Robert McDonnell, Virginia GOP Candidate in Governor's Race, Under Fire for Anti-Gay, Sexist Graduate Thesis

Another hypocrite has been outed in the GOP. The Virginia's governor's race was on fire yesterday over Republican Robert F. McDonnell's graduate thesis, submitted in 1989 for a master of arts in public policy and juris doctorate in law from Regent University, in which he wrote about working women, homosexuals and fornicators. McDonnell tried to explain his views to anyone who would listen. The news of the thesis was  first reported Sunday in the Washington Post on Sunday, but the sh** hit the fan yesterday. McDonnell's opponent, Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, may have received an early Christmas present. According to the Washington Post, in the thesis, "The Republican Party's Vision for the Family: The Compelling Issue of The Decade," McDonnell described working women as "detrimental" to the traditional family. He criticized a U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing contraception for unmarried couples and decried the "purging" of religion from schools. He advocated character education programs in public schools to teach "traditional Judeo-Christian values," and he criticized federal tax credits for child care expenditures because they encouraged women to enter the workforce. Remember President Obama's science czar Paul Holdren, who once floated the idea of "forced abortions" and "compulsory sterilizations?" The right wing literally scoffed at his comments.

McDonnell has reportedly spoken by telephone to reporters for nearly 90 minutes, saying that his views have changed on many of the issues he explored as a graduate student. He also released a list of women who support his campaign. So, why are the Republicans acting as though no Democrats can change their views on positions held 20 years or more ago? Shouldn't we all be held to the same standard? It gets better. He said that on some issues he agrees with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), the state's first Catholic governor, as well as with President Obama. He says he no longer agrees with what he wrote about women in the workforce and that regardless of his personal views, he "would follow the law," as he did as attorney general.

The only thing that may save him and his lead in the polls over Deeds and other Democrats is the state of the economy and the continued fallout from the health care reform plan, which seems to be dying a slow death. His opponents aren't sitting by idly and allowing this "gift" to go unused. The Deeds campaign sent out a fundraising appeal with the thesis as its main focus. According to the Washington Post, the state Democratic Party produced a video, "Bob McDonnell's Secret Blueprint for Virginia," setting a news report about the document to driving, apocalyptic classical music.

I have many conservative views, but this man is an ultra conservative, who is trying to distance himself from his own positions on issues such as gay rights, abortions and even school prayer, so as not to offend moderate voters, who play an integral role in deciding statewide elections. Amazingly, he has disavowed his earlier flawed views on working woman and the traditional family, but has said very little on abortion and gay marriage. Mr. McDonnell, you can't have it both ways, much as your party has done to malign President Barack Obama and others. Some fellow Republicans call this latest dust-up a hatchet job, but if the shoe was on the other foot, would they have reacted differently? I suspect not, so Mr. McDonnell ought to deal with this and move on. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Like many in the Republican Party, and yes, let me add, Rep. Charlie Rangel (D.-NY), who should be kicked off the House Ways and Means Committee for being a liar. That's another commentary.

Paul Holdren, President Obama's 'Science Czar" Once Floated Idea of Forced Abortions, 'Compulsory Sterilizations'

I never expected all President Barack Obama's picks to be devoid of controversy, but Paul Holdren, the president's "science czar" has raised some eyebrows with his previous positions, which included the idea of forced abortions, compulsory sterilization and the creation of a "Planetary Regime." What the heck is this all about? He believed that the creation of these ridiculous schemes would oversee human population levels and control all natural resources as a means of protecting the planet. Shouldn't this have been brought up during his Senate confirmation hearings? Oh no. Some of the GOP senators had their sights set on Judge Sonia Sotomayor, a bigger fish in their eyes. Since these issues eluded them, then why did Fox News bother digging up dirt on Mr. Holdren. Exactly what will this do now? Absolutely nothing.

Holdren, who has degrees from MIT and Stanford and headed a science policy program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government for the past 13 years, won the unanimous approval of the Senate as the president's chief science adviser. He was confirmed on March 19 as director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology, which advises the president on scientific affairs, with a heavy focus on energy independence and global warming.

The senators who grilled him were apparently oblivious to the contents of a textbook he co-authored in 1977, "Ecoscience: Population, Resources, Environment." The 1,000-page course book was co-written with environmental activists Paul and Anne Ehrlich. According to Fox News, the book discusses and seems to advocate totalitarian measures to curb population growth, which it says could cause an environmental catastrophe. The portion that stuck in the craw of Fox News was the summation of the three authors' guiding principles: "To provide a high quality of life for all, there must be fewer people."

As first reported by FrontPage Magazine, Holdren and his co-authors spend a portion of the book discussing possible government programs that could be used to lower birth rates. Those plans include forcing single women to abort their babies or put them up for adoption; implanting sterilizing capsules in people when they reach puberty; and spiking water reserves and staple foods with a chemical that would make people sterile. To help achieve those goals, they formulate a "world government scheme" they call the Planetary Regime, which would administer the world's resources and human growth, and they discuss the development of an "armed international organization, a global analogue of a police force" to which nations would surrender part of their sovereignty. Source: Faux News

To his credit, Mr. Holdren's office issued a statement denying that he has ever backed any of the measures discussed in his book, and suggested reading more recent works authored solely by Holdren for a view to his beliefs. I am in no way advocating that these positions are right, in fact, they are very troubling, but where was this information when Mr. Holdren confirmation hearings were being held? Isn't this revelation a wee bit too late?

One of my regular visitors who goes by the name "Constructive Feedback" pointed out in his comments that I ignored the Obama Administration's hand in this mess. I concede that the Obama team of researchers should have realized that Mr. Holdren was a co-author of this book, which is very disturbing, to say the least. So, both the Republicans and the Democrats are complicit in not doing their homework. I would venture to say the onus was on the Obama Administration to vet him more thoroughly. Mr. Holdren, given the gravity of the subjects raised in this book, should had to have explained his position and in actuality, he should not have been confirmed. I have seen some nominees removed from consideration due to radical views.