Virginia's Sullied Image - Racist, Homophobic, and Now Corrupt

Virginia already has image problems with many parts of America and the rest of the world.  The state has a reputation as being among the most anti-gay in the country.  And then there's the increasingly obvious racism of the Republican Party of Virginia that new voter ID laws have helped to underscore.  And Loving v. Virginia will forever be an indictment of the state's racist past. But up until now, rightly or wrongly, Virginia retained an image of not being outright corrupt.  With the indictment of former Governor Bob McDonnell and his Marie Antoinette like wife, now Virginia joins the ranks of politically corrupt states.  A column in the Richmond Times Dispatch looks at this:

The federal indictment Tuesday of former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, seems more an exercise in voyeurism than law enforcement. It’s that unseemly. It’s also historic, shattering Virginia’s reputation for honest, well-mannered government. A governor in irons is an image associated with Maryland, Tennessee, Louisiana, Connecticut and Illinois.

A disputed dietary supplement, Anatabloc is the brainchild of Jonnie R. Williams Sr., flamboyant former chief of financially troubled Star Scientific Inc. Williams saw gold in Anatabloc. To realize any riches required legitimizing his product, affixing to it the imprimatur of respected scientists and public officials. And that meant Williams needed friends in high places. So did Bob and Maureen McDonnell, but for different reasons.

The 43-page indictment depicts the McDonnells as practically destitute — tapped out by the expense of educating five children; of later marrying off two daughters; by investing in pricey resort real estate that would become a black hole; of keeping up appearances. Their difficulties were in full flower even before Bob McDonnell was sworn in as governor in January 2010.

It might have been avoided, the indictment suggests, had she listened to the people on whom the governor relied to protect his image as the earnest public official.  

Until the McDonnell indictments, federal criminal entanglements were a rarity for Virginia elective officials. 

[A]n elaborate scheme unfolded — one in which the government of Virginia, following enthusiastic assurances by Maureen McDonnell to Williams, pledged to support his money-losing company. 

While others have not mentioned it, McDonnell joins a list of discredited Regent Law School graduates.  Apparently, Pat Robertson is good at indoctrinating religious extremism, but not so good at stressing common ethics and ethical behavior.