HOT SPRINGS
U.S. Senate candidates Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner challenged each other's trustworthiness and fought over who was the better governor Saturday during their first debate.
"Mark Warner said he would not raise taxes, and he raised taxes," Gilmore, a Republican, said. "Mark Warner said he would finish the car tax, and he did not. The issue for the people of Virginia today is, 'Who can you trust: A person who does what he says, or the person who says he's not going to raise taxes and raises them anyway?' "
Warner, a Democrat, dismissed Gilmore as a " '90s-style, slash-and-burn partisan" who left Virginia's finances in shambles when his gubernatorial term ended in January 2002.
"At the end of the day, which governor left Virginia a better place?" asked Warner, who succeeded Gilmore. "Which governor made the hard choices and brought disciplined management to the state?"
The hourlong exchange at The Homestead resort was sponsored by the Virginia Bar Association and attended by several hundred lawyers.
For Gilmore and Warner, the event appeared to offer a long-overdue, almost cathartic, opportunity to air face-to-face grievances against each other's administration. The candidates argued that their records as governor provide a glimpse of how they would perform as a senator.
To that regard, the candidates voiced differences on energy policy. To combat rising gas prices, Gilmore called for lifting federal restrictions that limit drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coasts and in Alaska. He said the drilling must be accompanied by policies encouraging development of alternative energy sources.
Warner said Congress should empower states to determine whether drilling should be allowed off their coasts. He has said more exploration is needed to determine if there are ample reserves off Virginia's coast to merit drilling.
The Democrat opposes drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying the area should be left pristine.
He called for broad policies encouraging development of alternative sources and conservation.
Gilmore strongly defended President Bush.
"I believe that the president has worked very hard to make sure that the economy is running well with a tax cut that was put in place that has been extremely helpful and useful to the people of this country," he said.
Warner disagreed.
"I take that as an endorsement of the last eight years of policies," he told Gilmore. "I take that as an endorsement of the last few years of America's decline in standing around the world. I take that as an endorsement of the fact that President Bush has had no energy policy and now we have record gas prices and record oil prices."
National issues, however, were not the focus of the debate. The candidates kept returning to their times as governors.
Gilmore was elected in 1997 on a promise to end the car tax. He eliminated 70 percent of the levy before leaving office in early 2002. He could not seek re-election because Virginia is the only state that bars its governors from serving successive terms.
Warner said the state's finances were a "mess" when he succeeded Gilmore and that he had to eliminate $6 billion in budget shortfalls during the early years of his administration. He said the car tax cut cost three times what Gilmore originally promised and said Gilmore relied on gimmicks to balance the state budget, such as requiring businesses to pay levies early and delaying tax returns.
Warner repeatedly pledged during his 2001 campaign that he would not raise taxes. But in 2004, he pushed a record $1.4 billion tax increase through the legislature to help education, health and public safety. Warner has said he was not aware of the scope of the budget problems when he made his campaign pledge.
During the debate, Gil-more constantly contrasted his kept promise to phase out the car tax with Warner's broken vow not to raise taxes. "Who do you trust?" he asked, adding that Warner "has a natural instinct to raise taxes."
Warner boasted of his ability to work with both political parties as governor and win crucial support for the tax increase from a group of Republicans.
He accused Gilmore of being "the most partisan governor in Virginia history."
Gilmore, who was chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2001, said he worked effectively with Democrats. He noted that the car tax measure passed the General Assembly in 1998 with bipartisan support.
The two men are seeking the Senate seat that Republican John Warner - no relation to Mark Warner - has held since 1979. John Warner chose not to seek re-election this year.
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
the real answer is
"almost a 40% larger budget (read taxes)"
Every bit of it republican approved, cb.
why is gilmore
Why is Gilmore even running? He barely got the Repub nomination. He was a totaly failure as Governor why would anything with, common sense, think he would do well by VA as a Senator? Makes no sense.
The real question is...
Do we want someone that we know is an advocate for taxing us through the roof or one that at least tries to get the better bang for the buck? The answer is quite simple. Warner did not leave us in a better situation, he left us with almost a 40% larger budget (read taxes) than Gilmore and in only 4 years!!! Try to get a 40% pay increase in 4 years for everyone to make up for it, be successful at it and I will agree that Warner is the man but that is a far far fetched thought.
hwatkins is on point
hwatkins -- Thank you, I couldn't have said it as well.
Pretty simple really
Do we want someone who has a very strong business background and probably the best capitalist credentials in Virginia in the Senate? Then elect Warner.
Or do we want someone who mismanaged the state, narrowly won his own party's endorsement, and has managed to get elected Republicans statewide to endorse his Democratic opponent because he is so bad? Then elect Gilmore.
Funny
It is obvious Gilmore is inept. So then we look to Warner. His opposition feels he raises taxes regardless of merit or reason. The partisan crowd who is failing to do the math apparently would pull a drunk out of the gutter and make him senator if he had an (R) in front of his name. More Gilmore math:
"Gilmore strongly defended President Bush.
"I believe that the president has worked very hard to make sure that the economy is running well with a tax cut that was put in place that has been extremely helpful and useful to the people of this country," he said."
Let's be serios folks. You cannot just hate everyone and leave the job to whoever is still standing after the politcal melee. Grow up.
RE: Warner lied???
Interesting comment, and Warner left our state in far better condition than Gilmore did. How many lies did Gilmore tell??? You can't count them!
