Many of you have read my diaries this year about right-wing extremism in the Virginia House of Delegates. This year, we VA Kossacks have fought against bills this year that proposed:
- a ban on adoptions by gay and lesbian Virginians
- bills in support of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage
- a bill that would make it a felony to give contraceptives to teenage rape victims
- a bill to take money away from school systems with overcrowded schools
- three bills to restrict access to abortion
With all the other horrible bills that were introduced in the VA House this year, what do
these bills have in common? They were all introduced by
Delegate Robert Marshall, an extreme right-wing zealot representing VA's 13th district (Manassas/Prince William).
This year, Marshall faces a great Democratic opponent - a great guy, Bruce Roemmelt, an educator and retired firefighter. Bruce is currently trying to raise $30,000 before the end of this month.
My goal is to inspire 10 Kossacks to donate to this race tonight - read more about the race below, or ask me any questions about it in the comments!
Take Back America - donate to Virginia now!
Taking back America starts with taking back Virginia in 2005. Virginia is the only "red state" with a governor's race this year, and we also are electing all 100 members of our House of Delegates in November. Most of these races are won with total budgets of less than $100,000. The support of Kossacks through many small donations can make a huge difference in these races.
In 2003, 43 Republicans in our 100-member house ran unopposed.
That's right. Unopposed. Nearly half the House.
One of them was Robert Marshall. A member of the House of Delegates since 1982, Marshall is known as one of two of the most extreme right-wing zealots in the House. Marshall is formerly the Executive Director of the American Life League (Motto: "PRO LIFE: Without exception, without compromise, without apology) and reportedly still consults for the group.
What does the "American Life League" stand for? Here are a few choice quotes from their web site (emphasis mine):
- "ALL will not support exceptions for rape, incest, life of the mother, fetal deformity or other such language of discrimination."
- "American Life League will present the truth about the abortifacient nature of certain forms of so-called contraception and point out that the dangerous practice of birth control is a gateway to abortion."
- "American Life League will support only educational programs that teach sexual morality in the context of leading children toward the practice of virtue and that avoid examining the subject of sex in any concrete, detailed or descriptive way in the classroom or other public setting."
Read more about the American Life League here.
In 2003, voters in the 13th district had no choice but to re-elect Marshall because no Democrat stood against him. It's not that he's unbeatable or has raised an unmatchable amount of money -- in fact, Marshall had only just over $42,000 on hand at the beginning of this reporting period.
Thanks to Bruce Roemmelt's courage in running, voters in the 13th district finally have a choice this year.
And dKos readers all over the country can make a huge difference in toppling a leading right-wing extremist this year by supporting Bruce Marshall in his fundraising campaign in the next few days.
Who is Bruce Roemmelt?
Bruce is a great, down-to-earth guy - a normal guy with extraordinary courage who would be a great Democratic leader in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Bruce is a Vietnam veteran and a retired professional firefighter of 21 years. Since retirement from the fire service, he has gone on to get advanced degrees, is currently pursuing a Ph.D., and is an adjuct professor at George Washington University. You can read his life story here.
The most important issues in Bruce's campaign are education, transportation, and open government. But beneath the surface of what he's campaigning for is what he's campaigning against -- the intolerance, hatred, and right-wing extremism of his opponent, Robert Marshall. Bruce is not afraid to take on these divisive social issues. He supports reproductive freedom, supports civil unions for all Virginians, including gays and lesbians, and supports increased funding for public education.
But Bruce's campaign is about more than just what he's for or against. It's about bringing more people into politics and about making "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" more of a reality. He's running a great grassroots campaign based largely on lessons learned in grassroots and netroots outreach in the Dean and Clark campaigns.
For just $10 or $25, you can make a big difference to Bruce's campaign tonight. Please help Bruce's campaign reach the top of his fundraising ladder:
If you believe Democrats should step up to contest Republicans in EVERY seat,
If you support access to birth control,
If you believe comprehensive and medically accurate sex education is healthy,
If you oppose a complete ban on abortion, even in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of a pregnant woman,
If you want to help take back America TODAY, please donate to Bruce!
I'm setting a goal of trying to recruit ten donors with this diary. Size of donation isn't important -- even a $10 donation will make a big difference when added to others. Will you please contribute?