The campaign trail can be a perilous place to take a stand on social issues. Few things can lose a vote as quickly as an opposing view on abortion, gun control and the like.
The Virginian-Pilot asked the gubernatorial candidates to share their thoughts on those emotion-packed subjects - not from the podium, but from the living room.
Both men are fathers. Creigh Deeds has four children, Bob McDonnell has five. We were hoping for unscripted answers. Here's what they delivered:
ABORTION
Q. How would you counsel your daughter about an unplanned pregnancy? Are there any personal experiences that helped you form your opinions on abortion?
Deeds: My wife and I would discuss this personal matter within the privacy of our family and offer our children our love and support.
I am pro-choice. I think these difficult decisions are deeply personal. A woman should make reproductive decisions with her family, her doctor and her spiritual adviser. I do not believe government should be involved in these decisions.
McDonnell: My wife, Maureen, and I have raised three daughters, all now in their 20s. This is a difficult situation for any parent to face. Many of us know families that have faced an unplanned pregnancy. I am pro-life, based on being raised in a middle-class Catholic family in Fairfax County where my parents taught me to respect life and the importance of family. Maureen and I raised our children the same way. We would tell our daughter we love her and her child and would support her as she raised the child.
GUN CONTROL
Q. Do you have a handgun in your home? How would you explain its presence or absence to your children? Did any personal experience influence your position on gun rights?
Deeds: I own several hunting rifles and a shotgun, but I don't own a handgun or keep a handgun in my home.
My grandfather taught me to shoot at a young age, and I've taught my children to enjoy the outdoors through hunting, fishing and horseback riding. My children know the importance of firearm safety and safely handle firearms.
I grew up hunting and fishing, and I'm a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I believe in responsible gun ownership that includes a strong emphasis on safety and personal responsibility.
McDonnell: I don't personally own a handgun. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly states that every law-abiding citizen has the right to own a firearm and that such fundamental rights must be protected. I also understand how important it is that we preserve the heritage of Virginia's sportsmen to hunt. My years of service in the U.S. Army taught me about many weapons, and I became proficient in several firearms.
I support firearm safety programs like the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle Gun Safe P rogram, which teaches young children what to do when they see a gun without adult supervision.
GAY RIGHTS
Q. What thoughts would you share with your children concerning same-sex marriage and partner benefits? Any experiences or insight that helped shape your opinions?
Deeds: We have taught our children that marriage is between one man and one woman, but discrimination is wrong and people should never be denied basic rights.
My experience in the General Assembly working with legislators on both sides of these issues has taught me a lot about basic fairness and the possibility for finding common ground in many cases.
McDonnell: My Catholic faith teaches me that all human beings have intrinsic value and equal rights and I do not tolerate discrimination. I support the m arriage a mendment ( to the Virginia Constitution) and believe marriage should be between one women and one man. As a ttorney g eneral, I hired the best and the brightest personnel based solely on merit and that is what I will do as governor.
DEATH PENALTY
Q. If conversation in your home turned to the death penalty, what would your end of the discussion sound like? What helped form your opinion?
Deeds: The death penalty should be reserved for the most heinous of crimes. In these extreme cases we have an obligation to ensure that justice is served, but this is not a decision that anyone in public office should ever take lightly. As a former prosecutor and a legislator who wrote Virginia's version of Megan's Law, I understand the overwhelming grief that victims' families suffer.
McDonnell: As a young prosecutor in Virginia Beach, I realized the importance of supporting victims' rights and sufficiently punishing convicted criminals to ensure the safety of all Virginians.
My experience as a former prosecutor, member of the General Assembly, member of the Virginia State Crime Commission and a ttorney g eneral also shaped my belief that state government must retain the ability to apply the ultimate punishment for the most violent of crimes. I do not take this penalty lightly.
As a legislator, I traveled to Greensville Correctional Facility to observe an execution. It reinforced my belief that capital punishment is the most serious government-sanctioned punishment and should only be used for the most violent and heinous offenses.
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I'm rather amused by the Pilot's..
lament here about hoping for 'unscripted answers'. What does that mean? No teleprompters? They gave seasoned, experienced politicians the same questions to respond to. I don't know if the questions were asked "live", i.e., by a reporter in the living rooms of the two candidates, or if they were submitted to each for them to answer on their own time. But regardless, what were they expecting?
