Tim Kaine in 2012 Virginia Senate Debates
On Energy & Oil:
Cut subsidies to big oil companies
Allen said that people who use electricity should vote for him, claiming Kaine supports EPA policies that essentially make using coal for electricity not practical for businesses.
Kaine said he believes in the science he's seen, showing human activity's impact on climate. Kaine said he supported a measure to control carbon, and finding strategies to limit carbon's impact.
Allen attacked Kaine's use of a hybrid energy plant in Wise County in commercials, saying under current EPA regulations that plant couldn't be built today, due to its coal use.
Kaine countered that as long as new energy can be about "cleaner," that it would be good for Virginia and the country. Kaine also recommended cutting subsidies to "big oil companies."
Source: WSLS-TV-10 on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Oct 18, 2012
On Health Care:
Let Medicare negotiate rates for prescription drug prices
Kaine noted both Medicare and Social Security are critically important. He said the Medicare budget is growing partially for the good reason that people are living longer. However, Kaine added that the government needs to get costs under control.
Kaine proposed allowing the government to negotiate rates for prescription drug prices. He argues this will save about $250 billion over ten years. Kaine argued that Congress failed to include that provision while Allen was in the Senate for Medicare
Part D. Kaine also promoted examining pilot projects for healthy outcomes, instead of just medical procedures. Allen on Medicare, said Part D has helped seniors pay for their medications.
Allen claims the $700 billion that "ObamaCare" takes out would hurt seniors. Kaine countered that money would be moved to programs that help seniors live healthier and prevent some medical procedures.
Source: WSLS-TV-10 on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Oct 18, 2012
On Homeland Security:
Budget cuts made us vulnerable to Libya embassy attack
On foreign policy, Kaine noted that U.S. military and Virginia National Guard forces don't have to deploy as often for the war on terror, thanks to past successes against Al-Qaeda and other terror linked groups.
Kaine then attacked the House budget proposal which cut money for embassy security, and linked it to Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican Vice-Presidential nominee.
Allen noted that the attacked on U.S. embassies last month are examples of why sequestration is dangerous. Allen also singled out
U.S. foreign aid for Egypt, saying he did not think a dollar should be sent there until the country's leaders prove they're going to support the ongoing effort against terror.
Source: WSLS-TV-10 on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Oct 18, 2012
On Social Security:
Fight against any privatization proposals
On Social Security, Allen suggested a gradual age adjustment for people younger than 50, meaning a longer wait before being able to receive benefits. Allen also wants an income level component, which would limit how much wealthier people receive.
Kaine asked Allen if he would finally agree that privatizing Social Security was a bad idea.
Allen stated that in addition to his age and income adjustment proposals, he would be looking for new options for people to provide for themselves in their retirement years.
Kaine countered that he believes Allen still agrees with supporting the privatization of Social Security. Kaine said he would fight against that proposal.
Source: WSLS-TV-10 on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Oct 18, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Keep Bush tax cuts except for the wealthy
Allen called Kaine's plan to allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for those making $500,000 or more is a tax hike, and added that hiking taxes is a bad idea in a struggling economy. Allen promoted growing the economy through shrinking the corporate tax
level to 20% for most businesses, which should allow them to hire more workers, and increase the tax base. Allen also proposed eliminating tax loopholes, and to reform the entire tax code.Kaine promoted his compromise proposal of keeping the
Bush tax cut levels for those who make less than $500,000 a year, and allowing them to expire for people with higher incomes. Kaine said doing so will add up to about half of the money needed to balance the budget, and help make it easier to find other
targeted cuts to avoid the mandatory spending cuts. Kaine believes Allen's plan of not allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for those who make $500,000 or more, will not work, and possibly add to the deficit.
Source: WSLS-TV-10 on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Oct 18, 2012
On Homeland Security:
Let Bush tax cuts expire instead of automatic defense cuts
Both candidates railed against automatic defense cuts scheduled to begin in January unless Congress intervenes. But Kaine laid out a list of alternatives: Allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire on households earning at least $500,000, repeal tax breaks for
oil and gas companies, and allow the federal government to bargain for lower prescription drug prices for Medicare. With those changes, Congress would have only $23 billion more cuts to shut off the so-called "sequester"--or automatic cuts, he said.
