Tough questions for senate candidates - Roanoke.com

[Catchawave]

by Alexander L. Meszaros

Meszaros lives in Blacksburg and is a retired U.S. Army counterintelligence officer.

Now that the first Jim Webb-George Allen debate is history, it won't be much longer before the media send both candidates a questionnaire that will permit short, meaningless answers such as Sen. Allen's favorites: "I believe in Virginia values, and I believe in common sense Jeffersonian conservative principles."

As a voter I'd like a lot more, and I remember that as an intelligence officer, the answers to who, what, when, where and how were very important in collecting and analyzing information, but the real usefulness of the information often turned on the answer to the question: Why?

For this reason I would really like the candidates to just assume that I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer or the brightest bulb in the string and tell me:

Why does Rep. Rick Boucher's office make sure the e-mails I send about legislation to "support our troops" get answered with more than the "thank you for your interest" form letter while I never get any kind of answer from Allen's and Sen. John Warner's offices?

Why did we have to buy small arms ammunition for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from companies in foreign countries?

Why are we cutting taxes for the rich in time of war and paying for the war by borrowing from communist China?

Why are contractors in Iraq paid full price on multimillion dollar contracts even if they don't do all or even any of the work specified in the contract?

Why are contract employees cheaper and better than military personnel?

More questions at: http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/wb/xp-75466

[gratuitous]

1. Hey, what are you trying to do, discuss issues?

This is a political campaign, not some kind of, uh, issue-addressing thingy. In a modern political campaign, it's all about making one candidate look pretty while making the other candidate look ugly. And that's it. The last thing anyone wants to do is discuss a bunch of "issues" about stuff that will just confuse the voters and make them think that their representative government does represent them or even govern very well.

So knock it off.

[Catchawave]

3. Ya forgot the "war chest".....

So please drop a buck in my linky below :hi:

[gratuitous]

5. Marking for later

My check book doesn't have no checks in it, but I think I can pry loose $25 from the gratuitous family fortune to support Mr. Webb. I'll post it tomorrow.

:toast:

[BonnieJW]

2. my thoughts exactly

I'm sick of the form letters from Warner. I don't even bother sending anything to allen; he's an idiot. But we have to send more money to Webb. He only has $400k vs. $7 million that allen has. I try to send Webb something when his campaign needs it and I forward the email to all my Virginia friends. Webb has just got to win.

[Catchawave]

4. I know, it's really sad, even some Dems

have Webb defeated because he can't raise the big money.

Didn't Kilgore outspend Kaine ? I'm very optimistic that Virginians are growing smarter and bluer :hi:

[Catchawave]

6. Maybe I should have titled this subject....

Tough Questions For Lieberman ?

:silly: But seriously folks, can we get down to the business of defeating republicans instead of ourselves? :patriot: