The goal of any political party is to raise money and rally the base. A good way to do that is for them to clearly and stridently advocate for issues they care about.
So it goes for the Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) which has equated destroying life that can feel pain after 20 weeks of gestation to a business decision.
Of course, when they mention Bearing Drift, it also gets my attention.
In today’s “Letters from Emily”, the erstwhile communications director of the party waxes poetic [1] about how Governor Terry McAuliffe is going to stand like a “brick wall” against any evil effort by dastardly Republicans to codify the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (HB 1473) because it “would be damaging toward business.”
The bill, written about here [2] by colleague Shaun Kenney, has gained attention among conservative circles, but not much reaction from 2017 gubernatorial candidates.
Hence, Emily Bolton’s appeal to gubernatorial candidates Ed Gillespie and Frank Wagner to follow Corey Stewart’s lead in taking a position on the bill.
“Would Republican gubernatorial candidates put Virginia’s economy first, or would they continue to put divisive social issues ahead of Virginians’ well being,” said Bolton. “So far, only Corey Stewart has said he would sign a 20-week abortion ban into law. Ed Gillespie and Frank Wagner continue to remain silent.
Don’t get me wrong. Emily has been goading the candidates for months and none of her efforts have been particularly noteworthy for me to write about as I took them for what they were – cringeworthy instead. But what I found particularly ironic about this circumstance is that mere seconds after this release, another DPVA missive [3] attributed to DPVA Chair Susan Swecker landed in my inbox paying tribute to the late state Sen. Charles Colgan:
“Senator Colgan was a respected and dedicated public servant who worked tirelessly on higher education and transportation in Northern Virginia. As the longest-serving Senator in Virginia’s history, he was known for being an honorable statesman – garnering the respect of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. He will be greatly missed.”
Ironic because last night in Stewart’s release, he also called his fellow Prince William neighbor a “statesman.”
And doubly ironic because in the Richmond Times-Dispatch article eulogizing Colgan [4] they report, “Because of his social conservatism — Mr. Colgan was a devout Catholic — he broke with his party on abortion rights, voting to restrict the procedure.”
Colgan was also known for his work on balancing the budget, growing Virginia’s economy and Colgan Airways, which he was able to sell for $20 million.
I guess, at least if you follow the logic of DPVA, he didn’t understand good business after all.