ROANOKE
Sharp differences over the Wall Street bailout emerged between Republican Jim Gilmore and Democrat Mark Warner on Friday night during the final, heated debate of their race for the U.S. Senate.
Gilmore condemned the $700 billion rescue plan signed earlier in the day by President Bush. "It's not right to take $700 billion of money from taxpayers, men and women who work hard everyday, and put it in the arms of the high rollers of Wall Street," he said.
Warner supported the measures, saying they are the best hope of preventing deep economic turmoil and unemployment. "I don't think the plans were perfect... but we had to act," he said.
Gilmore, trailing Warner by 26 percentage points in a poll released Friday, hammered their differences on the rescue plan throughout the hourlong debate. Whatever the question put to him, he found a way to tie his answer back to the bailout and predict it will force tax increases.
"The taxman will come and believe me, he will come for you," Gilmore said. "When he does, who do you want in the United States Senate?"
The Republican said that the federal government, instead of buying bad debt from financial institutions, should have loaned them money at low interest rates to capitalize markets.
Warner dismissed Gilmore's solution and accused his opponent of avoiding a hard but necessary financial decision. He said Gilmore exhibited the same behavior as governor earlier this decade by not making tough budget cuts when the state moved toward a recession.
"You can't simply push off problems, Jim, the way you pushed off problems on the budget shortfall," he said.
Gilmore was governor from 1998 to 2002. He could not seek re-election because Virginia is the only state that does not allow its chief executive to serve successive terms. Warner succeeded him, serving from 2002 to 2006.
The two are running in the Nov. 4 election for a Senate seat occupied since 1979 by Republican John Warner, who chose not to seek re-election. The Warners are not related.
Gilmore and Warner were short and sharp with each other throughout the debate. At one point during their argument over the financial crisis, Gilmore snapped at Warner, "Don't talk down to me and say I don't understand. You don't understand."
Warner assailed Gilmore as unable to forge working relationships with Democrats and many of his fellow Republicans when he was governor. Many frayed relations resulted from Gilmore's insistence that the state continue cutting the car tax in 2001 when the economy began to erode.
"The last thing Washington needs is one more over the top, my way or the highway, partisan ideologue in the Senate," Warner said.
The two candidates disagreed on abortion. Warner supported the landmark Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 that protects abortion rights through the first tri mester. Gilmore said he hopes the decision is overturned.
Gilmore said he would favor appointment of conservative judges to the high court and voiced admiration for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Warner said Thomas and Scalia are "out of the mainstream."
The candidates reiterated long-standing differences on Iraq, with Warner favoring a more rapid withdrawal of forces than Gilmore.
Gilmore denounced legislation before Congress that would strip requirements that workers vote on secret ballots in union certification elections. Warner appeared open to the bill but declined to say whether he would vote for it.
Gilmore's constant criticism of the Wall Street rescue seemed to auger a new campaign focus. Previously, Gilmore stressed a "drill here, drill now" energy policy, urging oil production off U.S. shores and in Alaska. He did not mention energy until he responded to a question.
The Republican denied that there was a budget shortfall at the end of his term, as Warner asserted. "There was never a budget shortfall," Gilmore said. "Virginia law does not permit it."
State law requires the budget to be balanced. The Gilmore administration announced there was an $890 million shortfall of revenues needed to balance the budget in November 2001. The shortfall increased to more than $3.2 billion shortly after Warner became governor in January 2002. Warner enacted budget cuts to make up the difference.
"Even though Gov. Gilmore says he didn't leave a budget shortfall, we all know that isn't true," Warner said.
Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com
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actually danielc
if you recall, Warner did cut the budget first, and it was not enough to save our AAA rating. If you look back at old articles, that is what you will find. It is fact.
Debate was on TV
There seems to be a litte confusion on whether the debate was on air locally.
WHRO did carry the debate LIVE Friday night at 7pm on both 15 and HD 15.1.
We also have worked with numerous partners to host a local debate, but to no avail.
When refering to "2 PBS stations", viewers should understand that the second PBS station is the state-wide North Carolina PBS station, and does not program it's line-up specifically for Hampton Roads viewers. Therefore, it would not be within its mission to carry a Virginia senatorial debate.
