THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 1, 1996 TAG: 9605010010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
John R. ``Bob'' Locke states in his letter (April 14): ``To credit John Warner with having a record of voting for conservative measures is off-base, to say the least.'' Well, his statement is off-base, because John Warner is a conservative and the record shows it.
Mr. Locke states that the National Taxpayers Union ranked the senator as the fifth biggest spender, right behind Edward Kennedy. While this is true, one cannot compare the spending habits of these two individuals.
First, this ranking pertains to total dollars spent, not to how the dollars were spent.
Secondly, the senator supports a strong military. Aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines are expensive, both to build and to maintain. but, because of Warner's stature on the Armed Services Committee, Hampton Roads has directly benefited from his support of these expenditures.
Lastly, Locke did not note that the National Taxpayers Union also gives the senator a 100 percent rating as a conservative. For Locke to compare Kennedy to Warner is erroneous.
Locke also states that Warner voted with President Clinton 60 percent of the time. This is true, but for 1994 only. Before, and since then, the senator has voted with the president about 26 percent of the time. It is important to note here that in 1994, the voting average for Republicans was 49 percent.
The reason Warner's percentage is a little higher is because important enviromental legislation, which pertained to the cleanup up of the Chesapeake Bay, was supported by Clinton. In 1994, Jim Miller personally presented to Warner the Jefferson Award from Citizens for a Sound Economy for being 100 percent fiscally conservative. Locke implies inaccurately that the senator is a supporter of most of Clinton's policies.
Others, in addition to Jim Miller, recognized that John Warner is a committed conservative. The most recent publication of the Christian Coalition's voters guide gives the senator a 100 percent rating as a conservative on his voting record. Both Bob Dole and Dan Quayle have endorsed the re-election of John Warner.
Lastly, a few may question whether the senator truly supports Virginia's Republicans. While others simply pay lip-service to the party, Warner actively campaigns and donates money to Republican candidates.
In 1995, John Warner donated over $250,000 to Republican candidates for the General Assembly, Jim Miller donated $904. Such support for Virginia's Republicans is very important and should not be ignored.
The attacks on John Warner are off-base. The foundation upon which Locke's letter is based are simply sound-bites of misused information.
ALAN L. SMITH
Chesapeake, April 15, 1996 by CNB