Creigh Deeds on Gay Rights and McDonnell's Continued Lies

Creigh Deeds is no Brian Moran - who I backed during the Democrat primary in June - on gay rights issues, but his campaign does seem to have finally begun out reach to the Virginia LGBT community in the Hampton Roads area. Better late than never and I hope his campaign takes advantage of members of the community who would like to support him and who certainly have no reason to support Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell (at left). While McDonnell is now running a TV ad that seeks to deflect issues arising from his CBN University thesis, Deeds MUST continue to hit at the fact that the thesis HAS BEEN McDonnell's blue print for his votes and policies while in elected office. To do this, Deeds and others need to continue to enumerate McDonnell's actions incident by incident and demonstrate how in reality Taliban Bob has never truly disavowed his prior views by concrete actions and not mere politically expedient words. In short, McDonnell is trying to play Virginia voters for simpletons and fools. Both Deeds and the MSM need to keep McDonnell's feet to the fire. As for Deeds, the Washington Post has a piece that looks at his position on gay rights issues:

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The issue, of course, is whether Deeds once held a more conservative position on gay rights than he now advertises to the progressive Democrats he is trying to energize. Deeds has already acknowledged shifting positions on the state's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, which he voted to put on the ballot but then campaigned against. Through the Democratic primary campaign, he would often refer to himself as "a work in progress" on the issue.

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Deeds aides today insisted that Deeds has been consistent in opposing discrimination against gays, noting the 1994 vote, as well as votes for bills in 2006, 2007, 2008 to allow localities to extend health benefits to partners of gay employees. "Creigh has voted consistently throughout his career against discrimination," said senior adviser Mo Elleithee.

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Elleithee says Deeds believe state employees should be allowed to put gay partners on their state health insurance plans, though he said Deeds is not certain it would currently be allowed given the language of the state's constitutional amendment on gay marriage.

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My past invitations to Taliban Bob to attend a HRBOR meeting and show his views have changed still stands, but somehow I doubt that we need to worry that Taliban Bob might actually attend - I'm sure Pat Robertson and Victoria Cobb at The Family Foundation would never grant him permission to do so.