Think Progress has a good piece out about how Ken Cuccinelli's (R. VA) position on sodomy laws is way more harmful than good:
http://thinkprogress.org/...
The truth is that Cuccinelli himself, along with the Republican candidate now running to replace him as attorney general, both played a significant role in undermining Virginia’s ability to prosecute sexual predators. As state lawmakers, both men put their personal opposition to homosexuality and gay sex above Virginia’s need to combat genuine sex crimes. And both men were part of a much greater effort to keep an unconstitutional law on the books.
In 2005, William Scott MacDonald was convicted, under Virginia’s Crimes Against Nature law, of soliciting a 17-year-old female for oral sex — a felony under the law and not his first conviction under the same statute. Because that law — first enacted in 1950 to prohibit oral and anal sex, as well as bestiality — has not been updated since a 2003 Supreme Court ruling struck down sodomy laws, it was overturned this year. The convictions of other sexual offenders and child predators may also be now at risk.
Though both have made fighting sexual predators a key campaign issue, the Republicans nominees in next month’s Virginia Gubernatorial and Attorney General elections — Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain (R), respectively — are among those who bear responsibility for allowing this to happen, having toed the line of the state’s most prominent Christian Right organization.
While rarely enforced in the modern era to prosecute the private behavior of consensual adults, Virginia Crimes Against Nature law was long used as an excuse to discriminate against gay and lesbian Virginians. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, state legislators repeatedly attempted to amend the Crimes Against Nature law to exclude oral and anal between consenting adults, or to at least reduce crimes from felony to misdemeanor.
The leading opponent of such changes was a Richmond-based anti-LGBT group called the Family Foundation of Virginia. The group’s legislative scorecards rewarded legislators who opposed such changes and punished their backers. Their website in 2001 identified keeping the sodomy ban unchanged as a “priority.” - Think Progress, 10/24/13
Speaking of Obenshain, here's something you should know about him:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
As soon as Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain (R) won the Republican nomination for attorney general this weekend, Think Progress dug up a bill he introduced in 2009 that would have required a woman to report her miscarriage to the police within 24 hours of it happening or risk jail time.
A spokesperson for Obenshain told HuffPost on Monday that the senator introduced the bill in response to a news story about a 20-year-old college student who allegedly disposed of her dead newborn in the trash in Rockingham County, Virginia. Jared Walczak, Obenshain's deputy campaign manager for policy, said Obenshain was trying to pass a law to enable law enforcement to prosecute a woman in that circumstance, but he ended up with a bill that threatened all pregnant women with prosecution in the event that they miscarry.
"As sometimes happens, the legislation that emerged was far too broad, and would have had ramifications that neither he nor the Commonwealth's attorney's office ever intended," Walczak said. "Sen. Obenshain is strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation."
Walczak said Obenshain met with representatives of Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia in an attempt to resolve the problem, but he was unable to come up with a solution, so he withdrew the bill. - Huffington Post, 5/20/13
VoteVets is also getting involved in this race and reminding people about Cuccinelli's anti-science, anti-environment record:
http://hamptonroads.com/...
In the spot from the left-of-center Vote Vets Action Fund, retired Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson alleges Cuccinelli's disbelief could endanger Virginia National Guardsmen deployed by the governor to respond to extreme weather emergencies.
"When bad storms hit, the governor often calls on the Virginia National Guard to save lives and protect property and businesses," states Anderson, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran. "So, Virginia needs a governor developing policies that make extreme storms less likely, keeping Virginians and our Guardsmen out of harm’s way."
"But Cuccinelli doesn’t believe in the science of climate change," he adds in the minute-long add. "Cuccinelli avoids the clear facts – putting Virginia families at risk. Denying climate change isn’t fighting for Virginia. And it’s not fighting for you."
