Back in February, I published an article here at RaisingKaine entitled, "Russ Potts: Conservative." At the time, you may not have been following the gubernatorial race closely, so I've decided to reprint the article, with a few minor editorial tweaks, now that the campaign season is in full swing and Potts is officially on the ballot. You may recall that, back in February, the Kilgore campaign was in full panic-attack mode over Russ Potts' announcement that he would run for governor as an Independent. In fact, the Kilgore folks were so freaked out about Potts that they rolled out the heavy artillery against him, that he was a liberal liberal liberal liberal. Oh, did we mention that Kilgore was accusing Potts of being a "liberal?"
Of course, we didn't take Jerry Kilgore's charges at face value. Instead, being intrepid reporters, we decided to look into the Kilgore campaign's vicious charges of Potts' liberalism for ourselves. So, we checked with the good folks at Project Vote Smart, an invaluable resource for finding out how our elected officials have voted on a wide range of issues, and also how they've been rated by various special interest groups.
How did Potts do? Well, let's just say the Kilgore campaign was just a weeeee bit off base in its characterization of Potts as a liberal.
We started with abortion, where NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia group gave Potts a ZERO rating for 2004 on issues they consider most important. That's right: Potts got a zero, nada, zip on pro-choice issues. On the flip side, the anti-abortion Virginia Society for Human Life gave Potts a perfect, 100% rating during 2003. So much for Potts being a liberal on abortion!
How about Potts and pro-business groups? Well, Russ wasn't too shabby there either, at least from a conservative perspective. In 2000-2001, for instance, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce gave Potts an 81% positive rating. Not bad for a supposed "liberal!" And another pro-business group, Virginia FREE, has given Potts an average positive rating of 71% over the past four years. Again, these votes don't exactly prove the Kilgore campaign's frantic, desperate charges against Potts that he's a "liberal" or not a "real Republican."
What about the Virginia Christian Coalition, you ask? Potts didn't do too badly there either, clocking in at a respectable (for a conservative) 57% rating. Meanwhile, Americans United for Separation of Church and State gave Potts a ZERO rating for his votes between 2000 and 2002. Wow, what a liberal this guy Potts is!
Alright, so Potts turned out to be conservative on religion, business, and abortion. But what about other issues? Surely the Kilgore campaign must have had a point there, right? Uh, well, no. On the environment, for example, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters gave Potts a pathetic 33% postive rating in 2003. And the Virginia National Organization for Women (NOW) gave him a big fat ZERO in 2000. Finally, the National Rifle Association (NRA) gave him an "A" the last time it rated him.
Jerry, Jerry, Jerry -- what are you so afraid of? Is it that Potts truly is a liberal, in which case you should be jumping up and down for joy instead of attacking him like he's a grave threat to you? Or is it that Potts is a conservative, just about as conservative as you in fact, with a voting record that's amazingly similar to your own brother, Terry?
Sorry, Jerry, but as hard as you try to paint Potts as a liberal, his voting record tells quite a different story. Seems to us here at RaisingKaine that you've got big trouble to deal with: one mainstream, centrist, pro-business Democrat and one mainstream but nonetheless conservative Republican. So much for your plan to focus solely on Tim Kaine. Instead, it looks to us like you've got a major two-front war on your hands. Good luck, Jerry!