Mark Warner is a good choice

I am thrilled that former Gov. Mark Warner is entering the race for the U.S. Senate seat now held by John Warner, who is retiring.

Mark Warner is a man of integrity and exactly the kind of level-headed candidate we need more of at all levels of government.

I've never in my life - and I'm certain this will earn me more disdain from certain churlish locals - voted for a Democrat.

In my time, the Dems have traditionally been the party that was pro-choice, anti-gun, soft on crime and agreeable to the notion that society owed everyone a living. These are issues I feel strongly about, very much in disagreement with the typical Democratic Party perspective, but on none of them is my position all the way to the right.

Mark Warner is the first Democrat I've encountered who didn't make me think his positions were all the way to the left. I believe there are hundreds of thousands of Virginia voters who feel exactly as I do, thus Mark Warner's popularity as governor and now as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

I readily admit that the contemporary Republican Party, at both the state and national levels, has certainly failed people like me that usually vote for their candidates.

Traditional GOP values -smaller governments, fiscal responsibility, respect for privacy - have long been set aside by the current cast in their quest to maintain power.

Despite all the optimism and his personal popularity, it's not a lock for Mark Warner to win in Virginia next year.

The news media steadily paints Virginia as a "red," or GOP, state, but this is incorrect. Virginia voters reliably vote for the best candidate at the time, regardless of party affiliation.

Over the past three decades, Virginia has regularly chosen the GOP candidate for president, yet in gubernatorial and congressional contests, Virginia voters have elected men from both parties and this record certainly favors a sharp candidate like Mark Warner.

But there's an elephant in the room now and it doesn't have a Social Security number, or a green card.

Illegal immigration is going to be a central issue in state elections in 2007, and especially so in the 2008 national contests.

On this issue, Mr. Warner is somewhat at odds with what the voters seem to want. 

An article in the Washington Post on Sept. 9 titled "Mark Warner Weighs His Options," quoted him as wanting a secure border, but offering that consideration needs to be given to the illegals already in the country.

Mr. Warner lamented that the U.S. is becoming a nation that apparently does not welcome these immigrants.

This position could cost him the Senate race.

I don't think Mr. Warner has correctly read the tea leaves here, but I don't doubt that will change. Expect Mr. Warner to modify his views about illegal immigration.

The GOP is visibly nervous about Mr. Warner's candidacy, and has vowed to make an effort to knock him off his pedestal. The posturing done by Republican strategists in the press is nothing short of puerile; they've basically admitted they will search his closets for skeletons.

Who can the GOP put up against Mark Warner- Jim Gilmore has left the building, and the pundits from inside the Beltway seem to think that Rep. Tom Davis, of the Fairfax-centered 11th district, is the best choice. I'd say the GOP should run Rep. Davis for Senate only if they wish to forfeit the race. In my opinion, he is the poster-congressman for all that is wrong with the modern Republican Party. His interests lie mainly in what keeps the party in power and gets him reelected.  
Our own 7th district representative, Eric Cantor, is the candidate the GOP should consider.

He's been a steady and reliable congressman for us and he hasn't garnered the negative press about himself that Tom Davis has.

Plus, he already understands the level of frustration felt across the state about illegal immigration.

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