Allen, who has made those defense cuts the centerpiece of his campaign of late, offered only vague solutions. He said repealing President Obama's health care law would help, although the
Congressional Budget Office says repeal would raise the deficit over 10 years, not lower it. "The men and women in our armed forces should never be used as bargaining chips to raise taxes on job-creating small businesses," he said.
Source: New York Times on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Sep 20, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Open to some minimum income tax level for everyone
Q: Please comment on Mitt Romney's contention that only 47% of Americans pay taxes?KAINE: Well, everyone pays taxes; the statistics that have come out.
Q: I'm asking about federal income taxes.
KAINE: I would be open to a proposal that would have
some minimum tax level for everyone.
ALLEN: It is typical of Tim Kaine. His record is one of always looking to raise taxes.
Kaine argued that he wasn't calling for a minimum across the board tax, but rather showing that he is open to any suggestions.
Source: 2012 Virginia Senate Debate coverage by NBC-12
Sep 20, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Smash-mouth partisanship is yesterday's politics
KAINE: Many in the room who have been in Virginia politics for a while remember Gov. Allen's famous quote when he was governor: "My job is to knock Democrats' soft teeth down their whining throats." George, as a governor, called General
Assembly members "dinosaurs, monarchical elitists." He calls federal employees sanctimonious social engineers. That is yesterday's politics. We're not going to solve our problems if we continue down that path of smash mouth, consider the other side
rather than the opponent. We got to compete against the world to win.Q: [To Allen]: Was your smashing teeth remark not literal?
ALLEN: It is an example of where sports analogies are not appropriate, and that was a mistake on my part for it.
[My campaigns] are not running down the others, there's contrasts. That is what we have in competitive representative democracy, contrasting or competing ideas.
Source: CNN State of the Union on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Jul 22, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Served as a missionary in Honduras
ALLEN: Tim was the hand-picked chairman of the Democratic National Committee by President Obama, and he's, in effect, the hand-picked senator and recruited to run for the Senate.KAINE: I am highly offended at that. He cannot help himself.
ALLEN: I didn't interrupt you.
KAINE: I have had a career of serving people. I was a missionary in Honduras. I was a civil rights lawyer for 17 years. I was a city councilman, mayor, lieutenant governor, governor. His suggestion that
I'm running for office just because somebody else asked me to, I've not lived my life that way. I live my entire life to serve other people. And so his notion, oh, you're just handpicked to run the Senate race, come on.
I had to give up a job and a salary and health care benefits to run for the U.S. Senate. And I'm doing it because the nation needs people who know how to find common ground moving forward.
Source: CNN State of the Union on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Jul 22, 2012
On Health Care:
Inaction was not a solution for healthcare
Their differences kicked in as they reacted to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the individual mandate at the heart of President Barack Obama's health care reform law. Allen watched news reports about the decision. "I'm disappointed that they had
to use all this judicial creativity to call the mandate a tax," Allen said of the majority justices. "Unlike Tim Kaine, who thinks this is a great achievement, I want to be the deciding vote to repeal it."
Kaine said in a statement that insurance premiums and the number of uninsured both rose dramatically during Allen's term in the
Senate. "Clearly, inaction was not a solution, and neither are continued calls for repeal. Instead, we must work together to strengthen this existing program and improve cost controls," Kaine said.
Source: Washington Post coverage of 2012 Virginia Senate Debates
Jun 28, 2012
On Immigration:
Make it easier for foreign students to get green cards
Both Allen and Kaine said they support tax reform that would encourage corporations to repatriate their foreign earnings.
And they said they want to make it easier for foreign students to get visas and green cards after they graduate from American universities.
Source: Washington Post coverage of 2012 Virginia Senate Debates
Jun 28, 2012
On Social Security:
Lift the payroll tax cap
On Social Security, Allen said he favors raising the retirement age and eliminating Social Security benefits for "people making a million dollars."
Kaine said he wants to lift the payroll tax cap--which would force wealthier people to pay more into the system.
Source: Washington Post coverage of 2012 Virginia Senate Debates
Jun 28, 2012
On Technology:
Force online retailers to collect sales taxes
Kaine indicated he was open to forcing online retailers to collect sales taxes, although he said the rates should not be onerous and some small businesses should be exempted.
