The American Spectator

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p> KILLJOY KILGORE br> Re: David Holman's Kilgore Kaput : /p>

Amen, brother! David Holman's "Kilgore Kaput" bullseyed the reason why Kilgore lost the Virginia governor's race. Kilgore never ran as a conservative.

There was plenty of opportunity to have done so. The outgoing governor, Democrat Mark Warner, had a high approval rating, but largely because he had done nothing for four years, so he didn't anger many people. The sole legacy of the Warner years was a massive tax hike that was sponsored by RINOs in the state Senate. Not that Warner was reluctant to sign it, of course. But responsibility gets diffused in a legislature, so nobody bore the blame. When it became clear a year later that all the increase did was create a billion-dollar surplus to be frittered away, Kilgore could have based his whole campaign on linking Tim Kaine to the tax grab via Warner, and cruised by 20 points. He did not.

Instead, he squandered his campaign on nonsense. When he mentioned tax cuts at all, they were "targeted", a code word for "forget about it applying to you". When he babbled about programs, the list always ran to spending more: for education, cleaner air, cleaner water, the children, blah, blah, blah. That is liberal boilerplate which will persuade nobody. Blue-staters breathe that stuff, but they are going to vote for the other guy who is saying the same thing. It's not going to get red-staters to support you, because conservatives know those aren't genuine crises.

And, of course, the stupidest non-crisis of all was the death penalty. Earth to politicians: Nobody cares! Virginia executes two or three convicted murderers per year. A handful of Woodstock wannabes hold candlelight vigils. All the people who think this is a burning issue wouldn't crowd an elevator. If you want a law-and-order topic that energizes conservatives, you talk about illegal aliens, not capital punishment. Kilgore ignored immigration until about 4 days before the election, well after it was too late.

p>Kilgore could have won big if only he had stuck with solid conservative positions on issues that matter to conservatives: lower taxes, less government spending, security. If it sounds like Wednesday morning quarterbacking, it is... and has been the morning after every squishy Republican loses an election he could have dominated. br> -- James Bono br> Midlothian, Virginia /p>

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