Sen. Mark Herring, speaking at the  Virginia Commonwealth Attorney’s event at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach. blasts Mark Obenshain for his endorsement by the VCDL

The weekend after the primary, Senator Obenshain and I had our first debate here in Virginia Beach. And during that debate we reveled some pretty stark differences between him and me:

Senator Obenshain would take a woman’s right to choose away. I would defend Virginia’s women’s right to make their own decisions.

Senator Obenshain would restrict access to common forms of contraception; I believe he has no place in any of those personal health decisions.

And Senator Obenshain voted against the landmark bipartisan Transportation bill, put together by the Governor and Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly. Senator Obenshain joined Attorney General Cuccinellli and opposed it. I joined the Governor, Lt. Govenor Bolling, Democrats, and Republican legislators to support it.

This morning, because of our concern for public safety, I’d like to discuss another fundamental difference between Senator Obenshain and myself.

It’s revealing that this very weekend, in Blacksburg Virginia, the Virginia Citizens Defense League is holding an event just a few minutes from the location of the Virginia Tech gun massacre that claimed the lives of 33 students and faculty. It’s almost impossible to imagine the insensitivity and arrogance of this group, which prides itself on being more radical than the National Rifle Association. But there’s more. They’re going to hold a gun raffle. And not just any gun, but a Glock 19, the very same make and model of the gun used in the Virginia Tech shooting.

The members of this group wear stickers that say:  guns save lives.

(Note by Lowell: Obenshain wears the same sticker – see photo above. More on the “flip”.)

They oppose universal background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.

This group supports legislation that allows people to bring guns into bars.

They oppose every sensible gun law that both respects the rights of gun owners and helps protect the public from gun violence. In the Virginia they want, we’ll have more and more guns, and won’t be able to keep them out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.    

My opponent, Senator Mark Obenshain, supports their positions. He opposes universal background checks and sponsored legislation to allow guns in bars.

Senator Obenshain is proud of his endorsement by the Virginia Citizens Defense League. He smiles while wearing his sticker saying “guns save lives.”

I believe that we can and must do something to keep guns out of the hands of people who are criminals or are too sick to be trusted with them.   All of you in this room are entrusted with protecting Virginians from criminals; prosecuting those who break the law; punishing and removing the violent from our streets… and you do it very well.

We all support the legal right to bear arms.   But we have to take measures, sensible measures that prevent some crimes from happening in the first place.

So there is a clear contrast, between Senator Obenshain and me. He stands with the gun auction in Blacksburg today, and I stand for saying enough is enough:  we’ve got to keep guns out of the hands of the criminals and the dangerously mentally ill.

“I’m a person who appeals to women with a variety of issues… I’ve worked to improve mental health and worked to help the mentally ill for over a decade-and-a-half, including when I was in the legislature.  Women’s issues are everything women care about and I have an awful lot of issues that I appeal to women on, just as a natural course” (Ken Cuccinelli)

This story broke here on Blue Virginia in March and was picked up by Think Progress. This story is very relevant today and bears repeating. On top of everything else, Ken Cuccinelli equated women and their issues with mental health or lack thereof. But although we should not equate a lack of mental health with all of womankind, or mankind for that matter, mental health is nothing to take lightly. And it is long past time to remove the stigma of mental illness. But let’s be real. With his dubious footing in the real world, Ken Cuccinelli shouldn’t be talking about anyone else’s mental health.

Ironically, though, there is evidence that draconian GOP policies, of which Cuccinelli is one of the harshest and most severe perpetrators of all, are taking their toll on the US population. Indeed, as Thom Hartmann reveals, in the past decade, the suicide rate in America is up.  

The fact is, America’s suicide rate is on the rise, and Conservative economic policies are to blame.

In a study released in May, Professors David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu of Oxford University in England found that suicide rates in both the U.S. and U.K. increase when working class wages and wealth decline

But Cuccinelli doesn’t like scientists. He doesn’t like PhDs or professionals. Maybe he’ll try to route these guys out of their fields too. But while Kook is in denial about all things real, the reality is despair is up. Dis-stress is up. It took root in the Bush Recession. And the GOP answer is national gridlock and national and state austerity. The GOP still will not support anything that even remotely supports job growth.  It’s national and state leaders still pretend, after more than thirty years of evidence to the contrary that tax cuts equal job growth.  And it is just not true. They cut taxes, cut jobs, lower wages, and bring on austerity. It’s downright pathological. And Cuccinelli’s equates mental illness with women?

