20080615

Glenn Nye - Fiscal Responsibility

Glenn Nye is the Democratic nominee for the Federal House of Representatives to represent my district, the Virginia Second District.

I want to start off by saying that even if the Democratic nominee was Bozo the Clown, he would have my vote. Why? Because he ain't Thelma Drake. I have a strong desire to run Thelma Drake out of office, and if it took electing Bozo to office to do so (we could then attempt to get the Republicans to nominate someone more suitable then Thelma next election and then run Bozo out of office as well) then so be it. However Glenn is starting to run a campaign that would indicate he is no Bozo.

To find out more about Glenn Nye (go here) to his official campaign website. I am not going to go into all of his strengths and positions in this short entry, and I would imagine that the average voter might have more concerns in mind then the things I am going to go into in this short post when deciding whether or not to vote for him. But I am going to go into a few points of why I find him to be an attractive candidate.

First - endorsements. While often it is easy to dismiss occasions where a Democrat endorses a Democrat, I want to point to two strong endorsements that Glenn Nye has won (from Democrats) that signal that he is not some clown running for office. These are the endorsements of Owen Pickett (long time Federal House Representative serving Virginia's Second) and Jim Webb (currently Virginia's junior Senator in the Federal Senate). I do not think either of these endorsements came automatically - and by winning these two endorsements Glenn wins instant creditability.

Second - resume. While Glenn has no history of service in the uniformed services, he has a strong record while serving in conflict zones during service as a US diplomat. As we have learned in Iraq, those wearing suits are often in as great a peril as those wearing battle fatigues. Glenn's service to our nation includes stints in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. In areas where many might fear to tread, it appears Glenn sought to serve.

Third - fiscal responsibility (this is one of my primary concerns about anyone who wishes to represent me). With a tip of the hat to Vivian Paige for the source, I wish to point to a Port Folio Weekly piece (see it here) by Leona Baker that I am going to lift a quote from.

When asked if there were any ways in which he philosophically differed from the Democratic mainstream he responded, in part, with:
Well, first and foremost I think we’ve got to have a balanced budget and be fiscally responsible. It’s important for the future, the strength of our economy and I would be in favor of a balanced budget amendment to make sure we are much more careful about the way the government spends money.
He'd be in favor of a balanced budget amendment. This young man goes further on this issue then even I. I am in favor of a balanced budget. However I am not in favor of a balanced budget amendment because I can think of times where a balanced budget (think back to WWII) is not possible and Congress should have the power, during emergencies, to borrow money. But I relish any attempt by a candidate to introduce into public discourse the need for such an amendment. Even if Glenn Nye is a little bit off key (to my musical ear) at least we're singing from the same sheet of music.

I do not agree with Glenn Nye on every issue, but I realize that I am not going to find a candidate with whom I agree on every issue unless I run for office myself. Since I am not on the ballot I am throwing my support behind Glenn Nye.

So you want change? How about change within a budget? How about change within a BALANCED budget? That's a change I might be willing to live with.

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