The Republicans' Base is Slipping

Isn't Kaine Allowed To Hit Back?
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
The article, "Candidates Asked to Ease Off the Attacks," took note of the increasingly negative campaigns for Virginia's Governor that the Republican Jerry Kilgore and Democrat Tim Kaine are running. Reporter Tyler Whitley provided supposedly equal examples of negativity from each, noting that "the candidates say they are so different that negativity results."

Whatever happened to the Virginia tradition of disagreeing without being disagreeable? The "new" Republicans have beaten it to death starting, as Steve Farnsworth noted, with the "Washingtonization" of local politics by the Republicans. I myself received some very early mailouts from Kilgore and can attest they were loaded (as Kaine says) with nasty attacks on Kaine's religion, career, and integrity; full of innuendo and paranoia; and crammed with reactionary zealotry and code words, obviously designed to scare the socks off any patriotic, middle-of-the-road Virginian. Much of it duplicated the sort of furious attacks we were hearing from Republican political guru Karl Rove's minions on a national level, which makes me wonder if the same folks were writing the literature for Republicans in both the country and Virginia. "Washingtonization" indeed.

Now they're upset because Kaine fought back? How dare he! Nothing Kaine has said to set the record straight and point out the facts comes close in negativity to the panic attacks we get from Kilgore. Considering Kilgore's recent early resignation from his position as Attorney General (after assuring us of the overwhelming importance of that office when he ran for it) I suspect it won't be long before he cranks out a tsunami of scurrilous attacks. Too bad he doesn't have anything better to say about the issues.

Theodora Goodson. Fairfax.

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