Demons haunt Rerras-Northam race

The Virginian-Pilot

Start with a nugget of truth.

Taking GOP Sen. Nick Rerras at his word, he has publicly questioned whether some mental health problems such as multiple personality disorder might be caused by demonic possession.

Leaving aside conflicting interpretations of what Rerras said, that is an unusual question - illuminating the peculiar mind-set of a lawmaker now rising in seniority at the Virginia General Assembly.

In response, voters might ask themselves several questions:

Has openness to the possibility that supernatural forces drive certain mental illnesses made Rerras less supportive of conventional therapies?

Answer: No.

Might such a quirky viewpoint influence Rerras' actions if his political clout grows with the third term he now seeks?

Answer: That's a judgment call.

Democrat Ralph Northam, the pediatric neurologist who hopes to unseat Rerras, has answered the second question with a very extreme judgment. In campaign literature, Northam implies that Rerras would regard brain-injured or mentally ill soldiers coming home from Iraq as demon-possessed.

One of Northam's fliers makes the outlandish leap that Rerras would prefer stoning the mentally ill to treating them with drugs.

The fliers demonstrate a favorite tactic of modern campaign consultants - taking a kernel of truth and injecting it with bionic growth hormones. By the time it reaches your mailbox or television screen, it's metastasized into an unrecognizable form.

Rerras' team is as familiar with the technique as Northam's.

Take Rerras' ad accusing Northam of "saying NO to tougher penalties for habitual drunk drivers." The kernel in that one is Northam's opposition to stiff new fines on abusive drivers of all sorts as a way of helping pay for improved roads and transit. Northam says he has no problem toughening penalties for drunken drivers, whose carnage he detests.

Or a Rerras ad labeling Northam a supporter of "amnesty" for illegal immigrants. Trace that to this quote, "Realistically, we just can't send everybody back to where they came from." Does Rerras think it's possible to round up and deport 12 million people? If he too sees a bit of complexity, does that make him an amnesty lover as well?

It's not easy, but voters need to press campaigns to own up to the nuggets of fact that lie at the heart of various claims.

When it comes to demon possession, only those who were present when Rerras spoke can know for sure what he really said. Even then, sometimes people hear things differently. But Rerras' response provides a nugget - he once questioned whether certain mental illnesses might result from possession.

Is that creepy or not?

You're the voter. You get to judge.