Last night, I attended a fundraiser for Don Shaw, who's running against far-right-wing extremist/bigot, Del. "Sideshow Bob" Marshall (R) in the 13th House of Delegates district (Prince William County, Manassas Park City). Keep in mind that the 13th district is an "Obama/Kaine district," where both Barack Obama and Tim Kaine won by 11 points in 2012. However, this is also a district with a big Democratic "dropoff" in non-presidential years. Thus, Mark Herring beat Mark Obenshain by just 2 points in the district in 2013, while Mark Warner actually lost the district to Ed Gillespie by four points in 2014. So, bottom line, this district SHOULD be a Democratic district, but ONLY if Democrats turn out in large numbers. That makes "GOTV" the key in every election here, as it will in 2 1/2 weeks.
Fortunately, the Don Shaw campaign is well aware of all this, and is working hard - knocking doors, making phone calls, etc. - to remind Democrats that there's an election on November 3. If you can help out with GOTV for this race, please do so (you can click here to get started on volunteering). Need some motivation? Here are just a few reminders of the horror show known as "Sideshow Bob"Marshall, and why this disgrace to Virginia needs to go:
- Video: "Sideshow Bob" Says Board of Health Can Only Spend Money on Abortion Regs He Likes
- Video: Bob Marshall Rants Against Women's Health Clinics
- On Call with E.W. Jackson, KY Clerk Casey Davis, "Sideshow Bob" Rants about "Sodomy Marriage"
- "Sideshow Bob" Marshall Completely Unhinged Over Demise of His Anti-Gay Hate Amendment,
- Video: "Sideshow Bob" Elaborates On His Vicious Homophobia (That's right, according to "Sideshow Bob," it's all about "blood transfusions," "sodomy," and being "worried about this guy whose got eyes on me." Can we say "he's got issues?" Uh huh.)
- Does Bob Marshall Agree w/ Rev. Ellison that Haitian Earthquake Was God's Punishment for Voodoo?;
- Virginia lawmaker: Children with disabilities are God's punishment to women who previously had abortions.
- Chief Sponsor of Virginia 'Personhood' Bill Calls The Affordable Care Act 'Rape';
- Robert Marshall, Virginia Delegate, Pushes Bill To Study Whether State Should Have Alternative Currency
With that, check out the videos by Attorney General Herring, Del. Alfonso Lopez and Democratic nominee Don Shaw. In addition to explaining what's been going on in the Virginia AG's office recently - "we're making tremendous progress" on a wide vareity of areas - Herring talked about his support for Don Shaw - "he's going to be a great delegate." AG Herring added that Bob Marshall has "led the effort to impeach me...and to disbar me because of some of the actions that I just talked about earlier, and I guess if there is an upside to...Bob Marshall, it is that he is SO extreme in his ideology that his own conservative Republican caucus in the House of Delegates doesn't really give him much credibility or clout...but it is too important to make sure that the district IS represented as it should be, and that's why it's really important for all of you to get out and work as hard as you can the next couple weeks for Don Shaw."
For his part, Del. Lopez said that Don Shaw would be a "huge improvement" over Bob Marshall. According to Del. Lopez, this election is about "governing vs. not governing; " "sensible policies vs. policies from the 1950s and 1850s in some cases." "We're talking about folks who say that climate change is a liberal hoax," who put forward legislation to study creation of Virginia's own currency, the idea of "black helicopters," and "Bob Marshall himself, who is the leader of the anti-LGBT movement in Virginia" who said that "special needs children are god's wrath for abortion in Virginia," who "helped lead the fight for transvaginal ultrasounds," "the future vs. the past" in Virginia.
Finally, Don Shaw gave an excellent speech, talking about how he was born and raised in Appalachia, how his father literally broke his back working on the railroad, and how - in part because of his father's experience trying to get (and pay for) good health care - Don chose to dedicate his adult life to public service. That includes joining the military out of high school, as well as serving for 8 years as a senior manager in the Department of Defense. Shaw noted that this race is very personal, as his oldest son is a "member of the LGBT community," and how important it is to have "equal rights for all, and not just for some." Shaw also explained that he has a daughter with special needs, and that when Bob Marshall said that special needs children are "god's punishment for abortion...he said that about MY daughter, as well as about every other special needs person in the Commonwealth, and that's not acceptable, and she's one of the reasons that I'm running."
Moving beyond the social issues, Shaw also pointed out Marshall's "abysmal attendance record" in the House of Delegates -- he's missed 723 votes in four years, plus 52% of his committee meetings just in 2015: "he is not representing those of us when he DOES take a position, and when he doesn't take a position he doesn't represent us because he's not there, and we deserve to have the same representation in the 13th as...everywhere else in the Commonwealth where their delegates and their senators care enough to actually show up to work and to represent them...we deserve better." So again, if you can help Don Shaw in this election, please click here to get started on volunteering. Thanks, go Don, and hopefully on November 3, we can all celebrate "Sideshow Bob"'s much-overdue retirement from the House of Delegates!
Moving beyond the social issues, Shaw also pointed out Marshall's "abysmal attendance record" in the House of Delegates -- he's missed 723 votes in four years, plus 52% of his committee meetings just in 2015: "he is not representing those of us when he DOES take a position, and when he doesn't take a position he doesn't represent us because he's not there, and we deserve to have the same representation in the 13th as...everywhere else in the Commonwealth where their delegates and their senators care enough to actually show up to work and to represent them...we deserve better." So again, if you can help Don Shaw in this election, please click here to get started on volunteering. Thanks, go Don, and hopefully on November 3, we can all celebrate "Sideshow Bob"'s much-overdue retirement from the House of Delegates!
