Bob McDonnell, Virginia’s former attorney general and front-runner for in the state’s gubernatorial campaign, wishes you never found his college thesis. Because in that 20-year-old, 93-page document, Mr. McDonnell argues (quite convincingly, if you’re into this sort of thing) that discriminating against gays and other minorities is just fine, because it protects straight married people. He would now like apologize, and tell you his mind has changed.
Among the things McDonnell (pictured, right) considered a threat to marriage: gays, working women, and fornicators.
In the thesis, “The Republican Party’s Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade,” McDonnell described working women as “detrimental” to the traditional family. He criticized a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing contraception for unmarried couples and decried the “purging” of religion from schools. He advocated character education programs in public schools to teach “traditional Judeo-Christian values,” and he criticized federal tax credits for child care expenditures because they encouraged women to enter the workforce.
But he’s changed his mind since then! Well, not about discriminating against gays. Working women, though, good for you gals!
In his call with reporters Monday, a calm and prepared McDonnell explained in detail how he feels about issues that include gay rights, abortion and women’s rights. He mentioned several times that on some issues he agrees with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), the state’s first Catholic governor, as well as with President Obama.
McDonnell said he still believes marriage should be limited to one man and one woman but thinks that discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation or marital status has no place in government or on the job. He said that he no longer agrees with what he wrote about women in the workforce and that regardless of his personal views, he “would follow the law,” as he did as attorney general.
McDonnell remains ahead of Democrat R. Creigh Deeds (pictured, left), who hurriedly assailed McDonnell for his backwoods positions. And say what you will about the ethics in drudging up an opponent’s dirty little secrets, but this paper was published twenty years ago. Before Blogger and YouTube! Whoever found it, and circulated it, deserves a bravo.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Naturally, BET founder Sheila Johnson is hella pissed. But hey, maybe it’s better than having a governor who still has an active anti-gay agenda?
UPDATE: Hahahaha. Turns out McDonnell tipped off a reporter about his thesis all by himself.
dvlaries
Need ignorance at you next party? My state can deliver it. Shit, we came this close to putting Ollie North in office!
schlukitz
Virginia Is For Lovers.
But only if you are one man and one woman!
tavdy79
@dvlaries: Perhaps you should check out SC. While their vice-governor is a gay-bashing closet case, their governor is definitely straight – assuming his Argentinian mistress wasn’t a second beard! But even that pales in comparison to the latest from the Palmetto state: the chairwoman of the State Board of Education, and former member of the SC Republican Party executive committee, has resigned amidst the revelation that she used to write hardcore porn and publish it online.
Can you say “political implosion”?
Joanaroo
Hi All! Tavdy 79, I love that news about the porn lady! On a Democratic/Straight-and-Gay-marriage-supporting/Comic Book/Political/Petula Clark lover, friend’s blog (www.dograt.com-check it out) 2 years ago I commented the GOP would hopefully implode. I hope I am getting my wish!
Joanaroo
Oops! Meant that to read Dograt is straight and supports gay marriage! He lives in MA. Now! This idiot AG from VA. What primitive 21st century tribes’ cave did they dig him out of? He is the type that makes my blood boil! Schlukitz-I feel my window opening, my head going out and my best Peter Finch coming on! 🙂
schlukitz
@Joanaroo:
HaHa. Go for it, girlfriend!
You’ll feel, oh, so much better for having done so. LOL
ThinkRealHard
Bob McDonnell = Catholic.
Joanaroo
Yup, Think Real Hard-like I said-a primitive 21st century tribe! 🙂 Like that group found, I think in the 1970s or 1980s that lived like cavemen but lived close to civilization.
Dudous Migratorious
Even though California disappointed in the last election, I’m still holding ‘out’ hope. At least our politicians often start out as actors instead of the other way around.
roger
he should have just sealed his academic records. it worked for president obama.
M Shane
No. 9 · roger; I’m not sure, if indeed Obama had his academic records , sealed, why. Clearly since he was the Editor and then President of the Harvard Law Review, he was at the top of his class. He seciuer a position Teaching Consttutional Law at the U. of Chicago. I seriously doubt that you know what you are talking about in the least.
roger
no. 11, m shane:
thanks for trying. as such an educated person as yourself knows, we don’t have access to transcripts or research from obama’s undergraduate or law school careers. i don’t doubt obama’s intelligence. as we all know and have been told for months now: he’s. the. smartest. president. ever.
he’s smart. i get it. but, unlike bob mcdonnell, he sealed his academic recoerds. so, we DON’T know the topic of HIS research. we know what mcdonnell reearched. but we don’t know what obama researched: did he write about socialism? did he write about indoctrination? did he write about revolution? WE DON’T FUCKING KNOW! because he has ensured that we can’t know. and it’s an UNPRECEDENTED move for a president to be SO fucking guarded about his academic records.
so much for the most transparent administration ever…..
so, thanks for trying. but shut the fuck up until you know what you’re talking about. you can now go back to worshiping your new obamessiah.
roger
oh, and m. shane: you should also learn to count and read. FUCK. you must be retarded. my comment was number 10, not 9, fucktard.
B
Before laughing too hard at Bob McDonnell for tipping off reporters about his senior thesis, you might want to ask if he did it on purpose to further his campaign. The advantages for him are
1. Bait for an opponent to criticize – to most people criticizing someone for something dumb they did while trying to complete a class assignment in college sounds petty. You know, like “and during his junior year, he got drunk at a party held after his school’s football team beat their most important rival and threw up on his girlfriend”. Enough people did something dumb as teenagers or young adults that he’ll get some sympathy if the press and his opponent harp on it.
2. With the thesis released, he can pass it off as a “youthful indiscretion” to get the votes of moderates and let the news about the thesis convince rednecks that he is really one of them. So he doesn’t have to make homophobic comments to get the homophobe vote, which would cost him the moderate vote as moderates generally don’t like obvious bigots, and he won’t be worried about the feminist or gay vote if he thinks he won’t get that anyway.
While there is an obvious negative – the thesis looks bad given its description – leaking it may have more advantages than disadvantages.
Thos
Holy f*ck, the douche got elected. I need to move to a new state.