As attorney general, Cuccinelli made headlines for challenging Environmental Protection Agency greenhouse gas findings and unsuccessfully suing the University of Virginia for the climate change research records of a former professor. - Virginia-Pilot, 10/24/13
And if you need reasons to feel good about voting for McAuliffe, here's three:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
#1- Virginia is a fundamentally corrupt state and needs an outsider as governor
When you think of corrupt states, many people think of New Jersey, Louisiana or Illinois. But those states actually have much stronger ethics laws than Virginia. As the country has learned this year thanks to Governor McDonnell, Virginia has no limit on gifts to public officials. Besides the widely publicized gifts to the governor that put him under risk of a federal indictment, did you know lobbyists funded a trip to France two years ago for legislators and their spouses with the only requirement to spend a couple of hours at a French uranium mine? There are multiple Virginia corporations with boxes at the Redskins game where legislators can get free tickets upon request. (Don't ask for a playoff game unless you are in leadership though.) On top of the "gift" culture, campaign contributions are also unlimited and can come from corporate accounts. Even the post Citizens United world at the federal level doesn't allow companies to write those unlimited checks directly to lawmakers campaign funds. Finally, if you can't buy off the votes you need through gifts or unlimited campaign money, you can hire our legislators directly! Virginia has a part-time citizen legislature where numerous lawmakers work as lobbyists the rest of the year! Just a couple of years ago as one key bill for Verizon was moving through the legislature, their legislator employees had to recuse themselves. But when it went up for discussion behind closed doors in the caucus meeting, one legislator who works for Verizon presented Verizon's case to the legislators in the private meeting! It's nice to have a legislator on the payroll, even when they don't vote on your issues.
This culture of corruption takes many good people who work their way through the ranks of Richmond and turns them into political whores unable to see the problem with using office to enrich themselves or their families. While the governor has gotten all of the attention this year, there are plenty of even better examples in Richmond that are lower profile.
It would be a big positive to have a governor in Richmond who did not come from this background. In fact the GOP candidate for governor has been highlighting Terry as a "Richmond outsider" this year. I can not think of a bigger compliment that a candidate for governor could receive. Hopefully after all the attention that corruption issues have received this year the public is finally aware of these issues and will agree.
#2- Virginia is a federal dependent state and needs a governor who knows Washington
Again, this has been one of the attacks on McAuliffe by the Cuccinelli campaign, calling him a "Washington insider." But Virginia needs a Washington insider. No state has been hurt more by the federal sequestration -- hitting Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads particularly hard. No state was hurt more by the federal shutdown last month. While some states benefit more from military spending, and others benefit more from domestic programs, Virginia is hit hard when either one suffers cuts. Having a governor who knows Washington and its players is good for Virginia! Period. One of the big differences in this campaign is over the Medicaid expansion and Ken Cuccinelli has been highlighting the additional tax burden an average family may pay in federal taxes to fund this expansion. But what he fails to discuss is that a state that opts out of expansion does not have these taxes removed from its citizens; instead we get nothing back and pay for every other state that opts in. That position is nothing but a straight transfer of wealth from Virginia to other states. We need a governor who understands that kind of math. If you want to repeal Obamacare -- or the taxes needed to fund it -- run for Congress. But for governor, we need someone who will protect Virginia's interests first and ensure we are not paying for federal programs in other states while getting nothing in return. That's Terry McAuliffe.
#3- Business Development for Virginia
It sickens many on the left and the right to see states spending money against each other to attract businesses to their area. It's nothing but corporate welfare. But as a state governor you have two options: compete with other states or watch businesses select states that offer them better deals. Terry McAuliffe comes into office with a national and international network that probably puts him on top of any other governor in the country. This access to business leaders across the world gives him an opportunity to bring jobs into Virginia that no other governor could. With many areas of the state in western Virginia suffering as their former sources of money (tobacco and coal) continue to decline, Terry McAuliffe offers their best hope in many years of someone who can bring new business and industry to the state. - Huffington Post, 10/25/13
And gun control came up in last night's debate:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
McAuliffe highlighted his support for universal background checks, a popular reform that's been considered politically dead thanks to the lobbying strength of pro-gun groups.
"As governor, I want to make sure communities are safe, I never want to see another Newtown or Aurora, Virginia Tech ever again," McAuliffe said.
Cuccinelli has emphasized that during his time as attorney general, the state has excelled at screening people with mental illnesses from purchasing guns and prosecuting those with illegal gun possession. He also said he wants to increase funding for mental health services.
"We need to do more in that direction to make sure less of those tragedies happen because they're all tied to mental health failures," Cuccinelli said at one point during Thursday's debate. "I also would note that I am a strong advocate of enforcing our gun laws Virginia is literally one of the best states in the country to do that and I'll continue to do that as governor. I'm an "A" rated NRA candidate and I'm running against the only "F" rated candidate running statewide and that's Terry McAuliffe."
