Republican Presumed Nominee Ken Cuccinelli for Governor of Virginia Wants Civil Disobedience and Willingness to go to Jail for Opponents of Contraception/Health Care

Jailing for Someone Other Than Himself Of Course

The culture wars are not dead, just taking a rest while the main players lick their wounds and try to go back into the fight.  Chief among the armchair warriors is Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who will be the Republican nominee for Governor in the 2013 election. Mr. Cuccinelli is outraged, outraged we say that his religious views cannot be forced onto the general public by the government.

Cuccinelli, who also addressed the Iowa Republican Party’s Lincoln Day Dinner last spring, told conservative radio host Steve Deace that he strongly supports the lawsuit by Hobby Lobby Stores against the Affordable Care Act’s requirements for contraception coverage.

Now the issue here is not that the ACA requires anyone to use contraception, or to do anything that is contrary to their personal religious beliefs.  The issue is whether or not an employer may use their economic power as an employer to force employees to adhere to the employer’s religious beliefs.  Mr. Cuccinelli thinks they can, of course as long as employers are forcing Mr. Cuccinelli’s religious beliefs on employees and not someone else’s religion.

So this great culture warrior is urging that people that believe like he does actually go to jail for their beliefs.

Cuccinelli recounted an exchange with his own bishop in which he counseled the cleric to embrace civil disobedience: “My local bishop said, ‘Well, you know I told a group I’m ready to go to jail.’ And I said, ‘Bishop, don’t take this personally: You need to go to jail.’”

“What I mean by that is, people need to see it play out all the way to its logical conclusion,” Cuccinelli said.

But notice the difference here between a true hero like the civil rights leaders, like the Rev. Martin Luther King.  They were willing to go to jail themselves.  Mr. Cuccinelli, he’s willing to have others go to jail. 

Virginians will get a rare chance to send a message of supporting democracy and freedom in their fall gubernatorial election.  Let’s hope they are smart enough to do so.