I am no expert on this fellow but reading the blurbs on the sites that you listed has me disagreeing with you.
A bizarre case surfaced in 2000 when Moran grabbed an 8-year-old boy after the boy claimed to have a gun and demanded his car keys. Sounds like a eightyearold that could use a little manhandling. What a weird, punkish thing to do.
And here's what he said about "jews" and iraq during an antiwar rally - "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should." I don't entirely agree with the statement (i think that if every Jewish person in American decried the war, Bush would have still gone ahead with his own agenda) but I don't think the remark is anit-semetic.
And finally at the risk of defending a wifebeater... his wife called the cops. No charges were filed. They got divorced soon thereafter. Could he have hit her? Sure. But it's also quite possible that he did not. Everyone deserves to be presumed innocent.
I can't get down with your characterisation of this fella, based on the facts that you've presented. I'm always willing to be convinced, though.
I used to live in Alexandria and I didn't vote for him because of the anti-Semitism and the incident with the little boy. I didn't know he was a wifebeater too.
Although I think this is a valid perspective (and of course every person has to vote according to her conscience and that will entail a different balancing of issues), I have to disagree. I try to vote in a way that I think will maximize the good, and although this guy personally doesn't deserve to have power, prestige, and financial backing, the votes he casts accomplish good things and protect things I care about. Maybe it's cynical or maybe it's just realistic, but I'd rather have someone I personally detest who protects things I think are important than someone who is a "good" person (insofar as that can be separated from the harm they would do voting against things i find valuable) but who will vote in ways that go against my values.
@FourthWaveBaby: I think what you might be missing here is the individual's ability to work with others. Sure he might vote on bills the way that you prefer, but could he get a bill off the ground? Could he build any sort of consensus if no one trusts him because of his crimes? Seems as though he would have difficulty being anything more than a 'me-too' senator.
My father didn't beat my mother. He beat me instead. Years later, after my abusive husband put me in the hospital, she had the nerve to say to me that at least her husband had never hit her. I told her to f**k off but what I should have said was, yeah, he never hit you, but only because you allowed him to hit me in your place. Cowards. Both of them. So I say good for you for taking a stand.
BTW, I'm SO excited about this election. And I'm not even American.
I agree with you Megan. It's the old "devil you know" conundrum, but in this case I second your emotion in not voting for him. His personal issues trump his positions. You can't be a "feminist leaning wife beater" and get a pass. You are absolutely right - standards should apply to all parties. Donna Brazile, who is one of my all time favorite people, is disappointing me on this.
This is like those Republican politicians who keep getting caught with their pants down with little boys. I could never vote for someone with something like that on their record no matter how much I agreed with their policies (not that I would vote Republican often, but you get my point).
and as persuasive as megan's argument is, i don't think we can really put levels on what the public's predilections can be. there's no gradient levels here. it's a free country. like and dislike whomever you choose...slander your disliked person on a blog if it's your thing. if you don't like clinton because of monica lewinsky, then you have every right to not like him because of it. if you don't like edwards because of rielle hunter, then that's fine, too. if you don't like a candidate because of something that they said or did that didn't sit right with you, then that's fine too.
some people could never vote for a pro-life candidate, or a candidate that had a bad record with the environment, or what have you. we love to look down our noses at pro-lifers as one-issue voters, but one-issue voting isn't solely a pro-life vs. pro-choice argument.
@treecut just registered to vote in her new town!: The last (and only) primary challenge Moran faced was in 2004, and the entire Democratic Party establishment turned out in favor of Moran and used the resources of the party to do so.
In the primaries, I'm not 100% an issues voter. I also consider things like personality (i.e., how I perceive they would work for me/with others) and electability. In the general election, for me, this would be a tough call indeed.
@Archetype the Votin' Machine: I don't know if it's worse, but they're both a serious betrayal of someone you supposedluy love and I'm not sure I could forgive my husband for either offence.
@JLady: Um, I'd MUCH rather my husband cheat on me than beat me up (if I had such shitty choices). Cheating doesn't involve the police or my brothers kicking the shit out of a dude. Well--maybe the latter but not the police!
Sounds like this guy is ripe for a primary challenge:
"Hi. I'm Jane Weinbachs. Unlike my opponent Jim Moran, I'm neither a wife-beater nor an anti-Semite. I don't have the connections that my opponent has, but at least I'm not an embarrassment to the good people of Northern Virginia. Vote for me on March 13, so you can have a representative you're not ashamed of. I'm Jane Weinbachs and I approve this message."
11/04/08
A bizarre case surfaced in 2000 when Moran grabbed an 8-year-old boy after the boy claimed to have a gun and demanded his car keys. Sounds like a eightyearold that could use a little manhandling. What a weird, punkish thing to do.
And here's what he said about "jews" and iraq during an antiwar rally - "If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should." I don't entirely agree with the statement (i think that if every Jewish person in American decried the war, Bush would have still gone ahead with his own agenda) but I don't think the remark is anit-semetic.
And finally at the risk of defending a wifebeater... his wife called the cops. No charges were filed. They got divorced soon thereafter. Could he have hit her? Sure. But it's also quite possible that he did not. Everyone deserves to be presumed innocent.
I can't get down with your characterisation of this fella, based on the facts that you've presented. I'm always willing to be convinced, though.
11/04/08
11/04/08
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11/04/08
11/04/08
BTW, I'm SO excited about this election. And I'm not even American.
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11/04/08
and as persuasive as megan's argument is, i don't think we can really put levels on what the public's predilections can be. there's no gradient levels here. it's a free country. like and dislike whomever you choose...slander your disliked person on a blog if it's your thing. if you don't like clinton because of monica lewinsky, then you have every right to not like him because of it. if you don't like edwards because of rielle hunter, then that's fine, too. if you don't like a candidate because of something that they said or did that didn't sit right with you, then that's fine too.
some people could never vote for a pro-life candidate, or a candidate that had a bad record with the environment, or what have you. we love to look down our noses at pro-lifers as one-issue voters, but one-issue voting isn't solely a pro-life vs. pro-choice argument.
11/04/08
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11/04/08
P.S. Moran, you're an asshole.
11/04/08
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11/04/08
"Hi. I'm Jane Weinbachs. Unlike my opponent Jim Moran, I'm neither a wife-beater nor an anti-Semite. I don't have the connections that my opponent has, but at least I'm not an embarrassment to the good people of Northern Virginia. Vote for me on March 13, so you can have a representative you're not ashamed of. I'm Jane Weinbachs and I approve this message."
11/04/08
11/04/08