Virginia Democrats go to the polls Tuesday to select their nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general (gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe is unopposed). Turnout will be very low – thanks in part to The Washington Post. Notice of the primary election can’t be found until page B-6.
What are they hiding? Liberal lieutenant governor candidate Ralph Northam’s running TV ads touting his D-rating from the NRA and the heartfelt support of Planned Parenthood boss Cecile Richards. She loved how State Sen. Northam staunchly opposed having a woman look at her baby in an ultrasound before the baby’s killed. In a perfect juxtaposition, the ad runs Cecile’s praise while the screen says “endorsed by The Washington Post”:
On May 20, the Post endorsed Northam and declared, “Some in Virginia have lamented what they see as a thin political bench among Democrats. But this crop of candidates suggests the emergence of a talented new generation.” It failed to make an endorsement among “equally impressive” Democrat candidates for attorney general.
Northam also proudly touts being endorsed by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. Despite Northam’s endorsement by activists who believe abortion should be legal until the last day of pregnancy – and, in principle, after birth as well – the Post portrays the pro-life side as extremists. Somehow, in Tuesday’s story, reporter Errin Whack claimed Northam’s made “education a centerpiece of his candidacy.”
Try to find that in his TV ad. It’s more accurate to say Northam has made the Washington Post endorsement a centerpiece of his candidacy.
Last Friday, Whack reported a story on a debate between the attorney general candidates with this beginning:
VIRGINIA BEACH - Talking to a crowd of enthusiastic supporters here Thursday, both Democrats running to succeed Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) described him as an extreme conservative and said he has abused his office for partisan gain.
Justin Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, and state Sen. Mark R. Herring (Loudoun) cited the lawsuit that Cuccinelli filed in an attempt to stop implementation of President Obama's health-care law and the attorney general's support for tighter restrictions on abortion as evidence that he has overstepped his bounds.
That may be an accurate account of what the candidates said, but the Post simply cannot admit that their “impressive” candidates are on the liberal extreme on abortion and gay rights. This is how Whack downplayed those opinions in the story's eleventh paragraph:
Fairfax and Herring said they would work to pass gun-reform legislation, protect the environment and fight elder and child abuse. They also said they would oppose attempts to expand restrictions on abortion and fight for equality for minorities and gays.
