Give this to Democrat Creigh Deeds: He is resolute in his slop-bucket campaign, smearing his Republican opponent in the Virginia gubernatorial race instead of outlining a coherent vision for governing the commonwealth. Deeds is desperately trying to bury Bob McDonnell under an avalanche of mud in order to distract voters from his own flip-flops, dissembling and outright hypocrisy:
» Such as the contradictory positions Deeds has taken regarding collective bargaining for public safety employees, which is not allowed in Virginia. After telling the Fraternal Order of Police that he supports it, Deeds turned around and told the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association that he did not.
» Such as a scurrilous campaign ad that blames McDonnell for a series of rate increases by the Appalachian Power Co., which Deeds himself voted for in the legislature and McDonnell merely enforced as attorney general. The Lynchburg News and Advance called the ad “an outright lie.”
» Such as Deeds’ highly publicized remark at the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce debate that “I’m not going to raise taxes,” followed by a Sept. 23 op-ed in The Washington Post in which he said he would.
» Such as digging up an academic thesis McDonnell wrote 20 years ago and stating that the Republican is on some sort of “social crusade” against women, ignoring McDonnell’s 14-year record in the House of Delegates and four years as state attorney general — and without mentioning McDonnell’s successful bipartisan campaign to get mandatory 25-year sentences for violent child sexual predators.
» Such as attacking McDonnell for being pro-life after similarly labeling himself earlier this year while running in the Democratic primary. In March, when questioned about his apparent change of heart on hot-button issues like abortion, taxes and guns, Deeds told fellow Democrats that he “reserves the right to change his opinions and grow as a person” — a right to which he apparently doesn’t think McDonnell is also entitled.
Instead of showing Virginians his plan for how he’ll improve transportation and education and ease unemployment without taxing them all into the poorhouse, Deeds has been running one of the dirtiest campaigns in recent memory. There’s a reason he keeps muddying the campaign waters. He doesn’t want voters to notice the empty suit behind his scurrilous attacks on McDonnell.
