"You know what we’ve been getting from Washington?" a familiar voice asks over images of the U.S. Capitol. "Overspending, finger-pointing, and government mandates." In a two-and-a-half-minute YouTube announcement, Republican George Allen—the former governor and senator who lost a reelection bid to Democrat Jim Webb by 9,000 votes and one "macaca" remark too many—announced his 2012 reelection bid.
In the video, Allen declares it "time for an American comeback," and reads a list of qualifications for the Senate seat occupied by Webb—the repeal and replacement of a "government-mandated health care experiment," as well as a line-item veto and a "balanced budget amendment." Allen previously incorporated both the line-tem veto and budget amendment as platforms in his 2006 campaign; he mentioned both in a February 2006 presentation to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.
"Hire me on for six years," finishes Allen, "and I pledge to work hard restoring freedom, personal responsibility and opportunity for all." Watch Allen’s video below:
At RedState.com, Erick Erickson said the Republican party needs "fresh faces." Erickson also mentioned that Allen and Tea Party activists might not see eye-to-eye, given Allen’s ties (via his campaign consultant) to a Republican consulting firm that lobbied to annihilate a bill by Senator Chuck Hagel to regulate federal mortgage finance corporation Freddie Mac.
At FoxNews.com, however, a few readers chimed in support for Allen’s reelection bid.
"Now that Virginia has flipped back from being a dubious purple state to red again, I think that Virginians are ready to reelect George Allen," writes PatriotFromCT. "Sound Conservative principles and leadership are in vogue again."
