Tonight’s debate at the Lane Auditorium in Charlottesville will be among businessman Jim McKelvey, Congressional intelligence advisor Joe Whited, tech executive Michael Del Rosso, and Sen. Tom Garrett (R-Buckingham). Each of these four gentlemen seeks to gain the Republican nomination to represent Virginia’s 5th Congressional District in Congress.
The nomination is to be decided at a district-wide convention to be held in Lovingston on May 14.
9:00 pm: A big thanks to Rick Buchanan and the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation for putting on a great event!
Steve Albertson
8:59 pm: Joe Thomas offers closing remarks to get us to 9:00 pm. Exhorts the crowd to unify behind the nominee, and elicits cheers when he says we can’t do to our nominees what the party did to Ken Cuccinelli in 2013. And that’s it. A great field of candidates, with clear differences in approach. All wings of the party are represented, and all ages and approaches. Del Rosso and Garrett seem most likely to win the nomination, judging from the crowd, though there is a lot of respect for McKelvey’s straightforward honesty, and Whited’s thoughtful earnestness. This campaign will come down to who has the better organization, and turns out their voters the convention on May 14. We’ll be on hand to report from that event.
Stay tuned.
Steve Albertson
8:58 pm: Now on to closing statements. Del Rosso excoriates the Obama administration’s foreign policy in the Middle East, and how we’ve been sold out by elites who want to destroy America, starting with the Kennedy administration. Says he wants to make America great again. McKelvey starts by saying, “I don’t need this job. I want this job.” He cites his business experience and the senseless burdens placed in his and others’ way by the federal government. Wants to re-work NATO, and institute campaign finance reform, and follows with his refrain about the federal debt. Cites Donald Trump pronouncements on the same. Whited: “We don’t have a government by a majority. We have a government by a majority of those who participate.” Gives a pretty optimistic, polished talk about being an positive, effective leader. He’s the (slightly more moderate) Marco Rubio of this field. Garrett says that like everyone on the stage, he shares fundamental conservative beliefs. Says that the difference is that he’s got a voting record showing that he puts those beliefs into action.
Steve Albertson
8:50 pm: Garrett takes the stage, to great applause. Gets a question about the Veteran’s Administration, but opens by referencing the veto session. Indicates he helped save the right-to-work referendum, and complains of the Governor’s veto of his Tebow Bill, before addressing waste and redundancies in the VA.
Steve Albertson
8:44 pm: Sen. Tom Garrett has arrived from Richmond, and is standing in the wings. Unclear what opportunity he will be given to join in the closing minutes of the event, which ends at 9:00 pm.
Steve Albertson
8:43 pm: Is Dave Brat the most popular Republican in Virginia? A question from the moderators cites Dave Brat’s having the highest conservative scores, and Barbara Comstock the lowest, among Virginia’s Republican delegation. McKelvey says he’ll do better than Brat, Whited says he doesn’t do “scorecard politics.” Del Rosso decries how abysmally low the number of Republicans in Congress is who have high scores on things like Heritage Action and Conservative Review’s scorecards. Says he expects to get A ratings.
Steve Albertson
8:40 pm: ABORTION: Del Rosso: “You don’t have to legislate that life begins and conception…it’s science.” Says that when you stop a heart, you commit a murder. “There are no exceptions to murder,” before illustrating it by saying that if you have two beautiful “Gerber” babies, and one was the product of rape and the other the product of incest: “Which one do you kill?” MckKelvey: “Mike’s correct here. Life starts at conception.” Says he would offer bills on partial birth abortion and parental notification. “Someone can perform an operation on my daughter without my consent before she’s 18? That’s absolute madness.” Whited: “I have a very personal story about why I’m pro-life.” Says his parents were faced with a difficult choice at a difficult time in their marriage. “So, to my mind, they chose right.” Says that he’s a pro-life poster child, literally, but indicates that he supports exceptions to any bar on abortions in cases of rape and incest.
Steve Albertson
8:33 pm: Biggest applause line of the night from Michael Del Rosso: “There’s no such thing as crony capitalism. What we have now is crony government.”
Steve Albertson
8:28 pm: The rules of tonights debate provide that each candidate can serve a “red card” on another candidate, entitling them to ask a question of that candidate directly. Each candidate can use the red card only once. So far, no candidate has used their red card, and the moderators have had to remind them that they have them available. Perhaps they’re saving them for Sen. Garrett?
Steve Albertson
8:23 pm: From Ed Yensho’s Greene County GOP comes a question about governance of genetically modified organisms. Whited wanders around agriculture policy, and a minute and a half later says that he wants to be cautious about GMOs. Del Rosso says that Monsanto and Del Monte are “putting a stranglehold on you,” and ties this into a global oligarchy that includes the energy industry and others. Expresses skepticism about GMOs, and worries that these organisms could have unknown and unintended consequences like plagues, so GMO technology must be approached with caution. McKelvey takes the brief, common sense route: I’ll follow the science.
Steve Albertson
8:17 pm: On trade, McKelvey sounds positively Trumpian, to fairly enthusiastic applause. Whited speaks the Gospel according to Milton Friedman. Del Rosso calls TPP an “abomination,” and complains of the ruling class having sold out our manufacturing independence, and strikes some of the same populist notes as McKelvey.
Steve Albertson
8:14 pm: Del Rosso’s not going to win the Muslim vote. For sure. Doesn’t leave much room for people who consider themselves pious Muslims to not be jihadis, or to not lie about it. (In fairness, this came up in a question about Syrian refugees, and in this context it makes sense not to accept more of them, but still…this is pretty harsh to my ears).
