I'll be honest. I already had an entire diary entry written up last night that I planned to post here today. And then came the news of Bush nominating Alito for the Supreme Court vacancy. So a small change in plans. I lead now with a new Intro, but the gist of this diary remains the same, because it was written in full anticipation of a hyper Conservative appointment like this.
Right wing Republican Jerry Kilgore is locked in a tight race with Democrat Tim Kaine in a battle for Virginia's Governorship. Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court vacancy will undoubtedly energize Jerry Kilgore's base in Virginia. Despite his ruthless support for the Death Penalty, Kilgore said in a debate this year "I'm a pro-life candidate running for governor. I don't try to be all things to all people. I support a culture of life." Kilgore tried hard to duck a direct question from debate moderator Tim Russet about Abortion if he became Governor of Virginia and the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It was one of the great, legitimate, "gotcha" moments in American politics.
"Russert: If Roe v. Wade was overturned and returned to the states, would you sign legislation in the commonwealth outlawing abortion?
Kilgore: Not knowing what any Supreme Court would do, I would work within the parameters supporting a culture of life. I'm not backing away from that on this stage, but . . .
Russert: But Mr. Kilgore, it's a simple question: If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the Supreme Court, and it is a possibility according to people for and against abortion rights, would you as governor sign legislation outlawing abortion except exceptions for rape, incest and life of mother? Yes or no?
Kilgore: And my response is, that's a hypothetical. You don't know what any Supreme Court in the future is going to do. I am going to work within the parameters laid down by the Supreme Court. That's what attorneys do.
Russert: If the legislature passed a tax increase, would you veto or sign it?
Kilgore: I would veto a tax increase unless . . .
Russert: That's a hypothetical question."
Here is a partial transcript of the debate, as covered by the Washington Post: [Note: the link that follows unfortunately is broken and I am unable to edit it within this text. The working link can be found below in a follow up comment to this original entry] http://www.washingtonpost.com/....
Here is Tim Kaine's position on Abortion, described on one of his campaign websites:
Tim Kaine would veto a ban on abortion as Governor. Kaine wants to reduce abortions but opposes criminalizing women and doctors. Kaine will work to reduce abortions by: Enforcing the current Virginia restrictions on abortion and passing an enforceable ban on partial birth abortion that protects the life and health of the mother; fighting teen pregnancy through abstinence-focused education; ensuring women's access to health care (including legal contraception) and economic opportunity; and promoting adoption as an alternative for women facing unwanted pregnancies.
So yes, Bush's Supreme Court nominee should play well with Kilgore's base in Virginia, but more to the point of this post, a Kilgore victory in Virginia would play well to Bush's base around the nation. It would embolden them, it would put pressure on any wavering Republican Senators to toe the Right Wing company line. The returns from Virginia will be in before a single Senator asks Alito a single question at a Senate confirmation hearing. And Virginia is Washington DC's backyard. Stopping "Scalito" starts with stopping Jerry Kilgore in Virginia.
Now for the origninal text that I had planned for today:
It's time for Raising Kaine. "Raising Kaine", by the way, happens to be a great Democratic web site focused on Virginia's elections, and you will find some material from it below. With November's rapidly approaching elections falling on an off year, few races of national importance are being decided, but that won't stop the nations Media from searching for an overriding message in the ballots cast. When they do it's a safe bet they'll cast their eyes toward Virginia where a popular Democratic Governor, Mark Warner, is stepping down, and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine is running to succeed him.
It's a race too close to call, and after a month of cascading scandals and unrelenting bad news at the National level, there is nothing the Republican Party would like more than, in an apparent reversal of negative fortunes, a pick up of the Virginia Governors mansion on November 8th.
Current Democratic Governor Mark Warner, who can't legally run again, is popular in Virginia. Widely praised for being able to steer down the middle with Virginia voters, he appealed to some rural, gun-toting, sportsmen voters along with many progressives. Tim Kaine, with his previous civil rights work and years spent as Mayor of Richmond under his belt, is a bit easier for Republicans to tag as a "liberal". That is something no one will ever say of his opponent.
Jerry Kilgore runs hard at Tim Kaine by extolling the Death Penalty which Kaine, unlike Kilgore, does not whole heartedly embrace. Kilgore is a no apologies pedal to the metal let's fry the suckers and worry about the details later death penalty backer, and he's trying to Willie Horton himself into the state house. Kilgore's most noted TV ad is the one where he (and why are we still surprised when they do this) injects Adolph Hitler into the Governor's race. You can watch that Ad here:
http://www.jerrykilgore.com/...
It features an obviously distraught father lamenting the murders of his son and daughter-in-law. Not far into the ad, in a voice choked with emotion, the father says this; "Tim Kaine voluntarily represented the man who murdered my son!"
You should know that until he resigned this past February to concentrate on his race for Governor, Jerry Kilgore was Virginia's Attorney General. This then is his concept of justice and our legal system; A lawyer should be condemned for willingly representing a man charged with a capital offense.
