According to the Washington Post, VirginiaGÇÖs race for US Senate is one of the crucial three that could decide which party will control the Senate after the new Congress is sworn in next year. For many analysts this might be somewhat surprising because Virginia is known as one of the more conservative states in the country. With the growing influence of Northern Virginia and the successful leadership of Mark Warner, however, it is to be expected that the Commonwealth has gradually been becoming a battleground state. Furthermore, many voters who were not originally planning on voting Democratic have now declared support for Jim Webb as a result of George AllenGÇÖs repeated blunders on the campaign trail.
There is no doubt, however, that George Allen and other Republican candidates are aware of their falling approval ratings. It is as a result of this trend that Republicans are trying to rally their base supporters. Tom Davis, for instance, has begun sending out extremely negative ads in order to scare his supporters into thinking that if they don't vote, a "dangerous" and "extreme" Democratic lawyer will be elected. What he fails to mention to the voters is the plain and simple fact that Andy Hurst is running a campaign largely based upon the fact that Virginians need a Representative who will fight to reform Congress. Davis wants to distract voters from Andy's platform, however, because it is only through the process of reform that we can ensure that Bush, Davis, and other members of the Republican leadership aren't promoting "extreme" measures and refusing to allow any discussion of the controversial issues. Davis has also made it clear that he wants to remain cozy with conservatives because he was quoted by the Post as saying that it is important for Republicans to rally their conservative constituents if they want to stand any chance of actually being reelected.
"I think Allen has moved into a small but statistically valid lead," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), a close student of campaigns. "Allen needs to get his [conservative] base voters out, and he needs to not take another hit." A Virginia ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage may bring social conservatives to the polls, Davis said, but it will do little for moderate Republicans who also are crucial to Allen's success.At the same time that Davis is promoting the concept of using the Marshall Newman amendment to rally conservatives, he and other Republicans are desperately trying to separate themselves from President Bush and other extremely conservative members of the Republican Party. Now if that isn't a betrayal of the trust the voters, I don't know what is. Davis is in affect trying to say that he'll do what's necessary in order to please his conservative base. At the same time, he is desperately trying not to appear as a loyal Bush supporter because the president is so unpopular and his support of Bush's policies might cause him to lose to the support of moderate voters. For instance, Davis has been vigorously arguing that he only votes with President Bush 80% of the time. If you consider that Davis is terribly upset that most analysts conclude he votes with Bush 90% of the time that heGÇÖs going to desperately try to dispute 10 percentage points, it becomes apparent that Davis has voted in support of Bush far too often and knows he has to try to give voters the impression that he's a moderate.
In the Senate race, George Allen has been trying to follow Davis's lead and gain some votes by claiming that something will need to change in Iraq. The Daily Press, for instance, quotes Allen as stating the following:
"We cannot continue doing the same things and expect different results," Allen said only a day before Bush was to join him in Richmond for a $5,000-a-picture fundraiser. "We have to adapt our operations, adapt our tactics."If you read carefully, youGÇÖll notice that Allen isnGÇÖt advocating that Bush needs to change his policy of GÇ£staying the course.GÇ¥ Allen is merely trying to play political games by placing a significant amount of blame on the failure of the Iraqi people to gain GÇ£control of their own destiny.GÇ¥ It is as a result of this statement that Allen is virtually admitting that progress isnGÇÖt being made. At the same time, however, he realizes that he cannot further question the President without angering his conservative base. After all, they might think heGÇÖs unpatriotic and endangering the troops if he were to actually call for Bush to consider a new strategy.Allen also offered a hard appraisal of the Iraqis: "The Iraqi people need to show some backbone, some spine," he said. "They need to get their heads, their minds and their hearts in control of their own destiny."
AllenGÇÖs refusal to outright state that we need a change of course is indicative of the fact that no matter how independent Allen and Davis claim to be, they spend the vast majority of their time catering to the wants of President Bush and his cronies. As frustration with the Bush Administration continues to grow, however, they are forced to do so in a very discrete way.
Jim Webb and Andy Hurst, however, have no problem stating that they are independent thinkers. It is easy for the two politicians to make this claim because, unlike Allen and Davis, they are actually fully committed to standing up for whatGÇÖs right for the American Public, not just what will please George Bush. Through voting for the Democratic candidates, voters in VirginiaGÇÖs 11th district will not only help the Democratic Party gain a majority, but they will also ensure that they will once again be able to trust their lawmakers. After all, Andy and Webb arenGÇÖt trying to hide their true loyalties just to get elected.