It
doesn’t take a political analyst to tell Election Day in the United States is very close.
All people have to do is turn on their TVs or go on the Internet and they will be berated constantly with those negative campaign ads. The story is no different for those of us at Virginia Tech. As in this year’s House of Representatives race we have had to put up with Republican Morgan Griffith’s negative and unsubstantiated attacks on Democratic congressman Rick Boucher.
Griffith is running on the claim Boucher is the wrong man for Southwest Virginia. I assure you this couldn’t be any further from the truth.
In his 28 years serving in Congress, Boucher has always fought for what’s in the best interest of Southwest Virginia and Tech, and he will continue to fight for this area which he cares so much about. For those of you who plan on voting in this year’s election, make the right choice for Virginia’s 9th District, and re-elect Rick Boucher.
When I think of words to describe what kind of candidate Boucher is, the words moderate, modest and pragmatic come to mind. That’s because as a moderate representative of Southwest Virginia, Boucher isn’t there to represent only liberals or only conservatives. At the end of the day, Boucher takes the interests of all of his constituents into account and pragmatically does what is best for everyone.
Now, as you have probably heard, Griffith tries to portray Boucher as a man who just wants to be in Washington to endorse the “Obama-Pelosi” agenda. Boucher is a Democrat who has represented a very conservative district for many years. Logically, Griffith’s portrayal of Boucher as a very liberal candidate is completely false.
Do you really think someone who doesn’t take into account the interests of his conservative base would have represented this area for that long? Let’s be honest, Boucher is a moderate Democrat at best, and that’s why his pragmatic and moderate approach to our nation’s issues makes him an ideal candidate for office.
For example, Boucher is a strong pro-choice supporter, who was also given an A+ rating by the National Rifle Association for his stance on gun rights. And this is just one example.
Whether you consider yourself a staunch liberal like myself, or a strong conservative, there will be times where you’ll disagree with Boucher’s voting records. With that taken into consideration, however, there is no doubt in my mind Boucher is the better man for the job. Do not pay attention to the negative ads from the Griffith campaign, Boucher has done and will continue to do a great job for Southwest Virginia.
The Griffith campaign has attacked Boucher for supporting the American Clean Energy and Security Act, otherwise known as the cap-and-trade bill. Griffith claims Boucher supported this bill because his loyalty to President Barack Obama comes first. He also claims the bill will kill 56,000 Virginia jobs. Quite honestly, this isn’t true.
What Griffith fails to mention is the bill will help stimulate economic growth by creating incentives through large-scale investments in clean and self-sufficient energy.
Subsequently, the bill will then help create about a million jobs nationally, up to 50,000 of them coming to Virginia. At the same time, Boucher recognizes his district gets 80 percent of its electricity from coal. So he has fought against some of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations that would raise electricity prices. With this bill, Boucher has kept energy costs affordable for Southwest Virginians, and at the same promoted American energy independence and security.
We need a congressman like Boucher who recognizes we can improve our quality of life while promoting self-sustainable
energy.
Let’s not forget how much good Boucher has done for Tech. In his most recent term, Boucher successfully secured $63 million for Tech through the recovery act in order to maintain our title as a top research institution. This money helped in the area of scientific research, but also has helped ease the burden of severe state budget reductions.
A version of this article appeared in the Oct 29 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I think Mr. Baroncelli vastly overstates the case against Griffith. He says, "Griffith, who is so heavily backed by the Tea Party, is no different than any other Tea Party candidate running in this year’s election."
This is not correct.
I have worked at the General Assembly as a volunteer activist nearly every year since 1972, and know both Boucher and Griffith from that context.
Having worked with, and against, Griffith in the House Courts of Justice Committee for many years, I can attest that he is indeed conservative, as well as intelligent, thoughtful, articulate, and highly mindful of his duties to the Constitution and our personal rights which it guarantees. Just this past year, he personally endorsed a long-overdue proposed reform of marijuana laws. These are not the actions of a mere Tea-Party clone.
Boucher did a solid job in our Virginia Senate for six years, and was the chief patron of the Marijuana Law Reform Act of 1979 which ended many terrible injustices. He's done a decent job in the US Senate since then, though I must confess that I haven't followed his actions closely.
Both incumbent and challenger are honorable individuals, and either of them would serve both Virginia and the Nation well. By all means, choose whichever one seems best in line with your philosophy -- but VOTE!
-- Roy B. Scherer
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I think it's Morgan Griffith's turn to be in office. How long has Boucher been in office? Like 2 decades or more I believe. What has positively changed in Western VA due to him that justifies him staying in? If someone can point that out or justify what he has done, than please do it.
Granted I've only lived here for 5 years as a student and NoVA before then, but how I see it, SW VA is still lacks growth, businesses, and most importantly JOBS in which the previous two are prerequisites. The nearest job/business hub in SW Va is the city of Roanoke.
Boucher is a democrat meaning he supports the current way of life: lack of job growth, higher taxes, Obama care, ect.
Boucher may be more moderate but his vote still goes with Obama's administration.
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Saying we should vote for Griffith because it's somebody else's "turn" is ridiculous. Boucher has lots of seniority and works effectively with both "sides." We'll lose an excellent representative if Griffith wins.
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Well, election is done, and Griffith won. "Vox populi, vox Dei!"
Over the next few years, we'll see what sort of a job Griffith does, which will make these comments moot.
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