'89 Thesis A Different Side of McDonnell -- Va. GOP Candidate Wrote on Women, Marriage and Gays

Washington Post ^ | August 30, 2009 | Amy Gardner

[La Lydia]

At age 34, two years before his first election and two decades before he would run for governor of Virginia, Robert F. McDonnell submitted a master's thesis to the evangelical school he was attending in Virginia Beach in which he described working women and feminists as "detrimental" to the family. He said government policy should favor married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators." He described as "illogical" a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples.

The 93-page document, which is publicly available at the Regent University library, culminates with a 15-point action plan that McDonnell said the Republican Party should follow to protect American families -- a vision that he started to put into action soon after he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

During his 14 years in the General Assembly, McDonnell 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. In 2001, he voted against a resolution in support of ending wage discrimination between men and women.

In his run for governor, McDonnell, 55, makes little mention of his conservative beliefs and has said throughout his campaign that he should be judged by what he has done in office, including efforts to lower taxes, stiffen criminal penalties and reform mental health laws. He reiterated that position Saturday in a statement responding to questions about his thesis...

[La Lydia]

The Washington Post's weekend hit piece on Bob McDonnell. This was taken directly from a statement issued by DNC national spokesman Hari Sevugan, barely bothering to edit Sevugan's copy. Compare and contrast to the information the Washington Post provided on Obama when he was running for the Presidency:

Occidental College records -- Not released; Columbia University records -- Not released; Columbia University thesis -- Not released; Harvard College records -- Not released; Harvard Law Review articles -- None (perhaps 1, unsigned, and he was the editor). Harvard Law School records -- Not released.

[RexBeach]

I understand that Mr. McDonnell himself tipped off the Post to his thesis.

Is this not so?

In any case, with Mr. McDonnell well ahead of Democrat Mr. Deeds, you just knew that it was time for the Post to begin the whittling down process.

Very disappointing action by the Post; but very predictable.

[MadIsh32]

No surprise with the WaPo coverage here

Back in 2001 when VA hit its first deficit since the early 90s, all the headlines SCREAMED “deficit deficit deficit!” in VA

This of course with back to back GOP governors in office (Allen and Gilmore) with Mark Warner running against Mark Earley

Contrast to this year, back to back Dem governors have had years of deficits and cuts, yet no stories about it. Instead we get Bob’s thesis

[MadIsh32]

No surprise with the WaPo coverage here

Back in 2001 when VA hit its first deficit since the early 90s, all the headlines SCREAMED “deficit deficit deficit!” in VA

This of course with back to back GOP governors in office (Allen and Gilmore) with Mark Warner running against Mark Earley

Contrast to this year, back to back Dem governors have had years of deficits and cuts, yet no stories about it. Instead we get Bob’s thesis

[Philo1962]

I wonder if the esteemed Washington Post would like to take similar notice of the early writings, statements and affiliations of a few of Barack Obama's "czars": Van Jones, John Holdren and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel.

Jones says he's a communist.

Holdren supports mandatory sterilization and mandatory abortion.

Emanuel supports rationing health care for children and the elderly, to the point of mandatory euthanasia.

But these three men sit close to Obama and he listens to what they say.

[for-q-clinton]

Finally he gives me something to vote for! I suspect that’s why he is fine with this coming out. It allows him to run to the middle/left, but with a wink and a nod.

[tgusa]

The Compost will be doing their utmost to discredit McDonnell. Their efforts will fail. They might as well come out and say, “OMG! He’s a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N!!!!”

[ArrogantBustard]

Jones says he's [0bama] a communist.

So? Washington comPost is also communist.

[La Lydia]

Or maybe not. Perhaps the Post also heard from the DNC. According to Politico:

Statement from DNC national spokesman 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.

I have been following the Post coverage fairly closely and think they are attempting to do a job on him like they did on Senator Allen.

[muawiyah]

Prtty obvious that in Hari Sevugan's America women would be dressed head to toe in a sack with eyeslits (so's they didn't trip all that often), and would walk behind their menfolk in peacetime, and in front in war (to trigger any landmines).

Hari's women would have their clitoris' brutally snipped, and would not be allowed outside of the purity box in the backyard during menses.

In Hari's world the women eat last while the men lounge.

I could go on and on and on with Hari Sevugan's probable biases, peculiarities and disgusting attitudes, but there'd really be no point served. He is what he is. His poor mother has probably written his name off the temple wall.

[muawiyah]

Hari Sevugan probably sent the Macaca fellow to harrass Senator Allen. Wonder how close he was to the other Macaca guy who shot 18 people on the streets of Montreal that summer?

Hmmm! Sounds like a Khali Cult!

[La Lydia]

He is a Hindu, not a Muslim.

[Corin Stormhands]

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.

Of course the media will take his word for it instead of researching McDonnell's actually legislative record. Some 400 bills, of which about 8% relate to conservative social issues.

FWIW, RPV has smacked this down twice in news releases today. McDonnell has issued a very strong "Women for McDonnell" press release.

And, McDonnell has a 3:00 p.m. conference call with the media.

If you're in Virginia, don't fret about what is or isn't in the thesis. The point is that this is an orchestrated smear campaign between the Post, lefty bloggers and the Deeds campaign.

[muawiyah]

Uh, there are some things about Hinduism they don't tell you about ~ but rest assured there are groups (not all of them Moslem) that will cut off a clitoris in a New York sec ~ you just don't often run into them in the US.

Hierodulic prostitution is also practiced in India ~ with males ~ who have been castrated.

Purdah (wearing the body sack) is, in Hindi: पर्दा. They do that too.

We don't enough about this guy to trust him.

[ScottinVA]

Now watch the WaPest fun follow-up stories on this “subject” on a daily basis on this subject.

[La Lydia]

I am sure that is the plan. They are going to hammer away at him like they did Allen. Only this time I don’t think it is going to work.

[LeonardFMason]

Better to get this out of the way. Get used to saying “my views have evolved over 20 years” and “This was an academic exercise. My goal wasn’t to change the world. It was to get a good grade.” He should also say that “No one questioned Obama’s college thesis that this country is a failed experiment”. When reporters respond that Obama never said such a thing McDonnell could challenge them about where they read Obama’s never released thesis.

[nina0113]

If you're in Virginia, don't fret about what is or isn't in the thesis.

I'm not worried about the thesis - I'm worried he'll APOLOGIZE.

Don't do it, Bob! If he does, well, I just put the bumper sticker on yesterday - maybe the glue hasn't set up yet.

[Gabz]

The point is that this is an orchestrated smear campaign between the Post, lefty bloggers and the Deeds campaign.

Add the Pilot to that list. 85 comments on the article and climbing. There is also a poll about the release of the thesis.

McDonnell's graduate thesis adds new twist to campaign

The poll is at the bottom of the Opinion Page.

[Hawthorn]

>> Now watch the WaPest fun follow-up stories on this “subject” on a daily basis on this subject <<

Yep, and they’ll probably even discover that one of his grandparents was Jewish!