Robb touts Democratic progress
By Emily Roper | August 20, 2000U.S. Senator Chuck Robb urged delegates of the Democratic National Convention to vote for presidential candidate Al Gore in order to "continue with the progress of the last eight years." A Republican presidency would "turn back the clock" to a time when annual deficits where at an all-time high, as they were in 1992, Robb warned. According to Robb, Democrats were able to pass the largest deficit reduction package in history without a single Republican vote, bringing the country into its current period of economic expansion. Republicans now want "to lecture [Democrats] on how to spend" the money incurred during the past years of deficit reduction, Robb said. A Republican presidency would mean a return to deficits, meaning less money to spend on Democratic programs such as prescription drugs for the elderly and targeted tax cuts, he added. Robb encouraged Democrats to go to the polls in November and cast a vote for Gore. This election will have "profound consequences for decades," he said. Earlier in the week Robb had the opportunity to address the Virginia delegation at a breakfast he sponsored Monday at the Crowne Plaza hotel. Amidst chanting and wild applause from the Virginia delegates, Robb tried to whip up enthusiasm for that week's convention events. He gave the delegates a preview of possible topics that would be discussed as the convention convened over the four-day period. The speakers and Democratic leaders will try to show the American people that there are "differences between the parties", Robb said.
