Today 33 Virginia men and women voted to appoint Tracy Thorne-Begland to the General District court. He needed 51 votes. Thorne-Begland is openly gay. Then there were those who voted NAY or who didn’t vote because Thorne-Begland is gay. This is not MY Virginia.
The Wall of Shame
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
Those who voted NAY
Nays (31)
Richard L. Anderson, R-Prince William
Richard P. “Dickie” Bell, R-Staunton
Robert B. Bell, R-Albemarle
Kathy J. Byron, R-Campbell
Benjamin L. Cline, R-Rockbridge
Mark L. Cole, R-Spotsylvania
John A. Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake
John A. Cox, R-Hanover
L. Mark Dudenhefer, R-Stafford
James E. Edmunds II, R-Halifax
C. Matthew Fariss, R-Campbell
T. Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg
Thomas A. “Tag” Greason, R-Loudoun
Gordon C. Helsel Jr., R-Poquoson
M. Keith Hodges, R-Middlesex
Timothy D. Hugo, R-Fairfax
Salvatore R. Iaquinto, R-Virginia Beach
Barry D. Knight, R-Virginia Beach
L. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William
Daniel W. Marshall III, R-Danville
Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William
Jimmie Massie, R-Henrico
Donald W. Merricks, R-Pittsylvania
James W. “Will” Morefield, R-Tazewell
Brenda L. Pogge, R-James City
Charles D. Poindexter, R-Franklin County
David I. Ramadan, R-Loudoun
Roxann L. Robinson, R-Chesterfield
Ron Villanueva, R-Virginia Beach
Michael B. Watson, R-Williamsburg
Tony O. Wilt, R-Rockingham
First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out–
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
and I did not speak out–
because I was not a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out–
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me–
and there was no one left to speak out for me.Pastor Martin Niemoller
The following legislators didn’t vote. They simply withheld. Can they look at themselves tomorrow morning in the mirror? Why did they not vote? They must have known that Tracy Thorne-Begland was highly qualified.
Were they afraid of their “base”? Were they afraid they would lose votes next election? Were they afraid of their constituents who think public homophobia is a good thing? Those who didn’t vote appear to belong on their own WALL OF SHAME.
“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
Not voting (26)
Robert H. Brink, D-Arlington
David L. Englin, D-Alexandria
C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah
Gregory D. Habeeb, R-Salem
Christopher T. Head, R-Roanoke
William J. Howell, R-Stafford
Johnny S. Joannou, D-Portsmouth
Joseph P. Johnson Jr., D-Washington County
S. Chris Jones, R-Suffolk
Joe T. May, R-Loudoun
Jackson H. Miller, R-Manassas
J. Randall “Randy” Minchew, R-Leesburg
Richard L. Morris, R-Isle of Wight
John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico
Robert D. Orrock Sr., R-Caroline
Christopher K. Peace, R-Hanover
Kenneth R. Plum, D-Fairfax
Harry R. Purkey, R-Virginia Beach
Margaret B. Ransone, R-Westmoreland
Robert Tata, R-Virginia Beach
Roslyn C. Tyler, D-Sussex
Onzlee Ware, D-Roanoke
R. Lee Ware Jr., R-Powhatan
Michael J. Webert, R-Fauquier
Thomas C. Wright Jr., R-Lunenberg
David E. Yancey, R-Newport News
Rich, Scott and Jackson:
You allowed evil to triumph in Virginia this week
Bob, you led the pack.
The lists may be found in the Richmond Times Dispatch. There is also a list of those who abstained. Not sure what the difference is. Luke Torian from Prince William County voted yes.
WaPo: Bigotry Triumphs in Virginia
Abstentions:
Abstensions (10)
M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights
Anne B. Crockett-Stark, R-Wythe
Riley E. Ingram, R-Hopewell
R. Steven Landes, R-Augusta
Israel D. O’Quinn, R-Bristol
Lacey E. Putney, I-Bedford
Larry N. Rush, R-Montgomery
Edward T. Scott, R-Madison
Beverly J. Sherwood, R-Frederick
Chris Stolle, R-Virginia Beach
Just to add: Delegates Dudenhefer, Hugo, and Ramadan who are in the list of “nay” also represent portions of Prince William County. I suppose Del. Torian was just absent from the vote. The greater Prince William area has 8 Delegates when we got sliced up in the redistriciting last year.
26 not voting. TWENTYSIX !!!
I hope their constituents ask them WHY.
Despicable!
This was such a clearcut thing to vote on. Either you were FOR or AGAINST.
What was in the middle? Chicken s-t?
Luke Torian voted yes. I didn’t post the yeses.
I will highlight the others.
Does anyone know the difference in the abstentions and the “didn’t votes?”
Usually, “didn’t vote” means you did not show up on the floor for roll call….abstentions are you are there, just decline to offer vote either yea or ney.
I think I might have to squeeze in the absentions. They are contemptible also.
what an embarrassment, they should all be ashamed of themselves!
What a pathetic bunch of chicken by-products.
It appears the tiny band of liberals is outraged! 🙂
It appears that liberals and conservatives alike who aren’t bigots are enraged. I would check out things before I made dumb ass remarks.
Suggesting that you read Bearing Drift.
@Punchak
Donner has a great thread about Its the Culture, Stupid. I like that he brought this out in the open. I think a lot of people posing as tea party types were really culture warriors without a place to fit in. For all many folks are trying to focus on the economy from both parties, the election really does seem to be about values from a whole contingency in the Republican Party. they need to refocus on the economy and jobs. They don’t have the votes to change the culture.
Yeah, I read through Bearing Drift………my comment still stands.
I despise the way you all set this up as bigotry if one opposes Thorne-begland for District Court. It is a well known propoganda technique to use name-calling to link an opponent to a negative symbol. This guy has been a political activist for much of his life and was successful in getting DADT repealed. Regardless of his sexual orientation, those are two legitimate reasons for questioning his suitability as judge in Virginia.
Why would it be disqualifying for a local judge to have been politically active or to oppose DADT? By the way, a lot of very conservative people thought DADT was a bad idea.
Several US Supreme Court justices were active politically at some point in their lives. I realize they didn’t have to dispense justice in traffic cases, but they nonetheless were politically active. I’m thinking of justices like Rehnquist and O’Connor. Or Black and Chase, if you want some variety.
I would not consider these issues disqualifying, but could easily believe that there is probably someone better for the job. A judge is supposed to rule in an apolitical way, but political activism calls into question whether the person brings strong biases to the job. Your examples of Rehnquist and O’Connor do not help his case as their constant status as swing votes/fence sitters suggest that politics plays/played a role in their decisions. Both justices were/are all over the map in their decisions and their lack of consistency may well derive from political considerations.
Thorne-Begland’s role in DADT suggests that he viewed his individual rights as trumping an organization in which individual rights are limited for the sake of combat effectiveness and unit cohesion. So that calls into question his views other issues. Would he enforce laws that he disagrees with or somehow restrict the individual in ways that he disagrees with? How would he handle such cases?
Before supporting him, I would want his views on these topics.
Lingamfelter and Anderson both gave speeches on the floor. Yawn. Regardless of what they say, they are still bigots in my mind.
Nice try fellows. Apparently their facebook pages are getting beaten up pretty badly. Some people are even attacking their wives. Now that isn’t right to do. However, if the delegate has a facebook page as delegate, all’s fair. Stop being a bigot and people won’t call you one.
@kelly_3406
I would think that an ideal judge, especially in the General District Court, would be one who was impartial and didn’t have an agenda.
Apparently you and I have very different expectations from a judge.