McDonnell’s graduate thesis roils Virginia governor race (Christian Science Monitor)

[pinto]

McDonnell’s graduate thesis roils Virginia governor race

The controversy over Bob McDonnell's 1989 graduate thesis has put the GOP candidate on the defense. But Democratic voter fatigue may keep his rival from getting ahead.

By Linda Feldmann | Staff writer/ September 3, 2009
Washington

Does Democrat Creigh Deeds suddenly have a shot at becoming Virginia’s next governor?

His campaign was handed a gift on Sunday when the Washington Post published the 1989 graduate thesis of Republican nominee Bob McDonnell, which is chockful of controversial statements.

Feminism and working women are “detrimental” to the traditional family, wrote Mr. McDonnell as a 34-year-old graduate student at Pat Robertson’s Regent University in Virginia Beach. Government should favor married couples over “cohabitators, homosexuals, or fornicators,” he said.

Later, as a state legislator, McDonnell pursued policies consistent with his thesis, such as opposing abortion even in cases of rape and incest and promoting “covenant marriage.”

Now, says McDonnell, most recently the state’s attorney general, many of the views expressed in that paper have changed, including those on working women. He has enlisted his female supporters to do damage control among that critical part of the electorate.

But doubts remain about whether Mr. Deeds, a state senator from rural Bath County with a southern twang, can overcome his deficit – and the historical patterns that make him the underdog.

<snip>

The biggest challenge of all for Deeds may be Democratic voter fatigue. Party and Obama campaign organizers pulled off an unprecedented turnout operation last fall. Virginia’s turnout jumped higher than almost all other states, percentage-wise, in 2008. A year later, say Democrats, many of their voters want a break from the door-knocking.

Now it’s the out-of-power Republicans who are hungry and motivated. And key constituencies who turned out in force for Obama - minorities and suburban moderates – may be less motivated to vote for Deeds.

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http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/09/03/mcdonnells-college-thesis-roils-virginia-governor-race/

[ShortnFiery]

1. Yes, we need to get people fired-up and out to vote for DEEDS this November!

:thumbsup:

[Arkana]

2. Mr. Deeds goes to Richmond?

[Buzz Clik]

3. A formally educated knuckledragger. How special.