It's too bad Jerry Kilgore has so little respect for the right of an accused to receive competent legal counsel. It's too bad that, as Attorney General, Jerry Kilgore's faith in the ultimate penalty was so blind that it almost cost an innocent man his life, as detailed in this letter to the editor of the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
"Jerry Kilgore and the Wrong Message on Justice
Thursday, October 20, 2005; Page A26
Are attorneys who volunteer to represent death row inmates enemies of the victims' families? That's what Jerry W. Kilgore's television ads suggest "Kilgore Ads Seek to Divide Democrats; Kaine Death Penalty Position at Odds With Warner, Most Voters," (front page, Oct. 13).
Clifford Williams still lives in Culpeper, and the memories of the murder of his wife, Rebecca Lynn, remain vivid. He remembers the relief he felt when Earl Washington Jr. was arrested for the crime and the sense of closure he felt when Mr. Washington was sentenced to death. Mr. Williams also remembers his anger when volunteer lawyers agreed to challenge the conviction.
Mr. Washington turned out to be innocent. The state had hidden from the jury and from Mr. Williams forensic evidence that it had the wrong man. It also "overlooked" the mentally retarded man's description of the victim as black (she was white) and explained away blood at the scene that belonged to neither the victim nor Mr. Washington...
While the state turned a blind eye, Kenneth Maurice Tinsley, the real killer of Mrs. Williams, remained at large and raped two more women at knife point. Mr. Washington came within nine days of execution in the electric chair. He eventually was exonerated by DNA evidence, but Mr. Tinsley's role as Mrs. Williams's killer wasn't confirmed until Mr. Washington's lawyers, over the strenuous objections of then-Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, conducted their own tests of crime scene evidence. Mr. Tinsley's DNA was found in the victim's body."
One might think, in light of the above incident, that Kilgore might now harbor some second thoughts about the importance of due process. Apparently not. So aggressive is Jerry Kilgore in attacking Tim Kaine over the death penalty that Kilgore's website uses these comments, made by Tim Kaine in 2001, as an indictment against Kaine:
"I also support a moratorium on the death penalty for many of the same reasons. The history of the death penalty in Virginia is rife with examples of both people being imprisoned for numerous years who were innocent, but also history looking back at patterns and recognizing great injustices.
"As an example, during much of the 20th Century in Virginia, rape was a capital crime. But, after many, many years, when the state's history of executions for rape were analyzed, it was clear that rape was only a capital crime if you were African-American. That was wrong.
Until there is such a time as we can determine at every stage of the process from decisions to charge, to the adequacy of court-appointed attorneys most of the people who are on death row are poor and can't afford their own attorneys to the way juries exercise discretion in sentencing, to adequate appellate protections. Until there is such a time that those work fairly and don't single people out because of race, because of income or because of other invidious characteristics, there should be a moratorium on the death penalty in Virginia." (Democrat Lieutenant Governor Primary Debate, May 24, 2001)"
After demonizing Tim Kaine over the death penalty (which as I'm sure you have guessed is popular in Virginia), after blasting Kaine for a live and let live attitude toward the Adolf Hitler's of the world, Kilgore now accuses Kaine of waffling, citing Kaine's more recent comment:
"Question: Are there circumstances under which you'd place a moratorium on the death penalty? If so, what are they?
Kaine: A moratorium bill gets introduced every year by the legislature, but it never passes. And so that is kind of a hypothetical question that gets one vote and thrown out. I would never as governor interpose my own will for the will of the people as expressed in the law of Virginia; that would not be consistent with the oath I take."
These Kaine quotes were all posted on Jerry Kilgore's web site by the way. So it appears Kilmore will settle for no less than a resounding, unqualified, "Off with their heads!" Not so surprising when you learn more about his campaign.
"Raising Kaine" (the web site mentioned in my intro) offers lists of 25 reasons why one should vote for Tim Kaine and against Jerry Gilmore. By all means read all 50, but let me share with you the number 25 reason for voting against Jerry Kilgore as presented by "Raising Kaine"
25) Kilgore's top adviser is Scott Howell, the same guy who smeared triple-amputee and Vietnam War hero (and former Senator from Georgia) Max Cleland as a disloyal, unpatriotic, Saddam- and Osama-loving traitor. Oh yeah, Howell was also behind the racist "black hands" ad in the 2004 Oklahoma Senate race for his far-right-wing extremist client, Republican Tom Coburn (yeah, the same guy who favors the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions and is obsessed with "rampant lesbianism" in the schools of southeastern Oklahoma).
http://www.raisingkaine.com/
We need to support Tim Kaine now in his race to become Governor of Virginia. He is a good man and Virginia needs him, but the implications of this race extend far beyond Virginia. If Jery Kilgore wins on November 8th it will change the political landscape on November 9th, and you won't like the change.
Are you concerned about the next Supreme Court nominee? If the message coming out of the Virginia election is that a Conservative running as a Conservatives can pick up a Democratic seat, a Democrat led filibuster in the U.S. Senate is more likely to fail, because swing vote Republican Senators will fear a voter backlash less. It plays like that all the way down the line. Republicans nationally are in disarray now, but a victory in what will be seen as the bellwether election of 2005 could help them stem the bleeding.
It isn't too late to help Tim Kaine win in Virginia on November 8th. Visit his official websites (linked below), and "Raising Kaine" also. Give Tim Kaine your support. Now while it will make a difference.
The links:
http://www.kaine2005.org/
http://www.therealjerrykilgore.com/
http://www.raisingkaine.com./