Warner, N.M. governor try out centrist tone for possible run
roanoke.com
Warner pointed out at a forum that voters want honesty. He hasn't said if he'll run for president.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
RALEIGH, N.C. -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner got a chance this week to try out some of the political themes that some observers believe could help them win voters in solidly Republican states such as North Carolina should they make runs for the White House in 2008.
Richardson and Warner attended the Emerging Issues Forum at North Carolina State University at the behest of former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, himself a moderate Democrat.
Richardson described his approach of tax cuts, education and economic development as the "New Progressivism."
"Now you're going to hear from a Democrat that is going to say this: Cutting taxes is good, being pro-business is good. Putting more money in people's pockets is good," Richardson said.
Warner said voters want honesty -- that people may need to make sacrifices for government to achieve fiscal responsibility.
"A little bit of truth can go a long way in the American political process today," Warner said.
Their successes in their own states are worth sharing with the nation, some other forum participants said.
"Personally, I would like to see Richardson and Warner out there as opposed to the liberal faction of the Democratic Party," said Robert Peltz, 47, a Fayetteville businessman and unaffiliated voter.
North Carolina's electoral votes last went to a Democrat in 1976, when Jimmy Carter won office. With the state's population estimated to grow 52 percent by 2030, winning or losing North Carolina will become more important.
Warner had been on the pre-presidential circuit for months before he left office in January with the highest job-approval rating of any Virginia governor since pollsters have taken such surveys.
Now out of a job, Warner has had more time to talk about how he helped turn a $6 billion budget shortfall into what could be a $1 billion surplus this year with tax cuts and tax increases approved with the help of a Republican-controlled legislature.
"I don't think it's big government versus small government," he said. "It's smart government."
Warner told forum participants he hasn't decided about a 2008 presidential run, "but I sure as heck believe that there is a wide, sensible center in this country waiting for one party to reclaim."
"I think the Democratic Party serves itself and the country if it ends up with candidates and ideas that are competitive in the whole country and not just 16 states," he said.
Richardson, a former Clinton administration energy secretary, has also been traveling around the nation as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association with a similar story of bipartisan budgeting success.
Richardson pointed to coalition building with the business community, labor and others as reasons for the state's projected half-billion-dollar surplus this year.
"Democrats have to be more pro-economic growth. ... We shouldn't be reflexively against cutting taxes," he said.
But several participants at the Raleigh forum said the governors -- particularly Warner -- offer alternatives to candidates who may be considered established Washington insiders.
"He was able to bring various groups together, which is something that this country needs," Sandy Sands, a legislative lobbyist and former Democratic state lawmaker, said after Warner's speech. |
