Kilgore Learns the High Cost of Compromise

2005 Virginia Election Analysis
By FPN President Joe Glover

“You can’t make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends.”

The pundits are spinning the demise of Jerry Kilgore as a defeat for conservatism and a victory for the “moderate” middle of the road. Such conclusions are based on the idea that successful campaigns appeal to so-called “swing voters” who support “reasonable” candidates from either party on a given day.

The poll numbers from Tuesday’s election tell us something entirely different, since two unapologetically pro-life, anti-tax conservative candidates fared much better than the moderated version of Jerry Kilgore. What’s interesting is that most voters didn’t know about Kilgore’s leftward drift, but that didn’t keep it from shooting him in the foot. It all started very soon after he won his first statewide race, when he began to compromise in a futile attempt to win the second.

Four years ago, Jerry Kilgore ran for Attorney General as a conservative prosecutor from Southwest Virginia, making no bones about his traditional values. Much was made of his conservative roots and hometown values, and he carried the state with sixty percent of the vote.

Unfortunately, that was then. This is now. And a whole lot has changed in just four years.

Very soon after Jerry Kilgore was sworn in as Attorney General in January of 2002, he began thinking and acting as if his next campaign was already in full swing. Members of the Attorney General’s office grumbled privately to GOP operatives that Kilgore almost immediately began making decisions in light of his chances of becoming Governor. Conservatives who heard these complaints were concerned, but hoped Kilgore’s conservative roots would prevent any collapse in his values.

Unfortunately, Jerry Kilgore’s ambitions got the best of him in his first year in office, and he adopted a new way of reaching his goal that often sold his friends down the river. Early in the second year of Kilgore’s tenure as Attorney General, the smalltown conservative from Southwest Virginia began spreading his political wings in new directions. He began to, as they say in political science classes, “reach out” to new demographic constituencies.

Here are just a few examples of Jerry Kilgore’s deeds done in the name of demographical “outreach:”

In March of 2003, six activists from the pro-homosexual “Log Cabin” club publicly engaged Jerry Kilgore on social issues at a political fundraiser in Northern Virginia. Kilgore was very complimentary of their organization, making a number of overtures that raised conservative eyebrows. For example, Kilgore promised them “his office does not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation.” When asked whether or not he welcomed [people who engage in homosexuality] as part of the Republican Party, Kilgore said he did, and he “acknowledged the contribution the [Log Cabin homosexual club] has made to the Republican Party over the past few years, particularly in northern Virginia.”
In May of 2003, Jerry Kilgore shocked pro-lifers when he officially rejected the long-held belief that life begins at conception in an effort to ensure state colleges and universities could freely distribute the morning-after abortion pill to college students.
In 2003, Kilgore betrayed fiscal conservatives in Republican primary races by joining the campaign committees of liberal politicians like Sen. John Chichester (R-Fredricksburg), who proposed a greater tax increase than Democrat Governor Mark Warner within a month of the senator’s reelection.
In October of 2003, Kilgore won the praise of homosexual activists and the scorn of pro-family groups when he participated in a pro-homosexual public relations scheme by promising not to discriminate on the basis of a person’s so-called “sexual orientation.” The Family Foundation’s Victoria Cobb responded to Kilgore’s participation by saying, “Voters who have supported the Attorney General have cause to be deeply concerned and will be anticipating more clarity in the future.”
In the spring of 2005, Jerry Kilgore frustrated fiscal conservatives again when he endorsed a slate of rebellious Republican Delegates who backed the largest tax increase in Virginia history, against conservative Republicans in several districts throughout the Commonwealth.
After the 2005 primary, Kilgore violated Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment by publicly criticizing conservative GOP House member Brad Marrs for exposing the major homosexual support of his Democrat opponent. Marrs subsequently lost his reelection bid by less than 50 votes to a pro-choice, pro-tax increase Republican running as an Independent.
Although he promised to promote “a culture of life” as a candidate for Governor, Jerry Kilgore never excited Virginia’s pro-life voting block by spelling out a concrete plan of action. During a candidate debate in September, Kilgore refused to tell moderator Tim Russert of NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would sign a bill to ban abortions in Virginia. News of his response sent shock waves throughout the pro-life movement in the Commonwealth. Here is a description of the exchange between Russert and Kilgore from MSNBC.com’s web site:In that debate, Kilgore dodged what he said was a “hypothetical” question about whether he would sign a law banning abortion in Virginia. Debate moderator Tim Russert of NBC’s “Meet the Press” then asked Kilgore if he would veto a tax increase. Kilgore said yes.”That’s a hypothetical question,” Russert interjected, prompting laughter from an audience that seemed largely sympathetic to Kaine. “Word of mouth among political insiders was really negative regarding Kilgore’s performance overall and his response to that one question in particular,” said [Catholic University political science professor Mark] Rozell.
In October, the Washington Post reported that Kilgore was hedging his bets on opposing new tax increases. To the dismay of fiscal conservatives in the GOP, Kilgore said he would allow Northern Virginia “and other regions” the power to raise taxes for roads. Later in the month, the conservative Virginia Club for Growth criticized Kilgore for refusing to sign a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and demanded that he “speak out unequivocally against new taxes.” Club president Phil Rodokanakis said, “Jerry Kilgore continues to run an elusive campaign and refuses to let the voters know where he really stands on these issues.”

There’s no doubt that most conservatives voted for a straight GOP ticket in Tuesday’s election. Most believed Jerry Kilgore to still be the conservative Republican from Gate City they had supported in 2001. However, some knew better.

Some knew better because they fought Jerry Kilgore on conservative issues while he occupied the Attorney General’s office. Others knew better because they fought his influence in primary battles against liberal incumbents. Still others knew better because Jerry Kilgore couldn’t muster the courage to sign a taxpayers pledge or promise to endorse a bill to protect the unborn.

Whatever the reason and whatever the number, there was a group of disgruntled conservatives who wouldn’t work or vote for a politician they would have to fight once they got him elected. Kilgore’s team dismissed those principled conservatives by saying instead they would win or lose with the “lazy” voters who would otherwise stay home. That move may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for some who were planning to hold their noses and support him despite his shortcomings. That quote certainly didn’t encourage them to lend a hand.

The rise and fall of Jerry Kilgore should serve as a model of compromise that conservative politicians should seek to avoid. A wise old adage among political types in Washington, D.C. says “You can’t make friends of your enemies by making enemies of your friends.” It seems the Republican running at the top of Virginia’s statewide ticket this year had to learn that lesson the hard way.

Conservatives thinking of running for statewide office in the future would be wise to learn that lesson from Jerry Kilgore so they don’t have to learn it the hard way themselves.

Joe Glover, M.Div. is the President of the Virginia-based Family Policy Network.

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RELATED INFORMATION:

Jerry Kilgore, Homosexuality, and Muddy Waters:
http://familypolicy.net/va-alerts/va-p-135

Attorney General Lauds Homosexual Recruiting Efforts Toward GOP:
http://familypolicy.net/va-alerts/va-p-133

Pro-Family Group Calls on Attorney General to Correct Opinion on MAP:
http://familypolicy.net/va-alerts/va-p-134

Jerry Kilgore Made Two Big Mistakes:
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/blog-detail.php?id=10163

Kilgore refused pro-life refusal, “irritating many conservatives”:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/333qxkiq.asp