He was the new face of the pragmatic, governance-ready GOP. He gave the response to the State of the Union. But in two crucial areas, he has revealed where moderation in today's GOP ends. It ends with gay people. McDonnell specifically removed employment non-discrimination protections for gay people working in state government. His attorney-general attempted to get Virginia's universities to end their non-discrimination policies against homosexual students.
And the moderation ends with African-Americans. When Powerline is troubled by McDonnell's resurrection of Confederate History Month in Virginia, and the removal of any reference to slavery in the governor's proclamation, you begin to see how deep the extremism runs in today's Dixified, nihilist radical Republican party.