I am not violating any ethical code. It is, literally, listed on his website. As the preferred way to reach him. Right here.
In case you’re new to this, Bob Marshall is the Virginia delegate who, yesterday, torpedoed bipartisan support for the judicial nomination of an openly gay (and unquestionably qualified) Richmond prosecutor named Tracy Thorne-Begland.
En route to becoming the first openly gay judge in the state’s history, Thorne-Begland was stopped by Marshall who, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “stoked fears that the 45-year-old attorney would allow his sexual orientation to influence his judicial decisions.” Marshall was joined by a group called “The Family Foundation,” which—according to its website—exists to apply “founding principles and faith to policy and culture.” Translation: To make this nation as nuttily dogmatic as humanly possible.
For a while, it seemed as if Thorne-Begland’s nomination would be a cake-walk. He needed only a majority of the 100-member House to support him, and his resume (former fighter pilot, distinguished professional career) seemed ideal. Even Gov. Bob McDonnell, a conservative Republican, insisted sexual orientation should matter not. “All I can tell you is what I’ve always said about judges, and that is that these ought to be merit-based selections solely based on a person’s skill, ability, fairness, judicial temperament, ” he said.
So what happened? Marshall and his family friends began scaring people; spreading their homophobic voodoo until Thorne-Begland was DOA. He wound up receiving 33 YES votes, 31 NOs (all via Republicans). Most disgusting, ten Republicans abstained and 26 delegates, including some coward Democrats, didn’t vote.
So who is this Bob Marshall (reminder: 703-853-4213)?
Well, he’s endorsed by the NRA (of course). He has five children. He has received numerous awards, all of which he happily lists on his website (Uh, does this even count? “The Potomac News Award, Readers Choice Award, One of the Best Public Servants in Prince William County”). He doesn’t much like the gays (of course, there’s now a 74.4% chance one of his kids will come out. Which might make things awkward in the Marshall household). He also seems to be something of an environmentalist, but—I’m guessing—only until this involves standing in the way of constructing a new Target or Pizza Hut.
Sigh.
