Sic gorgiamus allos subjectatos nunc.
I was so proud of my adopted home state last November. Not only did our country elect the presidential candidate I'd thrown my weight behind, but so did Virginia. We were a swing state in that election, and we came through (as much as our options allowed) for women's and gay rights.
And then yesterday we elected Bob "I hate women and gays" McDonnell as our governor. Yes, I know his controversial thesis is 20 years old, and that he claims he's changed his mind about a lot of it. Particularly now that he's our governor, I'd really, really like to believe him... but I've seen no particular evidence to give any serious weight to this claim. (Except maybe the women in the workforce thing. I can't find it now, but I do vaguely recall some positive numbers regarding the women working on his campaign. That said, how any self-respecting woman could support a candidate who wants to take away her reproductive rights is something I've never been able to understand).
Between McDonnell's election and Maine's bigoted choice to take a giant step backwards in civil rights, and repeal their same-sex marriage laws, I'm feeling none of the buoyant optimism of last November.
And then yesterday we elected Bob "I hate women and gays" McDonnell as our governor. Yes, I know his controversial thesis is 20 years old, and that he claims he's changed his mind about a lot of it. Particularly now that he's our governor, I'd really, really like to believe him... but I've seen no particular evidence to give any serious weight to this claim. (Except maybe the women in the workforce thing. I can't find it now, but I do vaguely recall some positive numbers regarding the women working on his campaign. That said, how any self-respecting woman could support a candidate who wants to take away her reproductive rights is something I've never been able to understand).
Between McDonnell's election and Maine's bigoted choice to take a giant step backwards in civil rights, and repeal their same-sex marriage laws, I'm feeling none of the buoyant optimism of last November.