See the “flip” for a “State of the Race” memo from the Mark Herring campaign, but the bottom line is this:

“After voters are presented with information about Obenshain’s sponsorship of a bill that forces women to report miscarriages to the police, the race moves against him, with Herring capturing majority support and leading, 52 to 44 percent.”

Frankly, I’m horrified that the numbers aren’t even worse than that. In my view, anyone who proposes a law that would make women who have miscarriages report them to the police or be subject to arrest should be automatically disqualified from public office, let alone from being the Attorney General of Virginia. Still, the bottom line is that this DOES hurt Mark Obenshain, to the extent that if voters know about it, he loses by 8 points to Mark Herring.

No wonder why Obenshain, when asked about this bill, simply lies through his teeth, essentially claims he had no idea what was in his own bill and withdrew it as soon as he found out. Uh huh, and if you believe that one, I’ve got some nice swampland to sell you…

Meanwhile, the key in this important race is for Mark Herring to have the resources to let Virginia voters know about Mark Obenshain’s extreme record, including his bill to criminalize miscarriages. If you can give $25, $50, whatever you can spare, that would be fantastic and MUCH appreciated. Please click here so that Mark Herring can get the word out to as many Virginians as possible about Mark Obenshain’s extreme record on women’s health and many other issues. Thanks.

To: Interested Parties

From: Kevin O’Holleran, Campaign Manager, Mark Herring for Attorney General

Memo: State of the Race: Miscarriage Bill Sinks Obenshain

A poll conducted by the Mark Herring for Attorney General campaign shows that, no matter how much he tries to run and hide from his record, Mark Obenshain’s bill to criminalize miscarriages makes his path to victory exceptionally difficult.

According to an internal campaign polling memo provided by Myers Research, “From the outset, the contest for Attorney General between Democrat Mark Herring and Obenshain is within the survey’s margin of error. After voters are presented with information about Obenshain’s sponsorship of a bill that forces women to report miscarriages to the police, the race moves against him, with Herring capturing majority support and leading, 52 to 44 percent.”

The polling went on to test Obenshain’s response one that he has given all across the state.

Putting aside questions of the veracity of Obenshain’s response, the response does very little to curry favor with voters in Virginia. According to the memo, “the response that Obenshain gives when asked about his authorship of the miscarriage bill…falls entirely flat among voters. Indeed, just 32 percent of voters say Obenshain’s response makes them more likely to support him while a majority (50 percent) report that it actually makes them less likely to support Obenshain.”

Since securing the nomination to become part of what Republican Lt. Governor Bill Bolling called “the most ideologically driven ticket that we have seen in the history of our state,” Mark Obenshain has had to answer questions about his outrageous bill to criminalize miscarriages.

While Obenshain has tried to focus attention away from this issue, the voters of Virginia have continued to wonder why Obenshain would sponsor such a heinous bill. Though Obenshain may continue to try and run and hide, the data clearly shows this will remain an issue in the campaign.

To read the entire memo, visit: www.HerringForAG.com/ObenshainMiscarriageMemo.

From the DNC: 

Today’s settlement in Chef Todd Schneider’s case is another reminder that Ken Cuccinelli’s time as Attorney General has been plagued by poor decisions and scandals. His recusal from the Schneider case has cost Virginia’s taxpayers more than $240,000.

Whether it’s the $18,000 in gifts from Jonnie Williams, the gas royalty case in Southwest Virginia, or having to recuse himself from the chef case because of a conflict of interest, Ken Cuccinelli has consistently shown bad judgment that casts serious doubt about his ability to lead the Commonwealth.

Cuccinelli Recused His Office From Case Against Former Executive Mansion Chef Todd Schneider, Citing A “Conflict Of Interest.”  “This month, Cuccinelli's office requested, and was granted, permission by the court to withdraw from prosecuting the Schneider case… ‘Due to a practical conflict of interest, The Office of the Attorney General has been recused from matters related to the prosecution of the former chef at the Executive Mansion,’ McDonnell spokesman Tucker Martin said in a statement.” [Richmond Times-Dispatch, 5/16/13]

