Creigh Deeds is surging, but his supporters should think twice.
After all, we’ve been down this road before, and it did not end well.
Back in 2005, Creigh Deeds ran a losing race for Attorney General. His opponent? Bob McDonnell – the Republican nominee for governor in 2009.
In 2005, Deeds and McDonnell were on pretty much equal footing in terms of name recognition. Over the last 4 years, Deeds has labored in obscurity. McDonnell, on the other hand, has basked in the spotlight of the Attorney General’s office. Think Elliot Spitzer, only slicker. The upshot is that if Deeds wins the primary, he’ll have to climb out of a hole just to pull even with McDonnell.
But that’s small potatoes.
The real worry is that the 2009 race will replicate the 2005 race in one really scary respect: guns.
There’s only one way to say this: Creigh Deeds is a certifiable gun-nut.
For the YouTube-challenged, here’s the upshot:
- Creigh Deeds voted to allow concealed handguns in nightclubs, bars and restaurants. Moreover, when Governor Wilder vetoed the bill after it passed Virginia’s legislature, Deeds voted to overturn the Governor’s veto.
- Creigh Deeds voted against a Brian Moran sponsored bill that keeps guns out of the hands of convicts busted for domestic violence and/or stalking.
- When Governor Wilder proposed a 1 handgun a month purchase limit, Deeds voted against the bill.
Creigh Deeds is so much of an extremist that he earned the NRA’s endorsement over McDonnell in his 2005 race. That endorsement ended up being an albatross that he just couldn’t shake. McDonnell hung it around his neck at every turn.
Democrats, of course, must have the African-American vote. And guns disproportionately decimate black families and neighborhoods. Moreover, the Moms (and Dads) in the bedroom communities of Northern Virginia – the other Democratic stronghold – harbor no great admiration for the Saturday Night Special. Deeds’ love for handguns hurts him and McDonnell didn’t waste any time taking advantage. He ran ads all over Northern Virginia and in African-American communities across Virginia that highlighted Deeds’ extreme views. The ads were devastating.
Do you trust McDonnell to refrain from using Virginia Tech against Deeds? I know I don’t. That’s what we’re looking at if Deeds claims the ring.
One more thing you need to know if you are considering Creigh Deeds: his opposition to Governor Wilder’s (the first black governor of Virginia) reasonable gun laws lowered him a coupla notches with the popular former Governor. For a long time, Deeds opposed legislation that allowed gun dealers to skip background checks at gun shows. After Virginia Tech, Deeds said he changed his mind, but continued offering a series of amendments to the legislation that resulted in watering the bill down substantially.
This is what Wilder has to say about Deeds:
Wilder, who has been wooed by all of the gubernatorial candidates but has not said whether he will endorse anyone in the primary, said he was disappointed with Deeds's reversals. "What Creigh is saying now is, 'I've changed my philosophy,' " Wilder said. "Suppose we had elected you before? Would you have changed?"
It doesn’t look to me like Wilder is any more excited about Deeds this cycle than he was four years ago – when he refused to endorse Deeds for Attorney General, largely because McDonnell has saner ideas about reducing gun violence.
If Wilder sits on the sidelines for this year’s Governor race , the message will be received loud and clear. African Americans won’t trust Deeds and won’t show up at the polls.
It’s time to choose. I’m choosing Brian Moran for VA-Gov.