Sins of Omission

by: michael r. shannon | published: 04 19, 2010

Do you think Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell gave Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli a heads up last week before releasing his proclamation that revived Confederate History Month — after an eight year internment — and simultaneously neglected to mention the “peculiar institution?”

In the future it might be a good idea for the governor to float his ideas past the attorney general before unleashing them on an unsuspecting public. Cuccinelli has had some experience with media firestorms after his letter to Virginia college presidents informing them it was against the law to give homosexuals special protections not specified by the legislature and his advice might prove useful.

Maybe they could agree to a reciprocal information flow.

In any event, McDonnell and Cuccinelli are now Even Steven when it comes to media ambushes.

And hasn’t this been an eventful first year for our new Republican administration? First the homosexuals and now the black “leadership” have both had their worst stereotypes confirmed. Are there any Democrat grievance groups we’ve left out? Maybe Lt. Governor Bolling can be photographed wearing a sombrero while doing his Frito Bandito impersonation.

Republicans did learn a valuable rule of thumb from this latest blowup: When leftist columnists at the Washington Post invoke the name of former Republican VA governor Jim Gilmore to criticize your actions, you are in big trouble.

But that’s the risk of outsourcing Civil War proclamations to the late Maj. Gen. Jubal Early. McDonnell’s proclamation proclaimed “the people of Virginia” were fighting for independence, but their gallant efforts (and cool uniforms) were finally ground down by the North’s “insurmountable resources.”

Just add “Grant was a drunken butcher” and you have the entire “Lost Cause” lament. Early was not one of the outstanding generals, but he was far and away the premier propagandist of the post–war era. We have him to thank for popularizing the “Lost Cause” and downplaying slavery as a precipitating factor.

Although popular, the interpretation is not true. As the Washington Post reminded us, Governor Gilmore aptly said: “Had there been no slavery, there would have been no war.”

Naturally not mentioning the actual cause of the conflict was bound to attract attention. Even recently retired Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine interrupted his extensive travels to join the chorus of condemnation, claiming the proclamation “offends millions of Americans of all races and in all parts of our nation.”

He should know. Kaine visited most of them during the last year of his term in office while simultaneously serving as chairman of the DNC.

Meanwhile, I keep going back to McDonnell’s appearance at my church last summer. He looked so mild and inoffensive. His hair was perfect.

Who knew he was this boiling engine of controversy?

Give McDonnell credit, when it became evident that this was a mistake he turned on a dime, reissued the proclamation and gave slavery the condemnation it deserved.

The curious part is the speculation the controversy damaged McDonnell’s chances for a 2012 Vice Presidential invitation. The governor could have issued a proclamation praising Amos & Andy for their contribution to racial harmony and popular culture and still looked more astute and dignified than the current incumbent: Bozo the Biden.

Until the crisis distracted me, I had been preoccupied with fulfilling the administrative requirements of the Commonwealth. I’m going to have to renew my driver’s license in 2010, but I was also wondering if it was time to renew my voting rights?

Then I remembered — I haven’t been convicted of a crime and released from jail, so I’m still good to go. Not so for about 300,000 of our fellow Virginians, and wouldn’t you know it, Bob McDonnell is in the thick of this, too.

It’s been reported governor plans to require nonviolent offenders to write a letter explaining the circumstances of their arrest, efforts to get a job after release, any subsequent participation in church or community activities and whether or not they plan to continue their search for the real killers.

Naturally, since it comes from a Republican, this makes Democrats angry. Sen. Yvonne B. Miller (D–Norfolk) and president of Felons for Change, is outraged, claiming, “This is designed to suppress the rights of poor people.”

Democrats like Miller want to turn voting into another unearned entitlement that stays with you cradle to grave, like stimulus funds. This sort of philosophy only serves to cheapen the franchise.

If one commits a crime that revokes the privilege, then he should be required to earn it back.

I’m not so sure about the essay, but I do think former offenders should be required to work an election day at the polls to prove a commitment to the democratic process and their sincere desire to become a citizen in good standing again.

It's not like former cons would be in a totally alien environment, I’m sure there will also be a few ACORN members at the polls.

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