Washington Post: Cuccinelli’s Recusal Appears To Be Attempt To Distance Himself From Jonnie Williams And Star Scientific. The Washington Post reported, “Cuccinelli’s recusal effort seems aimed at helping him make a clean break from all matters related to [Jonnie] Williams and Star [Scientific], a financially troubled company that is the subject of a federal securities investigation and two shareholder lawsuits.” [Washington Post, 4/24/13]

Cuccinelli’s Campaign Claimed His Official Staff “Walled Off” Cuccinelli From The Governor’s Mansion Chef Case For Five Months Due To His Conflict Of Interest With Jonnie Williams.  “Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II’s staff purposely shielded him from allegations of improper behavior by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell for five months last year, knowing the attorney general was friendly with a key donor at the center of those accusations, according to new information released by Cuccinelli’s gubernatorial campaign. Cuccinelli (R) had stayed at the home of Star Scientific Inc. chief executive Jonnie R. Williams Sr. shortly after he took office in 2010, so Cuccinelli’s deputy ‘walled off’ Cuccinelli from a separate criminal investigation into whether a chef at the governor’s mansion had embezzled food, campaign officials said.” [Washington Post, 7/3/13] 

The State Of Virginia Racked Up Nearly $250,000 In Legal Fee On The Case Of Chef Schneider After Cuccinelli Recused Himself From The Case And Hired Outside Counsel. “Legal fees are racking up in the now infamous embezzlement case against former Virginia executive mansion chef Todd Schneider. The state has spent almost $250,000 on private counsel to represent state employees in the case…  Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli would normally prosecute Schneider, and represent state employees in their official capacities, but recused himself earlier this year due to the inherent conflict of interest, leading the state to hire outside counsel.” [WVIR-TV, 9/12/13] 

by Paul Goldman

On a day when the respected Quinnipiac poll shows GOP GUV guy Ken Cuccinelli in a statistical dead-heat with favored Democrat Terry McAuliffe (a +6 Dem sample to boot if you want to believe this poll), the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s top strategy guy does “The LaCivita Again”: he is in the Washington Post leading a pointless, self-defeating public purging of Lt. Governor Bill Bolling from the Republican Party.

Except for LaCivita’s strategy of refusing to return the gifts to Jonnie Williams – which by the way the Q-poll shows has caused a huge spike Cuccinelli’s negatives (the AG’s negatives were a manageable 41% right as Terry’s ad tying Cuccinelli to Williams began reaching the required saturation levels and driving these negatives to a normally deadly 51%) – this insane consultant war against Bolling is the worst blunder yet.

Admittedly, LaCivita is swift-boating mad at his former friend, Bolling’s chief consultant Boyd “Show Me The Money” Marcus, getting top dollar to jump to Terry. But if political consultants were required to actually have an ethical code like lawyers or even used car salesman (they have to abide by federal laws preventing unethical sales tactics], then LaCivita as quoted in Post today would be grounds for malpractice action, if not debarment.

I ask: Precisely how does a Cuccinelli-consultant-led public war against Bolling, attempting to get him thrown out of the GOP (which technically isn’t possible under VA law anyway) in the middle of a GUV race help the beleaguered Attorney General right now?

 

Look at the Q-poll, or any other poll, or just use your friggin’ common sense: Cuccinelli is losing this campaign because Republicans are not rallying to his cause as it were. In the Q-poll, Cuccinelli is taking the worst beating in more than a generation among Democrats, with some evidence liberal to moderately liberal women are really eager to come to the polls and vote against him.

Indeed, the Q-poll reflects the big surprise of the 2013 election so far: the claim by pollsters that this is going to be the watershed year when Democratic turnout, as a percentage of the electorate, approaches presidential year levels in terms of the margin over self-identifying Republican ballot casters. The Q-poll, as indicated, has the Dem over GOP margin statistically the same as the big margin that gave Virginia to President Obama in 2012.

Indeed, the Q-poll shows that Cuccinelli – amazingly – is even among self-identified independents, which defies his internal image. Does this prove, as some suggest, that a percentage of normally GOP identifiers are hiding in the Indies column this year due to unhappiness with Reverend Jackson, and the Cantor-led GOP in Washington? The pollsters could help us out here if they would give us the independent vote in three parts, those independents who actually lead DEM or GOP on a normative basis, and those folks who say they are straight Indies.

