Virginia Governor Mark Warner (D) is running for President .......

[Stinky The Clown]

..... or so I will assume. I heard just now on DC's WTOP news radio that on tomorrow's "Ask the Governor" show Warner will announce he will not oppose George Allen for his Senate seat.

I think it is safe to assume Warner does not see his political career as being over just because he is term limited as governor. And since his only serious options are Allen's senate seat or the presidency, and since he now says he won't run against Airhead Allen, he's gonna make the run for the presidency.

My own internal jury is out on Warner. I like that he's a Dem governor of a red state and is hugely popular there ...... but he also seems perhaps too centrist to suit me.

We'll see, won't we?

[CTyankee]

1. How is he on a woman's right to choose?

That is my big litmus test.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. Given that I can glean your position form it being your litmus test

He's for it.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. And to clarify ... I am not a Warner supporter

I am simply a reporter. I heard this news and posted it here. Since I am not a Warner supporter (but I am familiar with him to a greater degree than some since I live in the state just above Virginia) I am not inclined to try to accurately represent his positions.

[BayCityProgressive]

4. He is pro-choice

and I think a great choice. If he wasn't int he race I would put my money on Hillary. However, if he runs I will support him. he could bring in Virginia, get us W. Virginia back and pick up a few other states that don't normally come our way. I am a moderate liberal but I know in order for us to gain the white house back we need to run a moderate. Also, by the time this president is done I am sure the center will have shifted further Left. We need to recapture a few states we have lost. We cannot be relegated to a regional party or the ultra right onslaught will never end.

*on edit*- I know I will be bashed her for backing a moderate liberal instead of a far left candidate but remember: Dean, Clinton, and Carter and Gore are all moderate and great people.

[formernaderite]

18. Why would he bring West Virginia back?

He's not actually Virginian or southern...and WV has been strongly trending to the right.

[lastknowngood]

5. here you go

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=106&subid=122&contentid=253485
his speac to the DLC

[nickshepDEM]

6. He could be waiting for John Warner to retire in 2008 or ....

He could be waiting to run for Governor again in 2009.

But we all know where I stand on Warner for President. RUN WARNER, RUN!

[SaveElmer]

9. I think he will go after John Warner's seat in 2008...

I have a gut feeling he won't get into the Presidential race. He has been a very good governor, and really handed the Republican legislature their testicles here last session. He's a young guy and I would bet he would want more seasoning before he runs. Just my opinion!

[ruggerson]

7. Warner/Schweitzer

or Schweitzer/Warner.

I could support either. And either could win.

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. Two governors on the same ticket would be a mistake

Especially when neither of them is very well known. But since governors seem to be the only ones (aside from Vice Presidents) who can win a Presidential Election, you wouldn't want to waste one as the other's VP.

I know Warner's DLC. I know even less about Schweitzer other than he won in Montana which is a miracle in and of itself.

2006 is obviously the priority right now, but if these guys are in, they should start making themselves known.

[fujiyama]

8. I feel the same way

I also am unclear with his views on foreign policy. I figure in time I'll get to have a better idea.

Either way, he seems like a better candidate than Biden or Hillary, neither of whom I see winning the election.

[Bumblebee]

10. Do we know whether he supported the invasion?

[trogdor]

11. Would you rather have a centrist...

...or another right-wing wack job. Or another puppet moron with Dick Cheney or someone pulling his strings? Clinton was a centrist, and he brought us prosperity and peace. Bottom line, unless you appeal to the red states, we will have yet another repeat of Selection 2K. From what I've heard, Warner is probably better than a lot of Democrats I can name.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. In your case, of course I'd rather have a centrist .... but I'd REALLY

prefer someone aligned with my own views.

That said, I can say I don't one bit **dislike** Warner.

[win_in_06]

12. This is good news to those who support Allen for Prez

because he will not have to spend a lot of money now to keep his Senate seat in '06

[RBInMaine]

14. There Is A Draft Mark Warner Site

There's Draft Mark Warner site out there. Just keyword that.
I signed it. This guy, so far, looks like a very formidable candidate: able to bridge ideological divides, southern governor,
very popular and effective, likeable, all the ingredients. Look, here's just the reality: McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis = good people but northern liberals who got pummeled. Johnson, Carter, Clinton = southern moderates (two were governors) who WON. Gore, a moderate, as far as I'm concerned won but still didn't win a single southern state save Florida and very few midwest and western states. Kerry, more liberal, won only 19 of 50 states and essentially repeated Gore's state wins but even came up a little shorter. Look folks, WE NEED TO EXPAND THE MAP BACK INTO THE SOUTH, WEST, AND LOWER MIDWEST AGAIN IF WE ARE GOING TO BE A REAL NATIONAL PARTY, and we need candidates that can do that. That's just the electoral reality, and we need to face it. Warner can be such a candidate!

[flpoljunkie]

17. No, we need to make sure the votes are counted accurately. Then we won't

feel the desperate need to run Republican Lite candidates to try and win a race that is rigged for the Rethugs. It won't matter who we run if they control the machines!

[CTyankee]

16. Isn't anybody going to mention a woman for VP (other than H.C)?

particularly one who is up and coming rather than with years of baggage. Anybody got a suggestion, given the givens of the discussion (someone who wouldn't lose the red states, someone midwestern or western)?

[flpoljunkie]

19. LATimes article on Warner: "Democrats need to attract moderates."

No, Governor Warner, Democrats need to stand up and fight for the core principles of the Democratic party--namely economic justice, for starters.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-060905warner_lat,0,4174037,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Virginia Gov. Warner: Democrats Need to Attract Moderates

By Janet Hook
Times Staff Writer

2:41 PM PDT, June 9, 2005

WASHINGTON — Conceding that Republicans now command a national political majority, Virginia's Democratic governor, Mark Warner, said today that his own party needs to do far more to appeal to moderate voters and to offer alternatives to President Bush's policies, and not just block them. (Isn't this what the Rethugs say about the Democrats--"the party of no." )

Warner, speaking at lunch to Los Angeles Times reporters and editors, argued that Democrats cannot simply cater to their liberal base if they are to succeed on a national scale. (Cater to the "liberal" base--you mean when the Democrats caved on every bill on Dubya's wish list this year?)

"I think Republicans are a majority party in the country at this point," said Warner, who is in the final year of his four-year term and is considered a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. Under the state's term limits, he cannot run for a consecutive second term.

"While we have to do all we can to activate every person who is part of the traditional Democratic family, ultimately we also have to go and convince some folks who have been voting Republican," he said. (Sounds like Al From's plan to regain power.)

more...