Hey fellow Kossacks, I wanted to get your attention and ask for some help. There's a lot going on nationally these days, and the local and state races tend to get overshadowed. Kos has posted a bit on the VA governor's race, but even more alarming to me as a Virginia woman, is the race going on for State Attorney General. Follow me over the fold to meet the Republican candidate (who is currently polling ahead) . . . in his own words.
Ken Cuccinelli proudly boast on his website:
My Position
* Human life deserves protection at every stage of development, as the Founding Fathers outlined in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
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* Without the right to life, all other rights are unavailable.
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* Most women who have abortions feel pressured into having them. It is important for all of us, whether as individuals or groups, to offer emotional, moral and material support to women in crisis pregnancies, so that they can make the choice for life
My Record
* As a State Senator, I have supported initiatives to:
* Ensure women are fully informed about alternatives to abortion;
* Make sure parents are as involved as possible in the pregnancy-related decisions of their minor daughters (i.e., I drafted the Senate parental consent law passed in 2003);
* Recognize the humanity of each person from conception to natural death.
* Defund (of taxpayer dollars) Planned Parenthood, a multi-billion dollar organization.
* Support women in crisis pregnancies. In 2007, I co-sponsored the Pregnant Women’s Support Fund.
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* I have also fought to:
* Protect women’s health by ensuring Virginia’s abortion providers are subject to the same health and safety standards as other outpatient surgical facilities;
* Prohibit partial-birth abortion from being performed in Virginia.
As Virginia’s Attorney General
I will continue to support the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death. I will also strive to support women in crisis pregnancies.
Public Safety
My Position
I believe marriage should be protected as a sacred union between one man and one woman.
My Record
* I led the fight to pass the Marriage Amendment in Northern Virginia. I was one of only a small number of legislators around Virginia that actually went out and actively campaigned on behalf of the Marriage Amendment.
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* I have proposed numerous bills to protect marriage and families, and to reduce the incidence of divorce in Virginia.
Public Safety
My Position
I believe parents, not government, should control the education, governance, and moral upbringing of their children.
My Record
* I have a strong record of supporting school choice in education.
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* In 2007, I voted to give local school boards the authority to allow private schools to use public school buses (as is done in 27 other states).
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* In 2003, I drafted, co-sponsored, and helped pass a law that requires the consent of parents when a minor daughter seeks an abortion in Virginia. This law was passed despite the objections of Governor Mark Warner.
As Virginia’s Attorney General
I will continue to defend the rights of parents to control the education and health care of their children.
He's proud to have taken every opportunity to deny reproductive rights to Virginia women. He brags about actively campaigning to amend discrimination and bigotry into the Virginia constitution. And all that fluff about 'education choice' is just another way to say that he supports use of taxpayer money to fund programs and transportation for homeschool and church school students whose parents are keeping them out of the godless and liberal public schools. Naturally, Cuccinelli is completely opposed to any taxation and delighted to slash school budgets and attack our public schools and teachers at any and every opportunity. This uber-rightwing whack job is poised to become the head of all law enforcement in Virginia. Even worse, the Attorney General slot has traditionally served as a springboard to the Governor's mansion and national political ambitions. Not surprisingly, Cuccinelli is getting a lot of funding from rightwing organizations outside Virginia. A search on his name pulls up the RepublicanDepot website selling all kinds of stuff to support his campaign.
But we do have a choice, the Democratic candidate Steve Shannon, who actually has law enforcement and prosecutorial experience. He's underfunded and down in the polls, but it's not too late to turn things around. His first TV ad is going up (Cuccinelli has already aired nasty, negative attack ads, big surprise) and he could use some help keeping it on air and following up:
Here's a link to his current Act Blue page and another to his campaign web site.
I have had the misfortune to be misrepresented by Ken Cuccinelli as my state senator, and the idea of him being Attorney General for the state makes my blood run cold. Please help Steve Shannon ramp it up in October and defeat the ultra-right wing here in Virginia!