Recommend This StoryWolf's opponent touts leadership ability
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By Linwood Outlaw III - loutlaw@nvdaily.com
WINCHESTER -- Jeff Barnett is not a career politician, but he proudly regards himself as an accomplished "career military officer."
Having served 26 years in the Air Force, Barnett says the military instilled in him two qualities that will ultimately make him a better fit for Virginia's 10th District congressional seat than his opponent, longtime incumbent Rep. Frank R. Wolf.
"Leadership and accountability. That's what [is] sorely lacking in our current congressman, and that's what I'll deliver," Barnett told a room full of residents during a town hall meeting at the Frederick County Public Safety building on Monday night.
Barnett fielded questions from about 60 people concerning transportation, health care, job growth and other key topics during the 90-minute forum. It was one of 10 town hall meetings Barnett has scheduled in an effort to speak with voters directly and listen to the issues that concern them most.
Of course, there's always the obvious question that keeps popping up.
"The most frequent question I get is also the best question. [People ask] 'Why are you doing this? Why are you running?' And the answer is real simple. Our economy is in trouble," Barnett said. "Your financial future, our community's financial future, our economy, is in much better shape with me in Washington than with Frank Wolf."
Barnett said helping small businesses succeed and creating jobs will be among his top priorities should he be elected to the 10th District seat.
"Every time that we pick up a newspaper or turn on the TV, we read about another deficit and another problem. It could be the federal budget deficit, it could be a Social Security deficit. It could be a trade deficit. It could be an education deficit or a transportation shortfall.
"The biggest one is the job shortfall," Barnett said. "And it's not just people who don't have a job. ... It's people who have a job and they're scared. Because if they lost that job, how would they ever find another one? It's a lack of confidence. It's a lack of growth. And anybody in business knows that you've got to be always growing your business."
Barnett, a Democrat, also told the crowd on Monday that he is committed to reducing the cost of health care, securing federal money to improve roads and investing in education. Barnett says at this point in the campaign, he surely isn't lacking confidence.
"I have never been more confident about this race. We're getting our message out. Our polls tells us when we get our message out, we win," Barnett said. "There's a hunger out there for somebody credible, somebody who's got the right vision, [and] a positive vision."
Wolf, a Republican, is seeking his 16th term representing the 10th District.
"Barnett said helping small businesses succeed and creating jobs will be among his top priorities should he be elected to the 10th District seat"
While I appreciate his military service and degree in history, he has no experience in finance or business. So what are his plans to help small business? Implementing more taxes? Endorsing the health care bill? Card Check to force unions into Virginia? Voting for Cap & Tax?
I no longer trust Democrats on any fiscal issues.
In fact, Barnett has extensive business experience. After almost thirty years in the military, Barnett spent a decade as a business advisor. As an employee in a small business himself, Jeff worked with Fortune 500 companies and large government agencies to innovate for the changing economic climate of the 21st Century and the information age. That's pretty significant experience, I'd say.
Jeff's years of first-hand experience gives him a unique perspective into the issues that small business owners face. That's why he has proposed detailed plans to make it easier for small businesses to compete for government contracts. In our area, contracts are a significant economic force. He also knows that, without access to capital, small businesses cannot grow. That's why Barnett has proposed measures to promote the kind of small banks that lend to small businesses.
Jeff supports keeping the tax cuts in place for everyone making less than $250,000 a year - that's 98% of all Americans, and the vast majority of small business owners.
Mr. Barnett, thank you for your service and the service of your family. You are true patriots.
Frank Wolf has not served in the military, yet since getting his law degree from the elite Georgetown University, Mr. Wolf has been a bureaucrat, living off of the public dime.
Mr. Barnett had a distinguished career in the military, has written books, and has worked in the private sector at a couple of respected firms in Virginia.
Mr. Barnett will provide a breath of fresh air and a multifaceted perspective that is much broader and more informed than Wolf's Washington-insider, good-ole-boy approach.
So Booz Allen and Toffler Associates (an international executive advisory firm--per Barnett's website) count as a "small business"?
He will be ready to continue to grow government, what with all his government contracts experience.
And I guess Massachusetts' College of the Holy Cross does not count as an "elite" school but Georgetown does. Hmmm. Both pretty competitive Catholic universities considered by most as "elite".
I contend he does not have enough knowledge of District 10. Apparently, he even called Shenandoah University a "community college". He has spent the last ten years in McLean and in an "inside the beltway" government contractor mentality. The last thing we need.
Oh well, all the political experts have this race in the "solidly red" category but y'all have fun.
And, of course, he did get a rowdy crowd of 60 people -- is that more than Judy, Judy, ah, what was her name? Oh, yeah, Feder.
P.S. I'm thinking the state Democrat party will be spending far more money on other races. Periello, Connolly, Nye, Boucher -- all in the toss-up or likely red category per Real Clear Politics. I doubt they'll want to waste too much money losing to Wolf again.
Check out the last Gallup generic poll -- Republicans nationwide up by 10%. First time in something like 48 years.
It's not gonna be pretty for Dems.
Oops, I just checked Georgetown vs. Holy Cross. Looks like Georgetown does have much higher SATs and lower % accepted.
Guess that means Wolf wins again. :)
If you read deep into the polls, you find the public is upset not because one party or the other is in power. But because the peoples’ business does not get done. Could this be traced to not finding any weapons of mass destruction?
Two things that he kept saying about his military service bother me. First, he kept saying his military service qualifies him with leadership, but according to his website he never served as a Commander of any squadron or wing.
Then he kept repeating that he has 26 years in the military. The military gives you full retirement after 30 years and partial retirement after 20. Someone who is only four years away from full retirement and then leaves raises suspicions. From what I saw in the military it usually means they were asked to leave, or somehow were not getting along.
The problem with Wolf supporters making political waves is that they generate misleading momentum and exaggerated ideological confidence. Republicans tend to interpret shapeless public discontent as the endorsement of their fondest ambitions. It is clear that any Democratic candidate for any local office will face total opposition from a frothy mouthed Republican Party that is completely dominated by right-wing extremists. This extremism is best demonstrated when attacking their opponents with innuendo instead of hard facts. Today the GOP is a political party in which paranoid fantasies about the other side — Obama is a socialist, Democrats have totalitarian ambitions — are mainstream. And, as a result, it’s a party that fundamentally doesn’t accept anyone else’s right to govern. In the short run, Republican extremism may be good for Democrats, to the extent that it prompts a voter backlash. But in the long run, it’s a very bad thing for America. We need to have two reasonable, rational parties in this country. And right now we don’t.
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