When asked if they supported arming teachers and professors as a way to deter shooting massacres, McAuliffe said he did not think educators should be armed while Cuccinelli merely touted his "A" rating from the NRA. - TPM, 10/25/13
This is why local press is calling on voters to not only vote for McAuliffe but for the entire Democratic ticket:
http://alextimes.com/...
Cuccinelli is well known as a Tea Party favorite, a group that advocated shutting down the federal government, disproportionately impacting federal workers and the military in Virginia as well as severely damaging our economy. When Sen. Ted Cruz came to the commonwealth to speak at the Virginia Family Foundation event, Cuccinelli did not denounce his actions. As a retired federal worker, I am disturbed that Cuccinelli would not stand up against Cruz.
Cuccinelli used his position as attorney general to pursue an extreme social agenda that has included reducing women’s access to birth control, reinstating Virginia’s sodomy laws — long declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court — and challenging a state university’s research on climate change and the environment. His running mates — E.W. Jackson and Mark Obenshain — share his extreme social views.
For these reasons, I am supporting Terry McAuliffe for governor, Ralph Northam for lieutenant governor and Mark Herring for attorney general. For the sake of our commonwealth, all of its residents and its future, we can’t afford to be held hostage by the ideologically driven Republican threesome when it comes to social issues or the economy. - Alexandria Times, 10/24/13
By the way, Feminist Majority is helping make sure Virginia voters vote for the entire Democratic ticket:
If you are a Virginia voter, you must vote on November 5th. If you know a Virginia voter, you must urge them to vote.
The choices are clear and stark: The Democratic ticket for governor is pro-women’s rights. The Republican ticket is downright frightening and one of the most extreme that has ever run on a major party for statewide office in modern times. We can’t let it become the norm.
http://feministmajority.org/...
The Democratic ticket of Terry McAuliffe for Governor, Ralph Northam for Lt. Governor, and Mark Herring for Attorney General is for women’s reproductive rights and access to both abortion and birth control, pay equity for women, marriage equality for same-sex couples, immigration reform and the DREAM Act, gun control, the Affordable Care Act and expanding Medicaid so millions more people can have access to health care, and reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act.
The Republican ticket of Ken Cuccinelli for Governor, Bishop R.W. Jackson for Lt. Governor and Mark Obenshain for Attorney General holds positions that are dangerous to women’s lives and rights. All are committed to making abortion illegal even for rape, incest, and the health of the woman and all would restrict access to birth control.
They are opposed to marriage equality, gun control, immigration reform, the Affordable Care Act, reauthorization of the Violence against Women Act, and are either silent on equal pay or opposed to the efforts to reduce wage discrimination against women.
Check out our more detailed comparison of the two tickets. But no comparison does justice in depicting the extreme, Tea Party, anti-women’s rights, right-wing positions of the Republican ticket. Cuccinelli is a leader in the fight to eliminate legal abortion for any reason and has used his elected positions first as state senator and now as Attorney General to champion this cause.
He steamrolled the new Virginia TRAP (Targeted Regulations Against Abortion Providers) regulations through the Board of Health and made sure they would cover existing clinics in order to drive them out of business. He has fought the Affordable Care Act and was one of only three Attorney Generals who refused to sign a bipartisan letter urging passage of the Violence again Women Act.
The Governor already signed a Target Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law that will close most women's health clinics in the state. And now, the state Republican Party has nominated an extreme ticket that is hell-bent on keeping that TRAP law alive, defunding Planned Parenthood and ending all abortions in Virginia.
Lesser known Bishop Jackson and State Senator Obenshain also hold extreme positions against women’s rights. Jackson’s positions are so extreme that they might be funny if he was not running for Lt. Governor. One of his most preposterous is the satanic nature of Yoga. Just Google it and see for yourself.
https://www.google.com/...
Obenshain opposes equal pay legislation and is so extreme on abortion that he introduced legislation that would require women to report their miscarriages to the police within 24 hours of its happening. After the outrage that ensued, Obernshain withdrew the bill and said he didn’t mean it. Really.
Vote or encourage every Virginian you know to vote to Stop the War on Women, civil rights, LGBT rights, science, health care, the environment, and gun control. We must move forward.
For equality,
Eleanor Smeal
President
Feminist Majority
The election is Tuesday, November 5th. If you would like to donate or get involved with and all of the Democrats running in the top ticket, you can do so here:
http://terrymcauliffe.com/
http://www.herringforag.com/
http://www.northamforlg.com/