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Jody Wagner

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I Am a Woman for Deeds

Posted: 09/01/09 07:23 PM ET

Single mothers. Child care providers. Working mothers. Feminists.

Four types of women that Bob McDonnell called in his thesis "materialistic," "detrimental to family," and the cause of a "breakdown of society."

Bob wrote his thesis the same year I was working full-time, raising two children with a third on the way. It's truly terrifying.

The Associated Press wrote that the discovery of these statements by Bob McDonnell has the potential to "shake up [this] race." Together, we can make sure that it does.

Bob McDonnell is asking Virginians to elect him Governor. But in Bob McDonnell's Virginia, I, my friends, my colleagues, and my own mother aren't viewed as equals.

That is why I am a woman for Creigh Deeds.

For more than two decades, I've been a working mother. While raising four wonderful children, I've had the good fortune to have success as an attorney, start my own small business with my husband, and serve the Commonwealth under the past two Governors.

I have known Creigh for many years, and have seen firsthand how hard he has worked for the women of Virginia throughout his time in the state legislature, to stand up for our rights.

He stood up for rights like equal pay and protection from domestic abuse that, in an ideal world, we shouldn't have to think twice about granting to anyone. He worked to push legislation to ensure that women in need can get access to the necessary medication and medical services, receive fair treatment in the workplace and under the law, and more.

Stand with me and join Creigh as a Woman for Deeds.

Bob McDonnell?... Not so much. When the Washington Post discovered Bob McDonnell's blueprint for governing, they didn't just find an academic paper. They found "a vision that he started to put into action soon after he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates."

Bob McDonnell legislated on these ideas for 14 years in the General Assembly. He opposed efforts to improve our childcare centers in 2001 and 2003, and even voted against eliminating gender-based wage discrimination. That's right -- he even voted against a woman's right to equal pay.

He sponsored not one, not two, but 35 bills restricting a woman's right to choose even in the cases of rape and incest.

On many of these issues, he worked hand-in-hand with his running mate, current Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling. Creigh and I are both running because we believe in a Commonwealth that offers equal opportunity and support for women and families.

We have a choice in this election and we must make our voices heard. There is just too much at stake.

A Washington Post editorial called McDonnell's thesis an "ode to a bygone 1950s America."

But this is not 1950. We have made so much progress in recent years and we can't afford to go backwards with McDonnell's extreme social agenda.

I invite everyone to join me as a Woman for Deeds.

 
 
 
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01:11 PM on 09/02/2009
I agree that Mcdonnell's comments from 18 years ago are off base, but can someone shed some light on his actions while serving in the VA House of Delegates and during his tenure as State AG? He seems to be saying his beliefs have changed over the years and I wonder if his record supports this. I haven't been able to find much online regarding this.
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DonJM
The narrower the mind, the broader the statement.
12:07 PM on 09/02/2009
I just finished reading the thesis. A quote from p. 20, " . . . man's basic nature is inclined towards evil, and when the exercise of liberty takes the shape of pornography, drug abuse, or homosexuality, the government must restrain, punish, and deter." All of you gays in Virginia had better be on the alert! Not only are you grouped in with drug abusers and pornographers, but you're going to be punished.
11:54 AM on 09/02/2009
I'm a bit surprised that McDonnell didn't add a fifth category...Argentine mistresses.
11:26 AM on 09/02/2009
Clearly McDonell was largely correct.

Feminism and single-motherhood has practically destroyed the traditional family in America, and contributed substantially to a breakdown of society.

But of course you already knew that and just suppress the realization because you can't handle self-criticism.
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06:18 PM on 09/02/2009
Bullsh*t. We're the ones who keep the family together when Daddy dearest runs off to his Argentine hottie.

I raised a surgeon, a biochemist, a kid in the marine academy (who wants to be a ship captain), and others still in school. Their father never paid much attention to them and he kept whatever money he earned. I worked and supported them. Daddy died, and nobody cared. Now there is a stepfather who adores them, a man whom they adore, and I still work so if my husband ever needs it, I can look after him. At dinner we sit around the table, well, the kids who are still here, telling jokes and stories and laugh ourselves silly.
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billkarwin
11:23 AM on 09/02/2009
The fallacy of Bob McDonnell's views is that there's some mythical "1950's America" to recapture.

In 1950, my grandmother became a widow when her husband died from a heart attack. Her family was not wealthy, as her husband had worked as a postal carrier. My grandmother joined the workforce to support herself and her two children. She barely had a high school diploma, and worked at manufacturing jobs and later as a ten-key data entry clerk and computer punch-card operator at IBM. My mother grew up as a latchkey kid.

That's the 1950's America that I picture, and I'm sure there are many more stories like it than people like Bob McDonnell can admit.
11:10 AM on 09/02/2009
You are obviously not a Christian woman. Bravo!!
11:09 AM on 09/02/2009
yeah, but, the percentage of African American chldren born to single mothers is 75%, if anyone doesn't think this has social consequences for all of society or doesn't choose to recognize this,where do you live? Mars?
11:46 AM on 09/02/2009
Why do you hate women?

just kidding...
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dogdiva
07:47 AM on 09/02/2009
The views McDonnell expressed in his thesis couldn''t have been more extreme. He needs to be forced to denounce every single one in public before anyone begins to consider that he has changed. If he doesn't specifically denounce everything in public I wouldn't even begin to believe he wasn't still a believer. The press should be asking him to denounce his former beliefs and they say what views replaced it.
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gfs5541
10:12 AM on 09/02/2009
I agree. Its like he was blaming everything from gays to the National Organization for Women (NOW) to welfare for the breakdown of the American Family. All of this from a guy who is being marketed as similar to Tim Kaine.
04:05 AM on 09/02/2009
Sorry, that should be McDonnell.
04:00 AM on 09/02/2009
Jody,
From one of McDonalds "second class citizens," not only do I support Deeds, I support you, too. Thank you from another Woman for Deeds.
07:11 AM on 09/02/2009
agree with dianna
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Tim303
01:05 AM on 09/02/2009
Here's the front door (visualize it). Now on one side of this door, you get paid for working. On the other side you don't. Rinse, repeat, patriarchy...
12:51 AM on 09/02/2009
Bob McDonnell could be onto something here. Everything is the fault of people who are not like he is, a middle aged, middle class white male.

If women were tied to the kitchen sink, every family would be perfect. If sick people would just crawl away and die then health insurance wouldn't be so expensive. If poor people would just emigrate to Mexico or Canada then there'd be no need for welfare. If smart people would stop having ideas then there'd be no need for progress..........
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12:09 AM on 09/02/2009
If he wrote this when he was 34 y/o, then odds are he still has these draconian v iews. His thesis sounds like someting from Victorian times, or earlier. This should have women thinking twice abot voting for him. If he trly believes this, then he wold not be very kind towards legislation aimed at assisting women. I hope Deeds wins.
11:38 PM on 09/01/2009
Woo-hoo! You tell 'em, Jody! Thanks!
11:30 PM on 09/01/2009
McDonnell still believes all of it, in my opinion. Just now he has to say what is politically correct. Leopards do not change their spots and bigots do not change theirs either.