Morning Read: VA Delegate's Comedic Response To SNL Skit

In a segment that’s already gone viral, Saturday Night Live mocked Virginia legislation this weekend.  Va. Del. Bob Marshall, author of the "personhood" bill making its way through Virginia's General Assembly, offered up some of his own jokes in response.

On a segment called “Really? With Seth and Amy,” Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler talked about the nationwide contraception controversy.Poehler said:

“The Virginia House of Representatives this week passed a bill that required women to have a transvaginal ultrasound before having an abortion,” Poehler said. “Really? Now don’t get me wrong. I love transvaginal. It’s my favorite airline.”

Meyers said:

“They also passed a bill saying life begins at conception. What’s next?  Life begins at last call? Life begins when you press send on your Match.com profile?”

Del. Bob Marshall discussed the skit with NBC’s Sarah Bloom.  He threw out some quips of his own:

“I was scandalized, shocked at the rampant sexist nature of this,” Marshall told NBC. ”I mean for example, that chauvinist Seth answers a question about pregnancy when in fact, it should have been Baby Momma who answers the question about pregnancy. I’ll bet Seth has never been pregnant.”

But when asked whether he thought SNL's send-up of his personhood bill was offensive, Marshall said:

"In this business, you better have some sense of humor, or you are going to get  a set of ulcers that you won't be able to get away from."

He also threw in this zinger:

“If it’s up to me, look, we tell kids in Virginia, 3rd graders, that life begins when sperm and egg meet. They’re kids - what do they know? Adults know life begins when the kids get married and leave home.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

Pro-choice advocates have come out against the personhood bill saying that it would have unintended consequences and has the potential to lead to the eventual prohibition of abortion and contraception.

But Marshall said this isn't the case:

“People need to read the bill. This doesn’t do any of the stuff that 95% of the people are saying out there,” he said. ”It doesn’t abolish abortion, it doesn’t get rid of birth control, it doesn’t affect in-vitro.”

Watch Bob Marshall's interview with NBC12:

* Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell traveled to Michigan last night to speak on behalf of Mitt Romney at the Kent County Lincoln Day Dinner in Grand Rapids.

McDonnell is a top vice-presidential pick and has already campaigned for Romney in South Carolina and Florida. With Santorum surging in polls, Michigan is a key state for Romney to win.

The Michigan primary is Feb. 28, a week from today.

* McDonnell may be traveling the country campaigning for Romney, but pressure is mounting in his home state for him to take action on the controversial abortion-related bills making their way through the Virginia legislature.

The GOP seems largely in favor of these bills, while many Democrats view these bills as an obliteration of women rights.

About 1000 people silently protested the bills Monday outside the state capitol and some delegates have urged the governor to veto the bill if it makes it on his desk.

The Richmond Times Dispatch reported:

“The issue will be a tricky balancing act for McDonnell, who is widely considered a potential GOP choice for vice president.

In late January, McDonnell indicated support for the ultrasound measure, saying on a radio show that "to be able to have that information before making what most people would say is a very important, serious, life-changing decision I think is appropriate. More recently, however, McDonnell has been less decisive, with a spokesman saying Saturday that "if the bill passes he will review it, in its final form, at that time."

A new Christopher Newport University/Richmond Times-Dispatch poll showed that the majority of Virginians reject the measure. Of those surveyed, 55 percent say they oppose the legislation while 36 percent support it.”

* DC blogger David Klion put together an interesting post for Metro users.  Klion used an online program to rank the “walkability” of all DMV metro stations.

The higher the “walkability” score, the greater the variety of stores and restaurants that area has and the more of a "walkers' paradise" that area is.

DC’s Metro Center ranked the highest in the District and Fort Totten ranked the lowest.

In Virginia, Clarendon ranked the highest and Arlington Cemetery scored the lowest.

And in Maryland, Bethesda came in first while Grosvenor came in last.
 

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