A lesson relearned in a personal way

Jenny Davis — May 22, 2014 – 2:03 pm | Rabbis for the Jewish vote Comments (0) Add a comment

by Rabbi Jack Moline, Executive Director, NJDC

On the weekend following Virginia’s statewide elections, we attended a family event.  My son-in-law was unexpectedly absent.  He was campaign manager for Mark Herring who was running for Attorney General.  Mark’s opponent was a Republican whose legislative record included proposing criminal consequences for women who did not report miscarriages to law enforcement within 24 hours.

When Kevin was able to join us for a few hours, he reported that Mark was ahead in the first count by eighteen votes statewide.  The Board of Elections certified the margin three weeks later with Mark’s margin at 165 votes.  A state recount eventually placed the tally at a 907-vote majority.

2.2 million people voted in the election.

The Attorney General has significant authority to interpret and apply the law in Virginia.  Mark Herring’s Republican predecessor, Ken Cuccinelli, had begun an investigation of a University of Virginia professor for his research validating climate change.  Cuccinelli had also advised all state colleges that bans on sexual discrimination in admissions were unlawful.  And Cuccinelli was among the first AGs to challenge the Affordable Health Care Act in court.  (He also lost the Governor’s race to Terry McAuliffe.)

In his first 120 days in office, AG Herring has offered considered opinions that have changed the quality of life for tens of thousands of people.  He has insisted that Virginia’s prohibition on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional and changed the state’s legal position, siding with the plaintiffs in the case challenging Virginia’s ban on marriage rights for same-sex couples. A federal judge sided with their arguments and recently ruled the ban unconstitutional. And he has designated “dreamers,” young people brought to this country illegally but who have been raised as Americans, eligible for in-state tuition for higher education. 

And there will be no promotion of invasive ultrasounds for women seeking abortions, no extra protection for those exploiting loopholes to sell guns without background checks, no discrimination on the basis of orientation and no intimidation of academics for pursuing scientific truths.

When I think of how close my state came to four years of battles over civil rights, health care security and academic integrity, I shudder.  The race for Virginia’s Governor was won decisively; a Republican AG would have spent four years trying to derail the agenda of Virginia’s elected leader, to the disadvantage of working families, women and the vulnerable.

We are from different states with different challenges, to be sure. However, you know enough people who did not vote on your last election day to have made a difference in your statewide or local elections.  I certainly know 18, 165, maybe even 907, even if I was confident that I had delivered strong messages about the importance of voting during my entire career - a message that has always been non-partisan, as it should be. 

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