"Warners budget was 36% higher than Gilmores"
Every bit of it republican approved.
Where is it?
Mark Warner where is that BIG surplus you said you left for little Timmy?
Funny you mention bond ratings...
It was AAA. It was in danger of being downgraded, and action was necessary. Read the reports -- it's all there. Warner did what needed to be done for VA. Bush encountered the same problem after he uttered "read my lips, no new taxes." You also want to talk about federal funds? Gilmore left $50M on the table. Actually, if you do the reading, you will find that Warner made $6B in spending cuts on everything but education, in addition to eliminating 3,000 state jobs. Unfortunately, those actions were not enough to save the rating, so taxes needed to be raised. I know what I'm talking about sir, and I remember history, real history, not revisionist. As for the attempt to Gilmore out by citing commodity costs, try again.
Warner = Liar
Warner is a liar, "no tax increas my ....
It's so interesting to see how people decide things. My decision for warner is easy, under him, we had the LARGEST Spending increase I have ever seen in Virginia, coupled with my paycheck becoming smaller in size to cover it. Warner will NEVER get my vote. I will vote for the Road Runner, or Bugs Bunny, before I ever choose warner for anything other than a poster child for liberal tax and tax government.
CB..
Do some homework on the state's finances durng that time period. Check out its bond rating at the time. Look at the cost increases in construction during the Warner years as compared to what they were under Gilmore. Look at other various cost increases in commodities (goods and services) that the state had to buy and do the same comparison between the governors. Look at the volume of unfunded federal mandates that states had to finance during each of their tenures. Look at revenue streams under each administration. When you look at all that data then you can ascertain to what degree each governor was effective and doing what was best for the state-not what was best for anyone's personal interests.
AM
Take your own advice and don't comment of subjects that you liberally think you have insight on. Warner lied and that is a cold hard fact. To top it off, when we had the budget surplus that was the exact same amount of the tax increase, it all got quickly spent instead of returned to the taxpayers. Warners budget was 36% higher than Gilmores and what do you see for it? Timmy asking for more because it is not enough?
Dear cobiaman3
Once you explain to me what a "busnissman" is, I will take you serious.
Mark Warner spent 18 to 20 million dollars of his own money to "buy" the election in the Governor race. Mr. Early relied on contributions and did not have a prayer.
Do you really want to put another fat cat in DC??? I think we have enough already.
CB
If you don't know what you are talking about, then don't comment. Warner didn't lie to raise the taxes. If you don't believe me, read old articles about the subject. Just because you keep saying something does not make it true.
The Problem Is...
I do not think Warner lied about raising taxes, he just should have never promised he wouldn't do so. Anyone remember "no new taxes" Bush I? Never make a promise you do not know for sure you can keep and state financing (any govt financing for that matter) can change very quickly given financial economic turndowns. What events are in place one year can drastically change a year or two later and those promises may have to be broken to effectively run the govt. Problem is many people think that the govt can be run on no new taxes as though it does not experience cost increases or unplanned reductions in revenue (due to lower receipts than forecasted). Right now the govt is getting hit by both sides-lower receipts due to poor economy and by rapidly increasing costs in construction, fuel, healthcare for employees, energy, etc. Running the govt is a thankless task nowadays for sure.
It will never happen
Gilmore doesn't stand a snowball's chance in you know where of every becoming elected for anything in VA. People are not fools as some of you might think. Mark Warner is a good man and the right man for the job, no if and's and but's about it. Now that's common sense!
LOL...
"i am just another old conservative who puts "commen sence" first instead of party-lines." If that is not a poster child statement for Gilmore, I don't know what is. I am not really big on Gilmore but Warner blatantly lied out of his you know what to raise taxes beyond the horizon. Sad part is, he convinced enough republicans to cross the line with the democrats to enact the largest unnecessary tax increase in Virginia's history only to create a budget 36% larger than Gilmore's with no appreciable effect. Thank goodness the House has put a stop to this tax increase nonsense. Case in point would be, why does Timmy and the democratic senate REFUSE to close off transportation trust funds to transportation ONLY? Think about it.
TRUST??
who do i trust more?? well, lets look at thier background. gov gilmore is a lawyer who is bought and paid for and even the gop hq dumped him. gov warner is a smart busnissman who built his company on the free enterprise principals. gov warner was a good governor and will use his business experience in the senate to put us (usa and virginia) first instead of the rest of the world. who do i trust more?? i love easy questions. i am just another old conservative who puts commen sence first instead of party-lines. mark warner for senate!
Warner VS No car tax
Gilmore promised no car tax...we still pay the car tax. Gilmore supports the worst President ever policies. Are you better off now under Bush, then your were 10 years ago? And what about the Bears Stern Investment Fund? What part did Gilmore play in the demise of that fund. Gilmore was head of the RNC, and was asked to step down. Gilmore is a divisive politician. He candidacy is a joke. He is an embarrassment to the Republican Party.
Gilmore
Why is Gilmore even running?
He was a pitiful governor, he failed as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2002, and the Gilmore Commission missed the mark in 2003 on WMD.
He was pumping gas for people in Roanoke a few weeks ago--not paying for it, just pumping it. He's so far behind the times Caesar looks contemporary.
a debate?
That was worth all the time and effort? Sounds like a pamphlet that was blown up to a book by adding lots of adjectives but no nouns of content or substance.
Gilmore and Warner
It's so typical of our government....trust me....trust me....trust me!