Want to see how Virginia’s hard right conservatives operate? Follow the circle.
Del. Robert G. Marshall, a Prince William County Republican and a staunch social conservative, sets his social media a Twitter and before you know it, he has asked his dogmatic kinsman, Atty. Gen. Kenneth Cuccinelli, for a legal opinion on an issue that could come off a check-the-box list from Liberty or Regent University.
Arizona’s racist anti-illegal immigration law gets slammed by a federal judge. Marshall tweets “the Cooch” who comes out with an opinion that in the Old Dominion, law enforcement can stop and question anybody they think might be undocumented. No matter that being undocumented is not a criminal violation of federal law which has jurisdiction here. It is a civil matter.
Finally want to stick it to Roe V. Wade? Marshall asks the “Cooch” for a legal opinion on whether outpatient abortion clinics should have the same standards as full-service hospitals that handle just about everything from the common cold to coronary bypasses. If fully implemented, Cuccinelli’s ruling could shut down 17 out of 21 abortion clinics. He’s been trying to do that for all those years he was a legislator.
Want to clear the state for Nativity scenes at fire stations even though it is still August? That’s foremost on Marshall’s mind so he asks the “Cooch” who says that Christmas displays are just fine on public property as long as other faiths have access, too.
Reactions are mixed. The ACLU advises all to ignore Cuccinelli’s immigrant opinion but they are OK with the Christmas thing.
One wonders, what is next? Mandatory church services on Sundays?
Peter Galuszka