Election 2012: The Last Virginia Senate Debate

Many people are aware that the Senate race here in Virginia is a close and crucial one. In that race, the two candidates faced off in their final debate before the election. I'm sure followers this blog know that I am a supporter of Former governor Tim Kaine and I was looking for a strong debate performance from him...and that is what I got.Whenever his opponent George Allen tried to get him, Kaine struck back. Case-in-point: Allen tried to pin Kaine as "Obama's senator" because the President asked Kaine to be the DNC chairman (a request that Kaine accepted). Kaine returned with "It is not anti-Virginia to support the Commander-in-Chief." Kaine then went on to point out Allen's hypocrisy, given that Allen supported former Governor Jim Gilmore who served as the RNC chairman as well as current Governor Bob McDonnell who is serving as the chairman of the Republican Governors' Association.

There was a lot of talk about sequestration  - where Congress has to find a certain amount in spending cuts to the national budget or there will be across the board spending cuts, including defense - throughout the debate. In terms of the debt and the deficit, Kaine talked about balancing the budget using a balanced approach: looking at both taxation and spending cuts. Allen however is one of the many politicians who has signed Grover Norquist's pledge to never raise taxes...EVER.

Both candidates were asked if they would sign onto the Simpson-Bowles debt commission recommendations as is (this was a yes or no question). Both candidates talked mentioned changes they would like to see to the plan. The moderator asked them again, requesting a simple yes or no. Finally, Kaine was the one with the gumption to answer "no" for both he and Allen (and I think that the audience knew that this was the answer for both by that point, but Kaine was the one with the nerve to actually say it).

It really seemed to me that of the two candidates, Kaine is more likely to compromise with people from the other side of the aisle. The GOP as it currently stands has shown itself to be, with few exceptions, uncompromising (even anti-compromise). While I prefer Kaine's positions on the issues, there is also the large view that the GOP in charge of the Senate would not be good for the commonwealth of Virginia or for America as a whole. Tonight's debate but a spotlight on the differences between Tim Kaine and George Allen and I believe that Tim Kaine made the better case for his candidacy.