in unprecedented annual trillion-dollar deficits,” Mr. Allen told The Washington Times. “You can’t set priorities when you don’t have a budget — and the Senate hasn’t passed a budget in over three years. In that time, Washington has added $5 trillion in debt and punted on nearly every effort to restrain spending.”

There is more up for grabs in the Old Dominion than merely who will join the state’s Senate delegation. The makeup of the upper chamber of Congress is in play and each GOP Senate pickup increases the chances that conservatives can cobble together a majority in both houses. Even with a Republican president and conservative leadership in the House of Representatives, the reality is necessary reform won’t occur if the Senate remains under the obstructionist control of Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat. “Our calculations show a gain of seven Republican seats and a loss of two Democratic seats, for a net gain of five GOP seats in the Senate,” reports expert campaign numbers cruncher John Gizzi of Human Events. “That would give Republicans a 52-48 majority.” This outcome depends on tight races going the right way.

Virginia’s Senate contest is joined at the hip with the presidential race. If winning the Electoral College is going to be a nail-biter as most analysts predict, Virginia’s 13 electoral votes are key to taking the White House. This is good news for elephants because Mitt Romney has a sizable lead in Ole Virginny. According to a recent McLaughlin & Associates poll, the former Massachusetts governor is beating Mr. Obama by 7 points. Among independents, the margin in favor of Mr. Romney is an insurmountable 11 points, 50 percent to 39 percent. If voter turnout on Election Day reflects these numbers, Mr. Romney wins the state handily. Not many voters split their tickets at the top, so a big Romney victory should help send Mr. Allen back to Capitol Hill.

The contrast in this race is vivid. As a governor, senator, congressman and member of the commonwealth’s House of Delegates, Mr. Allen has a long record of leading the charge for limited government and job growth. Mr. Kaine frighteningly admitted that his work is simply, “Doing what the president wants me to do.” America can’t afford another Obama lackey voting to increase federal deficits and debt. The Washington Times endorses George Allen for the U.S. Senate.

The Washington Times

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