Bob McDonnell is Trying to Run From His Past

UPDATED: The Daily Press has likewise jumped on McDonnll's thesis and also reviews the lynching McDonnell and ultr-conservatives dished out to former Circuit Court Judge, Verbena Askew:

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The story in the Washington Post also recalls the heated controversy over Newport News Circuit Court Judge Verbena Askew. Here's the full excerpt.

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One controversy that drew wide attention was an effort in the General Assembly in 2003 to end the judicial career of Verbena M. Askew, a Circuit Court judge from Newport News who had been accused of sexual harassment by a woman who worked for her. As chairman of the Courts of Justice Committee, McDonnell led the effort in the House. He said he was opposed to Askew's reappointment because she didn't disclose, as required, that she was a party to a legal proceeding.

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McDonnell was widely quoted at the time as saying that homosexual activity raised questions about a person's qualifications to be a judge. Spokesman Tucker Martin said McDonnell was misquoted and does not consider homosexuality a disqualifying factor for judgeships or other jobs. Askew, who was not reappointed, denied any wrongdoing and was never found by a court to have harassed the employee. *

That is not going to sit well with a lot of folks on the Peninsula who still remember the Askew controversy, which took place nearly 15 years after he wrote the thesis.

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In the wake of the Washington Post bombshell story that published Taliban Bob's CBN University thesis "The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade," McDonnell is running hard to say that he no longer believes much of what he wrote. He even has said that 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. Funny thing is, as I recounted on Sunday and again on Monday, his actions are NOT consistent with this statement - ask Michael Moore who was fired by the Virginia Museum of Natural History for being gay. McDonnell's AG Office defended the Museum and McDonnell is on record as opposing Tim Kaine's Executive Order 1 (2006). So, in my humble opinion, McDonnell is lying to try to hide his real agenda. If I am wrong, I've invited McDonnell to cal me, meet with me, or attend some LGBT related events. I think we all know that this will never happen. Here are highlights from the Washington Post describing McDonnell's latest lies:

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After a sleepy summer filled with rural RV tours and policy papers on energy and the economy, news of the thesis, first reported Sunday in The Washington Post, pushed the race to a fever pitch.

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McDonnell's opponent, Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, bombarded state and national media with details of the thesis, submitted by McDonnell in 1989 for a master of arts in public policy and juris doctorate in law from Regent University in Virginia Beach. McDonnell, meanwhile, spoke by telephone to reporters for nearly 90 minutes, saying that his views have changed on many of the issues . . .

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The Deeds campaign sent out a fundraising appeal with the thesis as its main focus. The state Democratic Party produced a video, "Bob McDonnell's Secret Blueprint for Virginia," setting a news report about the document to driving, apocalyptic classical music. And Kaine, who is chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said that after years of working with McDonnell in Richmond, he was "not surprised" by what he read in the thesis. "To me, it seems like kind of a blueprint of, 'Here's what I hope to do as an elected official,' and I think he's been working diligently to do that," Kaine said.

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The story quickly spread on liberal blogs, including Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo and the Huffington Post. By late afternoon, more than 70 blogs had picked up the thread. Democrats have long attempted to characterize McDonnell as an ultra-conservative who is playing down his views on such issues as abortion, school prayer and gay rights so as not to alienate moderate voters, particularly in Northern Virginia, who increasingly decide statewide elections.

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The reaction of women and moderates was hard to measure Monday. Democratic legislative candidates in Northern Virginia said they were stunned at the number of voters they encountered who had read about the thesis and were dismayed by it. The Deeds campaign reported signing up 300 donors since Sunday.

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For those who have not read McDonnell's thesis, the document can be found here. Read it and be forewarned. The Virginia Democrat has a good compilation of McDonnell's actions that show his recent disavowals of his past beliefs is blatantly untrue.