Ken Cuccinelli Makes Taliban Bob Seem Moderate

I have done a number of posts on Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell's CBN University thesis and road map for a Christianist/GOP rule of society. Lost in all the discussion of McDonnell's extremism and out of the mainstream mind set is the fact that the GOP candidate for Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli (pictured at left), is even more extreme than McDonnell. Indeed, following Cuccinelli since he was elected to the General Assembly, in my opinion, he is a total whack job and cut from the same cloth as Bob Marshall, author of Virginia's "Marriage Amendment" that impacted not only same sex couples but also unmarried heterosexual couples who cannot formally marry because they would lose health insurance coverage or retirement benefits. In a speech nominating Marshall to run for U.S. Senate back in the spring (fortunately, Marshall lost out to lackluster Jim Gilmore), Cuccinelli described Marshall as a head of the curb. The same Bob Marshall who stated he'd be happy if anti-gay legislation cause all LGBT Virginians to leave the state.

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Like Taliban Bob, Cuccinelli is attempting to depict himself as a moderate - a disingenuous lie, of course - since if his real positions were known, moderates and independents would run screaming to pull the lever for Steve Shannon. Cuccinelli's much scrubbed website, however, still gives hints of his true agenda. Here is a sampling:

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As Virginia’s Attorney General, I will continue to support the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death. I will also strive to support women in crisis pregnancies.

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Marriage: I believe marriage should be protected as a sacred union between one man and one woman.

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I led the fight to pass the Marriage Amendment in Northern Virginia. I was one of only a small number of legislators around Virginia that actually went out and actively campaigned on behalf of the Marriage Amendment.
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I have proposed numerous bills to protect marriage and families, and to reduce the incidence of divorce in Virginia.

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Both the United States and Virginia Constitutions were written to permanently protect the individual right of law abiding citizens to own and use firearms for any lawful reason.

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Translated, Cuccinelli wants no legal abortions in the state, prefers that individuals remain trapped in failed marriages, wants same sex couples and unmarried straight couples to have no legal rights in respect to each other, and has no problem with citizens running around with assault rifles and automatic weapons. The Daily Kos did a piece that compared Cuccinelli to Steve Shannon on the issue of employment protections which is enlightening. Here are a few highlights:

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Although Ken will lead you to believe that he has "less friends" than Steve I think he is not realizing that his 0% rating from the AFL-CIO provides him with a great deal of "friends" within the big business community. Secondly, Ken's 100% NFIB rating compared to Steve's 50%. Again, a quick analysis will demonstrate a key difference between the two. Ken's 0% rating compared to Steve's 50% rating shows that Ken is absolutely unwilling to work with working men and women on any labor issue, consistently voting against it. You have to really work hard to obtain a 0% rating but Ken always succeeds.

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Also telling of what Cuccinelli's real agenda is all about is his cozy relationship with James Dobson's Virginia affiliate, The Family Foundation, one of the most powerful religious extremist organizations in the Virginia. In 2008 - that's right just last year - The Family Foundation awarded Cuccinelli its "Legislator of the Year" award. One needs to be pretty extreme to win that accolade from the Kool-Aid drinkers at The Family Foundation, a group that has utterly no regard for the religious freedoms of others. Here are some highlights from the Fairfax Family Forum about this most telling award:

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(Richmond, VA) – State Senator Ken Cuccinelli was named “Legislator of the Year” by The Family Foundation at their 2008 Annual Gala this evening. “It’s very humbling to be singled out among all of our dedicated pro-family representatives in Richmond,” said Cuccinelli. “But our efforts in Richmond on behalf of Virginia’s families couldn’t be successful without the hard work of groups like The Family Foundation.” “The traditional values we grew up with are under daily assault by liberals in Washington and Hollywood. We are not immune to the attacks on our culture here in Virginia and need to stand up for faith and families.”

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Truth be told, Cuccinelli is as whacked out as Sarah Palin and the voters in Virginia had best wake up to the snow job that McDonnell and Cuccinelli are trying to foist on the citizenry. Neither of them are moderates and both of them will work to impose elements of McDonnell's thesis on all Virginians.