It was a beautiful day with clear blue skies when I took this photo back in February of 2005. The scenic mountain vistas in Shenandoah National Park provide a place of wonderment and aesthetic delight for us city dwellers cooped up in our office buildings all week. Virginia preserves this great wilderness so everyone can spend days amidst the lofty peaks, enjoying the taste of fresh air, the smell of the forest, the feel of the cool rocks, and the sound of the roaring brooks. This is the Virginia we all love and the Virginia that our leaders have sworn to protect. Like me, Tim Kaine is a lover of the wilderness. On his website, he talks about his awe at the natural splendor of Virginia and his love for exploring it: camping in the Shenandoah mountains, canoeing on the Shenandoah and Rappahannock rivers, etc. That's how we know that as long as Tim Kaine is in charge, our pristine heritage will be loved and cared for. That's how we know that as long as Tim Kaine is in charge, those same peaks that dazzled Thomas Jefferson will not be despoiled. And that's how we know that as long as Tim Kaine is in charge, the tradition of preservation passed down to us by our country's greatest leaders, like Republican President Teddy Roosevelt, will be maintained here in Virginia.
Unfortunately, today's Republicans want to drill for oil and build polluting power plants in our most pristine and beautiful lands. This is in stark contrast with Teddy Roosevelt, our country's greatest environmental President. Apparently, George W. Bush and Jerry W. Kilgore believe that the way to protect landscapes like these is to trust the private market with "reduced regulatory oversight and enforcement". According to the Kilgore website:(bolding added)
State regulation maintains the status quo when it comes to waste production. Pollution prevention provides the private sector with the technical know-how and incentives to reduce wastes annually. By increasing resources in this key program we can actually reduce the need for other regulatory oversight and enforcement.
Unfortunately, as much as Jerry Kilgore may believe it to be the case, reducing regulatory oversight and enforcement is not going to protect us from greedy polluters, loggers, and developers. That's why we need leaders like Tim Kaine to keep beautiful forests like Shenandoah National Park from being cut down.
In contrast, with someone like Jerry W. Kilgore at the helm, Virginia's parks and forests might not be so lucky. That's because, for the George W. Bushes and Jerry W. Kilgores of the world, profit maximization always comes before conservation and care of God's creation. So remember: a vote for Tim Kaine on November 8th is a vote to preserve and protect Virginia's natural heritage. A vote for Tim Kaine is a vote to keep Virginia beautiful!