BUT EITHER WAY: The Q-poll, along with others, shows that Cuccinelli’s BIG PROBLEM on a purely political basis is that HE CAN NOT RALLY HIS OWN PARTY FAITHFUL. Since the Q-poll doesn’t show a fatal bleed out of anti-Cuccinelli Republicans, then A WAR WITH BOLLING AT THIS STAGE IS AN ABSURD STRATEGY.

“But Paul” you counter “it is becoming evident that Bolling is doing all he can to help McAuliffe, hurt Cuccinelli, so what does Cuccinelli have to lose since he has to assume Bolling will back Terry publicly at some point despite promises to the contrary.”

Let’s assume, arguendo, this is true, let’s assume that Bolling is going to follow his guru Marcus into the Democratic camp, Terry has promised Bolling a cabinet job, it is clear Cuccinelli will not do that if he wins. In 2001, Republican LG John Hager sent signals to his folks to back Democrat Mark Warner after Hager lost the GOP GUV nod to a conservative GOP Attorney General. Hager got a cabinet job.

Meaning: We got the precedent. As for Bolling’s promise, I don’t figure that is worth a old Twinkie wrapper since Bolling blames Cuccinelli for breaking a promise not to run for GUV this year. In that respect, Bolling breaking his promise about  10 days before the election – claiming that he couldn’t stay quiet for the good of the Commonwealth – would be seen by the LG’s posse as poetic justice.

SO: If I were the Cuccinelli people, I would be basing my strategy on Bolling “coming out” and being the first LG in the state’s history to go ACDC on us, “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” kind of thing. Okay, maybe not so cheap, but you get the drift here.

THUS I REPEAT;  If you fear Bolling is going to jump ship, then the last thing you want to do is given him AN EXCUSE based on the fact his party kicked him out. If Bolling jumps, there is no reason right now for the public to believe he did it as a matter of principle. Except for the fawning members of the state’s editorial boards – who considered Bolling a right wing nut job until he became their favorite Republican this year – the GOP grass roots and others so inclined had no love lost for Bolling. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN CRUSHED IN A PRIMARY. Cuccinelli made the huge mistake, as did Earley in 2001, using the convention process to stack the process against Bolling. But then Bolling quit, he didn’t fight for anything.

Except for the media, who the heck is Bolling to THE VOTERS THAT CUCCINELLI NEEDS TO WIN?

Look at the polling: Bolling drew as much from Democrats as he did Republicans. Indeed, Bolling was getting around 13-15% percent of the vote: Robert Sarvis, the pro-druggie, education-destroying Libertarian is getting 7-10% in the polls. Hello!

Bolling has no constituency per se: rather, he is only useful as Exhibit # 1 in the case against Cuccinelli as a standard deviation or two outside the normative GOP ambit. Bolling can get massive publicity for that claim by backing Terry.

However, how credible is it when the record says that he has been promised a job and his top guru has jumped already for the money?

IN TRUTH. if LaCivita wasn’t so intent on thinking he was more important than his candidate, he would know what Democrats instinctively know, the polls show that voters are not all that impressed with what they see as the principled nature of any of the candidate’s for statewide office. They barely know four of the 6, and the two they do know have not impressed them all that much since they see the GUV campaign by an astounding 3-1 margin as being nothing but a negative, character-assassination fight: and we haven’t even hit the usually worst month, October’s advertising.

THIS IS THE ONLY REASON CUCCINELLI IS STILL STANDING.

Get a grip: How else does a guy with a 34%-51% negative image still have a statistical chance of winning? The Q-poll says Terry is 38%-38%, not great, but it will do for government work with a good closing campaign in this terrain.

Assume their images were reversed: Dr. Sabato would be calling this race as a GOP sweep over and done with.

My point: Image wise, the failure of Cuccinelli to give back the Williams gifts until his negatives hit 50% is, as I have written, doing “The LaCivita”, following a mindless strategy.

YET: Despite the highest negative, by far, of anyone who has ever been elected Governor, Cuccinelli has managed to avoided being politically killed by his own high command. It makes no sense to me, and as I say, the Q-poll showing it to be a statistical dead heat, with a + 6 DEM electorate, doesn’t compute.

But it does tell me this: the stuff in the Washington Post the other day about Terry saying he would veto any budget without the state going the full Monty on Obamacare/Medicaid, is potentially a lot bigger deal than it might otherwise be. Cuccinelli has no issue right now that can win him over voters who don’t much like him. Again: There are roughly 1/10 of the electorate which has a negative opinion of Cuccinelli but not a jelled view of Terry. That’s HUGE. It is a great cushion heading into the last weeks of the campaign.

