Tea party hosts an early glimpse of 2012 U.S. Senate race

VERONA — Augusta County Government Center spectators got an early but abbreviated taste of the 2012 Virginia U.S. Senate election Thursday night.

The first debate of the campaign was held. But the absences were notable and perhaps the biggest story of the night.

Missing from the debate sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party Patriots were Democratic front-runner Tim Kaine and Republican favorite George Allen.

Four of the candidates attended. And they all enunciated that the United States needs a change in leadership and course from what they termed as excessive spending and debt.

Republican candidate Tim Donner said he is the best Senate candidate because he is a small businessman who has lived through good times and bad, and has conducted a campaign of ideas, not sound bites.

E.W. Jackson, a Republican hopeful and lawyer-turned-minister from Hampton Roads, said he is running against an agenda that “is destroying this beloved country. It is redefining who we are as a nation.”

Arlington resident and independent Kevin Chisholm is calling for a downsizing of the federal government.

Republican David McCormick is running as a 30-year businessman and bankruptcy attorney who wants to balance the federal budget and retire all of America’s debt.

When asked if they supported President Barack Obama’s jobs bill, the answer was no. Donner said jobs could be created by lowering taxes for businesses and cutting regulation. Jackson said that America needs a “regulatory moratorium” and that the capital gains tax should be cut. McCormick said he would create jobs with an energy program and by restoring the manufacturing base.

Some of the harshest comments came when the candidates were asked about the current Occupy Wall Street protests. Jackson called the protestors “socialists, Communists, anti-Semitic and rabble rousers.” Donner said the protestors have no other goal but to “tear down the fabric of this country.”

The sponsor of Thursday’s debate hoped for a larger candidate turnout.

Bruce Richmond, director of the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party Patriots, said all nine of the Senate candidates were invited.

Richmond said Kaine declined the invitation and offered only a three-sentence response to the tea party. Republican front-runner George Allen said he did not want to debate this early in the campaign.

Then the final rejection came this week from Republican candidate Jamie Radtke. Richmond said Radtke would not come if Allen was not debating. 

Earlier Thursday, independent Chisholm offered reasons for why he is running.

“Most major government problems are federal,” he said. “I felt compelled to run because I am concerned about my daughter’s future.”

He said federal budget cuts are inevitable, and he said the cuts must include the Defense Department. But Chisholm worries about the impact of the cuts on the Hampton Roads economy.

He also thinks education is a state issue, and would consider closing the federal education department.

An engineer, Chisholm said a comprehensive energy policy is part of his platform.

Unlike the Republican candidates debating Thursday night, he faces no primary challenge and must instead seek money to continue his campaign.