On Jan. 19, conservatives of all political stripes united in
Massachusetts to elect Scott Brown as their next United States senator,
and voters in the Fifth District will soon have the opportunity for a
repeat here.
As a graduate of Liberty University who recently completed a
Legislative Fellowship with one of the most conservative United States
Senators and an attendee at the House Call on D.C. this past November, I
am writing to proudly support state Sen. Robert Hurt’s bid for Congress
from the Fifth District.
This November, the voters of the district deserve a strong
conservative who is capable of running a formidable campaign against a
newly elected congressman who successfully defeated a popular incumbent
who elections never received less than 59 percent of the vote in six
previous elections.
The voters deserve a conservative focused on defeating our current
congressman — who voted for the stimulus bill, cap and trade Bill, and
the health care reform bill — instead of a candidate too preoccupied
with bashing Republican competitors to realize that all seven primary
candidates should be sharing the same goal.
As a delegate and state senator, Hurt received an A rating from the
Family Foundation for his pro-family values, an A+ rating from the
Virginia Society of Human Life for his strong pro-life record, an A
rating from the NRA for his protection of the Second Amendment Right to
bear arms and an A+ rating from the National Federation of Independent
Businesses for his record of helping small businesses through fiscal
responsibility.
His lifelong record reflects that of a social and fiscal conservative
committed to limited government and low taxes. In contrast to the
attention given to his one tax vote six years ago for former Gov. Mark
Warner’s budget, Hurt has voted against tax increases more than two
dozen times, including his vote to eliminate the death tax.
Critics like to draw attention to a vote for the HPV vaccination for
girls, even though the version Hurt voted for included an opt-out option
for parents. They also forget that the same bill was also voted for by
Sen. Steve Newman of Lynchburg and Attorney General (at the time state
senator) Ken Cuccinelli, as well as every other member of the Virginia
State Senate. An often-criticized health care vote was a vote to allow
businesses the option of covering family members in the household of an
employee, including an elderly parent or grown child who cannot afford
health care on their own. Hurt voted to let businesses decide who they
are willing to provide healthcare for, instead of coverage decisions
being mandated by the government.
Rather than misrepresenting the record of fellow conservatives, we
should be uniting together in our goal to replace Tom Perriello. The
people of the Fifth District deserve a representative like Hurt who
listens to the people, stands for conservative values and is devoted to
the citizens of the district he represents.
The best measure of a candidate is not what the candidate promises to
do, but what the candidate has done in the past. When it comes to life,
business, gun rights, taxes, small government and the conservative
values that best represent the citizens of the district, Hurt is the
only candidate with the record to stand on. For this reason, I proudly
support him for Congress.
TIM VITOLLO
Lynchburg