A ‘different’ Bob McDonnell
I wouldn’t say I’m bothered by what Bob McDonnell wrote two decades ago in his now-infamous master’s degree thesis.
OK, I am bothered by it, personally.
“While the proliferation in the day care industry was created in part by the financial hardships of women fostered by no-fault divorce, it was also stimulated by the private choices of individuals to increase their family income, or for some women, to break their perceived stereotypical role bonds and seek workplace equality and individual self-actualization. Must government subsidize the choices of a generation with an increased appetite for the materialistic components of the American Dream?” is the one that stands out the most to me, when I think back to where I was when he wrote those words in 1989.
I was 17, living in a trailer park, raised by a single mother who asked for a no-fault divorce from my father years earlier not because she was trying to break any “stereotypical role bonds” or “seek(ing) workplace equality and individual self-actualization,” but because he’d abandoned her and my sister and I, and no-fault divorce was the cheapest and quickest way for us to move on.
I wish it had been becaue my mom had had “an increased appetite for the materialistic components of the American Dream,” and that help with day care had been more of an option for us. Maybe then I could have played football and basketball in high school like I’d wanted to do, instead of having to give up afterschool activities to be home to watch my little sister.
But it’s all OK, because McDonnell, now that he’s running for governor, says his opinions on these matters is now “different,” that he was blinded by the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s, that he doesn’t have a negative opinion of women in the workplace, pointing to his wife’s career and his daughters’ own educational achievements.
I wonder what he has to say about another line from the thesis, which you can read for yourself here. “The vast majority of American children have been educated in the public school system, in which textbooks and courses of instruction are increasingly oriented to humanist values and a secular philosophy.” Wonder what he meant by that? Yeah, I know, this is the part to the school-choice debate that makes me uneasy, to say the least.
“Every level of government should statutorily and procedurally prefer married couples over cohabitators, homosexuals, or fornicators. The cost of sin should fall on the sinner, not the taxpayer.” “Cohabitators, homosexuals, or fornicators”? Seriously?
“The real enemies of the traditional family – materialism, irresponsibility, feminism, lust, and ultimately selfishness – are largely outside the sphere of federal government impact.”
That one is pretty clear. “Feminism” is there in the sequence between “irresponsibility,” “lust” and “selfishness.”
Writing about the seminal Supreme Court decision in the 1965 case Griswold v. Connecticut, McDonnell observed that the Court “postulated a new view of marriage by asserting tat the ‘preservation of marital privacy’ precludes state interference with the right to use contraceptives, even though the state had long been empowered to regulate the legal and sexual relationships of marriage. In Eistenstadt v. Baird, the activist Court illogically extended the Griswold notion of ‘marital privacy’ to unmarried persons, at a time when every state in the union made sexual intercourse between unmarried persons a crime.”
“The civil government was ordained to secure the inalienable rights of individuals created in the image and likeness of God, and to facilitate a society in which other institutions are free to perform their covenantal duties to God and others. The state alone, with the exception of parental discipline of children, bears the authority to punish wrongdoers, for the civil ruler is a minister of God to execute judgment and encourage good. Government authority is constrained by both this limited delegation of power from God, and by the covenant which the people have established with their leaders, embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the constitutions of the United States and the several states, and statutes passed pursuant thereto,” McDonnell wrote.
We’re supposed to move on from this now because McDonnell thinks “different.” In what way? Apparently according to what he said in a conference call with reporters to address the issue today, he’s no longer where he was on no-fault divorce, which no doubt will endear him to the ultraconservatives in the Valley Family Forum and the Family Foundation of Virginia, who had to have blanched when they heard him say that. And he’s OK with women in the workplace now, too, though gays are still on the hit list.
The thing that bothers me the most is that last line that I cited above where he went all crazy religious on government being ordained to perform “covenantal duties” to God. I have a friend who refers to McDonnell only as “Taliban Bob,” and this is an indication of why. There’s not much difference between the political ideology of your average fundamentalist Islamic cleric and McDonnell on what role government is supposed to play.
But he’s “different” now. Uh huh. He was young when he wrote this 20 years ago. I mean, really, he was only 34. So what if he used his position in the Virginia House of Delegates to try to implement the extremist social legislation what he spelled out in his thesis? That was before his campaign produced its first 2009 campaign TV commercial selling him as a moderate centrist.
The Bob McDonnell in the TV commercials is a nice guy with a strong wife and daughters who hasn’t a bad thing to say about anybody.
That’s the Bob McDonnell running for governor.
The Bob McDonnell who will be governor is a “different” guy, too.
You’ll just have to take his word for it on that, of course.
- Column by Chris Graham
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Deeds for Governor Senior Advisor Mo Elleithee released the following statement Monday afternoon in response to Bob McDonnell’s attempt to run from his record.
“It’s not often you see someone claim that they misquoted themselves in their own written work.
