By Marianne Anderson, Alexandria
To the editor:
I am a woman who has lived long enough to have worked for 30 years, raised 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 poured 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 vs. Wade, and I worry that today’s women think that having a choice about their health care is a right that will never disappear. 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 recently between former Gov. Tim Kaine (D) and former U.S. Sen. George Allen (R), I was struck by all the ways that Kaine appealed to me and probably to women and men of all ages. His openness and ability to articulate his positions were powerful.
He knows how to balance a budget and how to get a great bond rating for the state. He knows we have to invest in education, alternative energy and our country’s infrastructure. He supports equal pay for equal work — the Lily Ledbetter Act. He knows we need affordable health care and preventive care. He knows that women want to be in charge of their health care and 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 wants to serve. He respects the fact that he will be governing all of the people, not just those who think and believe as he does.
It seems to me that the choice between Kaine and Allen is not really much of a choice. I’ll be voting for Tim Kaine for Virginia’s next U. S. senator.
