Virginia GOP Congressman Scott Rigell Won't Endorse E. W. Jackson

Scott Rigell on left; E.W. Jackson on right

Ken Cuccinelli isn't the only Virginia Republican trying to disingenuously distance himself from the utterly insane, gay hating E.W. Jackson, the Virginia GOP's nominee for Lt. Governor.  Now Congressman Scott Rigell, who won re-election in Virginia's 2nd congressional district in 2012 largely to gerrymandering, is saying that he will not be endorsing Jackson for Lt. Governor.   Rigell - who helped lead the breakup of an Episcopal Church parish over the ordination of gays and who was personally endorsed by anti-gay hate group founder Lou Sheldon - claims that Jackson's anti-gay rhetoric is too extreme and offensive.  Yet meanwhile, Rigell says he will be endorsing Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli who holds basically the same anti-gay views as Jackson and who has even tried to uphold Virginia's sodomy statute not withstanding the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas.  Is Rigell an idiot, or does he merely think that Virginia voters are idiots who can be easily fooled?  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot on Rigell's impossibly inconsistent position:

U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell, who has long espoused conservative views on social and fiscal issues, said this week that some members of his party are becoming too extreme and interfering with solving larger problems.

To that end, the Virginia Beach Republican said he won’t endorse his party’s lieutenant governor candidate, E.W. Jackson, in the November election because of comments Jackson has made about homosexuals.

Rigell, who opposes gay marriage but not civil unions for same-sex couples, indicated during a meeting with The Virginian-Pilot editorial board that Jackson’s anti-gay comments were unacceptable to him.

In the Virginia statewide election, Rigell said he supports the GOP candidate for governor, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, but won’t campaign for Jackson.

“His views with respect to the gay and lesbian community and homosexuality in general are not my own. I’m going to leave it at that,” Rigell said Monday. “What he said and, indeed, how he said it. All of it.”  The congressman said he did not want to elaborate on his objections.

Rigell was a cosponsor of legislation in 2011 urging President Barack Obama to uphold the federal Defense of Marriage Act . . .

[Jackson] has called gay individuals “frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally.”  “Homosexuality is a horrible sin, it poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few things that we can think of,” Jackson said in an October 2012 broadcast interview with an anti-gay activist.

Rigell said he’s also more convinced – particularly after the recent state party convention – that not enough astute people are running for office.    “I am just seeing this disconnect,” he said. “We need high quality candidates across the commonwealth and across the country to set aside their personal life and have a season of public service.”

The last remark is ironic since it is the GOP base comprised of Christofascists and Tea Party cretins who are putting this lunatics on the ballot in the first place.   As might be expected, some of the spittle fleck Neanderthals of the local GOP base are not happy with Mr. Rigell based on their comments on the story. 

Scott Rigell (and Other Republicans) Endorsed by Anti-Gay Hate Group

Once again GOP candidate for the 2nd Virginia Congressional District, Scott Rigell (pictured at right), has been endorsed by an anti-gay hate group.  As previously noted, Rigell has been previously endorsed by Lou Sheldon, founder of the virulently anti-gay hate group, Conservative Values Coalition.  Joining Sheldon in endorsing Rigell is the political arm of Family Research Council, another registered anti-gay hate group. Along with Rigell FRC Action has endorsed Randy Forbes for the 4th District and Rob Wittman for the 1st District.  

And let's be clear about something: an organization does not gain a hate group designation for merely stating religious beliefs.  It takes much more - the knowing and deliberate dissemination of lies and untruths aimed at creating animus toward a targeted group.   The litany of lies untruths disseminated by FRC that depict gays as diseased, mentally unstable, promiscuous, sexual predators, etc., would fill pages and pages.  No one should by the crocodile tears that FRC has been falsely labeled as a hate group.

In addition to LGBT citizens and their friends and family members, minority voters should also be deeply concerned about these endorsements in light of FRC's documented anti-minority stances not to mention FRC president Tony Perkins' long ties to white supremacy groups.  A full list of the candidates endorsed by FRC Action is set out below.  Anyone who cares about equality or religious freedom should vote for whoever is opposing the FRC endorsed candidates.  In the case of Rigell, they need to vote for Paul Hirschbiel.

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Why is Hate Group Endorsed Scott Rigell Lying to Hampton Roads Voters?

