Mark Warner

As we lean forward to the coming mid-terms in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Sen. Mark Warner pledged previously to serve no more than two terms when he first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1996, stating, "My view of public service is something you do for part of your life, not all of your life."

Well fast forward to today, and he did not keep this promise, later citing that he had "never been a big supporter of legislative term limits." Warner served one term as Virginia's governor and subsequently won three terms in the U.S. Senate, where he is currently seeking a fourth term. In all honesty I believe he served the Commonwealth better as our Governor than as a careerist Senator.

Although I am a Republican, I do admire former Secretary of the Navy and Democratic Senator James Webb who not only stated that if elected he would only serve one term but followed through on his promise when he could have easily won a second term. Of course Senator Webb was a former United States Marine where one's word and a handshake is tantamount to a binding legal contract.

I guess not so with Senator Warner who also is not aware of the voter ID requirements in his own state. He recently wrongly claimed “we have voter ID and photo ID.” Under Virginia law, election officers must ask in-person voters for identification, but acceptable forms include voter confirmation documents, utility bills, bank statements, government checks, and paychecks, which do not need to include a photograph. It should also be noted that during the 117th Congress Senator Warner when compared to other Democrats wrote the third fewest laws and introduced the sixth fewest bills. I will let his track record speak for itself.

Running against the incumbent and proven performer Congressman Ben Cline we have Ms. Beth Macy. A neophyte to politics, she is a journalist and the bestselling author of "Dopesick," an account of the opioid crisis that was subsequently adapted into a Hulu series. I am sure she is a nice person with good intentions, but she simply does not have the prerequisite professional qualifications as a future member of Congress and has no track record of performance.

For many here in the Shenandoah Valley the Democratic Party simply does not represent the traditional values and interests of its constituents as they are out of touch with their constituents. Remember that although many may state the mid-term election is a merely referendum on the polices of Donald J. Trump it is really about determining the leaders and the future of America who will make polices here in the valley such as the right to life, the presence of biological males in women’s sports, the Second Amendment, and economic self-determination vice government intervention on our private lives.

At the end of the day leadership, integrity, character, and performance is determined by one's past actions not idle words or promises broken.

James R. Poplar III, of Quicksburg, proudly served with the U.S. government for over 40 years. He specialized in national security affairs at both Vanderbilt and the National Defense University.

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