U.S. Sen. George Allen pauses during a recent interview. ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR Visit the Photo Place

George Allen: A fine man with a great record of accomplishments

George Allen's accomplishments have been many; Virginia needs his services again

Date published: 10/27/2006

RICHMOND--The Commonwealth of Virginia is no stranger to heated political races, but the 2006 campaign for the United States Senate is setting the standard for media-driven political combat in the Old Dominion. National audiences have witnessed mudslinging with unprecedented gusto. While both candidates have made mistakes for which they have apologized, this Senate campaign has still gone off the tracks, which is a disservice to the citizens in our democracy.

George Allen and Jim Webb are both accomplished individuals, but with fundamentally different political philosophies. Votes Sen. George Allen casts in Washington are distinctly different from those that would be cast by a Sen. Webb. Those votes on the key issues of immigration, taxation, the war on terror, and federal spending are the ones voters need to hear more about. I urge my fellow voters to look past the overheated rhetoric, and focus on the records and positions of the two candidates.

Jim Webb is an honorable and decent man who served valiantly in the military defending our freedoms. As a veteran myself, I respect his service to our country. As the father of a daughter who was returning from serving a year in Iraq just as Jim Webb's son was departing for that battle zone, I respect his family's sacrifice. But on the fundamental issue of who can best represent Virginia in Washington, Jim Webb is no George Allen. George Allen's accomplishments, as governor and senator, are legion.

As governor, George Allen brought high academic standards and accountability to the commonwealth, and Virginia became a national model of educational excellence. He completely reformed Virginia's welfare system and put former welfare recipients on the path to good jobs and economic independence. As a result, the state's welfare rolls are down dramatically.

His historic and innovative reform of Virginia's juvenile-justice laws fixed a broken system. George Allen abolished parole for criminals and instituted truth-in-sentencing. The results speak for themselves: Over the last decade violent crime in Virginia has decreased by 20 percent. And violent crime is at its lowest point since 1978. These statistics are directly attributable to the reforms put in place by George Allen. All Virginians are safer today because of George Allen's leadership.

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Date published: 10/27/2006