Right Matters: Talking About the Future of Conservatism With Ramesh Ponnuru

Gilmore for Senate?

Forums » Right Matters » Gilmore for Senate?

You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register

1 2 >> Last

Forums » washingtonpost.com forums » Right Matters » Gilmore for Senate?

Gilmore for Senate?

posted at 11/19/2007 11:58 AM EST

*Moderator*

Ramesh_Ponnuru

First post: 7/25/2007
Last post: 11/24/2009
Total posts: 273

Jim Gilmore, a Republican and a former governor of Virginia, is running for the Senate.

During his brief run for the presidency earlier this year, he had lunch with a few reporters from National Review. He showed up 20 minutes late, with no apology. He was testy and abrasive throughout. He kept saying that he was an expert on terrorism, because he had run a commission on it before, during, and after September 11.

He was, at the time, running as the real conservative in a field of phonies and heretics. I asked him whether his support for abortion as an option early in pregnancy would make it harder to make that case. He said that Republicans who wanted a candidate who took “the Catholic position” on the issue could choose Brownback or Huckabee. A colleague gently pointed out that the “Catholic position” was also the position of the Republican platform and the party’s last three presidents.

Gilmore said that it was very important to reform health care so that it wouldn’t be socialized. I asked him what he had done about health care as governor. He said he would get back to me on that. He never did.

He finished by demanding that we cover him more. (Governor, consider yourself served.) I am amazed that this man was ever elected to anything. Can’t Virginia Republicans do better?

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

7 years of Bush

posted at 11/19/2007 10:42 PM EST

edlharris

First post: 10/3/2007
Last post: 7/24/2008
Total posts: 9

Can't Virginia Republicans do better?
Hey, along with higher prices (gas, milk, eggs, etc) Gilmore is a great example of what 7 years of Bush have done to the Republican party.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Poor Ramesh

posted at 11/19/2007 10:57 PM EST

maggots

First post: 10/3/2007
Last post: 11/25/2009
Total posts: 209

Replying to:

Ramesh, I feel your pain. You and other right-wingers have been used to GOP candidates crawling on hands and knees to kiss your ring and humbly beg your blessing. Now they treat meetings with you guys like a visit to a leper colony. It is called loss of influence. Politicians such as Guiliani and Gilmore don't need you guys so much anymore. Suggest you get used to it.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Gilmore announces for Senate

posted at 11/20/2007 1:20 AM EST

StrommyT

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 11/20/2007
Total posts: 1

All I can say about this is thank you for handing this senate seat wrapped in a bow to the Democrats. Mark Warner will trounce Gilmore, even the NRSCC realizes this which is why they won't provide him with any funding. They are not in the business of wasting valuable resources.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

To Ramesh and a side comment to Maggots

posted at 11/20/2007 3:50 AM EST

familynet

First post: 11/15/2007
Last post: 10/5/2009
Total posts: 26

Gilmore does believe that he left the governorship in high standing. I voted for him, but I don't brag about it and I will vote for Warner for senate.

For Maggot & those who think that you need to copy someone else's entire post to respond: I don't know where that custom came about (although I see it most popular of Redstate site), but it is time to stop! The rest of us can figure out who & what you are discussing just by your referencing the comment & person. It wastes space, fails to show thought and adds nothing to the conversation. Thank you.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Remember the Car Tax Debacle?

posted at 11/20/2007 4:21 AM EST

rlathbury

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 3/10/2008
Total posts: 2

To get elected governor, J. Gilmore promised to rescind car taxes. However, he did not plan how programs sustained by the car tax would continue. Nonetheless, the tax being unpopular, Gilmore became governor; car taxes went down (but were not eliminated). Then there was a fiscal crisis. That word "duh" applies.

