ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 7, 1996 TAG: 9610070035
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: virginia journal
MEMO: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
Democrat Mark Warner is using the endorsement from a national seniors group to accentuate a major theme of his campaign: That Republican Sen. John Warner's vote to slow Medicare spending is a dangerous slight to elderly Americans. While delivering his stump speech, Mark Warner doesn't mention that he, too, supports slowing the growth of the Medicare budget. The difference is about $270 billion (John Warner) to $150 billion (Mark Warner). The change John Warner voted for was part of an omnibus Republican spending package designed to balance the federal budget in seven years.
"If he wants to criticize my votes, that's fine. That's fair game," John Warner said last week during a campaign stop in Richmond. "But my question to him is: What would he do to balance the budget? You have to have a plan." Mark Warner responds that he would eliminate the Republicans' plan to cut taxes on capital gains in half. "That helps wealthy people - people like me and John," he said. "I want to balance the budget, but not on the backs of Virginia's seniors."
- Robert Little
Promises, promises
PETERSBURG - For all the issue-gauging and white-papering that candidates do to learn what the people want, sometimes they miss what really matters. Democrat Mark Warner saw it last week. At a home for seniors in Petersburg, Warner talked with about 50 sign-waving residents. Only six were men. He said the scene brought to mind a discussion he had with five ladies "all on the north side of 80." He asked what they wanted in a senator, and an 84-year-old woman responded. "Young man," the woman told the 41-year-old Senate candidate, "what I'd really like is someone who could bring more men to the senior center." The laughter died, and Warner reassumed a stately posture. "So I make this promise," he said. "After Nov. 5, more men in the senior center."
- Robert Little
9th District debate likely
EMORY - A debate among the 9th District congressional candidates seems likely, but getting it nailed down has been difficult. Republican Patrick Muldoon, who is challenging the re-election bid of Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, has been calling for a debate with Boucher for weeks. On Sept. 24, Boucher said he and Muldoon had scheduled the debate for Oct. 25 on the Emory & Henry campus with Thomas Morris, college president, as moderator. The campaign manager for Tom Roberts, the Virginia Independent Party candidate, complained that Boucher was trying to keep his candidate out. On Sept. 27, Boucher said he and Roberts had agreed on a debate Oct. 25 at Emory & Henry and Muldoon had been invited to participate. Four days later, Muldoon claimed he was the one Boucher was trying to exclude. Roberts said he and Muldoon had gotten different debate proposals from Boucher's representatives. Muldoon said his people had been negotiating with Boucher's office "when he blind-sided us" with the announcement of the agreement with Roberts. Roberts said he thought Boucher was trying to exclude him from the debate once but now was confident the details would be worked out.
- Paul Dellinger
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. ``What would he do to balance the budget? You have toby CNBhave a plan.'' - John Warner, criticizing his rival for not spelling
out where he'd cut the budget. 2. ``I want to balance the budget,
but not on the backs of Virginia's seniors.'' - Mark Warner,
criticizing the incumbent's vote to slow the growth of Medicare. KEYWORDS: POLITICS CONGRESS