On June 8, 2010 the Republican Party will hold a primary to nominate the candidate for the GOP ticket to oppose incumbent Democrat Glenn Nye. Under Virginia's election laws any registered voter can vote in this primary - something that I encourage every reader in the 2nd District to do. The field of primary candidates consists of five men - including Ken Cuccinelli want to be Scott Rigell - and one woman, Jessica Sandlin. At last Thursday's third anniversary event of HRBOR, Jessica was the only Republican candidate to attend. Unlike the male contenders, Jessica Sandlin is a moderate on social issues and does not see the LGBT community as a group that should be kept as second class citizens.*
Between speaking with her at the HRBOR event, reviewing her campaign website, and a telephone interview today, Jessica Sandlin comes across as the type of Republican that I was myself a number of years ago before I left the GOP after it began to be co-opted by the Christian Right. Indeed, she's the type of Republican my entire family once was before the religious extremists turned the GOP into a defacto sectarian party. The AltDaily has a good interview with Jessica that I also recommend that can be found here. Here are highlights from Jessica's response on LGBT rights issues:
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If we get the government out of the marriage business altogether, and we call it civil unions, we can leave “marriage” for churches. I support equality- equal access to the courthouse. The church calls marriage a vocation, a work, and it is a powerful institution. I believe that two adults who love each other should be able to enter this institution, but having said that I do not want to legislate our churches. We are purely talking about the civil side.
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We know that spouses take care of each other and take a burden off the taxpayer dollars, and so it is the fiscally conservative position to support two people who want to live as spouses. It is part of the American tradition to foster self-sufficiency; we don’t believe in letting government do as much- we’d rather encourage volunteerism and let people write off donations to non-profits. Given this, it makes societal sense to support spousal relationships- they improve the welfare of all of society.
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I think the fact that the gay and lesbian community cannot ID one phrase for this union (civil marriage, civil union, domestic partnership) points out the difficulty. I don’t care what we call it. I am just for equal and equal. I am pro-family.
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I plan on voting for Jessica on primary day and hope that others will join me in doing so. We do not need more religious extremists and macho ex-seals in Congress. Likewise, we do not need another anti-gay Republican seeking political office.
*
If we get the government out of the marriage business altogether, and we call it civil unions, we can leave “marriage” for churches. I support equality- equal access to the courthouse. The church calls marriage a vocation, a work, and it is a powerful institution. I believe that two adults who love each other should be able to enter this institution, but having said that I do not want to legislate our churches. We are purely talking about the civil side.
*
We know that spouses take care of each other and take a burden off the taxpayer dollars, and so it is the fiscally conservative position to support two people who want to live as spouses. It is part of the American tradition to foster self-sufficiency; we don’t believe in letting government do as much- we’d rather encourage volunteerism and let people write off donations to non-profits. Given this, it makes societal sense to support spousal relationships- they improve the welfare of all of society.
*
I think the fact that the gay and lesbian community cannot ID one phrase for this union (civil marriage, civil union, domestic partnership) points out the difficulty. I don’t care what we call it. I am just for equal and equal. I am pro-family.
*
I plan on voting for Jessica on primary day and hope that others will join me in doing so. We do not need more religious extremists and macho ex-seals in Congress. Likewise, we do not need another anti-gay Republican seeking political office.
5 comments:
THANK YOU, Michael! Honored to be here.
Jessica
Great read, she is good people!
great read, she is good people!
Michael, what a great write up. I talked to Glenn Nye last Saturday night at the Cape Charles HarborFest and we went over Jessica's top five action items:
1. Balancing the Budget and Saving Social Security
2. Social Security Credit for Mothers and Caregivers
3. Offshore Wind Farms to Create JOBS
4. Renewable Energy NOW
5. Excellence in Public Education
He was shocked that Jessica was running on these issues and when I suggested that he consider voting for Jessica he nodded his head.
She’s a financial conservative, social moderate environmentalist!
If you're not voting in the primary, Tuesday June 8th because it's a republican primary you need to check out Jessica and if nothing else help send a message to the right wing republican's enough is enough!
Thanks for the posting... I loved it!
Fishfear- Your comment would net publish, so here it is:
Michael, what a great write up. I talked to Glenn Nye last Saturday night at the Cape Charles HarborFest and we went over Jessica's top five action items:
1. Balancing the Budget and Saving Social Security
2. Social Security Credit for Mothers and Caregivers
3. Offshore Wind Farms to Create JOBS
4. Renewable Energy NOW
5. Excellence in Public Education
He was shocked that Jessica was running on these issues and when I suggested that he consider voting for Jessica he nodded his head.
She’s a financial conservative, social moderate environmentalist!
If you're not voting in the primary, Tuesday June 8th because it's a republican primary you need to check out Jessica and if nothing else help send a message to the right wing republican's enough is enough!
Thanks for the posting... I loved it!
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