Allen said he opposed asking businesses without a physical presence in a state to collect sales taxes.
Source: Washington Post coverage of 2012 Virginia Senate Debates
Jun 28, 2012
On Budget & Economy:
Tea Party's reckless economic policies create uncertainty
Tea Party activist Jamie Radtke hit the former one-term senator for voting to add an expensive prescription drug program to Medicare and backing No Child Left Behind, two initiatives sought by Republican
President George W. Bush. "Tim Kaine will not run to the right of me on spending," Radtke said, subtly criticizing the budgets Allen voted for during his previous Senate term.
Kaine's campaign responded to the repeated criticism following the debate. "Virginia voters heard the Tea Party contenders push reckless economic policies that would damage
Virginia's economy, create more uncertainty for our businesses, and make our nation less globally competitive," a Kaine spokeswoman said.
Source: Washington Examiner on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
May 25, 2012
On Civil Rights:
No discrimination against nominating gay judges
The General Assembly blocked a gay judicial nominee's appointment to the bench in Richmond: 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, advocated for gay marriage & lives with a partner with whom he is raising twins.George Allen said he 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: [selections should be] "based on 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 discrimination: "Gov. Kaine believes that the only standard for selecting judges should be their qualifications. This type of discrimination has no place in government, and serves to pit Virginians against one another."
Source: Washington Post on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
May 21, 2012
On Homeland Security:
All-cuts approach leaves TRICARE & nat'l defense vulnerable
Radtke said "we need someone who is going to focus on cutting spending in these serious times." Allen said the economy was out of control "because of the overspending, over-regulating . big government policies of
President Obama, Tim Kaine and the Washington liberals."
Immediately after the debate, a Kaine spokeswoman criticized the Republican candidates, saying a balanced approach was needed on economic issues: "The
Republican all-cuts approach would not only leave programs like TRICARE, veterans job training, and national defense vulnerable,
but their gridlock politics will fundamentally jeopardize military preparedness and economic growth."
Source: Hampton Roads Daily Press on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
May 11, 2012
On Education:
More student loan interest cuts; more tuition assistance
Student loans have quickly become a hot button issue for candidates nationally and here in the Commonwealth. At Saturday's Republican Senate Debate in Roanoke candidates Bob Marshall, E.W. Jackson, and Jamie Radtke all came out forcefully saying the
federal government should be out of the student loan business. 10 On Your Side also contacted Democratic senate candidate Tim Kaine, who supports extending interest rate cuts to student loans and increasing tuition assistance at the state level.
Source: WSLS-10 Roanaoke on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
May 5, 2012
On Civil Rights:
GOP agenda on gay marriage is divisive social legislation
All four GOP candidates voiced support for the Defense of Marriage Act, which preserves states' rights not to recognize same-sex marriages. Marshall, the General Assembly's most outspoken social conservative, said he would
consider impeaching any judge who refused to uphold the law.A Kaine spokeswoman said, "Their support for divisive social legislation will only cause more polarization and gridlock in our politics."
Source: The Virginian-Pilot on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Apr 29, 2012
On Social Security:
No dangerous privatization schemes for Social Security
All four GOP candidates said Social Security should be preserved, but outlined different approaches to keeping the trust fund solvent. Allen said he would oppose tax increases, but consider other options, such as increasing the retirement age for
future recipients born after the 1960s. Radtke said individuals should have private alternatives to Social Security.Kaine's campaign said the debate underscored clear differences between the Democrat and Republican hopefuls.
A Kaine spokeswoman said, ""The approach the Republican candidates advocate would devastate federal investments in education, defense, and infrastructure that bolster and grow Virginia's economy.
Their calls for dangerous privatization schemes for Social Security and Medicare would jeopardize a generations-long guarantee of retirement security.
Source: The Virginian-Pilot on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Apr 29, 2012
On Abortion:
If life begins at conception, we must outlaw contraception
Kaine explained that the common birth control pill works by a dual mechanism--both preventing fertilization, and preventing successful implantation when fertilization does occur.
Also, he added, intra-uterine devices work singly by preventing implantation.
