Gilmore outlines platform to CSE

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: October 19, 2008

Former Gov. Jim Gilmore — a self-described “Reagan Republican” — stopped by the Star-Exponent Thursday to talk about his political record, platform and bid for U.S Senate.

A University of Virginia Law School graduate, one-time presidential candidate, past chairman of the Republican National Committee and former Army intelligence officer, Gilmore served as state governor from 1998 to 2002 — immediately before the term of his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Mark Warner.

Gilmore is calling this election season “the most significant race of my life. This is the most disrupted moment I’ve seen in my lifetime, even more than the Vietnam War.”

Pollsters put Warner, 53, markedly ahead of Gilmore, 59. But the straight-talking Republican says it’s not over yet.

The Oct. 5 Star-Exponent featured an article on Warner; here we present highlights of our interview with Gilmore:

The economy
Unlike his opponent, Gilmore does not support the recent $700 billion government rescue of Wall Street banks using taxpayers’ money. Further, he said “an air of panic” precipitated the unprecedented action and, as a result, all options were not considered.

“It’s not like the United States of America has $700 billion sitting over in a sock drawer somewhere,” Gilmore said; instead, that money gets tacked onto the national deficit, affecting the value of the dollar and inflation and ultimately leading to higher taxes.

Gilmore said he does not object “too much” to government funds being used to help recapitalize banks, but his main objection was to the absorption into the economy of so much “bad debt.”

A better option, in Gilmore’s opinion, would have been for banks to issues bonds in exchange for government funds — in other words, “a promise to pay it back.”

Because of policies that originated during the Clinton administration, he said, banks were permitted to leverage too much credit, leading to “unsound lending practices” and the subsequent financial failure. Banks misled some Americans, Gilmore added, while others made unwise business decisions “in a very knowledgeable way,” like investors who made millions “flipping houses.”

Unions
In recent days, Gilmore has made an effort to paint Warner as a politician whose support of union intrusions into the workplace would mark “the most radical change in industrial policy since the 1930s.”

An effort by the AFL-CIO, Gilmore said, would do away with secret ballots when workers are considering whether to form a union. He sees the potential for intimidation tactics by union representatives — who would instead meet with workers one-on-one to win organizational support through the “check card” process.

Foreclosures
Gilmore wants some avenue of aid for people legitimately taken by shady lending practices, but he says some people “just didn’t do the right thing” and shouldn’t be helped.

“Right now, I don’t know how you’re going to design a program that’s going to be able to cover everybody,” he said, adding that he, like many Americans, did do the right thing — “put down proper down payments” and make their mortgage payments. That’s not easy to do month after month, he said, “and yet nobody’s coming in offering to bail me out.”

Escalating gas prices, in fact, “probably triggered” some of the Wall Street problems, Gilmore said, because people didn’t have enough money to pay their mortgage.

A plan for energy
Gilmore wants to establish a national energy program with long-term, mid-term and immediate solutions.

Long-term:
* using renewable resources like wind and solar with tax incentives for implementation
* conservation: reducing demand on the electrical grid
* hybrid cars

Mid-term:
* continuing to develop clean-coal technology
* building more oil refineries
* nuclear power

Immediate:
* Drilling for oil

“If we take a position today that, as part of this overall package, we are going to start drilling for oil in Alaska and offshore, it will drop gas prices immediately because people around the world would understand the U.S. is taking decisive action to protect its own people.”

Warner’s ‘over-the-top’ comments
On Thursday in Waynesboro, Mark Warner told the media that remarks he made in 1994 about right-to-lifers, the NRA and homeschoolers were “over the top, inappropriate and excessive.” These Republican segments, Warner said 14 years ago, pose a threat “to what it means to be an American.”

The same day in Culpeper, Gilmore challenged the statements of his opponent, saying it’s “an integrity issue.” At first, Warner denied he made the comments, Gilmore said, until Gilmore produced an audio recording of the speech and posted it to YouTube.

“I think that’s a problem,” Gilmore said of Warner’s action. “To make a statement like that is reprehensible and then deny you did it and then be caught. I have worked my life to try to do what I say I’m going to do in politics and keep my word.”

When a politician does not keep his word, he added, the overall impact is “corrosive.”

On the polls
Gilmore downplayed recent poll numbers that put him up to 30 percent behind Warner, saying he believes he has a chance to win come Nov. 4.

“We think we have a chance to win this thing,” he said. “The numbers are now showing that this is a volatile race. Let’s give this thing a little time.”

Crossing party lines
Addressing claims from his opponent that he is unable to work with Democrats, Gilmore said that’s not true.

“I have a long history of working bipartisan,” he said. “But if leaders of either party want to go do something that is wrong, I’m not going to do it just to be bipartisan. At some point you have to stick with your principles, values, and integrity.”

Gilmore gave four examples of bipartisanship from his days as governor: 1) construction of the Mixing Bowl, 2) cutting the car tax, 3) working with Maryland’s Democratic governor to build the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and 4) an effort to hire 4,000 more teachers statewide.

And what about the myriad Republicans from whom Warner has received endorsements?

“They’re big-tax Republicans,” Gilmore said. “Mark Warner’s worked for a long time to splinter the Republican Party in this state.”

Illegal immigration
On this topic, Gilmore pulled no punches: Secure the borders, he said.

Gilmore does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants living and working in America, noting that the message isn’t one of anger or dislike.

“I just don’t know how you tell the citizens of Culpeper that they’re supposed to pay their taxes, obey the traffic laws and not have family disputes that end up in court and just ignore the immigration laws. I don’t think you can.”

Moral issues
Gilmore points to pro-life strides he enacted while governor: a 24-hour waiting period on abortions; passage of an anti-human cloning bill; parental consent laws and abstinence programs.

Iraq
Gilmore would like to see American troops pull out of Iraq, but only after the country becomes stable and we have made it a better place. He says the surge appears to be helping and pointed to the need for stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan. “The larger answer,” he said, “is there are at least five to 10 major international concerns that must be addressed.”

Federal earmarks
Eliminating earmarks — federal funds tacked onto congressional spending bills in the form of “pork-barrel projects” — has been a hot topic among many senators. Gilmore said he pledged Wednesday not to engage in the practice.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or .