Virginians Are Standing Strong with George Allen

For nearly two years, George and I have spent much of our time traveling throughout our beautiful Commonwealth, listening to the voices and stories of Virginians. It’s been a wonderful experience to meet so many families and visit hundreds of small businesses who all share a vision of a better future.

We’ve listened as Virginians expressed concerns over the rising costs of electricity and healthcare and stories of job losses, small businesses shutting down, and students having to move back home with mom and dad. This is not the future we hoped to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

But throughout our travels, we’ve also seen families and small businesses standing strong, determined to succeed despite tough times because they share George’s faith in the American Dream.

About six months ago I visited a woman-owned bakery in Stafford County, Virginia that started in her basement and grew into a retail store operation with several employees.  As the economy slowed, she managed to diversify her offerings, but the thing that struck me was her ingenuity.  Every Wednesday and Thursday she would take different routes to work, passing several gas stations along her way.  Knowing customers had less disposable income as gas prices rose, she would bake according to fluctuations in fuel cost.  That is the type of perseverance George and I love to see on the trail, but with a George Allen energy plan, our country will be able to use our own energy resources to make energy more affordable and allow stability for business owners and families.

Throughout George’s more than 20 years of public service, he has been committed to making Virginia an even better place to live and work.  But what sets George apart as a husband, father and leader is how he wakes up every day enthusiastic and optimistic about working for fellow Virginians, and he never stops fighting for what he believes in, no matter the odds.  

While Governor, he didn’t let the skeptics convince him that welfare reform was impossible- and he proved that it wasn’t. Thanks to his leadership, he was able to bring both Democrats and Republicans together to achieve Virginia’s historic welfare reform and helped over 100,000 Virginians start living a more independent life, supporting themselves and their families with a job. He also worked across the aisle to cut taxes by $600 Million, reform regulations, and bring in new investments to the Commonwealth, helping to create over 300,000 net new private sector Virginia jobs.  George continues to be committed to protecting and creating Virginia jobs, and he is standing strong against the defense cuts that will cause a loss of over 200,000 jobs. We know what will get this economy moving again, and it’s jobs.

George knows that if we want to get Americans back on their feet and get our economy moving again, families and small businesses need less of Washington in their lives. Virginians want to succeed and George wants to ensure we have affordable energy and healthcare, and freedom from regulations to help create the jobs so many people need.

George has full confidence that together we can lead the way for America’s Comeback and get Virginians working, creating and dreaming again. As the only candidate in this race who has a strong record of job creation and growth – he knows what it takes to get our economy moving. As he often says on the trail, “it’s time to get America ascending again.” George is standing strong for Virginians, for jobs and for freedom.  On November 6th, as we head to the polls on Election Day, I know that together Virginians will send a message to Washington that we want George Allen as our next U.S. Senator – a leader who knows that his job is to fight for our jobs.

Susan Allen is the wife of George Allen, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.