George Allen and Tim Kaine (right)RESTON, Va. -
The two major party candidates in Virginia's Senate race are offering very different takes on the Supreme Court ruling which upheld the constitutionality of almost all of President Barack Obama's health care reform legislation.
In a statement supporting the Affordable Care Act, Democrat Tim Kaine pointed out that "Our government, businesses, and citizens cannot continue to spend more than any other nation on health care while getting second-rate results."
Earlier, after a speech to the Northern Virginia Technology Council in Reston, Kaine told reporters because of the Obama Administration's law, "Millions of kids are able to stay on their family insurance policies ... millions of seniors are getting free preventative care ... [and] insurance companies can't club you over the head because you have a pre-existing condition." Kaine declared, "I want to see those important reforms continue."
Republican George Allen, in his speech to the hi-tech managers, characterized the administration's health care law as anti-business. Allen shook his head and smiled when told the majority of Supreme Court justices found the law's mandate for insurance to be constitutional.
"[The justices] had to use all sorts of judicial creativity to call a mandate a 'tax,"' Allen told reporters. "Of course," Allen continued, "when [Democrats] were trying to pass this, they told us it wasn't a tax."
Both Kaine and Allen are former governors of Virginia, and Allen later served one term in the U.S. Senate. Virginia will likely be a pivotal state in both the presidential race and in determining which party controls the Senate.
