The Virginian-Pilot
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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!