“Despite Bob McDonnell’s stunning repudiation of his own agenda and 20 year legislative record, he still hasn’t answered the simple questions that were posed to him repeatedly. What positions has he changed his mind about, when did he change them, and why?
“The fact is for 20 years, Bob McDonnell has promoted a social agenda that is outside of the mainstream. It’s what he wrote his thesis about, and it’s how he’s legislated. He just hoped no one would notice while he was running for governor.”
Message from Gov. Tim Kaine:
The Washington Post ran a story yesterday about Bob McDonnell’s long-time political philosophy that I encourage all of you to read.
Link: http://tiny.cc/TYodG
Focused on Bob’s Master’s thesis, the story details his blueprint for government—and raises serious questions about his plan for Virginia if elected. As you will see, this political blueprint contains unflattering references to working women, gays and lesbians, and many others. It also contains references to policy positions – such as opposition to contraception and child care availability – that most Virginians would find quite troubling.
All people are entitled to their personal beliefs. After years of working with Bob, I believe this article is an accurate reflection of his sincere and long-standing views. But I do not believe that this philosophy, which Bob has worked strenuously to implement as an elected official, is the right direction for Virginia. In fact, I think it would take us backwards and jeopardize much of the success we have achieved in the Commonwealth in recent years.
Creigh Deed’s basic governing philosophy is simple – what is best for Virginia. That has been his hallmark during his legislative career and no one voting for Creigh would have to wonder whether he had another agenda.
I encourage all of you to take the time to read this article.
Statement from DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan:
“In Bob McDonnell’s preferred Virginia, women would be stigmatized for choosing to work outside the home, access to contraception would be all but banned and women would be denied equal pay for equal work. In Bob McDonnell’s preferred Virginia, the medical decisions of women and their doctors would be criminalized and the victims of rape and incest would have no medical recourse. While Virginians want to keep the Commonwealth moving forward, these devastating revelations prove that Bob McDonnell wants to take Virginia backwards.
“And to be clear, these were not the musings of young student, but rather a 34-year old married man on the cusp of elected office who would go on to doggedly pursue the extreme agenda he called for once in that office.
“By undermining his main argument that he’s in the main stream of Virginians, not only has this revelation laid bare McDonnell’s real agenda, but is nothing short of a game changer in this election.”
Oh PLEASE Chris. 20+ years ago writing a college thesis. I had all sorts of thoughts when I was that age trying to dream up thoughts for a college project. As we age and mature, reality tends to creep in. For one moment I had hoped that you might resist the influences of the liberals around you and leave this one alone.
Were you 34 when you wrote your college thesis? They might not have gone over that with you on the talking points they sent out.
Read it, Charles. Resist the influences of the Republicans trying to tell you it was an innocent college project. It wasn’t that at all.
OMG! Quote from the McDonnell thesis: “When man’s basic inclination is towards evil [such as] homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish and deter.”
Oh PLEASE. Bob McDonnell was 34-years old when he wrote the thesis!
WHO is Bob McDonnell to state the government needs to punish LGBT individuals. NOT my next governor.
History Note: Adolf Hitler punished homosexuals as well.
McDonnell is NOT fit to serve the public.
Let’s say you’re, I don’t know, Dean Welty of the Valley Family Forum. You don’t like no-fault divorce. You don’t like women with kids in the workplace. You sure don’tl like gays and lesbians. Bob just threw you under the bus.
Two reactions:
One, you pull your support and tell him to kiss it.
Two, you’re still on board, because you know he’s just playing politics to get votes in NoVa.
This is a mighty fine line Bobby Mac is walking.
For the contrarian view, I think abortion and religious right issues are a trap for Democrats this time around.
You can go around and say “McDonnell wants things his way with your personal life,” but then you’ve got health care reform and cap-and-trade where it’s “do things our way with your personal life.” You’re not settling the voters’ anxious but pushing it higher. And wasn’t President Obama supposed to heal everything by now?
It’s a scary year on the economic realm. The “religious right bogeyman” argument isn’t as powerful in that context.
I think this becomes a litmus-test issue for Republicans this fall. Fair or not, and politics isn’t fair, the question ends up being, What do you think of Bob McDonnell’s views on women and gays and public schools and the role of God in government? I wouldn’t want that millstone around my neck.
Deeds has Kaine and the economy around his neck.
Blaming Kaine and Deeds is nothing more than typical GOP slander and revisionist history. The Bush-era ‘Great Recession’ is on the rebound thanks to President Obama and his economic recovery initiatives.
Fact is Bob McDonnell is a ‘Evangelic Thug’ according to his own words and deeds during his legislative career. And the thesis in question is nothing more than a ‘McDonnell Manifesto.’
A roadmap to a state government which will ‘restrain, punish and deter.”
Forget the GOP arguments about Democratic Social Engineering. Lets begin a conversation about ‘Religious Social Engineering’ by Bob McDonnell.