These are the same worthless
These are the same worthless "topics" that come up during every election. Maybe one day the sheep will wake up. What about all the bankers and mortgage folks that committed all the fraud? What about the corporations off shoring all the jobs and ruining foreign countries with pollution, then off shoring their profits so they don't have to pay taxes on it? What about helping to deflate the overheated housing and property market? What about making the next generation of kids smarter, so maybe we can actually compete with those foreign countries that are getting all of our work that are going to totally kill us in the future? Who cares about gay marriage? Half the people I know who got married got ruined by it. Why stop abortion? We've got too many unloved kids killing those that are. Gun control is a joke, there is no control over guns. Keep the sheep wound up with these lame issues while the real criminals make off with the true value of our work.
Talk About Biased... Isn't this Interesting?
In reading the article, I noticed 3 typos. Each was under the Republican Candidate.
If anyone looking for answers on how to vote and the candidates opinions, and did a search on the Pilot site for information about the Marriage Amendment or Attorney General, McDonnell's (good) response would not show up. Look above for:
"I support the m arriage a mendment…"
"As a ttorney g eneral, I hired the best and the brightest…"
"...Crime Commission and a ttorney g eneral also shaped my belief..."
(I copied these directly from the article. Now, the fact that each of these is in a different section... well, you get the idea.
C'mon Pilot. You can do better than that. You usually do, just by omitting Republican info altogether! (And negative Dem. stuff, too.)
Listen to fellow Republican state senators, he hasn't changed.
http://www.antibvbl.net/index.php/2009/09/01/from-those-who-know-bob-mcdonnell/
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.
Right.
I get junk mail listed just like that!
Bob & Guns
As I have always said, both Bob & Creigh are bought by their corporate masters millions in money.These answers don't tell you anything about their stances.
Here's what I do know about Bob & Guns, because it matters.
Amicus brief in D. of C. vs. Heller which he states the 2nd Amendment right is INDIVIDUAL.
Took the Dept. of Conservation & Recreation to task for regulating in state parks about open carry.
Took on Mayor Bloomberg and his "straw purchases" in HB 2653. He also passed on service members using id for residence requirements and helped eliminate duplicative paperwork when purchasing a firearm.
He also believes the State Police should NOT release carried conceal permits to the public.
He opposes any more regulations on private sales of firearms.
This is an important issue to look at closely.
Even though he takes his millions from the lobbyists, Bob at least, for the most part, has it right on firearms.
Slight Correction
He also believes the State Police should NOT release carried conceal permits to the public.
Should read:
He also believes the State Police should NOT release carried conceal permit names to the public.
Then and Now
I submit that when I was 21 years of age I thought differently, voted differently, acted differently than what I do now at age 63. Thank goodness we have the right to change our minds. I think it is not ok, if we continue on a destructive path and not "see the light". I believe we as a society is so broken and so in debt, we will never be fixed even with the best intentions at the helm. Wow, Politics is sooooo much fun!!
He may say his views have changed...
but his voting record is right in line with every word of that thesis. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, its usually a duck. If he wins the governorship, I am sure he will make Pat Robertson proud.
the mcd option
That's the only one that there is in this race!
Good answers
I don't know why some continue to be stuck in the past with something that was written 34 years ago, I have certainly changed my mind, and perspective on many issues in 34 years, and I am sure McDonnell has too.
Lets talk about today and the future of Virginia, what will either of these do to get Virginia moving forward again, the last two administrations did nothing but raise taxes, and the use very bad numbers crunching to get us into a 1.8 billion dollar deficet that is now costing state workers jobs. I want someone who is going to work within the income being brought into the state, and keep the budget balanced. May the best person win. I know who I am voting for, if you are undecided, it is now time to start making that decision.
Check out his voting record.
