Kilgore has Competition
By: Lowell
Published On: 2/4/2005 2:00:00 AM
So much for the cakewalk to the Republican gubernatorial nomination that Jerry Kill-more was counting on. Nope, not gonna happen, Jerry. This past Tuesday, the popular mayor of Warrenton, George Fitch, announced that he would run as a tax-cutting outsider and offer a "stark contrast to Jerry Kilgore." In a January 6 interview with Chris Graham of the Augusta Free Press, Fitch said that, in contrast to Kilgore, he believed in "solutions, not soundbites." Fitch added, in an obvious slam at Kilgore, "I believe that to get the support of the voters, you have to tell it exactly like it is. You can't get away with saying that you believe in limited government, holding the line on taxes and promoting family values."
What does the arch-Conservative, tax-hating Virginia Club for Growth have to say about Fitch vs. Kilgore? On November 28, 2004, the Club's Vice President, Phil Rodokanakis, wrote that Kilgore "better watch out" for the guy who created the "Warrenton miracle." Rodokanakis praised Fitch for his program of "lower taxes and smaller government," "reforming the [Warrenton] government from the ground up," and creating an "economic miracle" by, among other things, cutting real estate taxes 80%. Rodokanakis enthuses that "now George wants to bring his economic miracle to Richmond."
In contrast, the Club for Growth Vice President has nothing but bad things to say about Jerry Kill-more. Among other things, Rodokanakis calls the former Attorney General, now full-time candidate and money grubber, "an uninspiring and disappointing candidate for the grassroots activists of the party." Specifically, Rodokanakis argues that Jerry is the "status quo" candidate with nothing new, original, or inspiring to offer: "Other than stating that he?s against higher taxes, Kilgore has not articulated any concrete policy proposals." We couldn?t agree more.
Even worse, from a right-wing Republican point of view, Rodokanakis fears that Kill-more is on the side of "Sen. Chichester and other tax-and-spend Republicans." In contrast, Rodokanakis gushes that "the grassroots [Republican] activists who yearn for a candidate that will uphold the Republican Party?s core beliefs in lower taxes and smaller government should rejoice when George announces his candidacy."
Well, I don't know about the hard-core right wingers, but over here at RaisingKaine.com we are definitely rejoicing over the prospect of intra-Republican Party fratricide and carnage. As Democrats and Independents unite around the moderate, fiscally responsible, Virginia mainstream Tim Kaine, we can sit back and enjoy the spectacle of the Republicans tearing themselves to bits over who is more extremist. This should be loads of fun!
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