Bert Schmidt
President and CEO
WHRO
No Car Tax?
Jim Gilmore's campaign theme for Governor was "No Car Tax", and he was elected. Not that I voted for him. Guess what? It's 2008 and I am still paying personal property tax on my car. I will be proud to have Mark Warner as my U.S. Senator.
no mention of warner tax increase?
So, Warner took office and cut the budget? As I recall Warner took office and raised taxes 1.4 Billion dollars. The Pilot never saw a tax increase it wouldn't back. The national media is backing Obama and his party to the hilt, apparently the Pilot feels it needs to get on the bandwagon as well.
For Pete's sake...
why don't you two old ladies invest in a TV guide!
Consider and Rescind the CRA of 1977
This $700 Billion Dollar package signed into law this week is a buyout of bad loan contracts rooted in the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 that mandates bad loans by banks who are policed by community organizations and their organizers, reinforced by the Clinton Administration, Janet Reno, Barney Frank and the current CBC. It is forced credit lending, a form of corporate welfare, imposed by the Fed's against banks operating in every locality in America. These bad loans were made by lenders all over America not Wall Street, sold through the secondary markets including Freddie and Fannie based in DC, and packaged into funds in every major financial center in America, not just Wall St, Greenwich, Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and sold the world over. And remember most all major banks are chartered in Delaware. Ever driven through Wilmington, DE? Don't drink the Kool Aid.
Actually in my area
there are two PBS stations, and one of them did not have the debate, and the other broadcast the debate at 8. Interesting.
Bears Stern
Gilmore was chairman of a Bear Stearns subsidiary set up to market some of its highest-risk securities tied to the home mortgage industry meltdown.
Gilmore’s involvement was Chairman of Everquest Financial Ltd.
The hedge funds managed by Bear Stearns owned a 60 percent share of Everquest when it was created in 2006. Everquest withdrew its initial public offering last June amid criticism of the hedge funds - which saw the mortgages underlying the bonds in some of their holdings fall sharply in value because of increased mortgage defaults.
The pullout of the IPO was one of the first casualties of the slumping housing market. It was judged 2007’s Top 10 Worst Business Deals worse deals.
LEFTY TEACHERS
You know what the communist said, They won't have to fight a war to get society to think their way, THEY WILL DO IT THROUGH THE SCHOOLS. How outraged would they be if a wear Red day were declared.
I saw it. .
. . and just as Palin/MCCain fail, so does Gilmore. He (Gilmore) failed miserably before, bringing us to the knees of failure financially. Warner is an intelligent, and experienced business man, and under his watch we (Sate of VA) saw a windfall of fiscal rewards. Gilmore is another failure like Bush , MCCain and Palin. None of those "right wingers" are in no way ready for prime time.
Indeed it was
at 7. Explains why I didn't see it at 9...
It was broadcast on PBS
As well as on CSPAN and Fox43
My Projection
McCain-Palin-M. Warner 2008!
In defense of PBS
It is a good station. I would have been nice to be able to wath the debate. I'm with you, vabeach, the debate should have been aired all over the commonwealth.
Where is PBS
You have a debate for important positions, and it is only broadcast in certain areas? Why wasn't it broadcast on PBS? Doesn't PBS get money from government? If so, they should be obligated to broadcast debates so the entire state may watch them.
Here's one of the many conservatives supporting Warner
I doubt seriously that Gilmore's missteps as governor will be soon forgotten. Everybody hates that car tax, but it was foolish to try to get rid of it. It's nice to dream of the government having to do with less, the way the rest of us do, but you simply can not pay for every single give away program for the "you owe me" crowd and let the people have their money back. Gilmore is a borrow and spend Republican who will tow the party line. That, along with the lunacy of worrying about flag burning, overturning Roe v. Wade, and gay marriage, has all but guaranteed the Republicans a place in obscurity. The Dems have most everything wrong, but I believe Warner will set aside party differences to do what's best for Virginia and the country. The sad thing is that nobody wants to address the real problems we have, which boils down to personal accountability. If you don't work, you don't eat.