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The
Blue Dog predicts the Supreme Court judicial
selection process will become a pivotal issue with
Virginia's gubernatorial and House campaigns this
fall season.
The
abortion issue is a political dividing rod - a
lightning rod for conservatives and liberals alike.
Don't
think for a second that these statewide candidates
don't know that's the gospel truth.
In
the book, A National Party No More, Democrat
Zell Miller wrote, "Bill Clinton, Jesse
Jackson, Al Gore and Dick Gephardt, to name a few,
started their political careers opposing abortion.
Over the years they all changed their positions to
pro-choice."
Miller
wrote, "For me it is no longer a political
issue, but a moral one, as it should have been from
the beginning. I hope someday Roe v. Wade will
be reversed."
Many
Virginia candidates will need to take an official
stand with their prospective political parties - or
face certain rejection at the election polls with
their core voting constituents.
Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine will need to
decide whether he supports or opposes abortions.
Not
to make light of the hot-button issue of abortion,
but the most humorous anonymous Web log post I read
of late said:
"Mr.
Kaine is neither pro-choice or anti-choice. He's
multiple-choice."
Not
anymore, says the Blue Dog.
Let
us prepare for the Holy War in opposition to the
Bush judicial Supreme Court nominee, where the
wicked will suffer and the bliss shall be saved,
with unequal amounts of grace and glory to our
gubernatorial candidates in the Commonwealth.
Because
this choice is not political - it's historical.
Welcome
to political Armageddon in 2005.
Love
and marriage
The
Blue Dog queried the statewide and local candidates:
Do you oppose or support a state constitutional
amendment protecting the definition of marriage?
For
the record: None of the candidates discriminates
against gays and lesbians.
A
Democratic source, the Valley Yellow Dog, wrote,
"I think the state should provide for civil
ceremonies for all persons wishing to enter a union,
and let the individual churches decided which of
these unions they will recognize as marriage."
Yellow
Dog went on to say, "Let us not delude
ourselves that a feckless attempt to divide our
citizens into different classes by constitutional
amendment will for one moment affect who does what
to whom.
"Heterosexual
couples live together without benefit of clergy, as
do same-sex couples. No religion I know of condones
this behavior. As living together is far more
widespread than same-sex marriage, why not pass a
constitutional amendment forbidding it because it
does not suit our religious preferences?"
GOP
gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore said, "I
believe that marriage is defined as that between a
man and a woman, and support a constitutional
amendment protecting this institution at the state
and federal level."
GOP
lieutenant-governor candidate Bill Bolling was more
emotional in his effort to defend marriage: "I
support doing anything and everything we can to
promote the fact that marriage in Virginia is
defined as the union between one man and one woman
... period!
"That
includes the passage of a constitutional amendment
to strengthen our current Defense of Marriage
Act."
"I
support a constitutional amendment defining marriage
as being between one man and one woman. In fact, I
have been a co-patron of that amendment here in
Virginia," said 20th District House of
Delegates incumbent Saxman.
Family
Foundation executive director Victoria Cobb
suggested questioning whether the candidates support
the marriage amendment "that is on the table in
Virginia-the one that passed last year and will pass
again in January."
Republican
attorney-general candidate McDonnell said, "I
support and helped draft (the amendment) in
2005."
Democratic
attorney-general candidate Creigh Deeds said,
"I support, and voted for, an amendment to
Virginia's Constitution defining marriage as a union
between one man and one woman."
Plain
and simply stated, 26th District House GOP candidate
Matt Lohr said, "I fully support this
amendment."
For
the most part, all GOP candidates obliged with the
inclusion of the specified Virginia marriage
amendment in their responses to the Blue Dog's
queries, while the Democrats, with the exception of
Sen. Creigh
Deeds, D-Bath, candidate for Attorney General,, were AWOL on the issue.
Deeds
is not afraid to speak his mind and vote his
convictions.
As
a Democrat, the Blue Dog doesn't support gay and
lesbian marriages either. It's simply against my
religion. I honestly cannot support those same-sex
marriages without being a hypocrite to my faith and
religious convictions, period.
The
Blue Dog could only wish Tim Kaine and his
faith-based campaign felt the same.
Cobb
also commented, "I would also suggest a
question regarding whether or not they support or
oppose anesthesia for the unborn."
Maybe,
next time, Victoria - the Blue Dog might attempt to
tackle that controversial faith-base issue along
with other issues dealing with pro-life and
pro-choice stands.
Aside
from protecting the institution of traditional
marriage, the Family Foundation Web site includes a
plank to establish Virginia as the most pro-life
state in the nation, including legislation
preventing embryonic stem-cell research and
reestablishing Virginia as the national model for
religious liberty.
The
Valley Yellow Dog said, "Government should not
support or refuse to support medical research on
religious grounds."
Sen.
Sen. Bill Bolling, R-Hanover, candidate for
Lieutenant Governor, offered a different perspective: "I support
stem-cell research, but I oppose the use of
embryonic stem cells."
The
Democratic AG candidate offered a different
perspective in support of stem-cell research.
"I support stem-cell research," Deeds
said. "Anyone who knows someone with juvenile
diabetes, Parkinson's or Lou Gehrig's disease knows
the promise that stem-cell research can bring.
"I
stand with former First Lady Nancy Reagan in
supporting stem-cell research as a bright hope in
the fight against these terrible medical conditions
that affect Virginians and Americans of all
ages," Deeds said.
On
a personal note,
Sen. Bob
McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach, candidate for Attorney
Generalshared his disheartening
experiences dealing with issue.
"My
father suffers from Alzheimer's Disease, and my
mother passed away 10 years ago from bone-marrow
cancer, so I am sensitive to the heartbreaking
circumstances caused by these types of
diseases," McDonnell said. "I support
stem-cell research, and private researchers can
invest in embryonic stem-cell research. But I think
it's best not to spend taxpayer dollars on embryonic
stem-cell research."
Del.
Chris Saxman, R-Staunton, commented, "I support adult stem-cell research.
While embryonic stem-cell research is legal and
funded by the federal government to a limited
degree, I would not support increased federal
spending and would not support Virginia state
funding of embryonic stem-cell research."
Matt
Lohr, 26th House district candidate, agreed: "I support President Bush and his
opinion regarding this sensitive area. I
support stem-cell research on existing lines of
cells that are already created for research. I
do not support creating new lines to conduct
research."
Jerry
Kilgore, Republican nominee for Governor, said, "I support the president's position that
we should publicly fund research only on existing
stem-cell lines, especially in light of recent
scientific findings that the stem cells can also be
found in umbilical chord blood and other parts of
the human body for study."
--
August 8, 2005
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