Increasingly, Cuccinelli’s chances – to the extent there is a realistic one – is based on what I wrote months ago, someone figuring out a way of firing-up his lagging energy among even his own base of voters while improving his image among Independents, which are split right now between the candidates, and who don’t have a favorable view of Terry.

THAT IS NO EASY FEAT. Thus wasting your time attacking Bolling, having your top consultant engage in a GOP war IN ORDER TO GET TEA PARTY CLIENT’S NEXT YEAR, makes no sense.

Democrats love it and rightly so. As I say, a Bolling endorsement of Terry could backfire given that Bolling’s “moderate” image is totally a fantasy pushed by the media. He has no standing with Independents in this state despite two winning statewide elections. If he has a constituency, it is with Republicans. BUT IF HE TURNS ON CUCCINELLI FOR MCAULIFFE, it could produce a real GOP backlash since Bolling would have to provide some specific reasons.

Bolling has said it was a pro-life guy down the line, real conviction. There is thus no way he can credibly jump parties to back the Democrats without engaging the base of the GOP. Right now, this base ISN’T JUICED TO VOTE FOR CUCCINELLI.

Do Democrats really want Republicans to actually feel sympathy for Cuccinelli, to actually get guys like Governor Christie and others to figure backing Cuccinelli to counter turnout coat Bolling is win-win for their 2016 hopes?

FACT: The current narrative, the current state of the race favors Terry. It maybe be the Cuccinelli is in a statistical tie: that wouldn’t change my prediction of a DEM sweep.

As I have said, the threat to the sweep analysis is simple: Cuccinelli getting an issue that can change the key narrative, which is a pending watershed moment in the partisan makeup of a GUV year election. Why risk that?

Net, net: A Bolling endorsement of Terry is a double-edged sword because the LG is not a credible figure for such an ACDC conversion, thus there is a downside risk. If Terry thinks he can win with the current narrative, why would he ask Bolling?

And if thinks he needs it, then that says the polls are wrong and Cuccinelli is in better shape than is apparent. Thus, a Bolling endorsement move would only make sense if the polls show an up tick in GOP support for Cuccinelli. But in that case, why would Bolling help Terry, it could simply further fuel the anti-McAuliffe surge among GOP voters since this is the only reason for any such pro-Cuccinelli up tick.

Thus, for LaCivita to be leading a Cuccinelli-team effort to give Bolling a non-rat based excuse to jump ship can only hurt his candidate even if it helps his business.

More negative imagery for Cuccinelli cannot help him, indeed I think the Q-poll suggests Terry’s campaign may have maxed out the negatives against Cuccinelli.

If either candidate can “break through” with a positive image on a key issue, the poll says they could add some voters to their column. On that score, Terry’s image makes a positive case far easier to make.

“Doing the LaCivita” again, focusing on a pointless war with Bolling, doesn’t make statistical sense at this point if the Q-poll is correct, that for some reason, Cuccinelli still has a shot if he can really the GOP to turn out in numbers equitable to historic GUV year electorates.  

How extreme is Mark Obenshain? Astoundingly, the same overwhelmingly Republican group which endorsed Ken Cuccinelli the other day (although its parent organization said it was staying out of it) found Mark Obenshain too distasteful for them to support. In stark contrast, they endorsed Mark Herring, saying he “has distinguished himself as a strong advocate and champion of Virginia’s technology industry.” What a huge #FAIL by Mark Obenshain.

HERRING RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT FROM NORTHERN VIRGINIA BUSINESS GROUP

Democratic AG candidate chosen for his strong record of supporting Virginia’s tech industry

Today, Democratic candidate for Attorney General Mark Herring received the endorsement of the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s (NVTC) TechPAC, which represents the largest and most well-known technology businesses in Virginia. Among the reasons for their choice, NVTC TechPAC’s 27-member Board of Trustees cited Herring’s proven record of leadership and advocacy on technology-related issues in the General Assembly.

