On a conference call with reporters just now, the campaign of Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds continued to hammer away at Republican Bob McDonnell for his right-wing thesis from 20 years ago, in which the then-34-year-old McDonnell laid out a plan of action for legislating a Christian right agenda.
And this time, the Deeds campaign brought out some moderate Republican former state legislators, to hammer McDonnell for walking away from it, after a lengthy conference call yesterday in which he disavowed all those positions.
“I’ve been following closely, of course, the breaking news of the thesis,” said former state Sen. Marty Williams. “And quite frankly as someone who served with Bob for years, the thesis didn’t have any surprises for me.”
Williams later said that this was not a college paper by a 18-year old kid, but a detailed thesis by a man of 34: “My biggest surprise is that he is running away from it. I read that thesis, and it’s the Bob I’ve always known.”
Former Republican state Sen. Russ Potts, who ran for governor as an independent in 2005, also chipped in. “The thesis that I have been reading about is exactly who Bob McDonnell is,” said Potts. “Any attempt by Bob — while I like him personally, his philosophical bent is just exactly in line with what that thesis says.”
Potts also slammed McDonnell for the constant denunciations of working women in the thesis — as well as McDonnell’s legislative record of opposing equal pay. “As the father of three daughters, three very successful young women, all with their masters degrees, I’ll say my daughters were appalled at his comments,” said Potts. “And also, Christie, Katie and Kelly, my three daughters, were appalled at his votes against equal pay. I can’t imagine my three very capable daughters, that my wife did a heck of a job of raising, should be perpetually disadvantaged in the whole pay scale.”
Former state Delegate Katherine Waddell, who switched form the GOP to being an independent, and then lost re-election to a Republican in 2007, was on the call, repeating that McDonnell wasn’t simply a kid in college: “He was a 34 year old man, married with children, he had served in the Army, and was writing his thesis for law school.”
A reporter asked the group about a natural response that the McDonnell campaign could potentially have: That they are embittered RINO’s who were rebuffed by the party. Said Potts: “My response would be that the fastest growing segment of American voters are independents, and people who believe that you govern from the middle.”
Waddell answered: “I think we are the real Republicans, I think they are the RINO’s. And real Republicans believe in less government, not more government interference, especially in people’s private lives. So I think we are the real Republicans, and they are the people taking the party down.”
