4 former Republicans weigh in on the McDonnell question, which boils down to whether or not he is the same Bob McDonnell of 1989 who wrote an academic paper that was very socially outdated at the time, not to mention today. McDonnell has tried to tell us he is a different Bob now and that his voting record speaks for itself. Former colleagues seem to be telling us something different.
Speakers: Sen. Marty Williams (R – Newport News), Del. Jim Dillard (R – Fairfax), Katherine Waddell (actually a former “R” and current “I”) and Sen. Russ Potts (R – Winchester) held a conference call with reporters to comment on Bob McDonnell’s newly discovered thesis and his record as a legislator.
Audio recording:
(don’t adjust your set, there is no picture.)
35 anti-choice bills should be enough to disqualify any candidate. This man is way too out of touch to be governor. I cannot believe he wrote his thesis in 1989. The thinking in it was really dated. He sounds like someone from back in the 50’s.
I am glad this thesis was unearthed. People on television keep saying it is trivial. No it is not trivial. It is who he is. These legislators say his voting record was the same as the paper.
Wow, with “friends like this who needs enemies?” Geez, all but one is a republican and the independent USED be a republican.
Scathing, scathing, and brutally honest assessments of Bob McDonnell.
Here are a few quotes that stood out:
“this is the bob mcdonnell I know today’
“he is out of the mainstream”
“he was not interested in fixing transportation issues or the economy”
“now he is pretending to be someone he is not”
“he was not a young kid when he wrote this thesis, he was a 34 year old man with a family”
“he was always consumed with social issues”
@Rebecca
Well, his record shows it all–more so than a thesis, I would think.
Elena, I had the exact same reaction! With friends like these, but also the HONESTY was ASTOUNDING coming from a politician. I wondered if these people knew they were being recorded until I realized it was moderated by someone.
I CANNOT BELIEVE THE HONESTY! I really can’t. If a lot of people hear this phone call, or if these four brave souls are willing to say the same thing on television, this campaign is just about over.
The way it ends up just summarized the campaign for me: “If you want a governor who is going to focus on social issues, Bob McDonnell is your man.” (He left out very-extreme-out-of-the-mainstream-always-voted-down-in-a-Republican-controlled-General-Assembly social issues.)
Are these four Republicans (one now an Independent) at all indicative of the kind of Republican party support McDonnell has in Richmond? What happens to them when they run for reelection? Will they be punished or rewarded by Republican voters for speaking their mind and putting the future of the Commonwealth above party loyalty?
I was amazed too Witness. Their honesty gives me hope for the Republican Party. @Witness Too
Don’t get too excited. I know Russ Potts retired. Rough and Tumble Republicans couldn’t stand him.
There are people who don’t mind the Virginia Taliban. Some people want to be told how and what to think and not only that, they want to impose it on us. I would seriously doubt that someone who had those convictions in 1989 would have all of a sudden had the scales fall from their eyes. It doesn’t usually happen like that.
For the record, some of those are fine personal beliefs. However, they are also extremely outdated and in some cases discriminatory, which is a major reason they have no business ending up as public policy/law.
I just came across this blog and let me tell you after looking at the BVBL blog, THANK YOU!! But on to the more important issue. We all must stand together and prevent this sexist and religious extremist from being elected. It doesn’t matter what your party, bow you feel about Obama, how you feel about Congress…. it is about the future of Virginia. The members of his own party said it themselves, he is not concerned about what Virginians are concerned about. Thank you for shining more light on this issue. I am going to do everything I can to spread the word.
@Moon-howler
The Virginia Taliban?
LOLOL!
All of these Republicans have already endorsed Deeds and did so long before the thesis story broke.
I can see why now, they knew something we all did not apparently. Bob McDonnell, like Bob Marshall, is over concerned with social views and legislating morality. I thought these guys believed in small government and personal responsibility.
overly not over
Elena-
Please cite specifically based on McDonnell’s record where he has done that? He’s been legislating for many years. I know the thesis speaks for itself, but what about the actual record concerns you? Where has he taken specific objectionable action to implement the thesis? The only example I can find is certain pro-life legislation. If you are pro-choice, I can see your concern. But McDonnell has never suggested he is anything but pro life.
Oh, by the way, these four folks have also endorsed Mark Warner in his Senate race. Is that because they knew something about Jim Gilmore that we didn’t? Did Gilmore have a thesis?