“I’m proud to receive NVTC TechPAC’s endorsement because our state’s innovation economy is key to sustaining economic growth and keeping Virginia competitive,” Herring said. “As the next Attorney General, I will build off my strong record of supporting business in Virginia and working in a bipartisan fashion to continue to be a strong advocate for Virginia’s burgeoning technology industry.”

Dendy Young, NVTC TechPAC Chairman, lauded Herring’s work supporting Virginia’s technology sector:

“As a member of the General Assembly, Mark Herring has distinguished himself as a strong advocate and champion of Virginia’s technology industry. He has a proven history of leadership on technology issues, and has served as the Senate sponsor of several important technology bills which have been signed into law by governors in the Commonwealth. In particular, Herring has promoted innovative technology policies and investments focused on research, entrepreneurship, new company formation, commercialization, and enhancement of Virginia’s economic competitiveness,” said Young.

Young continued, “We fully expect that Herring will continue to be a strong advocate for technology business as attorney general and that he will advance policies and initiatives that enhance Virginia’s status as a global technology center.”

Remember Stephen Baskerville of the “fathers’ rights” movement? This is the guy who is “a staunch supporter of Cuccinelli’s,”who when “Cuccinelli introduced legislation to penalize the spouse who filed for a no-fault divorce in child custody cases, Baskerville praised Cuccinelli for fighting against the no-fault divorce ‘epidemic.'” In other words, Cuckoo is tight with this Baskerville dude, and very much simpatico to his “father’s rights” movement. With that in mind, check this out!

A mandatory lecture given to the students of the Christian conservative Patrick Henry College on Friday offered apologies for rape, domestic violence and child abuse, and blamed American mass incarceration on feminists’ insistance on prosecuting sexual violence.

Patrick Henry professor Stephen Baskerville, a so-called “men’s rights” advocate, delivered the college’s annual “Faith and Reason” lecture, Libby Anne reported at Patheos. Baskerville started off with his thesis that feminists and Islamists are working together to push Christians out of public life, sort of like the alliance between Hitler and Stalin…

…Feminists, he argues, have used the sexual revolution to impose “state repression”  and “transformed our government into a matriarchal leviathan”  by criminalizing rape, domestic violence and child abuse. Baskerville cites the work of University of Pennsylvania professor Marie Gottschalk to claim that the criminalization of sexual violence has led to the United States’ historic levels of mass incarceration. Gottschalk argued that women’s groups’ working with law and order groups in the 1960s and ’70s “contributed to a more punitive climate,” not that the criminalization of sexual violence led to mass incarceration. But no matter- in the prosecution of rape and domestic violence, Baskerville sees “our own homegrown version of Stalinism.”

I presume Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign will IMMEDIATELY condemn this, just as they did yesterday with the Jewish “joke” by the emcee at their rally, the same guy who’s a close ally of Cuccinelli’s (even nominated him at the GOP convention in May). Oh wait, they haven’t condemned Jewish “joke” guy John Whitfield, almost 24 hours after the “joke.” All they’ve done so far is claimed to not know him, a bald-faced lie, since they are close political allies. Also, presumably since they haven’t condemned him, they must agree with him? We’ll see if they have any comment on Stephen Baskerville’s outrageous, insane, extremist remarks, but I don’t recommend anyone hold their breath!

Utterly appalled that a major party candidate in this country can actually hold a rally with a hate radio “shock jock” and extremist (UPDATE: and a GOP chair who apparently likes telling anti-Semitic “jokes”), and not automatically lose the election by 30 points or so, I asked several smart Virginia and national Democratic politicos what they thought about this situation. I mean, can you imagine if Terry McAuliffe rallied with a Marxist who said white people were evil, said derogatory things about men, Christians, heterosexuals, etc, maybe threw in some 9/11 “Trutherism” for good measure, just to complete the equivalence with crazies like Mark Levin? Wouldn’t that be the end of Terry McAuliffe or any other Democratic candidate for, well…forever? (and rightfully so, I might add)

Specifically, I asked the Democratic politicos what – if it’s even possible to imagine – would be the “left” equivalent of Cuccinelli and Obenshain hobnobbing with the Mark Levins, Wayne LaPierres, Koch brothers, Rand Pauls, John Whitbecks, and other assorted bigots, extremists, and tinfoil-hat lunatics of the world?  Not to mention the Family Research Council, labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center?  The best answer I got went roughly like this (edited from chat format for clarity and coherence).

