What a surprise: Warner endorses Kerry

I sometimes think that if Mark Warner did not exist, Virginia Republicans would have to invent him. Rarely has a single governor, in such a short period of time, presented more reasons to vote the straight Republican ticket every time they open the voting booths. Warner’s recent endorsement of Sen. John Kerry is a case in point.

As WFIR reported last week, Warner was stumping for fellow Democrat John Kerry, arguing that Kerry was a “true fiscal conservative.” Given Warner’s recent actions on taxes, we can only assume that the Governor believes that a President Kerry would impose the largest tax increase in American history, mirroring Warner’s backing of the largest tax increase in Virginia history. But even if this assumption is invalid, to call the country’s most liberal senator (according to a non-partisan report) a fiscal conservative is to stretch the definition of conservative beyond meaning. Someone should tell the governor that he is 20 years too late to be living in George Orwell’s 1984.

Besides showing his typical grasp of the English language, Warner also demonstrated his impeccable sense of timing in last week’s Kerry endorsement. According to Warner, Kerry stands an excellent chance of capturing Virginia’s 13 electoral votes this November. (The last time that Virginia voted Democratic in a presidential election was 1964.) Indeed, some recent state polls have indicated that, although President George W. Bush is ahead in every Virginia poll, the race between Kerry and Bush is closer than usual for this point in a presidential campaign.

However, on the very day that Warner’s political analysis was reported by WFIR, the Associated Press reported that “despite promises to expand the election playing field, John Kerry has reduced his ad spending … throughout the South in the run-up to the Democratic presidential convention.” In Virginia, Kerry’s campaign “dramatically reduced its ad buy,” according to the AP.

Someone should tell the governor that it would be well to make sure that the candidate whom you are endorsing still thinks he has a chance before you go too far out on a limb for him.

The Kerry surrender in Virginia in other parts of the South came only days after Kerry picked North Carolina Sen. John Edwards as his running mate. Kerry’s choice came after he referred to Edwards during the primary campaign as “not yet out of diapers” when Kerry came home from Vietnam. During this same primary campaign, Kerry criticized those in the Democratic Party who “looked South” for votes.

Given Kerry’s noted propensity to flip-flop on the issues, perhaps the marriage between him and Warner is natural. Kerry’s most famous quotation, referring to money for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, was: “I actually voted for that $87 billion, before I voted against it.” Warner’s most famous set of quotations come from October 2001: “I will not raise your taxes, I will not raise your taxes, I will not raise your taxes,” and from December 2003: “Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!” (OK, that last quotation is a paraphrase.)

During the week that Warner endorsed the Massachusetts Senator, Kerry’s flip flops came fast and furious. First, he hosted a fund-raising event at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in which “entertainers” made numerous crude and insulting remarks about President Bush. At the end of the evening, Kerry announced that Whoopi Goldberg and others “represent the heart and soul of America.” As word of the various crudities spread, and the controversy heated up, Kerry campaign announced that the Senator “disagreed” with much of what was said. (He did keep the money from the fund-raiser, however.)

At the same time, Kerry’s campaign touted a $2 million ad buy aimed at African-Americans, the largest ad buy ever directed at black America, they said. One week later, the ads were pulled because the campaign said they were “lackluster.” It was later revealed that the real reason that Kerry pulled the ads was that he had not shown them first to the Congressional Black Caucus and gotten their approval.

The most embarrassing flip flop of the week came on the issue of whether or not Sen. Hillary Clinton would address the Democratic Convention during prime time. The campaign first announced, incredibly, that Clinton did not wish to address the convention. Next, they announced that Clinton was deliberately left off the prime time list because the convention was to be “about the future.” Finally, they announced that they were thrilled to have Hillary speak on opening night, introducing her husband. That’s three positions in one week, on one issue. It was a stunning display of spinelessness that makes Warner’s flip flop on taxes seem almost statesmanlike.

And perhaps that is what explains Warner’s endorsement.