Steve Albertson
8:03 pm: Probably the single most important question: how will you reduce the $19 trillion in federal debt? McKelvey gives a good answer: accountability, across the board cuts (except the military), and shutting down Department of Education and the IRS. Says he’d make a better congressman than Tom Garret, but praised him for fighting the good fight in the veto session. Whited answers this question by addressing regular order on spending in Congress (e.g., 12 separate appropriations bills versus an omnibus approach). Solid answer (but probably not one understood by most folks here). Del Rosso says enforcement of the Constitution’s limited enumeration of powers would end up eliminating the deficit, and eventually the debt.
Steve Albertson
7:56 pm: Sen. Garrett’s on his way, but posted this a little less than an hour ago:
Recess was more fun in grade school. Still going. pic.twitter.com/ssQgrgDn7z
— Tom Garrett (@TomGarrettVA22) April 20, 2016
Steve Albertson
7:54 pm: All the candidates have generally solid answers on illegal immigration. Del Rosso says we should talk about things like holding employers of illegal immigrants criminally liable for crimes committed by those immigrants.
Steve Albertson
7:50 pm: On a question about federal funding for Planned Parenthood and public television, Whited reveals he doesn’t really understand his audience. Says we should definitely ensure no funding for abortion, but that we should make sure we’re still paying for women’s health issues. On public television, he cites how educational it was and how he grew up watching, so he supports continued funding. In contrast, Del Rosso hits a solid double on that softball.
Steve Albertson
7:43 pm: Q: Should marijuana be decriminalized? Del Rosso: We should get out of the way of industrial and medical uses. In terms of recreational uses, we should be careful on the moral issues, and approach things carefully as the science develops and we can learn from experiences in other states. McKelvey: Medical yes, recreational no. I had experiences back in my early 20s and I wouldn’t want my kids anywhere near it. Whited: I have friends with PTSD, and they should have access to that if it helps. Should take it off the schedule of controlled substances to allow more research and medical use. We should have a real conversation about this.
Steve Albertson
7:39 pm: Candidates all have good, thoughtful answers on Obamacare and alternative, free market approaches to healthcare. Probably the most interesting answer, though, came from McKelvey, who touts his belief that we should repeal the 17th Amendment, which allowed direct election of Senators.
Steve Albertson
7:39 pm: A moment on presentation styles, and stage presences. McKelvey comes across as straight-talking, down to earth, and trustworthy. Not terribly sophisticated, but earnest and believeable. Joe Whited is by far the youngest candidate, but it doesn’t show in how he presents. He seems thoughtful, well-informed, and very well-prepared. Though he’s young, he is poised and at ease on the stage. Del Rosso appears the most serious candidate on the stage, and has a command of a certain set of issues, and a real stage presence. He is clearly most comfortable talking about national security, and wants everyone to know it. That’s not to say he’s not a good talker on other issues…he’s an impressive candidate. Would like to have seen him next to Sen. Garrett.
Steve Albertson
7:32 pm: The discussion now is about “free” college tuitions. Del Rosso says (a) young adults shouldn’t be going into deep debt, especially on studies that don’t lead to a good job; and (b) the federal government shouldn’t have anything to do with it, except with the GI Bill. McKelvey says kids are being sold a bill of goods that they have to go to college to be successful, and cites his own story as an example. Says the federal government shouldn’t have anything to do with it. Whited speaks to the idea of getting the feds out of education altogether, and block granting those funds to the states.
Steve Albertson
7:26 pm: Sen. Garrett, in a post on Facebook:
Just voted to save the death penalty in VA… Unfortunately I am over an hour away… Headed to the car after Bill Carrico pays tribute to slain VA State Trooper.
Steve Albertson
7:26 pm: Next question is about alternative tax proposals. Whited says we’re taxed enough already, and that we need to lower the corporate income tax rate, which is among the highest in the world. Del Rosso peruses some of the options, attacks the regulatory state, and talks about the health of our economy in the context of national security. Doesn’t adopt or reject a particular way forward. McKelvey says he’s in favor of dramatic simplifcation of the tax code.
Steve Albertson
7:24 pm: Asked if they would join the Freedom Caucus if elected, McKelvey responds, “Yes.” Whited says he would not. Del Rosso says he’ll reach out to the Freedom Caucus even before being elected. Says Republicans need to plan better in election season to give them better legitimacy to govern once elected.
Steve Albertson
7:22 pm: First question is whether we should declare war on ISIS. Del Rosso says that we could kill every member of ISIS and that wouldn’t solve anything, and that it would be meaningless to declare war on ISIS. Cites the sources and background of Islamic radicalism as the problem. McKelvey agrees, and says he’d surround himself with the right people to help. Whited decries this administration’s stretching of executive authority, says that we need a debate on authorization of use of force.
Steve Albertson
7:13 pm: We’re underway! Radio host Joe Thomas is the MC, and a co-moderator along with Adam Cassandra of the Fauquier County Young Republicans, and Cam Jones, a prominent activist and co-founder of the Free Citizen movement.
Your humble correspondent, as one of the hosts, was given the privilege of introducing the candidates. Sen. Garrett’s chief of staff was on hand to explain the importance of the Senator’s votes in the veto session to explain why he couldn’t be here.
Steve Albertson
6:38 pm: So far, the only news is that Sen. Tom Garrett appears unlikely to make it to the debate owing to the ongoing drama in the General Assembly veto session. According to numerous reports (including the one below regarding a statement made by Del. Jackson Miller)
Miller “The Gov was very specific…if these amendments do not pass the death penalty in the Commonwealth of Va…will no longer exist”
— Max Smith (@amaxsmith) April 20, 2016
Steve Albertson
6:23 pm: Welcome to our live coverage of tonight’s debate! So far, none of the candidates have arrived as attendees slowly trickle into the Lane Auditorium, located in the Albemarle County Office Building in Charlottesville.
