To the Editor:
I am a woman who has lived long enough to have worked for 30 years, raise two daughters, become a grandmother, and become an active volunteer for causes I believe in. I’ve dealt with organizational budgets and home budgets. I have paid taxes (and still do) and pored over ways to maximize my earning power and my retirement.
I’ve dealt with the issue of equal pay for equal work in my life. I also know how it feels to be out of work. I remember the time before Roe v Wade, and I worry that today’s women of child-bearing age think that having a choice about their healthcare is a right that will never go away. I remember a time when gay and lesbian and other LGBT men and women could not openly live a full life.
Because of these life experiences, I look for a leader who offers fairness and integrity. I think I am representative of a large percentage of women voters in Virginia and in the United States.
As I watched the debate last week between Tim Kaine and George Allen, I was struck by all the ways that Tim Kaine appealed to me, and probably to women and men of all ages. His openness and ability to articulate his positions was powerful. He knows how to balance a budget; he knows how to get a great bond rating for the state; he knows we have to invest in education, in alternative energy; in our country’s infrastructure; he supports equal pay for equal work (the Lily Ledbetter act;) he knows we need affordable healthcare and preventive care; he knows that women want to be in charge of their own healthcare and he stands in support of that; he supports Medicare and Social Security; he wants to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better drug prices for Medicare.
And, Kaine, unlike many in his opponent’s party, brings no ideology into the lives of the people he will serve. He respects the fact that he will be governing all of the people, not just those who believe and think the way he does.
It seems to me that the choice between Tim Kaine and George Allen is not really much of a choice.
I’ll be voting for Tim Kaine for the U. S. Senate from Virginia. I hope you will, too.
Marianne Anderson
Alexandria