Former Senator George Allen announced today that he will try to get his old job back. In his announcement video, he talked about listening to the people and reining in government spending.
It reminded me of Daniel Walker Howe, who was referring to Henry Clay’s oft-repeated phrase, “I’d rather be right than president.” Here was Howe’s response:
Though never president, he was often right, and he would have been right more often had he tried to be president less.
In Allen’s case, we should all be happy he’s willing to listen to the voters and rein in spending; and had he actually done more of that in Washington he might have been announcing for a third term.
Now, I myself have not ruled out voting for Allen next spring – nor rule in voting for one of his potential or actual opponents. However, there are two things I would like to note:
- Of the five aspirants/candidates/mentionables (Allen, Marshall, Mizusawa, Radtke, or Stewart), only one has supported and voted for the infamous Medicare Part D: that would be George Allen
- Of the five aspirants/candidates/mentionables (Allen, Marshall, Mizusawa, Radtke, or Stewart), only one has supported and voted for the Bush-Obama energy bill that sparked food shortages as 40% of Americas corn goes to dirty, wasteful fuel instead of vital food (From on High): that would also be George Allen
If Allen is looking to get back to Washington, he needs to remind everyone why we would want him there. Admitting to these two mistakes would be an excellent start.
Filed under: 2006 Elections, 2012 Elections, Bob Marshall, Corey Stewart, George Allen, Government Waste, Jamie Radtke, National Politics, Republican Party of Virginia, Republicans, Sen. Thinskin Gump (D-WashPo), Spending, Tea Parties, Virginia Politics
Allen is what I would call an Establishment Republican. He is not exactly part of the problem, but he is also not part of the solution. Like so many others, he could, I suppose, change that.