Food For Thought,
How about the equal pay for equal work? 35 pieces of anti choice legislation? That IS pretty specific. Voting to allow Pharmicists the ability to deny filling LEGAL prescriptions for women doesn’t sound specific to you? Even his colleagues, who sound like they like him personally, said McDonnell expressed little interest in transportation or the economy.
Jim Gilmore drove VA into the dirt. Does dismantling public works to only spend more to HIRE private contractors sound like a good idea to you? Mark Warner was popular because he focused on the issues that people care about, the health and well being of their communities, the ability to put food on the table, etc etc.
I admire people that put county,state, country before politics. We need more of those people.
The 4 legislators who spoke were pretty specific about non-mainstream issues that McDonnell supported. Did you listen to the audio?
I expect that the 4 were probably just more mainstream than Gilmore and McDonnell. I know Russ Potts is.
My favorite Old McDonnellism is selling the VA ABC stores to private industry. Good, the Old Dominion can look like Maryland with a neon liquor store on ever corner. NOT. Is McDonnell a carpetbagger or something? He doesn’t sound like a real Virginian. My husband isn’t either but he adopted the ways of Virginia and its culture. He may fly his Terp flag but he didn’t expect Virginia to become Maryland.
Elena-
“Mark Warner was popular because he focused on the issues that people care about, the health and well being of their communities, the ability to put food on the table, etc etc.”
Exactly. And McDonnell is also focusing on these issues (like the economy and transportation), but some (Deeds) seem more interested in trying to make the race about social issues. I asked you for some examples of your own concerns. I already granted you the pro-life stuff (or, anti-choice), and you came up with “equal pay for equal work.” So you came up with one other issue. This does not seem to indicate to me someone who is “overly concerned with social issues.” It sounds like someone with whom you have some philosphical disagreements. If you don’t want to vote for him because he is pro-life (anti-choice), then don’t vote for him. But I suspect you would never have voted for him in the first place, thesis notwithstanding.
For the record, I think Gilmore is a tool. My only point is that these “Republicans” have already taken to endorsing Democrats…so their endorsement of Deeds is probably not because McDonnell is “legislating morality,” but rather, due to the fact that these “Republicans” tend to endorse Democrats these days…
Anyway, as my name indicates, just some “food for thought.” 🙂
Ladies, help me out. My wife and daughter are beating me up for supporting McDonnell through this crisis. I am not even saying I will definately vote for him. I guess I need to understand why the right to work and equal pay is such a sore spot. I have never had any problem letting my wife work, even when the kids were younger.
Last Best Hope, LETTING your wife work? What effen century were you born in?
Food, didn’t McDonnell author the transportation debacle that everyone fought against up here in Northern VA?
I listened to the audio in its entirety and first off, Katherine Waddell has the best southern accent ever, or should I say “evvaaah”! One rarely hears that Old Virginia accent anymore. If one follows VA politics, one knows that these four people are very much in the anti-GOP camp and have been for some time. They are very, very disgruntled with the republican leadership and conservative base. (And have been vocal about this often.) It is not at all surprising that they would nail McDonnell to the wall with relish, as they have done here. (If I heard one more time “And I like Bob personally…” I thought I might gag, I mean come on!) McDonnell is certainly going to take heat b/c of the thesis, and I too don’t agree with the points contained in it on all fronts, but do feel the man isn’t the sexist that he’s being painted as. The reason he’s pulled ahead of Deeds is his business and economic plan. The economy is the focus of the race this year, not social issues. The exception is for those individuals who base their votes solely on social issues and the thesis probably doesn’t change much for either of those people, conservative or liberal.
Food for thought,
Turn around is fair play, you tell me what great legislation McDonnell authored, I am curious. Maybe I am wrong.
@Elena
Harsher penalties for sex offenders. He’s been a leader on that issue.
Elena-
Yes, turnabout is fair play. Let’s see, IWK mentions a good one, also welfare reform and abolition of parole to name a few. But the whole reason I asked you the question is that you suggested that McDonnell was bad based on a singular focus on social issues, presumably as evidenced by his thesis. I then asked for examples of such singular focus in his actual record besides the life issue and you gave me one. My point wasn’t really to debate the merits of McDonnell as a candidate–it was merely to point out that this whole “overly focused on social issues” is a canard.
