EYE ON VIRGINIA

The total upset in the Virginia races for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General last November 5th, is wreaking havoc on the rule of law here.  All three seats, formerly held by the GOP, were won by Democrats; we now have a 'house divided' similar to D.C. and frankly,  it is mind boggling when you have to deal with it this close up.  Our House of Delegates holds a majority GOP but our Senate is split 50/50 with the tie breaking vote to be cast by the Democratic Lt. Governor.  That should tell you something about how this is going to play out over the next few years.   This post, however, is about our Attorney General, Mark Herring. 

During Mr. Herring's campaign for Attorney General, he was relatively adept at avoiding too much conversation about the Marriage Amendment to the Virginia Constitution passed in 2006 by 57% of Virginia voters.  Then Senator Mark Herring also voted for its passage (twice).  Shortly after taking his sworn oath to defend both the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions in January 2014, Mr. Herring decided he was not going to defend the marriage amendment based on the fact he found it to be unconstitutional and discriminatory and he refused to appoint outside counsel to defend the Commonwealth!  OK, I guess we could deal with that.  This, however, is where Mr. Herring crossed the line and took it one unprecedented step further -  he actually joined the plaintiffs in an existing lawsuit against the Commonwealth asking a federal judge to declare the Amendment unconstitutional. 

This is Mark Herring

 



 



This article is NOT about the marriage amendment.  This article is about the Rule of Law and the blatant disregard of an oath and the duty to a client.  This article is about an attorney adhering to his Professional Conduct Code required by the Virginia Bar Association and his  sworn duty to uphold the laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Understand this - there is NO precedent set that allows an Attorney General to abandon his client (the state and its citizens) to actively join in a lawsuit against them.  None.  It is absolutely unheard of.   So, here we are.  Virginians will not stand for this.  Mr. Herring must answer for his unlawful actions. He cannot and will not be allowed to cross the line without having to face the consequences and every other Attorney General in every single state of the union that does what Mr. Herring is doing must face the consequences. 

We are being continually faced with elected officials in the highest of positions flaunting their blatant disregard for the rule of the law, refusing to defend or enforce duly passed laws they don't like or agree with and  activist, radical judges who carry out their wishes. We have seen similar actions play out in California, Pennsylvania and Nevada by state Attorneys General and Governors who also violate their duty by allowing this type of lawlessness to happen.  When you have examples like President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder who also decide to pick and choose which laws they not only don't want to defend but also work to undermine, what else can be expected? Lawlessness breeds lawlessness but there is a difference between us and them - WE have to answer for it - they don't think they do.  Well, yes they do!

I am reminded of when I was in school taking typing class and the practice phrase over and over was:  "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country."  Well people,

NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN TO COME TO THE AID OF THEIR COUNTRY!  Just do it!