House Editorial: A vote for voting
Voters find themselves between a rock and a hard place
Posted on October 23, 2006

As we at The Breeze look toward Election Day, we do so with some trepidation. In the race between Sen. George Allen and Jim Webb, Virginians may lose out in the end.

In spite of of the repeated calls to “get back to the issues,” character does matter in elections; on Nov. 7, voters will not elect ideas, they will elect people. In that respect, this election has left much to be desired. Enough newsprint has been devoted to the long and less-than-flattering past of these two men to fill the pages of a Russian novel, and the picture that has emerged is damning. Regardless of the desperate level of spin to which both campaigns have been reduced, it still appears that Virginians have no alternative but to choose between a racist and a woman-hater.

Issues, of course, have fared no better this election cycle. As we saw during his bitterly lackluster commencement speech at JMU’s graduation ceremony last May, Allen has not exactly proven his capacity for depth of insight. If voting records and public statements are any indication, he has not had an autonomous policy thought since George Bush moved into the White House.

And while Webb may not parrot the president, he has failed to distinguish himself on the issues as well — he entered the race over the Iraq issue, and has stayed the course ever since. His other policy initiatives are unspecific and verbose, as are Allen’s, but he does not have two-plus decades of public service in the Commonwealth to hide the fact. Webb is a one-horse race; his whole reason for being is that George Allen is George Bush, and he is not George Allen.

So in the Senate race, Virginians find themselves between a rock and a hard place. But the choice between the two is still theirs.

In New York State, polls indicate Hillary Clinton is all but guaranteed re-election, despite a Republican challenger. Even in Virginia’s Sixth District (including Harrisonburg), Rep. Bob Goodlatte is running unopposed in what amounts to an old-school Iraqi election: vote for me, or don’t vote. In this Senate race, however, the polls indicate a virtual dead heat. Every vote in this election will be counted, and every vote will count.

The Breeze cannot in this election choose a candidate worth endorsing. But the voters of the commonwealth of Virginia can — and must — choose a candidate worth voting for. On Nov. 7, your voice will be heard, and your vote will matter. So fill out your absentee ballots or plan on going home to the polls, for the cliché is not cliché anymore: in this election, your vote may be the one that makes the difference.