This really is the Republicans’ base. The characteristics you described – extremist, tinfoil hat, bigots, etc. – are not our base. If you look at the polls, on issue after issue, our base is in the majority on almost everything, often in huge numbers. Yet somehow that doesn’t translate on election day.

Part of it is people have become inured to the right wing being the raving lunatics that they are. The whole political conversation has moved so far right in recent years, that this kind of craziness is somehow considered acceptable, within the norm. The media doesn’t call it out, probably doesn’t even see it, like they have all been simultaneously brainwashed.

It is really scary, not that different from how extremist movements have come to power throughout history, but a lot of people have forgotten that history, most people – certainly members of the Republican “base” – aren’t fearful of being a persecuted minority, they don’t feel any threats out there, they feel their innate right to assert their lunacy and vitriol.

Another Democratic politico friend pointed out that there simply is no “Tea Party” equivalent on the left side of the political spectrum, broadly speaking. In fact, there really isn’t a functional “left” in this country at all (or even a progressive movement worth speaking about). In addition, the right wing has done a far better job over the years of marginalizing the “left,” “liberals,” “progressives,” even moderates in the Republican Party (“RINOs!”) than Democrats and progressives have done to the right wing in this country, even after the disastrous Bush/Cheney era should have put the nail in their coffin for a long time to come.

For instance, this progressive politico pointed out, almost nobody takes Dennis Kucinich seriously, and he’s objectively speaking far less of a “left-wing extremist” than Frank Wolf (or Ken Cuccinelli, Mark Obenshain, EW Jackson) is a “right-wing extremist.” Yet going back to Dukakis – and earlier, to Nixon – the Republicans have somehow managed to make “liberal” a dirty word. That’s in part because the corporate media skews to the right, and in part because the right has a much better-financed, and ultimately more effective messaging machine than the (non-existent, pretty much) “left” does.  

No doubt, the two of us agreed, the media is a huge part of the problem. They simply will NOT – out of cowardice, greed, stupidity, whatever – call out the right-wing extremists for what they are (case in point: the Washington Post article on the Cooch/Levin rally today doesn’t explain who Mark Levin is and what he’s all about, so how would readers know?!?). Instead, they treat them as normal, sane, reasonable, “the other side” of “two sides” (equivalent of course). That is totally not true, yet they repeat it so many times (and even some members of the Democratic Party, like Mark Warner, constantly use right-wing “framing”), that the Big Lie becomes the Truth.

So that’s apparently where we are right now, and that’s why the Ken Cuccinellis and Mark Obenshains of the world can mug for photographs, hold rallies, and ally themselves with bigots, extremists, and tinfoil-hat nutjobs like Mark Levin, Wayne LaPierre, Foster Friess, the Koch brothers, the Family Research Council, EW Jackson, John Whitbeck, you name it, without automatically losing the election by like 30, 40 points. Because in a sane country, filled with people who really pay attention, who really understand the issues (in part because the media actually does its job, which it most certainly isn’t doing now), and who vote for people who HELP them not HURT them, that’s what would happen to people like Cuccinelli and Obenshain. Sadly, though, that isn’t currently the case, and this is the FUBAR situation we’re in right now. And no, to answer the question at the start of this diary, there is most definitively NOT a “left” equivalent of Cuccinelli’s, Jackson’s, and Obenshain’s far-right-wing extremism and lunacy.

The following statement is from the Mark Herring for Attorney General campaign. Also see the video in the comments section, and the photo to the right of Mark Obenshain and this John Whitbeck character. 

HERRING CONDEMNS STATEMENTS MADE AT CUCCINELLI RALLY

Candidate calls for Obenshain and Cuccinelli supporter to make a public apology

Democratic candidate for Attorney General Mark Herring condemned inflammatory comments made by 10^th District Republican Committee chairman John Whitbeck. Whitbeck – who has been a strong supporter of Mark Obenshain – made the offensive comments during a rally for Ken Cuccinelli. Herring released the following statement:

“As a representative of Loudoun County, I have worked hard to foster an environment that is welcoming of people of all faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds. Mr. Whitbeck’s comments stand in stark contrast to those beliefs, and the efforts of so many in our community to promote acceptance.

