Bigotry or Inclusion? The Choice for Virginia.

To my surprise, the Virginia Pilot has another main page editorial raising hell about Virginia's anti-gay bigotry and the failure of Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell and GOP members of the Virginia General Assembly to push for legislation that would bring Virginia into the 21st century in terms of gay rights. The result has been that Virginia remains a very an anti-gay state and now is literally a world wide laughing stock. Those who have not watched Jon Stewart's "Gaywatch - the Virginia Edition" I linked to a few days ago need to - one cannot get much worse PR than what Stewart rightfully dished out to McDonnell, et al. No doubt that video clip may well haunt McDonnell's future political ambitions. The Republican Party of Virginia needs to look beyond kissing the ass of the self-righteous, falsely pious Family Foundation crowd and look to what is best for the state as a whole. Sadly, the party has a long way to go on that front. Here are some highlights from today's editorial:
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What kind of state do Virginians want to live in? Do they want their state to be synonymous with small-minded bigotry? The subject of campus protests and jokes on late-night comedy shows?
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Or do Virginians want to live in a welcoming state, where people of every sort are treated with respect? Do they want Virginia to be the home of talented scientists, engineers and artists attracted to the commonwealth by its economic prosperity and progressive policies — or not?
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At his inauguration, Gov. Bob McDonnell chose the latter vision for Virginia when he promised to make it “A Commonwealth of Opportunity.” But that vision went askew quickly when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued his recent edict to public universities ordering them to remove any protections for gay workers from their anti-discrimination policies.
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The reality is that Virginians as a whole are a fair and reasonable people who despise injustice. But many of the politicians they have elected and even the laws that voters themselves have supported have made Virginia a state that is unwelcoming and even antagonistic to gay men and women.
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McDonnell contributed to Virginia’s culture of intolerance by failing to include gay workers in an earlier executive order prohibiting workplace discrimination. The governor maintains that he has no authority to issue such an order without approval from the legislature. However, he did not support bills this year that would have given him that power. * Those bills were killed in an eight-member subcommittee led by Del. John Cosgrove of Chesapeake. Efforts to obtain a hearing before the full committee were thwarted when the chairman, Del. Chris Jones of Suffolk, canceled the meeting.
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The rest of the country got a good laugh at Virginia’s expense this week. But there’s nothing funny about this state’s treatment of its gay sons and daughters. It’s shameful.