Meanwhile, instead of real job growth, Cuccinelli seems to think a culture war a war (on women, minorities, those who are LGBT, scientists, teachers, non-evangelicals, and progressives) is the way to go. Cuccinelli doesn’t support mental health.  He doesn’t think the citizens of Virginia should get health care at all. He opposes the Affordable Health Care Act and wants its repeal. He doesn’t support Medicare or Medicaid. It’s every woman (or man) for her/himself. So, no, Cuccinelli doesn’t have empathy for those needing care, of either the physical or mental kind.

You have to wonder: How can he be even close to McAuliffe in the polls? Hasn’t the folly of the NC vote for Republican pretend moderate (wolf in sheep’s clothing) Pat McCrory sunk in in Virginia?

With a Tea Party GA, McCrory’s turned NC politics back to the 18th Century in less than a year. Cuccinelli doesn’t even pretend to be a moderate. VA, you are in for one hell of a drop off a cliff if you do not defeat him.

McAuliffe for VA governor.

Thanks to the folks at Daily Kos for putting together this spreadsheet of Virginia House districts by their 2012 U.S. Senate and Presidential results. As you can see (click on image to “embiggen”), there are 16 incumbent Virginia House of Delegates Republicans sitting in “Obama districts,” and 18 in “Kaine districts.” The 18 “Kaine districts” are:

#2 (59.4% Kaine): Del. Mark Dudenhefer vs. Michael Futrell

#12 (54.2% Kaine): Del. Joseph Yost vs. James Harder

#13 (55.4% Kaine): Del. Bob Marshall vs. Atif M Qarni

#21 (53.5% Kaine): Del. Ron Villanueva vs. Susan Hippen

#23 (51.0% Kaine): Del. Bill Howell vs. UNCONTESTED

#31 (53.9% Kaine): Del. Scott Lingamfelter vs. Jeremy McPike

#32 (53.5% Kaine): Del. Tag Greason vs. Elizabeth Miller

#34 (52.8% Kaine): Del. Barbara Comstock vs. Kathleen Murphy

#42 (54.3% Kaine): Del. Dave Albo vs. Ed Deitsch

#50 (54.4% Kaine): Del. Jackson Miller vs. Richard Cabellos

#51 (52.2% Kaine): Del. Rich Anderson vs. Reed Heddleston

#67 (55.4% Kaine): Del. Jim LeMunyon vs. Hung Nguyen

#84 (50.6% Kaine): Glenn Davis vs. Brent N McKenzie

#85 (51.1% Kaine): Scott Taylor vs. Bill Dale

#86 (61.4% Kaine): Del. Tom Rust vs. Jennifer Boysko

#87 (56.9% Kaine): Del. David Ramadan vs. John Bell

#93 (58.3% Kaine): Del. Mike Watson vs. Monty Mason

#94 (53.5% Kaine): Del. David Yancey vs. Robert Farinholt

Given that Democrats currently have just 32 out of 100 House of Delegates seats, if we could win all of these “Kaine districts” back, we could get to a 50/50 split. No, I don’t think we can win them all back in one cycle, or even two cycles, but given the changing demographics of Virginia, it’s almost inevitable that we will win them eventually — the only question being “how long?” This November, let’s make sure we make a good start at it.

P.S. Of course, as I pointed out the other day, these candidates need to be adequately funded to have a serious chance of winning.

P.P.S. Also, check out Not Larry Sabato’s excellent series on Virginia’s House districts.

UPDATE by Lowell 8/3/13: Check out the photos, here and on the “flip” – by the apparently omnipresent Catherine S. Read – from today’s office opening. Great to see Virginia’s next Attorney General, Mark Herring, there supporting Atif Qarni as he work to defeat the atrocious Del. “Sideshow” Bob Marshall.

Atif Qarni for the 13th District of Virginia’s House of Delegates to Host Office Opening on August 3rd

MANASSAS – On Saturday August 3rd, Democratic Candidate Atif Qarni, along with Senator Mark Herring, Delegate Sickles and other supporters will host an office opening at 11am at their new campaign office located at 7614 Centreville Rd, Manassas, VA 20111.

