Myself as a an unnice person but i can see how sometimes people would see that differently but you know what i’ve never done mr speaker i’ve never got on this floor and i’ve challenged the faith of an elected official because i disagreed with them on policy
I’ve never gone on this floor mr speaker and suggested that the other side of the aisle were racist because they didn’t agree with my particular policy positions i’ve never suggested they were sexist because they didn’t agree with my particular policy positions but i’m keeping a running tally so far
Of this session we’re not very far into it in almost every day almost every day someone on the other side of the aisle either gets up and either subtly or comes right out and suggests that if you don’t agree with them on policy well then you’re not a christian you’re a
Sexist you’re a bigot you’re a racist but the moment someone actually stands up and says wait a second no i’m not going to accept that if you want to debate me on the merits of our particular policies i am happy to have that discussion but the moment you claim
With no evidence other than we don’t agree on a particular policy position the moment you claim that that makes us racist or sexist or bigoted mr speaker i’ve got news this was tried during the election cycle you had a lot of parents coming to their local elected officials
Asking questions about what was going on in their schools and the initial response was oh it’s not there and then when they saw evidence that it was based off of what their kids were coming home and saying to them and they went back and reissued the concern then they got
Told oh well then you must be a racist because that has been the repeated narrative coming from certain members of the other side of the aisle and there’s been a lot of times we’ve sat here politely and just took it mr speaker not this time i’m tired of it my constituents are
Tired of it because when these claims are made they’re not just made against governor younk and they’re not just made against us they’re made in part against the people that elected to send us here and i don’t know a single person in this chamber that i would define as racist or sexist
Or bigoted we have very different ideas about how to get to particular in states where all virginians can be happy healthy prosperous and free but just so i’m very clear will i be nice this session i would certainly like to be but i’m not about to sit here and listen to that mr
Speaker and then go home to my constituents and have them ask me why didn’t you stand up and defend us so let’s have a robust policy discussion but if you’re going to question the faith of the intentions of anybody that happens to disagree with you on policy
Then you don’t get to lecture us on compassion tolerance or an open debate thank you mr speaker [Applause] you
