Jerry Kilgore likes to say, over and over again, ad nauseum, that he "trusts the people" of Virginia. He undoubtedly says this not because he believes it, but in order to try and prove that he is a populist, in touch with what the average citizen wants. However, the recent Mason-Dixon poll proves that Jerry Kilgore is actually out of touch with the people in a big way.
For example, let's look at the poll question which asks, "What is the most important issue in the race for Governor." If you listen to Jerry Kilgore and his running mates, you'd think it was social issues like abortion, the death penalty, and guns. However, according to Mason-Dixon, only 1% of the 625 actual "likely Virginia voters" surveyed in the poll said they thought "gun rights/gun control" was the most important issue facing our state. Only 2% said "crime/death penalty." And only 7% said "moral issues/family values." Miniscule numbers, in other words, care about the things that Jerry Kilgore and his far-right-wing allies care about. So much for Kilgore being in touch with "the people."
More broadly, Virginians don't agree with Kilgore at all when he criticizes the Warner/Kaine record. For starters, 74% of Virginians say that Mark Warner has done an "excellent" or "good" job as governor. Only a miniscule 4% hold Jerry Kilgore's position, which is that Warner/Kaine did a "poor" job. On the Warner/Kaine tax reform plan, which Jerry Kilgore argues was a disaster (even though it saved the state from insolvency), 57% of Virginians agree with Warner/Kaine, with just 27% disagreeing. Again, Kilgore's out of touch and relentlessly negative.
With regard to Kilgore's incessant badmouthing of how well our state is doing after four years of Warner/Kaine, Virginians overwhelmingly disagree with Kilgore -- 73% say Virginia is headed in the "right direction," with just 17% saying it's headed in the "wrong direction." So why is Kilgore always talking about how bad things are going, how Warner/Kaine ruined the state, and how he'd do so much better even though he opposed every inch of progress made under the Warner/Kaine administration? Perhaps because Kilgore has nothing positive to offer - no new ideas, no vision, no alternatives?
Could that be why Kilgore has the highest "negative" ratings of all three candidates for governor, with 23% viewing Kilgore unfavorably and just 30% viewing him favorably? This compares to a 31%-10% favorable/unfavorable rating for Tim Kaine. And could that be why 56% of Virginians say they are "generally satisfied with the direction state leaders have taken in recent years and support continuing these efforts?" In other words, Virginians are saying "Four More Years" to the policies of Warner/Kaine, and "no more years" to the negativity and irresponsibility that Jerry Kilgore proposes.
On a contentious social issue which has received a great deal of coverage, when Virginia voters are asked, "Would you consider voting for a candidate who opposed the death penalty on religious grounds, but won't block executions?" 55% say "yes" and just 27% say "no." In other words, Virginians support Tim Kaine's exact position on the death penalty by a 2:1 ratio!. Wow. So who's in touch with "the people?" Jerry Kilgore or Tim Kaine? Hmmm....
On abortion, perhaps the most controversial issue of all, 49% of Virginians say they would support a candidate who "opposed abortion on a religious basis but will enforce laws allowing it," with 38% opposing it. In other words, a plurality of Virginians once again agrees with Tim Kaine's position on an important social issue almost verbatim. Even among Republicans, 43% answer "yes" to the question. Fascinating.
Finally, on the question of allowing "independent Republican" candidate Russ Potts into the debates -- if Kilgore ever agrees to any more debates, that is -- it's even more lopsided. Only 18% of Virginians agree with Jerry "the Duck" Kilgore that Potts should be excluded, while 58% agree with Tim Kaine that Potts should be included. That's a 3:1 ratio in favor of Kaine's position on this issue.
The bottom line here is that Tim Kaine is the candidate who's in touch with what most Virginians think and want. Jerry Kilgore, in contrast, is wildly out of touch. The sad thing is, Kilgore always has been. And he always will.
PS See Kenton Ngo's cool graphs on the Mason Dixon poll. This kid is amazing!
Since Kaine has a very long record of hating guns and my right to own them, I cannot vote for him, even if I were 100% in agreement on everything else.
I suppose I am part of the 2%.