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I'll be right up front on my dislike of Congressman Scott Rigell of the Virginia 2nd Congressional District.  Mr. Rigell has (1) been endorsed by Louis Sheldon, founder of Traditions Values Coalition - perhaps one of the most dishonest and virulently anti-gay of the "family values" hate groups in America - (2) voted in lock step on woman's issues with Missouri's insane Todd Akins, and has voted for the Paul Ryan budget plan which would rape and pillage the middle class, and (3) voted for the Paul Ryan budget seven (7) times.  Now, faced with a credible challenger in the person of Paul Hirschbiel, Rigell is out right lying to local media outlets and obviously seeking to dupe voters.  His endorsers and actions in Washington tell the only story voters need to know.  Here's a sampling of the lies and bullshit being spewed by Rigell via the Daily Press: 

NEWPORT NEWS – U.S. Rep Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, said Monday that while he believes federal spending needs to be cut, the economic crisis facing the nation cannot be overcome without also raising taxes.

"The American people are ready for the truth — they can handle the truth," Rigell told the Daily Press editorial board. "They can handle solutions. They want solutions and they want leadership."

And the truth, Rigell says, is that the "Bush tax cuts" coupled with Grover Norquist's "no new tax pledge" signed by the vast majority of Republicans in Congress have locked federal revenue in at a rate that is unsustainable.

Rigell said he's willing to "compromise" with Democrats and bring revenues up to 20 percent of gross domestic product while cutting spending to the same level.

Rigell pointed out that federal revenues are at an 11-year average of 16.9 percent of GDP, which he said was the lowest level since 1959.

He said federal spending stands between 23 percent and 24 percent of GDP — peaking at 25 percent of GDP at the height of stimulus spending.

Rigell said the budget plan put forward by GOP vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., lowers federal spending to 18.5 percent of GDP in 24 years.

But Rigell said the Ryan budget plan, which he has voted for, is "indefensible mathematically" without "revenue enhancements."  Ryan's austere budget plan makes deep cuts to social-safety-net programs, while protecting defense spending.

This change lead Rigell to disavow Norquist's "no new tax pledge" in February. However, he has voted to extend the Bush tax cuts for all income levels.

Steven Jones, spokesman for Rigell's Democratic opponent in the 2nd Congressional District, Paul Hirschbiel, said this is an example of Rigell "saying one thing in Hampton Roads and doing another thing in Washington."  "You can't say you are serious about a bipartisan approach when you have voted seven times to protect subsidies for big oil companies," Jones said.

In the interest of full disclosure, I used to live in the same neighborhood as Rigell and the man is a real bastard to put it mildly. He and his wife are pompous, arrogant, and just as out of touch with the reality of the circumstances as Ann "Marie Antoinette" Romney and her bumbling Louis XVI equivalent.

GOP Anti-Gay Screed Attacking Ralph Northam - AN UPDATE

Last Thursday I wrote about a vile anti-gay flyer (set out above) that had been distributed across Senator Ralph Northam's district. Among other things, the flyer accused Northam of "advancing the Homosexual/Gay lifestyle." Over the weekend, I connected some of the dots connecting the flyer to past bigotry displayed by Ben Loyola's campaign management group and anti-gay Congressman Scott Rigell - an individual who proudly highlighted his endorsement by hate group leader Lou Sheldon.

Now, coverage of the anti-gay bigotry that is rife within the Republican Party of Virginia has hit the national LGBT blogosphere at both Towleroad and Joe My God. The rest of the world needs to know the cesspool like nature of the Republican Party in Virginia. The anti-gay bigotry demonstrated in Northam's district is not unique. Here in Hampton, incumbent senator Mamie Locke is being challenged by an equally foaming at the mouth homophobe.

I truly hope that EVERY Virginia reader will get out tomorrow and vote Democrat so that these foul merchants of hate and bigotry do not win control of the Virginia Senate. If we think things are bad now, they will get markedly worse if the GOP takes the Virginia Senate.

Is the Virginia Pilot Trying to Hide GOP Rigell's Ant-Gay Extremism?

I have written a number of times about the religious extremism of GOP candidate Scott Rigell (on right pictured with former Virginia Beach GOP party chair who resigned due to his distribution of racist e-mails) who is running for the Virginia 2nd Congressional seat. Rigell has a documented anti-gay history going back to a very nasty split in Galilee Episcopal Church where Rigell was one of the ringleaders who did not want gays to be able to hold positions in the church. Back at the time the Virginian Pilot decided to report on the controversy, perhaps because Galilee was one of the "power churches" attended by many "movers and shakers" in Virginia Beach.