WaPo reported: “During his 14 years in the General Assembly, Mc-Donnell pursued at least 10 of the policy goals he laid out in that research paper, including abortion restrictions, covenant marriage, school vouchers and tax policies to favor his view of the traditional family.”
No matter how much butter you spread to sweeten the McDonnell thesis.
McDonnell is still toast.
Republicans don’t want to talk about this issue. They will get plenty of chances to not talk about it between now and Election Day.
Virginia does not elect hardcore conservatives or unabashed liberals. Mr. McDonnell is by far the most conservative Republican candidate ever nominated for statewide office in Virginia. He has no chance in NoVa.
I’d say it’s a manifesto for a better way to live our lives. We’re not forcing you to do things, but trying to help the family work better.
Even as governor, McDonnell will work with the legislature and judicial branches. He’ll need to work with the people and where we are now.
I can’t let you get away with that, Mike. The purpose of the manifesto is to lay out a strategy for the Republican Party to use to change the political and legal framework on Capitol Hill to enact public policies. That is at the core of its meaning “forcing you to do things.”
The downfall of America, according to this thesis, is women working outside the home, no-fault divorce, abortion, homosexuals seeking “special rights,” the liberal media, and the Marxist Democratic Party.
And now he’s saying he doesn’t believe what he wrote anymore. Ha! Even in the manifesto he acknowledges that hardcore conservatives can’t get elected. He’s just following his own advice. When pressed on being a committed hardcore nutjob social conservative, deny, deny, deny.
I read the McDonnell thesis, didn’t you?
A better way to ‘OUR’ lives? — Speak for yourself. I’m living my life the way I chose.
That’s called being an American living under the United States Constitution and not your tainted version of Old Testament dogma. It’s easy, not better, to be a McDonnell-styled Christianity when you play ‘pick and choose’ Bible passages and what you want to believe in.
We’re not forcing you to do things? — The McDonnell Thesis clearly states “restrain, punish and deter” which is enbedded in his thought process.
That’s enforcement. It’s draconian and fascist in nature. It’s dangerous.
Trying to make families better? — You’re ideas of family is not inclusive, but rather subjugates individuals and discriminate against others. Is this Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? I doubt it.
With the thesis, McDonnell has let the Commonwealth know his version of America is not what our forefathers envisioned.
It’s his ‘church’ ruling our state. The very idea of Bob McDonnell being elected and pursuing his ‘manifesto’ sickens my stomach.
I’d say it’s a manifesto seeing problems with “liberation” of the 60s and 70s and how to solve them. Making abortion and divorce made life better for some women and worse for others.
Instead of men having to meet their responsibilities – sometimes at the point of a gun – they could say it was the woman’s choice. And some men could choose a choice chick after they tired of the one they were married to. They are problems that need to be dealt with.
I entered college as the Religious Right and Reagan rose to power. People found the country going ways they didn’t expect, and decided to act. Trying to persuade and encourage, not force.
But I’m not a politician, just a stay-at-home dad, so I’m not up on the talking points.
Three things come to mind with abortion: (1) The Supreme Court has made abortion legal; (2) It’s the law of the land; (3) Abortion is a woman’s choice — and a civil liberty issue.
Until the law is overturned, I would suggest encouraging adoption and assistance, but that would run counter to the Reagan Revolution mantra of less government.
Liberation or Liberate can refers to the word Liberty, the condition in which an individual has the ability to act according to his or her own will. The 60s and 70s has changed our culture, but I believe for the betterment of society. We now live in a more open society which is based on diversity and inclusion, and not some religious edict banning this or that.
As for divorce: (1) The practice of divorce outdates Christianity by 510-years; (2) Divorce has origins in ancient Athenian government; (3) Divorce is either legal or allowed by most governments and world religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Rather than solving for divorces and seeking solutions to marital disputes, Bob McDonnell has spent more time ‘restricting’ or ‘banning’ marriages.
Does McDonnell’s Manifesto ‘ends justify the means?’ No sireebob! Reactionary politics which rationalize solutions by moral requirements based one’s religious philosophy is absurd in a democracy.
McDonnell is an obstructionist using Calvinism and consequentialism to dictating and legislate productive outcomes in state government.
That might work with the Taliban, but not in the United States.
It is trash like “Taliban Bob’s” theocratic manifesto that drove folks like me away the GOP years ago;;.very similar to the way my favorite Senator Jim Webb was driven away. This is. Mcdonnell’s “Maccaca Moment”; that magic moment when the first.wheel starts to slip off the campaign bus..
Whatever women think about him now, Bob McDonnell just lost the crucial Virginia fornicator vote.
See:
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/09/01/gop-scholarship-loses-crucial-virginia-fornicator-vote/
Good line.
The fornicator vote? Screw ‘em.
Another good line.