An open letter to Delegate Bob Marshall
Dear Bob,
It hurts to write this, but write it I must.
I was one of your first supporters in your U.S. Senate bid two years ago. I defended you from the moronic sludge thrown at you by Democrats (and sadly, a few Republicans) about your record. I took to this blog to give badly needed context to the attacks aimed at you over your Love Canal comments (note to readers, if you’re asking why I capitalized Love Canal, read this).
This is why I am so confused and disappointed at the comments attributed to you in the Staunton News-Leader.
To wit, there are two comments where you are quoted that, for obvious reasons, have gotten the most attention. Here’s the first:
The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically. Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.
Of course, you can see why that would upset a number of people. Oddly enough, this wasn’t the quote that bothered me the most. Nature can be very, very cruel, in ways we don’t anticipate. Hobbes didn’t call the state of nature “nasty, brutish, and short” for nothing.
It was the second quote attributed to you that bothered me (emphasis added):
In the Old Testament, the first born of every being, animal and man, was dedicated to the Lord. There’s a special punishment Christians would suggest.
Come again? I find it very hard to believe Christians “suggest” the Lord inflicts punishment upon children for the sins of their parents. As I understand it (and I admit I am no theologian), the only sin we inherited was Original Sin. Full Stop.
There are so many ways this statement troubles; the general inference that disabled children are somehow punishments handed down by the Lord is the one that has generated the most heat (here‘s one of the gentler exmaples, and like JR, I disagree with that inference strongly), but there are others that – I hope – you will answer with something akin to you-know-I-really-didn’t-think-that-through.
- Are we to assume that the Lord values first-born children more than subsequent ones? Is he less upset if a second-, third-, or later conceived child is murdered in the womb than the first-born?
- Do the opinions of the parents count for nothing? Can a mother or father repent? Or is this the one sin whose punishment not only affects innocents, but is also irreversible?
- Assuming the initial statement you made is true (and usually, you research these things well enough to ensure that), is this really something we should tout in such a manner? Would it not be better to describe it as an unfortunate effect that should be combatted to the best of our ability by the medical community? As I recall, several in the pro-life community have noted some correlation between abortion and breast cancer (note to readers: correlation does not imply causality, so take it easy), but I know of no respectable person who claimed the suffering of breast cancer as a proper pennance or atonement.
Bear in mind, this comes from one of your longest admirers in the blogosphere. Please, tell me that this admiration and energy was not in vain.
28 Responses to “An open letter to Delegate Bob Marshall”
[...] An open letter to Delegate Bob Marshall « Virginia Virtucon Says: February 22, 2010 at 2:53 pm | Reply [...]
I’m sorry but this is where I draw the line. There is no place in the Republican party for idiot’s to call children with disabilities a judgement from God. As a parent of a child with special needs I demand you resign from the Republcian Party today! Resign Bob! Resign now and show you have some class.
As someone who voted for Del. Marshall in the last election, and as a pro-life Roman Catholic, there needs to be a retraction or some kind of explanation regarding these remarks, which I agree are out of line. I will stop short of saying he should resign, because there are plenty of politicians who say all kinds of things which could be considered over the line and they have not resigned as a result. I have no doubt, however, that these remarks will be considered by the voters of the 13th District come 2011.
Good to see someone on the Right taking a principled stand on this. Well done.
Im my son’s father way before I’m anything else. Its time our kids and other loved ones who may have special needs to no longer take a back seat in this world. My son deserves the same respect as anyone else and so does my wife!
Right now I’m a angry autism dad!
Here is a follow-up on the part of Del. Marshall: http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/02/virginia-state-delegate-i-dont-believe-that-disabled-kids-are-gods-punishments-period.php. However, it doesn’t sound much like a retraction to me.
Bob has long been a supporter of autistic children and their families, making his original statement all the more bizarre.
He’s just offensive and sick. It really makes me feel like he’s used me and my community for his own political gain. To even to try to defend his statements shows how much of a pig this man really is.
