December 21, 2010

Virginia’s Anti-Gay-Troops Lawmaker Speaks (VIDEO)

Photo illustration by Adam Weinstein; Civil War by US National Guard/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thenationalguard/4101112058/sizes/z/in/photostream/">Flickr Commons</a>, flag by obeeah13/<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28876831@N02/3536708963/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Flickr Commons</a>

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Yesterday, we brought you news of Virginia state Delegate Bob Marshall and his plan to keep gays out of the state’s National Guard, no matter what the Union federal government says about Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Marshall declined to return a call to his cell phone by Mother Jones, but he was happy to expand on his beliefs for DC television station WUSA. Video’s below, but here are the money quotes (h/t Washington Post). Open mouth, insert foot. But not in a gay way!:

  • “If I needed a blood transfusion and the guy next to me had committed sodomy 14 times in the last month, I’d be worried.”
  • “It’s a distraction when I’m on the battlefield and have to concentrate on the enemy 600 yards away and I’m worried about this guy who’s got eyes on me.”

[NOTE: Marshall has never been on a battlefield. Though in his youth he did take combative positions on incest and staffing the military ranks. And in the interceding years, he’s become something of an expert on power lines.]

For his part, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell—who someday might like to be president of the entire United States, not just commander in chief of the Army of the Potomac—told listeners to his monthly radio show that he wasn’t supporting this particular Marshall plan:

We can’t have two different systems in the federal and National Guard…Whatever the final guidelines of the Department of Defense I would expect the National Guard bureau in Virginia to adhere to those rules so we would have one set of rules for the entire military.

There’s a new battle of Richmond brewing! And this time it feels as if, no matter who wins, the South is definitely losing.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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