Atif Qarni is the Democratic nominee for the 13th District of Virginia’s House of Delegates. He was a Marine for eight years, including a tour in Iraq in 2003 in which he was one of the first to enter Baghdad. He is currently an eighth grade math teacher at nearby Beville Middle School as well as actively involved in his community. He lives in Manassas with his wife and two young sons.

Atif Qarni is running for the House of Delegates because he believes our district needs a new representative, one who will focus on important issues like creating good paying jobs, reducing traffic and congestion and making sure our schools are the best they can be.

Qarni wants to continue his record of service by representing the 13th District in the House of Delegates and to focus on the needs of the district and of Virginia, instead of a personal extreme right wing social agenda. He is challenging Republican Delegate Bob Marshall who opposed the bipartisan transportation plan, has voted to cut hundreds of million dollars from school funding, and who is a leader in the effort to restrict access to family planning services for Virginia women.

WHO: Atif Qarni, Democratic Candidate HD 13, featuring Senator and Democratic Attorney General Candidate Mark Herring, Delegate Mark Sickles, and local Democratic leaders

WHAT: 13th District of the House of Delegates Office Opening

WHERE: 7614 Centreville Rd, Manassas, VA 20111

WHEN:  August 3rd, 11am-12pm

From the Mark Herring for AG campaign, I'm really glad somebody is calling for this, as it's utterly outrageous.

HERRING CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION INTO VRS INVESTMENT IN STAR SCIENTIFIC

Following a July 20th article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch revealing that the Virginia Retirement System invested in Star Scientific, later selling the stock at an $87,000 loss, Democratic nominee for Attorney General Mark Herring today sent a letter to Delegate John O’Bannon and State Senator John Watkins, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, requesting an investigation:
 
“The Star Scientific scandal grows more disturbing by the day and I am asking for this review because Virginians, particularly our state employees and their families, deserve a straight answer as to whether or not the Governor’s, or and Attorney General’s, involvement with Star Scientific affected state policy.  If our system is broken, we need to know so we can fix it,” Herring stated.
 
In his letter, Herring calls on the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to exercise their oversight authority:
 
“The Virginia Retirement System Oversight Act…makes the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commissions responsible for the continuing oversight of the Virginia Retirement System,” Herring states.  “I ask that you initiate a review…to determine who communicated at all with anyone connected with VRS about this stock, company, or Mr. Williams.”
 
“The public should know if anyone, anyone at all, from the Governor’s office, or the Governor’s family, ever communicated with the members of the board or the staff about Star Scientific,” Herring continues. “In addition, the public should know if anyone connected with the Attorney General or the Attorney General’s office ever communicated with the VRS board or staff about Star Scientific.”
 
“Additionally, the Commission should look into whether or not officials at VRS were aware of the promotional efforts of Governor McDonnell and the First Lady on behalf of Star Scientific at, or prior to, consideration of the investment,” Herring states.

To read Herring's letter visit: www.herringforag.com/vrsletter 

Sen. Ebbin is absolutely correct that it’s not a “question of whether marriage equality will come to Virginia, it is a question of when.” Let’s just hope that “when” comes very soon, and that this dark stain of intolerance is removed from our constitution ASAP.

STATEMENT FROM VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR ADAM P. EBBIN

ON LAWSUIT SEEKING TO OVERTURN SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE BAN AND REFUSAL TO GRANT RECOGNITION TO OUT OF STATE MARRIAGES

I commend the ACLU, Lambda Legal and Jenner and Block for filing a federal class action suit today to strike down Virginia’s ban on same gender marriage and refusal to grant recognition to such out of state marriages.

The plaintiffs and thousands of other gay and lesbian couples deserve the same protections as all those Virginians whose marriages are recognized today. They seek equal treatment under the law, nothing more and nothing less.

I know of too many couples who have left the state due to a lack of the protections now offered to our neighbors in the District of Columbia and Maryland. With a total of thirteen states and DC offering equality to couples, Virginia is at a competitive and economic disadvantage. After all, forward thinking companies of all sizes locate where their diverse workforces will enjoy a high quality of life

It is not a question of whether marriage equality will come to Virginia, it is a question of when. The suit is in keeping with the tradition of Virginians fighting for, and winning, civil liberties; we are both the birthplace of the Bill of Rights and of the Loving vs. Virginia lawsuit that struck down anti-miscegenation laws across the United States.

This is the time for Virginia to wake up from history–as Jefferson said, ‘laws and institutions must go hand in hand with  the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.'”