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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Former Virginia governor calls for job innovation

Former Virginia Gov. George Allen outlined his plans for a renewed “common-sense conservative” Washington at the College Republicans kick-off event Wednesday.

The former senator said he decided to run for a seat in the Senate after watching his daughter, a recent college graduate, struggle to a job and pay off student loans – a problem he sees many young Americans facing.

“I don’t see America being that land of opportunity it was when I graduated,” Allen said. “Let’s send a message to the world that America is open for business again.”

Praising Americans’ work ethic and ingenuity, Allen said job creation must be initiated by small businesses and start-ups rather than huge corporations.

He called for the reinvigoration of the country’s entrepreneurial spirit by reducing taxes placed on new businesses, which he said could potentially create 500,000 new jobs a year.

Allen pushed Americans to rely more on domestic sources of energy instead of imports, which could lead to cheaper energy costs and lower food prices as well.

A main cornerstone of Allen’s campaign is his disgust for the government and its “dictating, mandating and meddling” in the lives of citizens.

“I want the federal government to stay out of our lives and out of our businesses,” Allen said.

The country’s economic growth is not only the domain of the federal government, Allen argued. He said that states must be “laboratories of democracy and innovation” because of their proximity to the American people.

The former U.S. senator also called for an end to laziness in Congress, citing the recent struggles with budgeting and last-minute “omnibus bills” as major problems. If elected, he plans to write a bill withholding congressional paychecks if appropriations bills are not passed on time.

Allen was first elected to the Senate in 2001 but was voted out in 2006 when he was accused of calling S.R. Sidarth – a staffer for Allen’s opponent – a “Macaca,” a racial slur used by the French colonists to describe dark-skinned people. Sidarth is also a GW Law School graduate.

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