“His comments were offensive, deplorable and a disgrace to Loudoun County and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Whitbeck needs to issue a public apology immediately for his statement, and every candidate on the Republican ticket should condemn these types of inflammatory comments.” 

Background:

During a rally for the Cuccinelli campaign earlier today, it was reported by the Washington Postthat Whitbeck “kicked off the festivities by telling a joke about how the head of the Jewish religion presented the pope with a long, elaborate document that the Jewish leader said was a bill for the last supper.” 

From the Mark Herring for Attorney General campaign:

MARK OBENSHAIN, THE TEA PARTY TICKET AND MARK LEVIN

Mark Obenshain’s Tea Party credentials are well-known, as evidenced by his extremevoting record and Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation endorsement. Once again, the entire “Extreme Team” Republican ticket is campaigning side-by-side as the most ideological-driven ticket in Virginia’s history.

The newest surrogate in town is conservative right-wing radio host Mark Levin, who will offer his full-throated endorsement of Tea Party gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli at aConstitution Day Rally in Sterling, VA, starting at noon.

But this isn’t the first time Levin has been in Virginia with one of the members of the Tea Party ticket. Levin was campaigning alongside Obenshain at a gun show in Chantilly in July.

During his campaign for Attorney General, Mark Obenshain has been shying away from his voting record in the state Senate because it is too extreme for Virginia. However, Obenshain hasn’t backed away from playing to his base, attending Tea party eventsthroughout the state.

Additionally, Obenshain has shown been to have the same extreme ideology as his ticketmates, saying he and Cuccinelli are “two peas in a pod, philosophically.” E.W. Jackson has said that the Cuccinelli-Jackson-Obenshain ticket is “in fundamental agreement,” adding, “this ticket is probably more homogeneous than almost any ticket ever in the history of Virginia.”

This is why Republican Lt. Governor Bill Bolling has called this “the most ideologically driven ticket that we have seen in the history of our state.”

It’s also why mainstream Republicans like Virginia FREE chair Jimmy Hazel and former state legislators Russ Potts, John Chichester and Katherine Waddell are supporting Mark Herring.

As Attorney General, Mark Obenshain will continue to bend Virginia law to fit a rigid Tea Party ideology. Let’s look at his record:

Attacking Women’s Health

• Mark Obenshain led the charge to stop the campus health center at James Madison University from dispensing emergency contraceptive pills, claiming the pills induce abortion despite the fact that the ‘morning after’ prescription pill contains levonorgestrel, a synthetic hormone that is officially a contraceptive.
• Mark Obenshain voted in 2004, along with Ken Cuccinelli, to defeat “a ‘contraception is not abortion’ bill.
• Mark Obenshain supported three “personhood” bills: co-patroning the “personhood” bill in 2007, introducing it again in 2011 and voting for it yet again in 2012. The legislation would outlaw all abortion and many common forms of birth control.
• Mark Obenshain introduced a bill that would require women to report miscarriages to the police within 24 hours.
• Mark Obenshain voted in favor of the mandatory transvaginal ultrasound bill, calling it “common sense legislation.” He referred to the amended version of the bill, which changed the law from requiring a transvaginal ultrasound to a transabdominal ultrasound, as the “PG version” of the bill.
• Mark Obenshain sponsored a bill to outlaw abortions after twenty weeks, also known as the Virginia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act or Fetal Pain Act in 2012, which would have outlawed abortions after 20 weeks.

Forcing His Beliefs On Others

• Mark Obenshain recently earned a perfect score of 100 from the Family Foundation of Virginia, a conservative interest group, for voting according to their recommendations on ‘pro-family’ legislation, including four anti-LGBT-related issues.
• In 2013, Obenshain voted in committee against increasing the penalty for violating Virginia’s “law requiring equal pay for equal work irrespective of sex.”
• Mark Obenshain voted against adding sexual orientation to Virginia’s nondiscrimination policy in 2010 and a similar measure in 2013 to prohibit discrimination in public employment.
• Mark Obenshain was among 12 Republicans in 2013 who walked out of the chamber rather than support a gay judicial nominee.
• Mark Obenshain, in 2010, “spoke against the state program to encourage awarding contracts to women and minorities.”  In 2011 he said Virginia should “stop granting a flat 40 percent of state contracts to women and minority owned businesses.”
• Mark Obenshain has refused to sign the Equality Virginia non-discrimination pledge.