This account is simplified, but it is not untrue. GILMORE IS UNBRIDLED AMBITION IN A SHALLOW MIND. Look at his misguided, abortive run for the presidency. After being one of the poorest governors Virginia has had, Gilmore should not represent the state to anyone under any circumstances.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Can't Virginia Republicans do better?

posted at 11/20/2007 6:42 AM EST

cirrus_nine

First post: 10/3/2007
Last post: 8/13/2009
Total posts: 38

No. He is a great example of the republican party today. Maybe VA voters will be dumb enough to fall for another voting gimmick again?

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Gilmore announces for Senate

posted at 11/20/2007 6:46 AM EST

builder701

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 11/20/2007
Total posts: 1

As a life-long Republican who voted for Nixon, I supported Gilmore when he ran for governor. But after the car tax debacle, I'll vote for Warner. I still get mad every fall when I get my property tax statement on my car as a reminder of Gilmore's prime failure as a governor.

I would rather have the car tax repealed in its entirety. If the state needs the tax money, then add a tax to the price of gasoline. I'd rather pay pennies at a time over the year than pay the lump some just before the holidays.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Wait...

posted at 11/20/2007 6:57 AM EST

mobedda

First post: 9/6/2007
Last post: 6/13/2009
Total posts: 272

So your problem is that he's selfish, unreliable, close-minded, and doesn't care what you think? What's wrong with that?

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Can't Virginia Republicans do better (than Jim Gilmore)?

posted at 11/20/2007 7:42 AM EST

johnhouse

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 7/18/2009
Total posts: 9

No!

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Gilmore is typical Republican candidate.

posted at 11/20/2007 8:05 AM EST

johnbsmrk

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 4/9/2009
Total posts: 4

It's ironic Ponneru is castigating Gilmore when from what I know of him and his opinions he is the archetypal right wing candidate fielded by the GOP these days. Ponneru's criticisms seem to revolve around largely personal matters while in policy terms they are both exactly on the same page. Gilmore will surely be the candidate next year and equally surely get trounced by Mark Warner, as a lot of other Republicans are going to get trounced. I've long thought the 08 election if it turns into a debacle for the gop is going to start a process where the Gilmores and Ponneru's of this world are going to be returned to their rightful place which is the wilder fringes of the party. It will be messy but it's an essential requirement if the GOP is going to rebuild a governing coalition and tack back the center.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

What, he's supposed to kiss your ring?

posted at 11/20/2007 8:06 AM EST

enkidu1

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 6/4/2008
Total posts: 8

Ok, he shows up, treats campaign reporters like the parasites that they are, and for this you're willing to write off his senate candidacy?

VA Republicans had two choices: a moderate conservative (Tom Davis) and a conservative conservative(Gilmore). Gilmore was able to outmaneuver Davis and pretty much capture the nomination before campaigning began.

But this is still your guy. So how about coming back and telling us why you don't support Jim Gilmore on the issues. And try not to use the word 'I'; it's not always about you.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

The only republicans with half a brain...

posted at 11/20/2007 8:30 AM EST

moemongo

First post: 8/31/2007
Last post: 10/29/2009
Total posts: 16

forget it, the only republicans with half a brain live in California...

the future of a properous and progressive VA is with the Democrats...no way around it...

republicans are too stupid!!!

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Yes, Virginia GOP Could Have Done Better But Chose Not To

posted at 11/20/2007 8:42 AM EST

greggwiggins

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 5/1/2009
Total posts: 4

Virginia's Republican Party could have a better candidate to oppose Mark Warner. His name is Rep. Tom Davis and he's from Fairfax.

He's also relatively moderate and so the ideologues who run the GOP in Virginia stacked the nomination process deck against him by choosing to choose a candidate via a convention of true believers rather than a primary election of a broader base of voters.

So Davis chose too -- chose not to run -- and while he would likely have been an underdog against the popular and successful M. Warner, Davis would have had a much better chance of winning a statewide race than Gilmore, whose governorship (speaking as someone who lived through both men's residence in the Governor's Mansion in Richmond) was a failure compared to Warner's and whose popularity with the state's voters is much less than Warner's.

