GOP Gov nominee in Virginia opposed contraception
AG Bob McDonnell, the GOP’s nominee for the ’09 Governor’s race in Virginia, is currently enjoying a modest lead in the polls; but what are Virginia voters going to make of this?
At age 34, two years before his first election and two decades before he would run for governor of Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell submitted a master’s thesis to the evangelical school he was attending in Virginia Beach in which he 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 school? Pat Robertson’s Regent University, best known for producing Bush Administration hacks like Monica Goodling. Of course, McDonnell now claims his thesis “was simply an academic exercise and clearly does not reflect my views.” But WaPo notes:
During his 14 years in the General Assembly, McDonnell pursued at least 10 of the policy goals he laid out in that research paper, including abortion restrictions, covenant marriage, school vouchers and tax policies to favor his view of the traditional family. In 2001, he voted against a resolution in support of ending wage discrimination between men and women.
Virginia is a Purple State, with a term-limited Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, narrowly going for Obama after supporting GOP presidential candidates for decades. These ultraconservative associations could cost him big time in NoVA (northern Virginia), the state’s fastest growing area and most vital swing region.
Tags: 2009 Elections, Bob McDonnell, contraception, Virginia
I find this an extremely fascinating story. Who discovered the master’s thesis? McDonnell is pretty much stuck between a rock and hard place now. Does he repudiate his earlier views and risk upsetting his base? If he sticks to these views he risks alienating moderates and charging up Democrats.
This story turned a boring and uninteresting governor’s race into a fascinating one. In fact both governor’s races happening right now are fascinating. The Corzine-Christie race is heating up as well.
And he criticized federal tax credits for child care expenditures because they encouraged women to enter the workforce.
This will go over well in NoVa too. And the thing about NoVa is that it is (or was until the real estate crash) moving south — along I95. It will be amusing to see how McDonnell “strikes the balance”. Once a wingnut, always a wingnut I’m thinking.
The master’s thesis, if I’m not mistaken, was brought up by McDonnell himself in a prior interview with the Washington Post – so they did some actual reporting and looked it up.
…but what are Virginia voters going to make of this?
Nothing- other than elect him governor.
How can you trust the campaign promises of a man who bullshitted an entire master’s thesis just to burnish his cred with misogynist fringe wackos?