I live in Virginia, which is a battleground state, and my mailbox has been littered with political propaganda in recent weeks. Here are some questions for the candidates:

• George Allen (R) for Senate promises to “protect defense jobs from devastating cuts” while “restoring fiscal discipline in Washington.” But Allen was already in Washington and his party didn’t restore discipline. Is he proposing anything different this time?
• Rep. Jim Moran (D) promises to “stand up for women” and protect their “rights” by ensuring they “have access to affordable contraception.” But what about men? Shouldn’t they get a tax credit for condoms or something?
• Romney/Ryan (R) promise to “begin reducing the deficit and balancing the budget.” But how? Apparently not with defense savings because they will “protect and strengthen Virginia’s military jobs,” nor with Medicare savings because they will “preserve and strengthen” that program.
• Romney/Ryan (R) promise to “champion small business.” But what about big business? Big business employs tens of millions of Americans and is subject to more intense global competition than is small business. So why do R/R want to specially favor small businesses?
• Tim Kaine (D) for Senate says that he “dramatically increased the percentage of state contracts issued to small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses.” But are women’s businesses more important than men’s businesses? And is Kaine saying that he will use government power to favor minority businesses over other businesses? How does that square with his promise to create opportunities “for all”?
• Tim Kaine (D) for Senate also promises to “strengthen Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid.” Is he saying that even though rising spending on these programs will cause government finances to implode in coming years, he wants to spend even more on them? Does Kaine think it’s fair to enslave young people with even more debt from these programs just to gain votes from greedy geezers?  

In sum, I’m seeing a lot from both parties about “strengthening” spending, “protecting” big government, and “championing” some groups of Americans over others. What about voters who want their leaders to strengthen individual rights, protect equality under the law, and champion the United States Constitution?