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Now, it has come out that Rigell continues to have anti-gay ties. Indeed, he's been endorsed by (and gushed over the endorsement) Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition ("TVC"), an anti-gay hate group registered by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Daily Press, which has a circulation area that encompasses a portion of the Virginia 2nd Congressional District found the shocking fact of Rigell's ties to Rev. Sheldon news worthy and did an excellent story yesterday which can be found here. This story was in turn picked up by local station WTKR-TV on its website. This shocking fact about Rigell, however, is strangely not news worthy in the eyes of the Virginia Pilot. One can only wonder why.

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Let's look at the surrounding circumstances and see what conclusions one might possibly reach. First, it is well documented in the media that there has been a wave of gay teen suicides, some directly linked to anti-gay bullying, some apparently triggered more by the general homophobia still far too prevalent in society. A recent survey reported by CNN documented that two out of three Americans believed that the anti-gay agenda of churches and supposedly Christian organizations was largely responsible for the atmosphere that makes some gays view suicide as their best option. Sheldon's TVC is a leader in fostering an extremely anti-gay atmosphere and disseminates unbelievably vile (and untrue) anti-gay propaganda. Given recent events and TVC's status as an anti-gay hate group, it would seem to inquiring people that the Rigell-Sheldon tie is news worthy. But not so with the Virginian Pilot.

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Then we have the ongoing media coverage of the issue of DADT and its possible repeal. Both Rigell and Sheldon oppose DADT repeal, with Sheldon's group making all kinds of wild anti-gay statements. Again, the Rigell-Sheldon tie would seem news worthy in this areana. Indeed, UK Gay News, an LGBT news site based on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean viewed Rigell's endorsement by Sheldon to be newsworthy:
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Bilerico Project - USA: VA GOP's Scott Rigell Lists Hate Group Leader as Endorser. Commentary by Michael Hamar. Imagine my surprise at finding Lou Sheldon, head of the Traditional Values Coalition proudly listed as an endorser of Scott Rigell, the GOP candidate for Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. After all, the Southern Poverty Law Center has registered TVC as an anti-gay hate group. One would think that even a far right Christianist like Rigell might want to avoid appearing to be a fanatic. This is an expanded version of Michael Hamar's original post on his blog Michael in Norfolk.
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Yet in its own back yard, the Virginian Pilot remains silent on the story even as a growing number of websites across Virginia - including the Washington Post's blog page - report the story. What's going on? That's what I asked the Virginian Pilot yesterday. The response I received from Meredith Kruse, state director, was, in my opinion, more than a little disingenuous:
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The publisher and editor of The Pilot have issued a clear directive to staff members who cover political campaigns, including the 2nd District race: be accurate, hold candidates accountable, and give readers the information they need to make an informed choice at the polls. Advertising does not and must not affect our news coverage, because our credibility as a news organization is paramount. We stand by the decisions we've made about which issues to cover in the final days of the campaign, mindful that readers expect our news judgment to be consistent and fair.

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Yes, the response was a bit testy. Because the Virginian Pilot has, in my opinion, two huge possible conflicts of interest going on in terms of Rigell and the duty of telling the public the whole story on Rigell and his ties to Rev. Sheldon. Here they are:

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First conflict of interest: the Virginian Pilot endorsed Rigell based on his claimed "business experience" with I suspect no homeworking being done on his extremism on social issues. From experience over nearly three decades in the area, the Virginian Pilot NEVER admits that it's wrong and a story on the Rigell-Sheldon connection obviously says something about the flawed process behind the endorsement of Rigell. In sharp contrast, the Daily Press, which likewise endorsed Rigell, unlike the Virginian Pilot opted to served the public's need to know and did yesterday's excellent story. But there's a one big difference between the Virginian Pilot and the Daily Press, which brings us to the Virginian Pilot's second apparent conflict of interest.

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Second conflict of interest: Scott Rigell's Freedom Automotive has three large dealerships, all located in the circulation area of the Virginian Pilot. And like most auto dealerships, guess where Freedom Automotive buys significant amounts of advertising? Bingo, from the Virginia Pilot. Obviously, the amount of such revenues isn't available, but calculating rough figures based on standard charges, it is not a small number.

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So has the Virginian Pilot been bought by Scott Rigell? Sadly, we will never know for certain, but in my opinion, by connecting the dots if you will, it is not unreasonable to conclude that such is the case. Obviously, the Pilot could prove my gut feeling wrong by running a story. But, I'm not going to be holding my breath.

