A 93 page master’s thesis written in 1989 on file at Regent University has gubernatorial candidate hopeful back-pedalling like crazy and asking Virginians to look at his record. Well, that isn’t so good either. We see …well…a mirror image in some cases.
,
What is the blogosphere all a’twitter over? McDonnell’s master’s thesis, in which, according to the Washington Post, he has some rather conservative ideas that just won’t fly in the 21st century:
[H]e described working women and feminists as “detrimental” to the family. He said government policy should favor married couples over “cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators.” He described as “illogical” a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples.
The paper also lays out a 15 point action plan that the Republican Party needed to adopt in order to protect the family. During his 14 years in the General Assembly, McDonnell attempted to pass legislation on at least 10 of his suggested goals that he has laid out in his research paper: abortion restrictions, school vouchers, “convenant marriage,” tax laws that favored married couples to name a few. As late as 2001 he voted against a law that would end wage discrimination between men and women.
Candidate McDonnell attempted to distance himself from this extremist drivel:
McDonnell added: “Like everybody, my views on many issues have changed as I have gotten older.” He said that his views on family policy were best represented by his 1995 welfare reform legislation and that he “worked to include child day care in the bill so women would have greater freedom to work.” What he wrote in the thesis on women in the workplace, he said, “was simply an academic exercise and clearly does not reflect my views.”
McDonnell also said that government should not discriminate based on sexual orientation or ban contraceptives and that “I am not advocating vouchers as there are legal questions regarding their constitutionality in Virginia
That fact that anyone in America would think most of these ideas are the business of government or acceptable in modern society is preposterous. The title of the thesis speaks to the problem: “The Republican Party’s Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade.” I don’t want the Republican Party’s Vision for my family!
Subscribing to these ideas that promote discrimination and UN-equal rights for women, gays, single people and who knows who else, at any time in his adult life, makes McDonnell unacceptable as a candidate for governor. Leopards don’t change their spots and a make over won’t cut it.
Moon-howler does a great job.
For the record, I’m no right-winger!
Rick, I know you aren’t and I hope I didn’t include you in the sweep. You have way too many anti-right wing attributes. I wouldn’t even try to classify you.
You hope all over the political spectrum, even more than I do. I have a couple right wing traits, a couple left wing traits, but mostly I am moderate.
The Virginia Democrat blog has an interesting post entitled
McDonnell’s Stunning Lack of Honesty. It asserts that McDonnell has spoken out about discrimination, yet he has a long track record of anti-GAY discrimination. It is worth a read.
http://virginiademocrat.blogspot.com/2009/08/mcdonnells-stunning-lack-of-honesty.html
“Republican First” ditto heads are worried about McDonnell so they attack M-H and of course attack the journalist who discovered this disgraceful sexist screed.
M-H don’t let the two most extreme people on this blog affect your independent, shoot-from-the-hip attitude. We love your attitude. Don’t take no shi*t.
Bob McDonnell is dead wrong. Independent women and working women are NOT “detrimental to family” or to society. Independent women are the women who make our country great. If you’re intimidated by a woman who knows her own mind, you’re not much of a man. Notice how it’s always the short guys who can’t deal with strong women? Ever seen McDonnell up close? Well there you go.
I wish we had the same opportunity to read President Obama’s college papers prior to his election. They have been kept under wraps for good reason.
You can post whatever you like. It is your blog. That isn’t my issue. My issue was that you are not a moderate. But you can claim what you want.
You are socially liberal. Which is fine. Most moderates are. But you are also fiscally liberal which most moderates are not. In my book, that makes you a liberal. So why parade around as a moderate?
Moi? A fiscal liberal? I had always seen myself as a fiscal moderate. I think maybe the middle moves around a lot on that one these days. I know a few self described liberals who would have ‘the big one’ thinking I was in their ranks.
I can’t wait to tell my brother. I can hear his starting up the chain saw now…to saw through his own wrists.
Now where to you put the wars, guns, death penalty, environment and all of those types of issues? I mean, is there a label?
