The quotes by Bob McDonnell in this article make several things clear. First, Bob McDonnell will say anything to get elected. Second, Bob McDonnell has been a long-time, right-wing extremist and anti-gay bigot (but we knew that already). Third, Bob McDonnell is completely disingenous, aka "a liar." Fourth, Bob McDonnell is as slippery a politician as you'll ever find, claiming that something only matters if he says it matters; otherwise, if it's potentially harmful to him, it's irrelevant and you're a bad person for even mentioning it. Let me elaborate.On point #1, Bob McDonnell "became known for telling the Daily Press of Newport News [in 2003 while persecuting a judge he suspected of being a lesbian] that certain homosexual activities could disqualify a person from the bench," saying among other things that "[t]here is certain homosexual conduct that is in violation of the law." Other Republicans concur that McDonnell was on an anti-gay crusade, with Sen. Kenneth Stolle (R-Virginia Beach) cautioning McDonnell at the time that "nothing good is going to come from this." Instead of listening to the advice of Stolle and other Republican colleagues, McDonnell charged ahead, leading to "McDonnell help[ing] gavel in one of the most extraordinary judicial reappointment hearings in Virginia history: a seven-hour, trial-like affair that led to questions about whether the future Republican gubernatorial candidate thought gays were fit to serve on the bench." Today, in contrast, McDonnell minimizes and denies the entire incident, saying "through a spokesman last week that the quotes are not accurate" and "repeat[ing] that assertion Friday." Whatever you think of the merits of the case, the point here is that McDonnell is denying what he said and did in 2003 (and, by the way, the actions of McDonnell as a legislator in 2003 most certainly DO have relevance to his run for governor in 2009), just as he is trying to claim his theocratic thesis for Pat Robertson has nothing to do with what he actually believes. In short: Bob McDonnell will say anything to get elected governor of Virginia.
On point #2, McDonnell's bizarre persecution of Verbena Askew - who, by the way, has always denied being gay, not that this should really matter one way or the other - proves that he's an outright, extreme, anti-gay bigot. Why, in the year 2009, that isn't an automatic disqualifier from holding higher office, let alone governor of Virginia, is beyond me, especially when this individual has also written that "the government must restrain, punish, and deter" homosexuality, as well as "pornography" (undefined what that is exactly; I guess McDonnell knows it when he sees it unless he "can't recall").
On point #3, we've largely covered that in point #1, but I'd also refer you to a McDonnell campaign press release yesterday for more evidence of his deceptive, lying nature. For instance, McDonnell claims that Virginia's budget problems - the same problems, by the way, that are hitting all 50 states thanks to the Bush/Republican recession - are a result of "overly optimistic Kaine Administration budget projections." So...by that reasoning, the other 49 states must also have had "overly optimistic budget projections" too, including many states governed by Republicans? California, for instance, has horrendous budget problems, yet it's governed by a Republican. Meanwhile, McDonnell claims to have "great concerns with the specific cuts he has proposed for higher education," when his own transportation plan would result in billions of dollars worth of cuts to education. Finally, note how McDonnell completely ignores the fact that Virginia's budget problems are 99% the result of two factors: 1) the national recession, arguably the worst since the Great Depression, thanks largely to the Bush economic policies he so admires; and 2) the failure, year after year, of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates to allocate sufficient revenues to support education, transportation, and Virginia's other pressing needs. Again, this is completely disingenuous, bordering on outright "liar" status. The only question is, are we going to let Bob McDonnell get away with this?
Finally, we have Bob McDonnell's slippery, slimy, arrogant, insufferable assertion that something is only an "issue" if he says it is. From the Post article:
McDonnell said in an interview last week that the episode has nothing to do with his campaign for governor.Ahhhh...I see. The fact that millions of Virginians do care about equal rights for all Virginians doesn't matter, because Bob McDonnell says it doesn't matter. It's not "relevant" that Bob McDonnell is a vicious anti-gay bigot. It's not "relevant" that he believes women in the work force are "detrimental" to the family. It's not "relevant" that he believes in Bush economics as the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's not "relevant" that he is Pat Robertson's Manchurian Candidate. It's not relevant that he's been lying this entire campaign, pretending to be a "moderate" when he is anything but that. No, the only thing that's relevant is his vision for the future of Virginia, which involves transferring billions of dollars out of education and selling off liquor stores (so we can have one on every corner) in order to pay for new roads (and, almost undoubtedly, they'd be roads, not "smart growth" solutions).
"It is 100 percent irrelevant in this race," he said. "What's relevant in this race is what the records of the candidates are on issues that the voters care about and, number two, who's got the best ideas to be able to create jobs and build infrastructure and build a better Virginia. That's what's relevant."
In sum, Bob McDonnell is a Pat Robertson extremist, a completely duplicitous character, a political charlatan, and as slippery a politician as you'll ever meet. So, my fellow Virginians, how much longer are we going to let McDonnell pull off this charade of his? Are we going to let him lie his way into the governor's mansion? Because, sadly, that's the way it looks right now.
