2012 Virginia Senate Debates: on Government Reform


Jamie Radtke: Country's biggest problem is activist judges

On the Virginia General Assembly's late-night vote to reject judicial nominee Tracy Thorne-Begland, a Richmond prosecutor who raises twin children with his same-sex partner, Allen offered subtle differences.

Marshall, who led the House fight against Thorne-Begland's confirmation, said he opposed the nominee because as a Navy officer 20 years ago, Thorne-Begland spoke out on national television against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military just put in place by President Bill Clinton.

Radtke, like Marshall, said Thorne-Begland would have brought an activist gay agenda to the bench. "The biggest problem we have in the country right now is activist judges," she said, noting that a federal judge had overturned a statewide California referendum that outlawed gay marriage.

Source: 4-NBC Washington on 2012 Virginia Senate debate May 26, 2012

George Allen: Sexual orientation not a factor in judges' qualifications

Allen distanced himself from the rest of the field on whether a homosexual could serve as a judge. All four denounced activist judges, but only Allen said a person's sexual orientation should not be a factor in determining qualification for the bench. "Judges when I look at them, I look at what are their qualifications," Allen said. "Sexual orientation is not a criteria for disqualifying."

But he declined to say whether he supported the successful effort by state Del. Bob Marshall, another Senate candidate, to block a gay Richmond prosecutor from a district judgeship earlier this month. "It's funny, I didn't hear an answer from our colleague," Marshall said. "I've already done it. You've seen it in the papers. It's quite easy to stand here and say you will do and not do things."

Source: Washington Examiner on 2012 Virginia Senate debate May 25, 2012

George Allen: Judges shouldn't invent law or impose their political views

The General Assembly blocked a gay judicial nominee's appointment to the bench: veteran prosecutor Tracy Thorne-Begland, who came out as gay as a naval officer 20 years ago. [Opponents say he] was unfit for the bench because he had challenged the military's ban on gays openly serving in the military, and lives with a partner.

George Allen sought to align himself with Gov. Robert McDonnell, who objected to anti-gay discrimination in principle but refused to take a position on whether it had played a role in Thorne-Begland's rejection. "I agree with Gov. McDonnell that judicial qualifications, not sexual orientation, should be the criteria for judicial selection," Allen's statement said. "Decisions on judges should be merit-based selections based on a person's skill, judicial temperament, and fidelity to the Constitution and laws--judges should apply the law, not invent it or impose their own political views."

A spokesman for Tim Kaine has equated Thorne-Begland's rejection to discriminat

Source: Washington Post on 2012 Virginia Senate debate May 21, 2012

Jamie Radtke: Line-item veto to get rid of earmark spending

Radtke argued that Allen's declared support for a presidential line-item veto and a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution ring hollow. Shortly after Allen said that a line-item veto could help curb the excesses of congressional spending, Radtke said, "It's great to talk about the line-item veto. We could have maybe gotten rid of the 52,000 earmarks that George Allen voted for." Allen said the country's economic and fiscal climate is different than it was when he voted for debt limit increases during his Senate term. "The credit-worthiness of America for the first time in our history has been downgraded. The annual deficits are now over a trillion dollars every single year. When I left the U.S. Senate, the annual deficit was about $160 billion."

Radtke said she intends to continue pressing the issue for the duration of the primary campaign.

Source: The Virginian-Pilot on 2012 Virginia Senate debate Apr 29, 2012

Jamie Radtke: No more blank checks for Congress

The Republican primary is June 12th. The nominee will face former Governor Tim Kaine in the general election this November. "Virginians are demanding no more blank checks for Congress, no more political cronyism and no more half measures that do nothing to solve our fiscal crisis," said Radtke.
Source: WSET-TV Lynchburg on 2012 Virginia Senate debate Apr 28, 2012

  • The above quotations are from 2012 Virginia Senate Debate.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Tim Kaine on Government Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by George Allen on Government Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Dec 05, 2018