Moon, as to the NVTA, you mean that debacle that Tim Kaine supported? No, McDonnell did not author it. He, as AG, gave a legal opinion that it was constitutional. Turns out to have been incorrect, according to the VA Supreme Court. And, who is the one who fought to overturn that debacle and make everything right? Oh yeah, it was that other legislator who is “overly focused on social issues” and “legislating morality,” Bob Marshall. I guess he took time out of his busy “social” agenda to take care of that. 🙂
Food, you are obviously steeped deeper in Republican politics than I am. Good for Bob Marshall. It’s nice to see he gave up on the love canals long enough to serve the state. He occassionally pulls through and when he does, he does well, from what I have observed. However, I am not a Republican any longer so I am a little weak on actual details.
Let’s see, how did McDonnell toughen up on sex offenders? Isn’t that something the General Assembly has to do?
It sounds like both candidates have good track records on this social issue. I would probably categorize it more along the line of a law and order issue, however. Deeds was instrumental with Megan’s Law and Amber alert initiatives.
However, the anachronistic world view would be a deal breaker for me if I were sitting on the fence.
M-H, I meant “let” as in “let it be that my wife works,” as opposed to “I allowed her to work.” I have always tried to be open to women’s issues, but we do have to acknowledge that in the traditional family structure, women did not work.
Most of us did not have working moms, and perhaps adulthood is a period of adjustment for a lot of men of my and McDonnell’s generation. The reason why equal pay was not an obvious thing was that women were not typically responsible for supporting a family. It is still true today, in fact, that part husbands are usually the ones relied upon to support families, and the wife’s job is for secondary income. So while I support equal pay for women, I don’t think the question of equal pay is an open and shut case.
McDonnell will try to pass laws barring women from holding jobs in Virginia if he becomes governor. He is not fit to be governor of Virginia. He is not fit for any elective office. He should be selling insurance.
Thanks Starryflights, for your constructive commentary!
I don’t think McDonnell would actually try to pass any legislation barring women from anything. Even if that was his heart’s desire, he is in the wrong branch of government to be doing it and there are laws in place that would prevent him from doing so.
I believe the thesis serves as a window into McDonnell’s world view 20 years ago. People don’t usually change world views that significantly. Nothing more, nothing less just some opinions.
Last Best Hope, I am glad you clarified ‘let your wife work.’ I was gasping over that one.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/0909/Poll_McDonnell_holds_ninepoint_lead.html
Sooooo, what else ya’ got?
I think your perspective is dead on M-H. McDonnell looks at things from a perspective that is not uncommon in the Republican party. He is perhaps to the right of the median for Republican voters. But there has long been a partership between social conservatives and establishment Republicans, and this is not going away just because McDonnell comes from the right end of the spectrum. So the Republican base is in tact, and as polls show, there are more Republicans in Virginia than Democrats.
I think McDonnell’s far right social conservative base understands that he has to take a more moderate stance now that he is running for Governor in a state that is rapidly becoming more diverse, more tolerant of diversity, and more centrist. They certainly would prefer McDonnell with or without apologies for far right views over Deeds who is a Democrat and therefore a “bad guy” no matter what.
@Moon-howler
“Let’s see, how did McDonnell toughen up on sex offenders? Isn’t that something the General Assembly has to do?”
M-H, yes you are correct that the General Assembly introduces and votes upon bills. However, the governor and attorney general regularly draft and promote legislation that is given to a senator or delegate to introduce. It is widely known where such bills were initiated. Also, McDonnell served in the House of Delegates for quite some time prior to becoming AG. He is known for being strong on this issue.
Deeds is also strong on items that protect kids. Megans Law in VA and the Amber alert program have his fingerprints all over them. I would say both men have an investment in protecting children from predators.
Why do you feel McDonnell outshines Deeds in this area?
Have been off of the computer for a few days, sorry it took so long to respond. I agree that Deeds does have a good record on this too, with the Amber alert program and Megans Law. When McDonnell and Deeds ran against each other for AG, this was a big issue that McDonnell and Deeds both talked about a lot. McDonnell also has a strong record though of strengthening the registry laws, gang violence initiatives, etc. In answering Elena originally, she had asked in essence, what good things has McDonnell done as a legislator/AG and the sex offender issue was one that I believe he did good things with. I didn’t mean to imply that Deeds had not done good things on this issue as well. I think McDonnell spells out his plan for what he would like to do to further strengthen the laws against sex offenders, gang members, etc. very well on his website. I read both candidates “Public Safety” pages on their campaign sites prior to responding to this, and found McDonnell’s to be more detailed as to what he plans to do in the future. (If you go to the site, it is underneath the heading “Continuing the Commitment to Make VA a Safe Place to Live and Raise a Family Plan”. That’s a mouthful, he should probably condense that!)