This was an uphill race for the GOP anyway but Jim Gilmore vs. Mark Warner is (to use a sports analogy) like sending Henrico High School's football team up against the New England Patriots.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

you're just mad

posted at 11/20/2007 8:50 AM EST

pfalduto

First post: 9/12/2007
Last post: 5/15/2008
Total posts: 9

because your side is stuck with this guy now.

Boo-hoo

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Republicans Made A Mistake

posted at 11/20/2007 9:03 AM EST

mustang946

First post: 10/16/2007
Last post: 8/6/2009
Total posts: 137

I voted for Jim Gilmore then because I didn't care for the Democratic candidate, Don Beyer. I still think he was the better choice of the two at the time. He was a so-so governor. I watched Mark Warner when he ran for the Senate against John Warner and narrowly losing. I thought he was a good governor and voted for him. However, it would have been difficult for me to choose between Warner and Tom Davis, if Davis had been the Republican candidate. Tom Davis was the chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and is my congressman. I voted for him in both positions. Davis had a decent chance if the Republicans had held a primary where the voters chose a candidate rather than a convention, where Gilmore would win. The Republicans made a big mistake. Jim Gilmore will not defeat Mark Warner. Mark Warner will be the next Senator from Virginia and the Republicans can only blame themselves. This voter, who usually votes for Republican candidates, will more than likely vote for Mark Warner over Jim Gilmore. If Mark Warner had run for president, he would likely get my vote.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Re: Gilmore for Senate?

posted at 11/20/2007 9:05 AM EST

tboyer33

First post: 10/3/2007
Last post: 11/25/2009
Total posts: 30

Gilmore was a lot like Bush -- a better politician than public servant. Even when he was a local prosecutor in Henrico County, he was very ideological, totally political but sloppy in execution and surrounded by incompetent sycophants. He got elected on one issue -- the car tax -- but otherwise was a highly unsuccessful governor. His administration was such a mess that it explains a lot of the Republicans' troubles since. So yes, you're right to question why Gilmore would be running for anything, but not for the reasons you bring up.

[QUOTE]Jim Gilmore, a Republican and a former governor of Virginia, is running for the Senate.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Gilmore is a typical "Bumper Sticker" Candidate

posted at 11/20/2007 9:17 AM EST

Barnacle-Bill

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 9/30/2009
Total posts: 7

Gilmore won using the No-Car Tax slogan, but what most failed to understand was that money stayed local and the state had to pick up the tab. Where would that money come from? In the end, it seriously hurt finances of the commonwealth. The rest of his time as governor was unremarkable.

Warner did a good job as governor and is a fiscal realist. I voted for him as governor and given the choice between Gilmore/Warner will vote for him again. I would vote for Davis over Warner.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

Re: To Ramesh and a side comment to Maggots

posted at 11/20/2007 9:20 AM EST

maggots

First post: 10/3/2007
Last post: 11/25/2009
Total posts: 209

Family - your point about repetitive quotes is well taken.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

The political equivalent of a used condom...

posted at 11/20/2007 9:28 AM EST

fendertweed

First post: 11/20/2007
Last post: 11/25/2009
Total posts: 18

Jim Gilmore is the political equivalent of a used condom.

He was a craven, irresponsible governor, a poor manager, a failure as a leader, and a downright liar about the nature and consequences of his car tax plan, which was the only reason he was elected.

A shallow mind, indeed, and combined with an unattractive personality, he thinks he's owed something (the Presidency? The Senate?), when in fact, he owes Virginians an apology for the financial and managerial mess he left.

A pathetic candidate through & through.

Report Abuse Discussion Policy

1 2 >> Last

Forums » Right Matters » Gilmore for Senate?

Jobs | Cars | Real Estate | Rentals | Classifieds

SEARCH:

Search Archives

The Washington Post Company: Information and Other Post Co. Websites

Help | Contact Us

washingtonpost.com

Groups