Allen had a fumble on some basic science. The candidates were asked about conservative proposals to declare that life begins at conception. Allen said that defining life as beginning at conception would not outlaw contraception, as "contraception"
means stopping conception--that is, preventing fertilization from taking place:Moderator: Could you tell us, how do you think birth control pills and intra-uterine devices work?
Allen: I don't profess to be a doctor. I'm just using maybe a little
Source: Eric Kleefeld reporting on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Dec 7, 2011
On Budget & Economy:
I cut state spending $5B while investing in infrastructure
During a discussion on the tax code, Allen proposed a "freedom to choose" flat tax, in which people could choose either a flat tax--though Allen stopped short of naming an exact rate, or which deductions might still exist--or the present tax code,
if they thought they could get a better deal by itemizing various deductions. Allen predicted that over time, most people would migrate to the flat tax. For his part, Kaine pointed out that Allen was unable to come up with a number.
Source: Eric Kleefeld reporting on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Dec 7, 2011
On Energy & Oil:
We are producing more energy than ever; find alternatives
George was a senator? We are producing significantly more natural gas in this country now than when George was a senator.
We are exporting more refined oil in this country now than when George was a senator. The notion that we have to unleash everything--hey, it's happening right now, and that's great."
Kaine said that the Bush tax cuts should expire for the highest income brackets. "These tax cuts were put in place in 2003--Allen was the deciding vote for them to be put in place," said Kaine. "They were put in place temporarily. And the reason they
were made temporary, is because if you made them permanent, they were going to absolutely bust the deficit. And that's exactly what has happened--along with voting for expansions of entitlement programs, voting for wars without figuring out how to fund
Source: Eric Kleefeld reporting on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Dec 7, 2011
On Tax Reform:
Balance taxes: let Bush tax cuts expire at the top end
them, and voting for these big tax increases, the deficit has ballooned because of policies that George Allen pursued when he was a Senator. The right strategy on the Bush tax cuts, is to let them expire at the top end, over $500k. and the reason you do
that is because we should also be making a lot of cuts in the budget, and those cuts are gonna fall hardest on middle and lower income people. it's balance; you cut tax rates, eliminate exclusions, let some of the tax cuts expire--that's balance."
Kaine did part with national Democrats on a key tactical matter in the current debate: "You've got Democrats in the senate right now who are doing something I don't like, which is saying we want to fund something with a millionaire's tax.
I think that is used because millionaires don't poll well--that is a bad way to do tax policy. All we've got to do is deal with the Bush tax cuts.
Source: Eric Kleefeld reporting on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Dec 7, 2011
On Tax Reform:
No need for millionaire's tax: just let Bush cuts expire
It's $4 trillion of potential deficit reduction, depending on how we deal with that. And again, George and his colleagues promised that these were going to be temporary tax cuts.
If you let them expire at the top end, you get hundreds of billions of dollars that you can use to then combine with spending cuts to make things happen. And that's the approach we need."
Allen criticized Kaine for accepting the role of chairman of the Democratic National Committee, saying he should have spent his final year as governor on state priorities, "not the national partisan role of advocating for the likes of, not only President
Obama's policies, but those of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.""The likes of President Obama?" Kaine responded.
"Well, the policies and agenda of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid," said
Source: Eric Kleefeld reporting on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Dec 7, 2011
On War & Peace:
Supported Obama's stopping the Iraq War
Allen. "Were you or were you not advocating for their agenda? And their agenda surely wasn't consistent with what's in the best interests of the people of
Virginia.""Wiping out al-Qaeda?" Kaine responded "Stopping the Iraq War? Saving the auto industry? Is that not being consistent with Virginia's interests? I just see it a different way than you do, George."
The candidates were asked about conservative proposals to declare that life begins at conception. Kaine opposed this, explaining that it would not only outlaw abortion, but would outlaw contraception such as the birth control pill and intra-uterine
devices.
Allen said that defining life as beginning at conception would not outlaw contraception, as "contraception" means stopping conception--that is, preventing fertilization from taking place.
Source: Eric Kleefeld reporting on 2012 Virginia Senate debate
Dec 7, 2011
Page last updated: Dec 05, 2018