Democratic Party candidate for governor, Terry McAuliffe, comes out in support of marriage equality

While many of us, including myself, often bemoan the “flip-flopping” positions of political representatives, it’s unfair and unreasonable to expect that political representatives will not change some of their political views over time. As we grow as individuals, with different experiences and subsequent points of view, the world and our ideas about it can change.

So when Democratic Party candidate for Virginia’s governorship, Terry McAuliffe, stated publicly on Saturday at a fundraiser for Equality Virginia that he supports marriage equality, it shouldn’t have come as some odious “flip-flop” or a mere catering to the current political context (even if caving to the political times is a big reason for McAuliffe’s announcement).

While at the Equality Virginia fundraiser, McAuliffe said, “We’ve got to make sure that Virginia is open and welcoming to everybody.”

On the other side of the debate is Republican Party challenger for governor of Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, who has chosen a distinct political tract on the issue of marriage equality.

Cuccinelli is challenging a ruling by the judiciary prohibiting anti-sodomy laws on constitutional grounds, adding to Cuccinelli’s already notable record for attempting to slow or even roll back discriminatory protections in Virginia based on sexual preference.  

From this vantage point it’s difficult to see how Cuccinelli could ever convincingly turn back towards the middle of the political spectrum on the issue of marriage equality (assuming he ever chooses to do so). If he did , Cuccinelli WOULD be making a noteworthy and undeniably “flip-floppish” political no-no.

Thus, there is an area within which political representatives cannot approach without coming across to their respective constituents as ‘insincere’, ‘fake’, or swaying along with the political winds with no real political conviction of their own.

It’s one thing for Terry McAuliffe to come out in support of marriage equality. McAuliffe has never attempted to restrict or even retard the rights of homosexuals. Cuccinelli, on the other hand, has oddly made it something of a crusade to erode the rights of homosexuals in Virginia.

What makes it worse is that it’s difficult to tell whether Cuccinelli is sincere in his prosecution of homosexuals in Virginia or if he is a playing a cynical political game. For better or worse, it may be more of the former and a little bit less of the latter.