Lacey Putney endorses Ed Gillespie, not impressed when Warner was governor

Delegate Lacey Putney

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Delegate Lacey Putney has endorsed Republican Ed Gillespie for U.S. Senate, an impressive endorsement from the longest-serving member of the Virginia House of Delegates who retired earlier this year after 52 years.

Delegate Putney’s statement about Mark Warner during his years as governor is very telling: “The most charitable thing I can say of Mark Warner as governor is that I was not impressed. But Warner’s service as governor is ancient history. We have before us his six years in the U.S. Senate. While Warner has talked a good game, he has been mainly a rubber-stamp for President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. … By his willingness to place party above country Mark Warner does not deserve re-election.”

He continued, “… this year, in the strongest and most emphatic terms, I endorse Ed Gillespie.”

The Teflon veneer continues to fall away from Mark Warner who has voted 97 percent of the time with Democratic President Barack Obama, and who broke his promise to Virginians when he voted for Obamacare.

Here is Delegate Putney’s full endorsement:

“It was an honor to serve the people of Virginia for fifty-two years in the House of Delegates (1962-2014). For virtually the entire time I sat on the Appropriations Committee, ending as chairman. In formulating the State budget I dealt closely with twelve governors. The most charitable thing I can say of Mark Warner as governor is that I was not impressed.

“But Warner’s service as governor is ancient history. We have before us his six years in the U.S. Senate. While Warner has talked a good game, he has been mainly a rubber-stamp for President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“Using his full power, Reid has caused the Senate to virtually cease to function as a proper legislative body, refusing to take up bills passed by the House or to allow floor amendments to the few bills the Senate has considered. If Warner disagreed with such tactics he has kept it to himself.

“Mark Warner joined with Reid to change the rules of the Senate to permit confirmation of Obama’s judicial and executive appointments by a simple majority vote instead of the Senate’s traditional three-fifths’ vote, thus eroding that body’s brake on presidential power.

“Mark Warner joined with Reid in an attempt to limit the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech as applied to the conduct of political campaigns. Their true intent was to make it harder to challenge incumbent officeholders by giving Congress and state legislatures greater power to regulate campaign activity.

“In a television debate with Ed Gillespie Warner was given a chance; in fact, two chances, to say whether he would oppose Obama’s use of questionable presidential authority to grant legal status to many who have violated our immigration law. As the president recently told an Hispanic group, “It is not a question of if but when.” Amnesty will beget more illegal immigrants and demands for more amnesty.

“For almost my entire service in the General Assembly I was elected and served as an independent, and preferred it that way. In that time I have supported Democrats, Republicans and Independents, mainly choosing not to endorse. But this year, in the strongest and most emphatic terms, I endorse Ed Gillespie.

“The Republican Party isn’t perfect, but it is the sole power available to slow the relentless march toward more costly and centralized government. By his willingness to place party above country Mark Warner does not deserve re-election.”

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