Retreat From Iraq: Not The Answer

     I believe in the cause of freedom.   It is one of the core principles in which our country was founded.  Freedom is not free, nor cheap, and it does not come without sacrifice or pain.   I have been reflecting on this within the past week, since we approached the five year mark of being in Iraq.  At first, I was against the war, because many of my friends were being given deployment orders.  As a college student at that time, I worried for my friends’ safety as they were headed to Iraq.      Over time, I came to realize that our country is fighting in Iraq to bring freedom to a country where oppression was rampant.   If we retreat from Iraq, it will create an insurgence of terrorism and more chaos will erupt within a country trying to embrace democracy.   This is not a war for oil, as many on the left would point out.  It is a war to bring prosperity to a country that was oppressed for many years.  In 2005, Iraqis had the opportunity to vote for the first time and elect a government to represent them.  Additionally, those trying to threaten this prosperity have all been apprehended and killed:  Saddam, Uday and Qusay Hussein, and Zarqawi, etc.

    Thankfully, the Republican party has a candidate who will fight for the men and women serving our country in the Armed Forces.  Bob Marshall realizes that we cannot just pull out and leave Iraq tomorrow, because this will cause destabilization in a emerging democracy.   Once we stabilize Iraq, then we can bring the troops home.  It is going to take a lot to bring stabilization, but we need to persist and work with the Iraqis and other allies.  We must remember that our first priority is a strong national defense and security. 

     Retreat is not the answer.  Persistence is the answer for freedom and prosperity.

 (Cross Posted at Crystal Clear Conservative)

Debate on Marshall’s border policy

Normally I wouldn’t do this, but it’s far too busy a day to do otherwise.

The blogosphere has an ongoing debate on Bob Marshall’s border policy.

FOR: As one would expect, B4B contributors BVBL and yours truly.

CON: As one would also expect, STD.

Links are to the most recent posts as of this morning.

Why Jim Gilmore owes his accomplishments to Bob Marshall

Imagine if Virginia’s history at the turn of the millennium went like this:

Having been elected in 1997 on a pledge to eliminate the car tax, Gilmore’s plan fell under a shadow no larger than a man’s hand – in this case, the hand of House of Delegates Speaker Thomas Moss.  Moss used his power to stack House Committees with fellow Democrats, who refused to let the car tax reach the floor without a tax increase of some kind to pay for it.  Faced with an recalcitrant House and a Senate weakly controlled by moderate Republicans, Gilmore tried again in 1999, only to find voters blamed him for the resulting inaction, and the GOP actually lost seats in the mid-term elections.

The following year, Gilmore agreed to the Democrats’ plan, enraging the base of his own party and writing his own political ruin.  Today, the tax increases Gilmore had to accept have even outlasted the car-tax reduction, which were repealed by his successor – Democrat Mark Warner.

Of course, none of the above happened, but it could have.  The Democrats could have threatened not only the car-tax cut, but all of the accomplishments Gilmore touts today.  That they did not – that they could not - is the result of one man – Bob Marshall – and the actions he took on January 14, 1998.

That day, the House of Delegates began it’s new session – minus three members who had been elected the night before in special elections.  All three were Republicans; and had they been in the chamber, the Republicans (plus Lacey Putney) would have had 50 seats – parity with the Democrats.  The Democrats were not happy about this (one of the temporarily vacant seats had been held by a Democrat who resigned to take a post in the incoming Gilmore Administration), so in order to hold onto power, they threw caution to the wind and held the election for Speaker before the special election winners could be certified and seated.  The result was as expected; Moss won with 50 votes.  Most (including all the Democrats) expected things to die down after a while, especially since outgoing Governor Allen was supposed to give his final State of the State Address that night.

However, Delegate Marshall refused to let it go.  He repeatedly demanded the floor, shouting “Objection” over and over again.  Much to the surprise of everyone else, the entire Republican caucus joined in, pounding their desks and shouting “Objection” at the top of their lungs.

What had been the Democrats’ attempt at political trickery became an overnight national sensation.  Governor Allen even interrupted his own valedictory speech with a scolding rebuke to the House Democrats for what they had done.  More importantly, having been thus energized, the GOP caucus basically shut down the House of Delegates (51 members are required for a quorum), refusing to let any major items be discussed until the Dems agreed to a power-sharing arrangement reflecting the even split in the House.  With all of Virginia watching them, not a single Republican budged (not even the veteran liberal gadfly Penny Rhodes).

The Democrats had no choice but to come to terms, which they did.  All committees had balanced partisan representation (half and half) and a co-chairman from each party (or, if the co-chairs couldn’t get along, one party had the chair for one year, the other for the next).  The Democratic domination of the House of Delegates came to an ignominious end (although Moss could still block some bills by fiat).  Democratic Floor Leader Dick Cranwell (remember him?) likened it to a funeral.

The rest, as they say, was history.  Gilmore, faced with chastened Democrats and energized Republicans (who also had a one-seat majority in the Senate), was able to get the car-tax reduction and several more accomplishments passed.  He and his fellow Republicans thus had a positive record on which to run in 1999, and thus the Republicans finally won majorities in both chambers.