Lovettsvillelady,
I dunno… Pat Robertson said the earthquake in Haiti was due to Haitians selling their souls to Satan. And in that same segment he asked his viewers to donate money to them. It doesn’t make the comments any less idiotic.
Bob deserves the benefit of the doubt: he has been a champion the of the disabled and unborn for his career.He is a true statesman.To demand his resignation is absurd.Hes failable, he made a mistake and he said he was sorry.
Now those intrpretations of God’s “will” are genuine “moronic sludge”….cutesy term……if anyone is criticizing Marshall about his lack of care of disabled children they are dead wrong. BUT, what about the entire General Assembly saying in effect to school children and medicaid recipients??? i can faintly hear the winds of “screw you” blowing up I-95 from Richmond yesterday, and now until March 13th. Thats a lot of wind power that should be captured!!!!
According to Bob Marshall, if you are harmed by nature, it’s because your Mother sinned.
I hope someone on here gets him to clarify…i’m writing him right now!!!
When the Lord was handing out brains Bob Marshall was first in line, but decided to hold the door for the rest of us.
There are 4 mentally challenged children at my church. They are a blessing to the church and their parents. The world they live in is somehow different. They seem to live in a happier place. I envy them in way.
His retraction doesn’t make any sense to me.
I don’t see how I formed a “misimpression” from his words.
I don’t see how his words were “poorly chosen”; there’s no way his actual meaning was mistaken because of vague language.
What’s actually happened is that we’ve been given a real window into the soul of Bob Marshall. We now know that he blames children’s disabilities on their parents, in the name of a vengeful God.
That’s a telling piece of information. I know what I need to know about Marshall.
What we do with this information is a matter for our own consciences. I’ll work tirelessly to see that he isn’t re-elected.
If you thought macaca was bad….
I’ve been thinking that pretty much all day, Light Horse. If Marshall isn’t careful he’s going to have a feeding frenzy on his hands. He’s 0 for 1 on explanations so far… What was Allen’s batting average before it was all said and done?
We are a nation of people with different religious believes, but one thing unifies us: our belief in our freedom to take personal decisions. I’m a mother to a special needs kid. I have waited a life time to see him come into my life. He is the only child I ever had, and most likely the only child I will ever have. So somebody Tell me how is GOD punishing me??? Million parents to special needs children are fighting every day, to better the life of their children. A lot of them go to church, mosque, temple or synagogue to pray to GOD to give them the strength to face the hardship of seeing the most important being in their lives suffer. WHO is your GOD Bob Marshall? Because their GOD is goodness. A vengeful, heartless GOD? nobody prays to that BOB MARSHALL. ONLY YOU DO. You heartless, vengeful, godless man.
http://www.wmal.com/Article.asp?id=1708065
Now Bob’s done even lied about it. UGH. What a piece of work!
Resign! Hang your head in shame!
Lee Talley
He didn’t lie, he never said specifically that handicapped kids are a punishment from god. Why didn’t WAPO report the comments? I know that there is audio but it doesn’t provide any context whatsoever.
He said it in the words he used. Don’t slice hairs what he did was wrong and evil and he’s only sorry for being caught!
Parents to special needs children like me and people in general are demanding his resignation. A petition had started. If Outraged please visit/sign:
http://www.petitiononline.com/disable1/petition.html
So can I call that WMAL article 0 for 2 on justifications?
Bob screwed up big time and apologized..lets move on!!!!
Ken,
I have yet to hear a legitimate apology.
Ken,
I can’t move on he’s done, time for him to go.
0 for 2 and he still hasn’t got the guts to say “I am wrong”.
If you follow Marshall’s logic then what sin did I or my wife commit to have a child with autism. Is there some sin menu in heaven that doles out bad things to innocents because of what we do. All life is sacred in God’s eyes and none of it is any less sacred because of some “sin” that the parents may have committed. All sin is the same in God’s eyes. Marshall sinned by mocking the sacredness of the life of a disabled child and it God’s view that sin is the same as abortion or murder or telling a little “white” lie.
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