Last night was the annual Gala for the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership. Held at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City, it honored the Institute's honorary state chairman, retiring U.S. Senator John Warner. Among the many in attendance were 8 Virginia governors, starting with Linwood Holton, the 1st Republican to hold the office in the 20th Century, and including the last 7: Chuck Robb, Gerald Baliles, Doug Wilder, George Allen, Jim Gilmore, Mark Warner, and Tim Kaine. Also in attendance were U.S. Representatives Jim Moran and Rob Wittman; a host of local and state elected officials; and our junior Senator, Jim Webb -- two of whose staff members, Maribel Ramos and Conaway Haskins are themselves graduates of Sorensen's Political Leaders Program (I am a member of the current class of that program).There is no doubt of the broad respect in which John Warner is held. The crowd, which like Sorensen itself transcends partisanship for the benefit of the Commonwealth, responded enthusiastically to the guest of honor. I note that Sen. Warner in his remarks spoke far more about his relationships with Democrats than with Republicans other than his old friend Linwood Holton. I do not remember him even mentioning Gilmore, and he mentioned Allen in passing, but immediately returned to talking about his relationship with Jim Webb. Warner also was very forceful in advocating for the proposal by Webb and Hagel for a GI Bill for the current military similar to that of WWII and Korea. As the Senator noted, had it not been for those GI Bills, he would not have been standing before us, having completed W & L on his benefits from WWII and UVa Law School with those from Korea.
I have lived in the Old Dominion since 1982. Although not native born (nor was John Warner, having been born in DC), I now feel very much a part of the Old Dominion. That was true before I entered my program at Sorensen. It is even more true now. I realized that my own residence corresponds with the terms of service of those last 7, and I have been fortunate to have met the five Democrats (I have never spoken with either Allen or Gilmore). Through Sorensen I had met Rob Wittman, who addressed our class in our first monthly sessions. Last night I was able to talk with former Lt. Gov Hager, complimenting him on being willing to serve on a non=partisan basis (for Homeland Security) in the Mark Warner administration. While he thanked me, he noted that there were some Republicans who criticized him precisely on that service, this being a reference to Jeff' Frederick's attacks upon him.
I realize that not all Democrats are necessarily enamored of the non-partisan approach of Sorensen. Still, even Rep. Bob Brink, who has at times noted that some graduates of the programs of the Institute can go "all Sorensen" and need to be reminded of the political realities in which they live (as shown by the current House Republican leadership with respect to addressing transportation) was present and supportive.
Each of us may have our criticisms of some of the positions of John Warner over time, but it is hard to imagine any US Senator who would be more universally respected and honored by his constituents than our outgoing Senior Senator, now in the final year of his 5th term. And of course it would be nigh impossible for another state to have 8 living Governors show up - our one term at a time limit provides greater opportunity for more people to serve in gubernatorial capacity than one sees in other states.
It was a special and worthwhile evening. I saw some of my fellow PLPers from this year's class, met quite a few from other classes. I got to speak with many who support the work of the Institute. And I got to speak with or listen to a number of those who have served this Commonwealth with distinction.
Eight Governors honoring a 30-year Senator. Virginians can be proud of our heritage.
Last year when our PLP class met Senator Warner I was quite in awe of him too. I was surprised by my personal reaction and excitement. I feel honored to have had the opportunity to sit around a table with him. I keep a photo of him signing the Warner-Lugar Amendment in my office to always remember that day. It is the only photo of a Republican in my office.
To ease Del. Bob Brink's fears, when Jim Gilmore spoke to our class it had quite the opposite effect on me. Although, I am appreciative of his willingness to speak to our class, I cannot believe he actually believes the blatant fabrications that come out of his mouth. So Delegate Brink can breathe easy.
That's cool. I understand that. And I appreciate the kind words after a lifetime of service on Warner's part, including as a Marine.
By all means, be a partisan and help your colleagues -- I've no problem with that. But you can;t do that and, IMHO, be a Senator of principle at the same time.
This is not simply a criticism of his position on this, BTW, but even if we want to give him a pass on it, lets not blindly extoll his service as somehow transcending crass political calculation. I'm not saying you are doing this, but some unfamiliar with his record might get the wrong idea.
That all said, he is old, possibly ill and retiring, and has generally conducted himself with integrity. His opposition to Oliver North was very impressive, so I don't want to judge him too harshly on this one issue. Give the man his due, by all means, but lets not go all wobbly over him, either.
But, actually, the more I think about it, the less I am willing to extend an olive branch and bow to John Warner, no matter his length of service or service in the Marines. When it comes to Iraq, this man is one of the chief enablers of Bush and Cheney and is very much someone that should be partially blamed for this fiasco. He should be held accountable and we should turn our back on him, forcefully -- not celebrate him.
He was the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the run up to the Iraq war, and simply genuflected before Don Rumsfeld, et al, when he asked no more than one question about whether there was a post-hot-war occupation (Phase IV) plan for Iraq, and then just accepted a simple 'yes' as an acceptable answer. And THEN, after all these years of not exhibiting any leadership on the SASC when he chaired it by allowing the Bush White House and civilian team to run our army into the ground, he pulled the rug out from under Webb and Hagel with the one maneuver that might have finally forced a pivoting in strategy and policy, by ending the abuse of our soldiers.
Maybe I should let it all go, and let an old man gracefully exit the stage without bringing up such unpleasant facts. But I can't. He failed the citizens of the Commonwealth, and was one of the enablers of the worst and most criminal Presidency in the history of this country. History will not speak kindly of him, and neither should we.
If so, does that explain the republicans????
There are a variety of ways of doing political leadership. I will be 62 in less than a month, and have no intention of myself running for public office. But I plan to continue to be involved in politics.
And Sorensen is non-partisan - my group includes Dems and Republicans and independents. The idea to to build a core of people who can communicate across partisan divides to work on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth, something Mark Warner clearly did as Governor, and something we have seen in some key examples of cooperation between our two current US Senators.
In case you can't figure it out, we are losing the Iraq War and will fail miserably like in Vietnam.
That's Warner's Republican leadership.
Are you in Al Qaida, John Warner?
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