Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Some Advice for Gubernatorial Candidate Bob McDonnell

So there is a bit of a local controversy here in Virginia about a thesis written by Bob McDonnell 20 years ago.  In it, he “said homosexuality, working women and abortion were detrimental to traditional American families.”  Apparently, this is what passes for controversy these days, which comes as no surprise to me who sees so many Catch-22 situations in these various issues.

However, rather then defending his positions stated 20 years ago, Bob McDonnell has decided to state that he is more “enlightened” now.  That makes me want puke.  I may not be eligible to vote this year because of my recent move from Alexandria to the Fair Oaks area and now I am glad that I may not be legally allowed.  Such cowardice and spineless behavior is not what I am looking for in a governor.  His answer should have been, “yeah, I wrote that, so what?  Did any of you actually read it or just lap up the cliff notes from my opponents camp?” 

For the benefit of any potential readers, here is the full thesis:

The facts are these.  Working women are detrimental to family in that it sacrifices the value you place on the child in order to make money.  While I have no problems with women entering the workforce, they have to acknowledge that there is a give and take when you do this.  Placing your child in daycare in order to allow you to work does not benefit the child or the family.  A stay at home mother adds over $100,000 in value to the household every year.

Again, though, I have no problem with women who work, even if they are married.  You do what you want to do, so long as it is honest and peaceful.  But be honest with yourself.  You are sacrificing time with your child in order to satisfy your own selfish desires.  There is no shame in that, as all of us do it on a regular basis, but do not justify it by making some false claim of feminism or being some kind of modern woman.  If you believe any of that, you are a bigger fool then you realize.

Abortion and other contraceptive practices has allowed otherwise decent men and women to behave indecently simply because it disallows them to face the consequences of fornication.  While I do not care about what you do behind closed doors, you need to weigh the consequences of your actions and be willing to accept them.  As Eric Cartman said in a South Park episode, “abortion is the ultimate form of cheating: cheating against nature.”

Finally, homosexual couples are not a family unit.  No legal dictate will say otherwise.  In fact, I think homosexual couples have a much shorter lifespan on average than heterosexual couples, regardless of marital status.  I have no study to back that up, but I am sure that one has been published.  Again, I personally do not care what you do behind closed doors.  But you cannot deny that the dynamics of a homosexual relationship are much, much more different than the dynamics of a heterosexual Christian family.

While I tend to not hold up the family as an institution with some great reverence, did it ever occur to the McDonnell camp to challenge Deeds’ assertion that these ideas are fundamentally wrong?

The Republican party needs better people who will stand firm in their ideals and not suck up to the voters.  That is what Democrats do and their supporters are dumb enough not to recognize it.  If the McDonnell campaign has any common sense, it will vehemently assert the ideas presented in that thesis, instead of cowardly retreating.