ALLEN FUMBLES THE BALL, CAN’T OFFER CLEAR PLAN ON SEQUESTRATION

Richmond, VA - For Virginia voters, it's getting tough to follow George Allen's rhetoric on sequestration. After media outlets across the state have called his attacks "hysteria laced" and said they "distort" Kaine's position, when Allen was pressed to lay out an actual plan to avoid the cuts, he fumbled the ball.

First, Allen endorsed a GOP House Bill that cuts $1 trillion from non-defense spending like food stamps, Medicaid, and retirement benefits...
 


What Allen didn't mention was this plan was blasted by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta saying it'd make sequestration MORE likely..."“[B]y taking these funds from the poor, middle-class Americans, homeowners and other vulnerable parts of our American constituencies, the guaranteed results will be confrontation, gridlock and a greater likelihood of sequester, said Panetta.


Then, Allen admitted he hadn't fully read the bill...

"But when pressed after the event if he would vote for the House bill, Allen said, 'I haven't had a chance to look at every detail of it.'" [Washington Examiner, 9/17/12]


Then, Allen told Norfolk TV impending sequestration cuts could be solved by "unleashing" energy resources... something that - last time we checked - was already happening. 

  • PolitiFact: Oil Production In “2010 Is Definitely The Highest Since 2003.” [PolitiFact, 3/15/11]
  • US Natural Gas Production In 2010 Was At Highest Level Since 1974. [U.S. Energy Information Administration, Accessed 2/23/12]
  • NPR: “The U.S. Has Become A Net Exporter Of Gasoline For The First Time In Fifty Years.”  [NPR, 3/5/12]

Confused? It'd be hard to blame you.

Meanwhile, Tim Kaine has offered a common sense, middle of the road, and detailed approach to find common ground and reduce the magnitude of the cuts needed.  

  1. Allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for income above $500,000, generating $500 billion in revenue.
     
  2. Repeal the prohibition on Medicare negotiating with prescription drug companies which would generate $240 billion in revenue.
     
  3. End subsidies to the big 5 oil companies that would generate $24 billion in revenue.
Combined, these three moves shrink the amount of cuts needed to avoid sequestration to a more manageable approximately $250 billion over 10 years, which would avoid slashing defense or domestic priorities. This stands in stark contrast to George Allen who has refused to compromise on even one dollar of new revenue for ten dollars in cuts -- a position so extreme he's out of step with even his own party's leaders.  And, one that is just a recipe for more gridlock.
 
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