Well, that's true, but who are you going to find to disagree with it, and what sort of a policy does it create? I find it highly unlikely that Perriello doesn't know about the advantages of single-payer health coverage, which is - of course - private health care with public insurance, a much less "socialized" system than our highway system, our parks system, our school system, our law enforcement system, our fire and rescue system, etc. Does Perriello support single-payer, or does he support some third-way proposal that offers the choice of national health coverage, or does he support tweaking the system we've got and covering more kids? Perriello put out a statement yesterday condemning Goode's vote against expanding SCHIP (the State Children's Health Insurance Program). Congressional leaders' promotion of that bill was arguably a farce given the guaranteed veto. But the important question for Perriello is whether he thinks such minor fixes are all that is needed.
Third on Perriello's list of issues is Education and Job Training:
"There is no higher calling for government than to help its people reach their God-given potential, and there are few better ways to do that than to ensure that all our children receive a quality education. We must support our local teachers and help recruit and retain new ones. We must develop better ways of evaluating our schools to encourage a focus on knowledge and learning. Educational opportunities must begin earlier and continue later in life by prioritizing a pre-K year, affordable and accessible college education and vocational training, and the lifelong skills training required to ensure American workers remain competitive in the global economy."
Again, this is miles ahead of Virgil Goode. So I hope it doesn't sound like I'm picking nits when I ask what Perriello would do for those of us in his district who do not believe in God or "God-given potential" or appreciate his insertion of religion into unrelated topics. Perriello actually does this very often. In his Raising Kaine interview he said: "My faith helps sustain me through difficult times, shapes my commitment to service, and defines my belief that we will ultimately have to answer for how we have treated the least among us." Do those of us without "faith" then lack an important tool for believing we should care for the least among us? This is not an academic question. Virginia schools have a long history, still present today, of teaching religion in violation of the law. One common practice is setting up trailers just off school property and giving students the option of attending Bible Study there or studying on their own for an hour while being shamed by their teachers and classmates. Is this discriminatory environment helped by a congressional candidate who can't stop advertising his theism? Virginia schools are also suffering horribly from not enough money and too much testing. Does Perriello favor increased federal funding for schools? How would he fund preschool and college? Does he favor eliminating the testing requirements of the "No Child Left Behind" law? Does he favor eliminating the section of that same law that requires schools to send students' names and information to military recruiters?
The fourth topic Perriello discusses is National Security:
"Americans are less safe today than on September 12th because of the decisions made by this Administration and many in Congress. Tom has spent much of his career fighting for justice-based security solutions in Western Africa, Darfur, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and he will apply the expertise he gained by focusing on results instead of rhetoric in Congress."
Pointing out that the actions of Bush and Cheney have made us less safe is important and not done enough. But what would Perriello do about it? He gives a longer answer in the Raising Kaine interview:
"The Iraq war was fundamentally flawed in more ways than one," Perriello says, "We were wrong about our intelligence - not just the WMDs, but the even bigger mistake of not realizing that Al Qaeda considered Saddam Hussein an enemy. Like Brer Rabbit asking not to be thrown in the brier patch, we ended up removing a regime Osama Bin Laden hated while making it easy for them to pitch this as West vs. Islam, rather than rule of law vs. terror. President Bush, Rep. Goode, and others did not mean to make America less safe, but they have repeatedly committed the error of fighting on the battlefield Bin Laden wanted instead of on our terms. And in the meantime, we broke a 225-year American principle of opposing preventative strike and torture.
"But now we have a mess that we can and must fix. There are solutions in Iraq but every General has agreed that they are political, not military solutions. For the past two years, I have been advocating for a N.E.W. plan for Iraq that uses troop reductions as leverage to force a new power-sharing arrangement that is at the heart of any successful strategy:
"NEGOTIATE. Iraq will be stabilized by a negotiated political process, not military force. All Iraqi factions and neighbors must be included.
"EMPOWER THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY. Neither the US, nor the Iraqi government can lead this process. Only more impartial and legitimate international actors like the United Nations, EU and OIC can mediate the new talks.
"WITHDRAW RESPONSIBLY. The US should respect the wishes of 78% of Iraqis and permanently and completely withdraw its military presence from Iraq under an agreed timetable supported by the Iraqi people.
"Both parties have been wrong to focus on troop size as an end in itself. The goal of commitment to full withdrawal is to bring the Sunnis back to the table and reset the rules of governance. The military has done its part in Iraq, but the politicians have failed miserably to provide a strategy for victory. It is time for leaders who don't rest until the job is done."
Perriello consistently claims that Bush and Cheney made outrageous mistakes but did not intentionally mislead. The evidence is, of course, overwhelmingly the other way: http://afterdowningstreet.org/keydocuments And the purpose of discussing this is not to be gratuitously mean to Bush or Cheney, but to set a precedent for future administrations. A negotiator of peace settlements should be aware of the importance of truth and justice and the damage that can be done by coverups.
And Perriello seems to promote the "Now that we're there we can't simply leave" line, which justifies the prolongation of a genocidal crime.
But Perriello, much better than most of those in Congress or trying to get into Congress, points out that the occupation has benefitted al Qaeda, points out the glaring reversal of American opposition to aggressive war, includes the war crime of torture as part of the description of the war, understands the significance of Iraqi opinion, proposes working with international bodies, and proposes a COMPLETE withdrawal. While Perriello talks about time tables and implies an acceptance of the "Pottery Barn Theory," he favors complete withdrawal on a timetable "supported by the Iraqi people." That's a fast time table.
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