Lest anyone forget, Gilmore and the GOP needed that record.  Outside of Virginia, 1999 was not a Republican year.  In fact, the elections of ‘99 were so bad that the good news in the Old Dominion was noticed from as far away as the editorial offices of the New York Post.

What are the lessons from this trip down memory lane?  I can think of two.  First of all, every legislative accomplishment Gilmore achieved in the first two years of his term – and arguably in the final two as well – he owes to Bob Marshall.  Voters should remember that the next time Gilmore reads off his laundry list of accomplishments as Governor.

Secondly - and more importantly in my view – it shows why we need someone with legislative experience in the U.S. Senate.  The federal upper house is a labyrinth of rules, procedures, and other parliamentary maneuvers that can overwhelm the novice (neither Gilmore nor Mark Warner have served one day in a legislative body) while being valuable weapons for the skilled politician.  Unlike Gilmore and Warner, Bob Marshall has been a legislator for over sixteen years.

Legislative experience can bring many things.  It can help a member stop bad legislation, steer through good legislation, and yes, on occasion, it can change history and dramatically improve the political climate for an incoming chief executive – much like what Bob Marshall did for Jim Gilmore on that January day ten years ago.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

As the transportation debate rages on in Richmond, where is Jim Gilmore?

It’s been nearly two weeks since the State Supreme Court wiped out the unconstitutional taxes imposed by HB 3202.  The legislature has been engulfed by a cacophony of voices on how to “fix transportation.”  Sadly, my ideas have yet to inspire a good pair of legislative lungs.

For the most part, far too many Republicans are willing to force local government to raise their taxes (what Jim Bowden dubbed “the son of Frankenstein” in a phone call with me last week), while the Democrats are pushing a combination of onerous sate taxes aand onerous local taxes.  Bob Marshall, of course, is determined to stop any tax increase from replacing the ones he just sued to erase.

However, there is one voice whose silence on this matter has been deafening – Jim Gilmore.

Throughout the entire debate on HB3202, Gilmore said not a word.  I can actually understand why – he was running for president at the time.  Now, however, as a Virginia GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate, he has no excuse.

To the extent that the Establishment GOP backs anyone in this race, it backs Gilmore.  If he were to tell Bill Howell et al to cut this nonsense out, there is a good chance we can get through this summer without any tax increases.  At the very least, Gilmore could reveal that he still has his ear closer to the ground than the power brokers in Richmond.  Yet he says nothing.  Why?

I don’t want to hear about the car tax reduction.  I credit him for that, but it was ten years ago.  We are in the midst of a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican party right now, and Gilmore is repeating Jerry Kilgore’s mistake of sitting on the sidelines and hoping it all goes away.

This is a terrible message to send to both the party activists and the millions of Virginians who have emphatically demanded that taxes not be raised.  After all, if Jim Gilmore remains silent for fear of alienating Bill Howell, Bob McDonnell, and other Richmond Republicans, how will he fare against the “Old Bulls” in the Senate when it comes time to stand on principle?  How can we be certain he will be a conservative Virginian first and a Republican politician second in 2009 when he won’t even do it in 2008?

The way I see it, Gilmore has three choices.  He can throw in with his new-found Establishment buddies and make it clear he is no longer the anti-tax man he was; he can remain silent and reveal that he has lost the courage of his convictions; or he can take a chance, stand on principle, and endear himself to millions of Virginians inside and outside the Republican Party. 

Until and unless Gilmore takes that final option, the reality is this: only one Senate candidate is standing up for Virginians against higher taxes today – and that man is Bob Marshall.

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal

Marshall coming on strong

Even the Washington Post had to notice (h/t Hirons at VV):

Republicans across Virginia are rallying with surprising vigor behind the U.S. Senate campaign of state Del. Robert G. Marshall, a quirky Prince William County conservative who is challenging former governor James S. Gilmore III for the GOP nomination to replace retiring Sen. John W. Warner (R).

Naturally, Marshall is big news since he wiped out the HB3202 debacle, but as the Post noticed:

. . . even before then, the 63-year-old policy consultant was quietly amassing support, from county committee chairmen in rural parts of the state to Northern Virginia GOP insiders.

Among the folks supporting Marshall – whom some have derided as an unknown – was Pat Martin who is chairman of the Tazewell GOP: “I am supporting Bob Marshall because he is 100 percent pro-life.”

There are few places farther away from Marshall’s Prince William & Loudoun base than Tazewell.

More telling was Gilmore’s response, or lack thereof:

Gilmore declined to be interviewed. His spokeswoman, Ana Gamonal, said the former governor is focused on “defeating Mark Warner in the fall” and did not want to talk about whether he faces a serious challenge at the convention.

That is a huge mistake.  Oliver North tried the same routine when Jim Miller ran against him, and nearly lost the nomination as a result.

Still, given that I think Marshall is a better general election candidate than Gilmore is, you won’t hear me complain!

Cross-posted to the right-wing liberal