A Ken Cuccinelli supporter was canvassing a Virginia neighborhood last week when one particular gentleman commented on the "Women for Cuccinelli" shirt she was wearing.  It struck him, because he admitted while he was supporting Cuccinelli for governor, his wife and daughter were single-issue voters supporting the other guy.  Their main issue happened to be "women's health," the poll-tested alternative for "abortion," with "marriage equality," the poll-tested phrase for "gay rights," running a close second.

How Terry McAuliffe, the liberal candidate, plans to advance these causes is still unknown, since his take on social issues consists of attacking Ken Cuccinelli's faith-based beliefs.

One can easily wonder why a married man with children would base his gubernatorial race so largely on his indifference that children be able to gasp their first breaths, and his apparent conviction that the union between himself and his wife is not at all different from a variety of other combinations.

McAuliffe's accusations are outlandish to the point of insulting the intelligence of his opponents and supporters.  Claiming your opponent, whom is married with five daughters, is focused on advancing his anti-woman agenda is patently ridiculous.  However, when you are under investigation by multiple federal agencies and your greatest skill is keeping Democrats funded and in power, you are bound to have to creatively attack your opponent.

But the real problem with McAuliffe's campaign -- or rather, with the two social wedge issues that animate it -- is that these issues distract all voters from what truly limits their freedom and prosperity. 

Statistics on the homosexual population in Virginia are limited.  However, an estimate from Gary Gates, demographer at the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, places the adult homosexual population in Virginia at 2.9%.  This could be overstated, considering the explicit agenda of the source.  However, even if it is grossly under-stated by 100%, you would still be looking at roughly 6% of the voting base.  It is reasonable to suggest that there would be a vast majority of citizens -- including members of the homosexual community -- at risk of being misrepresented or underserved by an administration so heavily focused on such the issue of redefining marriage.  After all, Virginians are concerned about job security, property taxes, income taxes, private property rights, health care costs, affordable energy, and many other things, just like everyone else.  Are homosexual Virginians at all different?

The abortion issue, for its part, has become one of the most reliable dividing lines in politics.  Abortion support is typically required of Democrat politicians, and McAuliffe has eagerly complied.  One can only hope that he is simply pandering to his base (and that his position is not rooted in racism, as was the case with Lawrence Lader and Margaret Sanger, founders of NARAL and Planned Parenthood, respectively).

But regardless of McAuliffe's motives, it is remarkable that an issue like abortion has remained front and center, and often the deciding factor for voters, for so many decades -- particularly in light of what is really at stake in this election and most others.

According to the CDC, Virginia has remained at roughly 27,000 abortions for eight consecutive years, despite the growing population.  If one considers the 27,000 women and babies that suffer through abortion each year, and further assumes that the father of the child, his parents, and the mother's parents all live in Virginia, all of these people make up only 2% of the voting base. 

It is safe to assume that Terry McAuliffe is committed to single-issue voters (and Planned Parenthood, who has poured more than $1 million into his candidacy).  But while pandering to a minuscule single-issue sliver of the state's population might win an election (though it is not guaranteed in this case), it is not even close to the way to govern justly and effectively.

With numbers like these,   increasing scandals involving McAuliffe and utter lack of governing or job creating experience, you have to believe a greater amount of Virginians will benefit simply if more broad-minded voters turn out for this particular election.