McDonnell Throws Mud at Fundraiser

At a recent fundraiser for Bob McDonnell, Shelia Johnson, the founder of BET and a prominent McDonnell supporter, alluded to and then mimicked the stuttering of Creigh Deeds. If that was not enough, according to news sources, McDonnell spoke to the crowd shortly after Johnson’s incident and did not apologize for her behavior.




Not only has the Deeds campaign come out to condemn this type of behavior, the nonpartisan National Stuttering Association has written a blistering open letter to Shelia Johnson, but it ought to have been addressed to the entire McDonnell campaign for condoning her remarks. In the letter, the NSA points out that stuttering “has nothing to do with intelligence, temperament or leadership ability.” Given this, it should go without saying that Johnson's remarks have no place in this campaign. Not only has the NSA come out to respond to Johnson's remarks, but members of the media have also acknowledged that this type of behavior is uncalled for. According to a fundraising email from the Deeds campaign, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews said McDonnell needs to "stop the personal stuff, NOW!" In the same email, David Shuster of NBC is quoted as saying, making fun of someone’s stuttering is “just disgusting.”

It seems that whenever Deeds tries to focus on the important issues facing Virginians, the McDonnell campaign starts throwing mud. This stuff has no place in the campaign and should not be tolerated. We need to let McDonnell know that residents of the Commonwealth will not condone this negative campaigning.

-Nick