.jpg)
Senator Addresses Issues During Visit To Buena Vista
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner spoke at Buena Vista’s Innovation Accelerator last week, where he spoke about major challenges and changes on Capitol Hill, as part of a twoday series of events through the Shenandoah Valley.
Prior to his Tuesday stop in Buena Vista, Warner visited Harrisonburg, where he took a walking tour of downtown, talking to local officials about new infrastructure law and about firefighting efforts in the Shenandoah Valley. He also visited Staunton to discuss a study on increasing Amtrak’s Cardinal Service from three days a week to seven.
After touring the Innovation Accelerator and speaking to entrepreneurs, Warner addressed the public and local government and school officials, recalling his own personal history and connection to the city.
“Walking in your parades for 30 years, I’ve seen this union go [up and down],” he said.
Warner shared of some of his own ups and downs.
“I’ve been a business guy longer than I’ve been a politician. And my story is like probably many here trying to start a business,” he said.
“I took my life savings, $5,000, invested it in a little startup. And in six weeks, I took that startup, and it went bankrupt.,” Warner said. “And then I went into real estate, moved around for a while, took me six months to fail at real estate.”
“So at the ripe age of 27, I was flat broke, student loans coming due, living out of my car, and lo and behold, I got a third chance,” he said.
Warner related his story to a larger American ideal.
“The one thing about our country — we can’t guarantee everybody’s success. But we sure as heck ought to be able to guarantee everyone a fair shot,” said Warner.
“I think I was at least selfaware enough to realize, if I had not been a white man with the appropriate education, I might not have got a third shot, or a second shot, or a first shot,” he said.
“What I think is so important is that not everyone gets that fair shot, and some of that may be based on gender and some of that may be based on race. A lot of that, in America, is based on location,” he said.
Concerning location, Warner spoke about his efforts to better connect rural communities, including expanding rail transit options and broadband internet.
In international issues, Warner emphasized the importance of continuing U.S. aid to Ukraine.
“I want to say, what I think may be the most important issue that we deal with right now, and that is whether the United States of America is going to honor its commitment to the great nation of Ukraine,” he said. “If we were to walk away from that commitment now, no country will ever trust us again in the future.”
He spoke of the potential far-reaching consequences of a loss in Ukraine.
“You may still say, ‘Well I’m still not convinced; why should I worry?’ Well I’ll tell you why,” Warner said.
“Because if we don’t stop Putin here and now, in two years he will be pushing on Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, all nations that we have a commitment to help defend because of NATO, and American troops will be in harm’s way.”
Competition with China was also a major concern, and Warner spoke of the need for American control over Tik Tok, currently owned by the Chinese company Byte Dance.
“I think it is, again, a national security issue, that we’ve got to find a way to at least force a sale, if not shut down Tik Tok,” he said.
“The genius of Tik Tok is, it kind of knows what you like before you know what you like. Half of the people on Tik Tok get all their news from there. I can tell you, you twist that algorithm a little bit, especially in an election year, and you’re going to start seeing things,” Warner said.
“We have enough problems between us as Americans, not to have more meddling,” he said. “We need to find a way to move this.”
Warner spoke of this lack of common ground as one of the major issues in American politics.
“The thing that scares me more than anything in our politics today is the hatefulness, and also the fact that either side thinks they have a monopoly in truth,” he said. “I’m not as afraid of our outside threats as I am of people just kind of giving up on the sense that, we can get things done.
“The unfortunate thing about our politics today, and I’m not blaming, pick a number, a third or half of the Americans, are not going to trust anything the federal government says on anything,” Warner said. Though he acknowledged issues, Warner also spoke of the potential for change within government.
“I think that, definitely, it’s not good all the time but it’s not bad, per se, all the time. The federal government is us. And if you don’t like part of it, change it but let’s not reject the notion that it can’t play a positive role.”
Overall, Warner emphasized the importance of, and reasons for, optimism.
“We are the essential nation in the world. We are a nation that everybody still looks to,” he said.
“We live in the greatest country in the world. If you want to make it greater, let’s make it greater. But let’s not walk away from the things that got us here, that allow us to be in this country, to kind of have the heart that BV has got.”
