Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Cuccinelli's Tantrum Over McAuliffe’s Promise To Keep Women’s Clinics Open


Proving that he is a foul, nasty individual to the very end of his term as Attorney General of Virginia, Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli has thrown a veritable tantrum over Governor elect Terry McAuliffe's announcement that he will act to keep open women's clinics targeted by Cuccinelli's war on women's reproductive rights.  As readers may recall, Cuccinelli threatened and brow beat the Board of Health to approve draconian regulations targeting clinics providing family planning and abortion services that in effect would force them to close.  Other clinics providing outpatient surgical serves were exempt from the regulations.  McAuliffe has pledge to provide "guidance opinions" which would grandfather existing clinics from the new restrictions and requirements.  The New Civil Rights Movement looks at Cuccinelli's tantrum:
Virginia gets a new governor Saturday as Democrat Terry McAuliffe is inaugurated in what promises to be a heck of a party. Bill and Hillary Clinton will be attending, and the coal industry, perhaps hoping to gain leverage with the new environmentalist governor who owns an electric car company, is picking up the tab.

Who’s not in a party mood? The outgoing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who lost the election to McAuliffe.. . . . . accordig to Watchdog.org, in one of his last acts as attorney general, Cuccinelli sent this six page tantrum to Republican state representative Robert Marshall, explaining why he thinks Governor McAuliffe does not have the power to do what he has promised the women of Virginia he would: keep women’s health clinics open.

Governor-elect McAuliffe promised on the campaign trail last September, that if he were to be elected, he would issue what he called a “guidance opinion” grandfathering in Virginia’s eighteen existing clinics. Such a move would exempt these facilities from the new restrictions enacted to circumvent Roe v Wade, and force any clinic performing more than five abortions a month to close their doors. He has recently confirmed his intention to have the “guidance opinion” in place by March.

Not surprisingly, Attorney General Cuccinelli insists the “guidance document” isn’t a workable solution . . . .

The incoming administration is in no way bound by the outgoing attorney general’s opinion, and Cuccinelli is hardly a neutral party to the attempt to close women’s clinics. Democrat Mark Herring (right) will assume the office of attorney general on Saturday, and all the Cuccinelli foot stomping in the world can’t change that cold hard fact.

A representative for Attorney General-Elect Herring’s transition team responded to Mr. Cuccinelli’s letter, saying:
“The outgoing attorney general’s opinion is not surprising. But Attorney General-elect Herring will review what powers the attorney general and governor have to correct a policy that limits women’s access to health care.”


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