Last month, I wrote in the Washington Post about a bill passed by the Virginia General Assembly that disassociates the commonwealth from the military detention of al-Qaeda or its terrorist affiliates who happen to be U.S. citizens. The bill, HB 1160, effectively bars Virginia state troopers from arresting a terrorist like Anwar al-Awlaki if they knew he would be put in military detention.
The author of that shameful bill, Delegate Bob Marshall, was thoroughly trounced yesterday in his bid for Virginia’s GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. The Associated Press reports:
Former Sen. George Allen easily defeated three lesser-known conservative Republican challengers Tuesday in Virginia’s primaries, earning a shot at regaining the seat he lost six years ago in a race both parties consider critical to controlling the U.S. Senate.
With 90 percent of the vote counted, Allen had 65 percent of the vote. His nearest rival, tea party leader Jamie Radtke, had 23 percent, state legislator Bob Marshall had 7 percent and Chesapeake minister E.W. Jackson had 5 percent.
The good news is Marshall won’t be bringing his Ron Paul-esque views on the war on terror to Washington, DC. The bad news is the bill he authored in Richmond to have the state employees of Virginia lay down their arms in the war against al-Qaeda still takes effect on July 1.