Daily Press: Gay Community Angry With Rigell Endorsement

I had been very concerned that the local print media would bury the story of Scott Rigell's endorsement by and ties to Lou Sheldon, the head of Traditional Values Coalition - a registered hate group with the Southern Poverty Law Center ("SPLC") The SPLC tracks hate organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan, Neo-Nazi groups, and white supremact groups among others. Both the Daily Press and the Virginian Pilot had endorsed Rigell, falling for his "experienced businessman" propaganda. Fortunately the Daily Press is doing the right thing and has reported on the Lou Sheldon scandal. Whether the Virginia Pilot - which has a huge conflict of interest problem since Rigell's Freedom Automotive with three dealerships is a significant advertiser with the Pilot - will do the same remains to be seen. Not surprisingly, Rigell's campaign is whining over the fact that the extremism of Rigell's positions on social issues is belatedly being exposed on the eve of election day. I'm sure Rigell's goal was to be a stealth Christianist candidate. He is cut from the same wacky cloth as Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle and voters need to know that fact. Here are highlights from the Daily Press story:
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The gay rights community is up in arms after discovering that Republican congressional hopeful Scott Rigell displays is touting the endorsement of a California religious leader that the Southern Poverty Law Center has considered an "anti gay hate group" for five years.
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The uproar online surrounds Louis P. Sheldon and his organization the "Traditional Values Coalition" an Anaheim Calif.- based group that says it speaks for 43,000 churches. Sheldon is listed alongside Rigell's other endorsements in alphabetical order between Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms and former Virginia Beach GOP chair Chuck Smith.
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But the gay rights community noticed Sheldon first and the story was picked up by liberal bloggers throughout the state, who found inflammatory details about Sheldon sitting all over the Internet.
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The director of research for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Heidi Beirich, said Sheldon has been listed on their collection of hate groups for the past five years. Beirich said that of the 932 hate groups that the SPLC tracks nationwide, only a handful are branded "anti-gay."
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"Sheldon and his outfit consistently defame gays...(with) rabidly anti-gay propaganda," Beirich said. "They're especially nasty about pushing the idea that gays are coming after people's children."
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Beirich said that Sheldon and his daughter Andrea Lafferty are "some of the worst" when it comes to anti-gay rhetoric promoting ideas like "AIDS patients should be sequestered in separate cities."
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Rigell's campaign has already had to distance itself from a pair of former Virginia Beach Republican Party officials who forwarded or sent along emails including racist jokes and diatribes against minorities.
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Rigell is obviously linked to parts of the evangelical movement, most notably Pat Robertson, because like Gov. Bob McDonnell, Rigell went to Robertson's Regent University for graduate school. On Wednesday he held a fundraiser with former Arkansas governor and onetime presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, a star in the evangelical movement.
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[N]o one forced Rigell's campaign to put Sheldon's name up on the candidate's Internet headquarters. Cameron said the campaign was "unaware" of any controversy surrounding Sheldon or any accusations against him or his organization, and said that Democrats appear to launching late attacks to help U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye. .
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Sheldon's name was still listed on Rigell's website as of noon Thursday.

Theocracy Now!

Max Blumenthal over at the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-blumenthal/theocracy-now_b_70314.html) has a column on his experience at the recent "Value Voters Summit" in Washington, D.C. His account clearly shows how extreme these folks are and that they truly have a problem understanding that the USA does not and should not ever have an established religion, particularly the wingnut, perverted version they market. Would that the mainstream media would do more to expose their lunacy. Here are a few highlights from Max's column:

On October 20 and 21st, I attended the Value Voters Summit, a massive gathering hosted by the Colorado-based Christian right mega-ministry, Focus on the Family, and its Washington lobbying arm, the Family Research Council. With the pro-choice Rudy Giuliani leading in the race for the Republican nomination and the threat of another Clinton presidency looming, the stakes for the Christian right were high.

If anything, the movement seemed more extreme and paranoid than it did four years ago. Rev. Lou Sheldon, dubbed "Lucky Louie" by his former paymaster Jack Abramoff, told me that homosexuality is a "pathological disorder" and "a groove" that is difficult to escape from. He proceeded to passionately defend his friend, Senator Larry Craig, from allegations of homosexuality.

Star Parker, a former welfare cheat who had multiple abortions, claimed to me that abortion is the leading cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 and 34. Then she described her wish for the forced quarantine of all "sodomites." Parker was not a lone wacko milling around in the hallway; she was a speaker invited by the Family Research Council.

Neoconservative activist Frank Gaffney appeared at the Summit as well. Before a standing room audience, Gaffney exclaimed that "by not being bigoted and not being racist, [George W.] Bush has embraced Islamofascists on several occasions." Phyllis Schlaffly echoed Gaffney's comments, declaring that there are too many mosques in America.

These people are a clear and present danger to freedom of religion and secular democracy, not to mention LGBT Americans.