Conservative PAC, Women Speak Out Virginia, gets caught in big lie by PolitiFact Virginia

Most of us (hopefully all of us) know that purposeful deceit is simply wrong on a number of different levels. But as an advocacy group, purposeful deceit is simply stupid (as well as wrong), as it leaves many individuals with a bad feeling in their mouths and an unwillingness to believe anything that the advocacy group in question has to say. Nonetheless, Women Speak Out Virginia has been caught by PolitiFact airing a big fat lie to the people of Virginia.

Women Speak Out Virginia, a Political Action Committee (PAC) aligned with the fringe-right of the political spectrum organization, the Susan B. Anthony List, aired a radio advertisement that criticizes Democratic Party candidate for governor, Terry McAuliffe, for what the ad claims are “common ground abortion center health and safety standards.”

The ads narrator says, “McAuliffe refuses to require women’s health clinics to provide the same sanitary environment we expect of dental offices and hospitals.”

To make a long story short, PolitiFact concludes, “McAuliffe did oppose new regulations that were approved for abortion clinics earlier this month. But it is ridiculous to imply that these rules elevate the sanitary standards for clinics to those of dental offices.”

This latest purposely deceitful (unless this PAC’s personnel are just lazy and incompetent; you decide which is worse) ad by Women Speak Out Virginia is yet one more example of the lengths to which right-wing political groups are willing to go to “win” the policy and political battle. The ad shows no shame as it widely expands the truth to open Terry McAuliffe for political attack.

But life is full of ironies and ads like these by Women Speak Out Virginia could well be the tipping point that totally delegitimizes this group as a serious political force that should be listened to by the people of Virginia and their elected representatives alike.

There is never so much lying on the line in the sphere of politics that would warrant any individual or group ceding their integrity for a “political win” by knowingly telling lies. For what it’s worth, it’s sad that so many individuals and groups in politics seem to have forgotten this simple principle: do good and you’ll go far.