Our long-time incumbent State Senator is missing in action; he has repeatedly declined to debate his opponent, Democrat Kathy Beery. His absence makes it difficult for voters to learn where he stands on key issues. Hopefully, this letter — largely tracking another letter I saw in a different publication — will help.
Let’s start with the number zero.
Zero is the number of debates or forums the incumbent is participating in this year.
Zero is the number of bills he sponsored to bring us rural broadband. And zero is the number of times he voted yes on rural broadband legislation. He cited legislative Rule 36 against voting because of a conflict of interest. What is the conflict of interest? That’s a mystery — another zero.
Zero is the number of times he voted to raise the minimum wage from $7.25. Also, the number of bills he sponsored to support development of industrial hemp to help diversify our agricultural and manufacturing economic sectors and create jobs.
Zero is the amount of corporate income taxes the incumbent proposed for corporations. That is not a typo; even amidst underfunding public education, he wanted to eliminate all corporate income tax.
Now let’s move upward from zero…
What is 5? The number of times he opposed legislation prohibiting discrimination in public employment.
What is 24? (Please read this carefully; it is accurate though hard to believe). Our incumbent proposed requiring a woman who suffers a miscarriage without a doctor present to report that to the police within 24 hours. What is 2,500? That is the dollar amount of the fine he suggested for failing to make that report (his bill also suggested an alternative — one year of jail). (See Senate Bill 962, from 2009).
What is 44? That’s the average percentage of residents in Senate District 2 (including Page County) who live at the Asset Limited Income Constrained (ALICE) level. These are the people who would benefit from increasing the minimum wage and new job opportunities in manufacturing businesses that convert hemp into commercial products like paper, cloth, hemp wood, and hempcrete (a cleaner replacement for concrete).
What is more than 70 percent? It’s the number of Virginians of all political persuasions who want a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. What is “too much?” The amount you pay for prescription drugs. What is zero? The number of times our Senator supported that legislation.
What is $1,201,332? The amount of money he has received from companies and individuals in the “energy/natural resources” sector (a.k.a. mining, fossil fuel, gas, and oil). What is $2,450? It is the amount that came from “alternative energy” interests.
What is 3? The number of candidates running for Senate District 2.
We have choices. You can continue to support conservative policies — prioritizing small government above all — by voting for our incumbent or the Libertarian candidate. Or you can support government that helps people and choose Kathy Beery instead. She understands that a state senator’s job is not to strangle the government and give taxes back to corporations. It’s to figure out how to promote thriving families and communities through investments in infrastructure, public education, and public services.
You can find the positions of the candidates at 2023paperbaseddebate.com.
Same-day registration and voting is an option for new voters. Early voting ends November 4. Election Day voting is Tuesday, November 7.
Skip Halpern ~ Luray, Va.
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“We have choices. You can continue to support conservative policies — prioritizing small government above all — by voting for our incumbent.”
That is the choice I’ll make.
“I’m from the Government and we are here to help” are the scariest words and most costly to the taxpayer.
Which of these parts of “the Government” don’t benefit you— military defense of our country, food safety inspections, airline safety, courts, weather forecasting, regulating our securities markets, enacting and enforcing child labor laws, federal highways, local roads and bridges, state community colleges and universities, patent and trademark laws, Social Security and Medicare… You get the idea. Personally, I believe it’s no more legit to claim “the Government” is perfect, than to categorically condemn it. Isn’t politics about striking a balance between making government responsive and helpful vs. keeping it from overreaching?
Additionally, Luray received about $5 million to repair water lines and infrastructure as well as buy cost-saving equipment through a Federal program that the incumbent voted against.
Who does Kathy Beery think children belong to? Their parents or the state?
I don’t understand your question Robert. What are you asking?
Kathy Beery grew up in an orphanage… The Baptist Children’s Home in Salem. I’m sure she was grateful, but maybe would have preferred parents? She said “life was not always easy, but the hardships have given her a passion for justice and a tenacious commitment to making life in the Commonwealth work for everyone.”
It doesn’t really matter what a Democrat says before the election, afterwards it is a solid vote block of whatever the dem leaders dream up, gun control, California electric vehicle mandates, take away parental rights, war on gas appliances etc. plus other green new deal nonsense which only means more money out of the workingman’s pocket.
Tom Merton. If you’ve never heard any debate on that subject, today is for you. It’s National Marooned Without a Compass Day. Its purpose is to shine a spotlight on the direction our lives are taking, or not taking. Think about it.