Supporting the recent bailouts/public option health = supporting big govt. = fiscal liberal. You can’t support these and consider yourself fiscally conservative.
“Now where to you put the wars, guns, death penalty, environment and all of those types of issues? I mean, is there a label?”
Social issues.
Whether you want to admit it or not, your thread choices and titles are biased left. You chastise BVBL as an echo chamber but anti is no different. Dissenters are quickly labeled “right wingers” (which I am not) with resentment. Indicative of a liberal forum.
If you like Pat Robertson, you will love Taliban Bob.
Despite the new package and ad campaign, once moderates
open the sack, they won’t find a happy meal at this McDonnell’s.
LOL Excellent Poor Richard.
Mando, I would have pegged you as right wing. How would you classify yourself?
Actually, I haven’t spoken out in favor of health care with with public option. I have simply put this issues out there and asked questions. I have not commented on any of the plans. I can’t. I don’t understand any of them well enough. The only thing I have said is different countries have some successful plans that the people of those countries really like (France, Germany) and that we should look at what works and what people like in those countries. I have also said that health care reform is needed.
I did support bail out 1 under Bush and the first bail out under Obama. The others…up for grabs. I don’t believe I have spoken on those. I probably do choose more liberal topics. ANTI-bvbl.
An article like Texas seceding? Not sure where that fits. Obviously that isn’t something that is going to happen. McDonnell papers? Social issues…ding ding ding. Oh on social issues, I am only liberal on reproductive health. You know, the sex issues. I also supported Tipper Gore’s efforts to clean up labeling in the music industry which made me an old fogey. I voted against the marrriage amendment. Others marrying or not marrying doesn’t hurt me one bit. I don’t care if people cohabitate.
What I do care about is that the government now taxes health care benefits provided to domestic partners of either gender when provided by a company. That is taking a stand that I do not approve of. If one is fortunate enough to work for a company with liberal health care benefits, take them without penalty.
Emma, how come you know all about Obama’s secret papers and no one else does? What papers might those be and how did he manage to have them frozen up without being president? Details please.
First off, my philosophical views apparently mirror McDonnell’s. But forcing anyone to subjugate themselves to those views would go against my Christian beliefs. I guess you could call me a Christian Libertarian.
I was not going to vote for Taliban Bob McDonnell anyway. This just shows that he wasn’t just pandering to what he thought was a right wing extremists base. He really IS a right wing extremist. The base has shifted so he is pulling a Romney. But let’s face it, the man is and always was a fundamentalist extremist.
McDonnell is the most anti-choice candidate for Governor we’ve had since I’ve been voting age. He is anti-choice with a vengeance. This was already known before this bizarre religious fanaticism was exposed as the root of his political crusade in Virginia government.
But truth be told, I was already voting for Deeds because McDonnell is anti-choice. I had thought he was a normal anti-choice person. There are plenty of those. But now we find out he really is Taliban Bob McDonnell.
Ick.
I am going to have to think about what a Christian Libertarian is. I am not even sure what Libertarian is. I used to think I knew. Not I am not so sure.
Sorting out the Christian part is easier. There are Christians and then there are Christians. I am not a fundamentalist Christian. I have seen all sorts of labels. Most are from fundamentalists Christians and are not flattering. I would just say Christian as a label but that not longer flies. I have a strong belief in seperation of Church and state. I believe in prayer but that it should be done at the breakfast table not the school room. The 10 Commandments in the public square doesn’t offend me in the least, but I understand why they offend others.
I believe McDonnell was attempting the wolf in sheeps clothing approach to politics. While I might agree with some of his content personally, I do not feel it should be public policy.
“I have some vague idea that Libertarians are big on personal
freedom and keeping government out of their pants. My philosophy
is more nuanced. I believe most people favor what they think
is in their best interest and then rationalize it with absurb
arguements. Or worse, they join a team/party and just agree with
whatever the leader tells them. I call it – Ignorantselfishertarism”.
Scott Adams