E.W. Jackson opens up in Manassas before his opponents have a chance to pour it on

Typical of someone with a check-marked past, E.W. Jackson’s rhetorical venom has left few progressive sphere’s of Virginia society untouched and on Wednesday, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor may have given the reasons why.

During what the Richmond Times Dispatch describes as “an unusual news conference in Manassas,” Jackson spoke for over 45 minutes about his past and the perceived mistakes he’s made.

According to the nominee for lieutenant governor, Jackson has smoked marijuana (how terrible!), used other controlled substances in the past, and was once ‘forced’ to file for bankruptcy. That is, Jackson has been a failure in his own mind in the past.

Jackson’s perceived resurrection and move beyond his own past has catapulted his social and economic views onto the far-right conservative plane. Like so many on the far-right of the political spectrum, those who have become born-again conservatives are often the ones most zealous and hateful of anyone who isn’t like them, whether they be homosexuals, Muslims, pro-choice advocates, environmentalists, or worse, Democrats.

To the E.W. Jackson’s of the world, they are living proof that hard work, determination, and (in Jackson’s case) the path of God can lead anyone up the social ladder in the U.S. and anyone who disagrees is ‘clearly’ lazy,  waiting on government handouts, and a social parasite. Also, for the Jackson’s of the world, their renewed success leads to an arrogance in their own beliefs and I dare say, Providence, so much so that they mock and verbally assault anyone who doesn’t closely align with their views of the world.  

The way he has gone about delivering his message has only created, and will only create, more tension inside the Commonwealth of Virginia, leaving folks in every political camp with little more than growing impatience and intolerance.

If you want to be a far-right conservative, then go for it, but you don’t have to do so by framing everything you say in the negative. Ultimately, the best policy that anyone can follow is compassion for all human beings. Isn’t that what Jesus Christ taught?!