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Community Corner

Tom Rust - fact challenged?

The last thing a politician should ever do is challenge fact checkers, especially if he’s trying to run away from his record.

 

Tom Rust’s latest mailer – printed in pink for a thinly veiled effect -- accuses Jennifer Boysko of lying about his record. He has flipped on some of his long-held positions in this election year and then expects the public to forget his voting history.

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In 2011 Tom Rust voted for HB1440, the “Personhood bill” which, “Provides that unborn children at every stage of development enjoy all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of the Commonwealth, subject only to the laws and constitutions of Virginia and the United States, precedents of the United States Supreme Court, and provisions to the contrary in the statutes of the Commonwealth.” This would have made abortion and most forms of contraception illegal.

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In 2010 Tom Rust voted for HB1042, an ultrasound bill, which “Requires that, as a component of informed consent to an abortion, to determine gestation age, every pregnant female shall undergo ultrasound imaging and be given an opportunity to view the ultrasound image of her fetus prior to the abortion.” In 2009 he voted for a similar bill.  To his credit, this election year he did vote no for “invasive” ultrasounds.

 

In 2009 Tom Rust voted for an amendment to HB1600, a bill to defund Planned Parenthood, which said, “No expenditures from general, special or other nongeneral fund sources may be made out of any appropriation by the General Assembly to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof.” Planned Parenthood performs cancer screenings and mammograms.

 

In 2010 Tom Rust voted for an amendment to HB30, that inserted language relating to abortion, which said, “No expenditures from general, special or other nongeneral fund sources may be made out of any appropriation by the General Assembly for providing abortion services, except as otherwise required by federal statute. However, nothing herein shall prevent a physician from providing medical assistance to preserve the life of a pregnant woman provided that every possible measure shall be taken to preserve the life of the unborn child of the pregnant woman.” This bill did not provide for exceptions for rape or incest. He voted for similar bills in 2009 and 2008.

 

In 2010 Tom Rust voted for HB108, to prevent localities form participating in gun buybacks, which provides that, “no locality may participate in any program in which individuals are given a thing of value in exchange for surrendering a firearm to the locality unless the governing body of the locality has enacted an ordinance authorizing the participation of the locality. The ordinance shall require that such firearms shall be sold by public auction or sealed bids to a person licensed as a dealer.” In 2009 he also voted to override Gov. Kaine’s veto of HB2528 for the same thing.

 

Tom Rust said he “lead the way” on Medicaid expansion, but what he did was set up a commission for more study of Medicaid expansion, which included a series of impossible reforms that must first be met before Virginia will participate in Medicaid expansion. Other states didn't seem to have a problem.

 

Tom Rust says a vote for Boysko will be “More partisan politics as usual” and yet independent studies show he votes with his Republican leadership 97% of the time and recently stated that he endorses the Cuccinelli/Jackson/Obenshain ticket.

 

Don’t be fooled by Tom Rust. He casts votes for political convenience and then cherry-picks which votes he wants you to hear about and then refuses to tell you about the rest.





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