So tell me about this Warner fellow

[LittleClarkie]

What are his positions on the issues? Where's a good place to find out? Might as well check the dude out if his star is rising.

[mestup]

1. Warner's remarks at the 2005 DLC Convention

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=106&subid=122&contentid=253485

<snip>
And I know we all want to thank Senator Hillary Clinton and President Clinton for what they've done not only for this DLC, but for our country.

You know, I'm here today to talk for a few minutes about why I think this heartland strategy is so important to the future not only of our Democratic Party, but for our country. We Democrats neglect the heartland at our own peril. You can see it in the map that was up here during lunch, the map of the 2004 election results, where there was that sea of red with these blue edges. If the Democratic Party thinks that it can continue a strategy where we go after only 16 states and hope for that tip or bank shot to get a 17th state, I believe we're making a huge mistake because even if we elect a President under that strategy, we cede two-thirds of our states or statehouses or congressional delegations to the Republicans. And that does not only our party, but our country a great disservice.

[madfloridian]

2. Here is an article by him at the DLC..."The Sensible Center"

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253585&kaid=127&subid=173

Here are some more articles about him at the DLC.
http://www.dlc.org/search_results.cfm

[Upfront]

3. DLC Member

Not what I am looking for to run for President.

[Zynx]

4. Did you actually bother to read the article?

It is not good to close off choices based purely on affiliation. Dean was a DLC member too, and a staunch one at that, before he ran for president.

[DaveinMD]

5. In fact

progressives in Vermont hated the good Governor Dean. Warner would be a great candidate for President.

[nickshepDEM]

8. Dave, I like the way you think.

;)

[LittleClarkie]

6. Do we have proof of that

it's been said before, and then refuted. I wish there were back lists of those who used to be DLC but aren't anymore.

[madfloridian]

15. Dean was centrist, and he always says so.

I put a post here about how the campaign called on the DLC to quit calling him and us fringe activists. The pages up at the Dean campaign site gave several commendations the DLC gave him. He was part of it, but then when he called them the Republican wing of the party they went after him.

That is where the "fringe activist" label began....from them. If I post the commendations I will said to be reliving the primaries, though. They called us anti-war fringe, or something like that. It was ugly.

[LittleClarkie]

17. Thanks. One clarification, though

Was he ever on their list of New Democrats, or did they just like the cut of his jib and sing his praises until he said something they didn't like?

[madfloridian]

18. Not sure.

I could swear I saw his name there, but once one is out of office the name is not there. He even jokes about being centrist, and how it makes the DLC look even further to the right if they call him liberal.

[nickshepDEM]

7. He's often mistaken for a center-right/centrist Democrat.

Probably because its hard to believe such a solid Democrat could do so well in VA (74% Approval). In reality he only holds one or two conservative positons. He supports parental notification and he's a staunch supporter of 2nd amendment rights (kept the NRA neutral in his 2001 bid for Governor).

Here is a link to his "Why I am a Democrat" speech.
http://www.vademocrats.org/Who_We_Are/Demo_Warner.asp

Governor Warner's domestic accomplishments:

-In 2005 under Governor Wanrers leadership VA was ranked as THE BEST MANGED STATE IN THE NATION.

-Chairman of the Nat'l Governors Association.

-Chairman of the Souther Governors Association.

-"Governing Magazine was so impressed with Mark Warner’s abilities and bipartisn style of governing, they named him and Republican Senate Finance Chairman John Chichester “Public Officials of the Year” in 2004.

-"Navigated Virginia through a $6 billion revenue shortfall, and making choices and investments in education from pre-school to graduate school to create a Commonwealth of opportunity for all."

-"Education for a Lifetime." The pre-school through grad school and beyond into workforce training measures are designed to move students another rung up the ladder of educational achievement, demonstrating the linkage between degrees and other markers of academic achievement and economic prosperity. The Governor also committed to fully funding the $525 million needed to re-benchmark the Standards of Quality for K-12 education, as established by the State Board of Education."

-"Governor Warner has also brought common sense business principles to the way the state purchases goods and services, manages its vehicle fleet and real estate holdings, and maintains information technology functions, with an appropriate emphasis on including those who own small, women- and minority-owned businesses."

-"Governor Warner is working hard to build a foundation to bring economic prosperity to all corners of Virginia. Economic development and job creation are top priorities for Governor Warner. Since January 2002, during difficult economic times, he has helped recruit more than 100,000 jobs and $9.5 billion in new investment in every region of Virginia."

-"He helped found the Virginia Health Care Foundation, which has provided health care to more than 476,000 underserved Virginians in rural and urban areas."

-"In 1997, he developed the Virginia High-Tech Partnership, which helps students from Virginia's five Historically Black Colleges and Universities pursue technology careers through a summer internship and job placement program."

-"Provided the largest increase in education funding in Virginia history."

-"Increased the personal income tax exemption and standard deduction enabling 140,000 to no longer have to file any state income tax, and will cut the food tax from 4% to 2.5 %
in July, 2005."

All of that accomplished while working with a staunchly conservative state legislature. Thats what I call an ability to get things done.

Read more about Governor Mark Warner:

http://www.governor.virginia.gov /
http://www.draftmarkwarner.com /

And thats just a taste. The list above happens to be out of date. Since then he has signed programs into law that insure all underprivileged children in the state of VA have access health insurance. He also signed a bill into law that takes a strong stand against illegal immigration, which will be a huge issue in 2008.

He is argueably the most successful Governor in the country. Governor Warner has accomplished more in 4 years than most Governors accomplish in 8. Ask anyone from VA, everything the man touches, turns to gold.

He will leave Virginia in 2006 with he highest approval rating of any departing governor, ever. 74% APPROVAL.

[LittleClarkie]

9. I didn't know that Virginia had a rule against incumbants running again

I bet Virginians now wish they didn't.

[nickshepDEM]

10. Yeah, me too. Its a horrible rule.

Warner would have cruised to re-election. The VA Republican party would have put up some sacrificial lamb because knocking Warner off would have been nearly impossible.

[Zynx]

11. I think Warner would have won 60-40 at least from what I see.

[FrenchieCat]

12. I wanna know his foreign policy views and his take on Iraq...then and

...then and now. What about the War on Terror? What's would be his approach on that.

I also want to know more about the dust up he had with Gov. Wilder.

Also want more info on his history with Nextel, and if that the connection that got him an invitation to bildeberg this year?

[skipos]

13. He isn't from New England, which is a good start if

we want to win more than the usual northeastern and west coast states.

[Totally Committed]

14. He's DLC.

And, this:

"Still, Warner's wide acclaim is based on compromising with Republicans, not defying them. As he assesses his chances for his party's 2008 presidential nomination, Warner has toured the nation urging Democrats to reclaim 'the sensible center' and become competitive again in the South."

http://tinyurl.com/9b9od

I think we deserve 2 Democrats in the White House when we win, don't you?

TC

[DaveinMD]

16. he governs

a state where Republicans control both houses of the legislature by huge margins. He got Republicans to go along with a plan to fix the budget mess. This was so successful that Republicans attacked each other instead of him. He's done many good things for the state. He's a good Democrat.

[NCarolinawoman]

19. I want to know about his positions on environmental issues. n/t