I agree with you one hundred percent. A person's views about different subjects often change as they grow older. Unfortunately, McDonnell's voting record tells a different story. His voting record is right in line with the ideas he laid out in his thesis. It may have been 34 years ago, but his views have most definitely not changed. And as far as taxes go, I don't like taxes anymore than the next guy, but I also do not subscribe to the ostrich in the sand approach and don't think that problems like transportation will magically fix themselves. If a gas tax was a feasible solution, and no one has said that a gas tax is the only solution or even a solution, but if it was a feasible solution I would accept the tax if it made Virginia stronger and helped to fix the transportation problems we are facing. Of course a higher corporate tax would be useful as well. And don't tell me business won't come to Virginia if they have to pay a percentage more in corporate tax. They make it up with the low wages they pay in this state.
well, it was a bit less than
well, it was a bit less than 20 years ago by the brand of math I use, but what's a decade between friends? Also this was not an ordinary term paper it was his Master's thesis. Given the topic, the content and his subsequent follow through there is little reason to believe that his thesis was not his political manifesto. It was certainly written as such and as a strategy guide for other like-minded rightwingers. Finally, as a graduate of Regent university he is by definition one of Robertson's soldiers in a little thing the radical right likes to call the "culture wars." McDonnell has given us no compelling reason to beleive he isn't fighting this war against roughly half of his fellow Virginians.
It is the future of Virginia and Virginians that has those of us who do not support McDonnell concerned. What I don't understand is that given how the content of his thesis jibes pretty well with what I understand of right wing christian political thought why are his supporters backing away from it en masse.
Maybe
because the precedent was set with Pres Obama and William Ayers.
And you've changed your mind, since age 34, on major issues since like abortion, gun rights, marriage and women's rights? When he wrote the thesis he had a wife and daughters then. Why do they make a difference now?
Contradictory Statement
"My Catholic faith teaches me that all human beings have intrinsic value and equal rights and I do not tolerate discrimination. I support the marriage amendment ( to the Virginia Constitution) and believe marriage should be between one women and one man." This seems like a contradictory statement. You can't be against discrimination while denying basic rights.
There's No Contradiction there
I think some of you are missing the point.
1. There has to be SOME STANDARD of right and wrong.
2. Christians believe that GOD is the One who sets that standard (via Jesus), and it's laid out in His Bible. (Please don't start arguing about the Bible, now-just trying to explain.)
3. God says marriage is between a man and a woman.
4. If something is wrong, then there shouldn't be a law made to make it okay. "If God says it's wrong, who am I to say it's right?" (Just because 'everyone' is doing it, doesn't make it right, either.)
5. Don't get the act confused with the person.
6. The point, as a Christian, is to TRY to be more like Jesus, following God's directions, not that we are perfect(or ever will be, since we're human), but we're to aim in that direction, and ask for forgiveness for all the places we fall short.
7. As an aside, God also says living together without marriage is wrong. So either way, we should not condone either heterosexuals or homosexuals living together. Doesn't mean we don't like the people, or ban them, or whatever. Just means they're doing something wrong, according to God.
Isn't it interesting
that Tim Kaine's Catholic upbringing was a major factor for conservatives to protest his ability to govern based on the Vatican's opposition to thr death penalty, but with McDonnell it's almost a virtue.
And for the record I support abortion rights and the death penalty.
Pat Robertson McDonnell
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.
Do we really want this extremist as governor?
Yep
we do.....and once AGAIN I ask, Where is Deeds' thesis?
Feminist
What they call Feminists now, and what it was during the Feminist Movement 25-30 years ago are two different things. The woman working at home was looked down on as "the little woman," was paid much lower than any guy for the same job, were "expected" to go into "lesser" professions, nursing instead of becoming a doctor; a secretary, instead of owning her own company, etc.
It was awful back then. Feminist rose up and brought so many changes and most of it good! This world is a very different place now. It was years of fighting to be valued and treated with respect. And just like the homosexual community, we also had many who stood out and were super-extreme. They devalued the mothers who stayed home to raise the kids (boy, what work THAT is!). They caused us to STAND UP and be counted! I am woman hear me roar!!! But we forgot the basics. We forgot how important it is to be there for our children. We forgot how important our families were. We all went into the workplace. Growing older, many have realized what a mistake some of that was - at least the extreme parts. Shows up in our kids now, and our grandkids. Shame.
I think that part was what McDonnell was talking about.