Capito attends Berkeley Co. GOP's Ronald Reagan Day Picnic

July 28, 2007|By ASHLEY HARTMAN

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito was the special guest Saturday afternoon as the Berkeley County Republican Party held its annual Ronald Reagan Day Picnic.

"Boy, we got our hands full in Washington, D.C., right now ... and we're standing as firm as we can without the numbers," said Capito, R-W.Va. "Nothing is more important than keeping people rolling on an off year."

Capito spoke about key political issues, including the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, lowering taxes and national security.

"I didn't go to Washington to raise your taxes, and I'm not going to now," she said.

Capito on Friday voted against a five-year farm bill, which passed by a 231-191 vote in the House of Representatives. The bill would end subsidy payments to farmers earning more than $1 million per year.

"I made the very difficult decision of voting against the tax increase, which put me at odds with my farmers," Capito said.

On the war in Iraq, Capito said, "I want to see our troops come home, but we can't precipitously leave."

About 50 people attended the picnic, which was held at War Memorial Park.

"It's just a general camaraderie among Republicans," Ken Mays, president of the Berkeley County Republican Party, said of the picnic. "Through our auction, we're hoping to generate a lot of funds."

Dora Grove, a member of the Berkeley County Republican Executive Committee, hopes to see the Republican Party promote unity in the country and the principles of respect and honorability.

"Shelley is an inspiration to women and men," Grove said.

"I think she gives inspiration to her father's generation," said Grove, referring to former West Virginia Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr.

Bob Adams, who is running for governor of West Virginia in 2008, has his own vision for the future of the state.

"There needs to be vast changes for the Eastern Panhandle and throughout the state," Adams said. "We've raised our gas taxes and refused to remove the food tax. They zero right in on the poor ... (and) that's just not fair."

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