Frederick Kunkle has the rest of today’s story over at the Washington Post:
Wilder said Thursday he hasn’t made up his mind about anyone yet in this year’s contest. As candidates from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe to Republican lieutenant governor nominee E.W. Jackson troop by seeking his advice or blessing, Wilder shared some thoughts about the field, beginning with McAuliffe.
“He has got to get gravitas. He’s got to have convictions, to show that his election means something real, something tangible,” Wilder said.
As for Jackson, Wilder said the Chesapeake minister paid a visit a couple months ago. They talked about the potential for Jackson to make history as only the second black candidate nominated by Virginia Republicans for statewide office since Maurice A. Dawkins ran for the U.S. Senate in 1988.
Wilder wasn’t dismissive of Jackson at all, though. While Wilder took some exception with the direct language Jackson has used to describe Planned Parenthood, Wilder empathized:
“It’s so absurd,” Wilder said — though he added that he also understands why Jackson and other African American opponents of abortion express alarm about the disproportionate abortion rate among blacks.
“He can make that case. But that’s a matter of personal belief,” Wilder said. “That’s fine in the pulpit. That’s fine in the street as it relates to your opinion.”
…but the fact that Wilder acknowledges the truly horrific fact — and it is not widely known — that 2/3 of all abortions are inflicted upon minorities is a chilling statement of its own.
