VA 5th District GOP Candidates Take the 10th

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There’s a horse race afoot in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District. No less than seven candidates are vying to run against vulnerable freshman Democrat Tom Perriello.

Six of them because they feel that the GOP’s anointed nominee, State Senator Robert Hurt, lacks the fortitude to champion small government in Washington. Considering that in 2004 Hurt supported then-Governor Mark Warner’s largest tax increase in VA history, it’s hard to argue with their logic.

But of course anybody can go to Washington promising tax cuts; it takes a true constitutionalist to point out that the federal government itself is the problem.

The real question is: Where do these candidates stand on the 10th Amendment?

Fortunately, the Schilling Show, a talk radio program in central Virginia has asked that question of each prospective candidate and posted their responses on its website.

Here’s a sample.

Laurence Verga:

If elected your Congressman I vow to do everything in my power to restore the proper Constitutional balance between the rights of the states and those of the federal government.

I am the only candidate who has signed a written pledge to uphold the 10th amendment. I challenge my opponents to do so as well if they want to take the amendment seriously.

Jim McKelvey:

The founders included the tenth amendment to help all of us understand where the power lies, powers that the Constitution did not impart on the government. It is clear and direct; it needs no interpretation, but it does need defending.

Robert Hurt:

[A]s a member of the Virginia General Assembly, I have cosponsored legislation that seeks to challenge the authority of the federal government to enact an unconstitutional federal takeover of our healthcare system. If elected to Congress, I pledge that I will continue to fight to reduce the size and influence of the federal government and to restore this country’s founding principles.

They all sound pretty good. But voters in the June 8th primary election will have to decide who is serious and who is just playing politics.

Josh Eboch [send him email] is a research analyst for the Tenth Amendment Center. His articles have appeared in various publications, and he writes regularly for the Center on issues related to state sovereignty and nullification.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 3:36 am. It is filed under Elections, Politicians, Sovereignty Movement and tagged with 10th Amendment Movement, 2010 Elections, Virginia Sovereignty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.