Every sane Virginia of voting age ought to be terrified at the thought of Ken Cuccinelli in the Governor's Mansion should he win the November 2013 gubernatorial contest. With the power to appoint fellow lunatics, racists and religious extremists to boards and commission across the Commonwealth, the damage could be long lasting. And that's not even factoring what the man might do to Virginia's image across the country and world wide. Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell is no moderate, but the difference between him and Cuccinelli is that he's not insane in way reminiscent of Adolph Hitler. Fortunately, as noted in posts earlier in the week, even Republicans within the Virginia business community seem to be waking up to the fact that a Governor Cuccinelli would not be good for business. A piece in the News & Advance looks at the chilling prospect ahead for sane members of the GOP, admittedly a shrinking pool. Here are highlights:
In the person of Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia Republicans of a tea-party bent have the gubernatorial candidate of their dreams: unabashedly conservative, vicious when it comes to dealing with the enemies on the left, a stalwart hater of government and a fearless warrior on behalf of the social issues the GOP right cherishes.
The only thing is that the strengths of the state GOP’s presumptive nominee for governor are also his very weaknesses with the general electorate. And now, as the party gears up what promises to be the nation’s marquee political race this November, its Main Street and business leaders are beginning to get nervous. Very nervous.
McAuliffe comes with his own boatload of baggage — his years as a bagman for Clinton, the fact he’s never held elected office and the “carpetbagger” label many in his own party pinned to him in during his previous run for the nomination in 2009.
But all of McAuliffe’s deadweight around his neck is nothing compared to that of Cuccinelli.
Whether it’s his climate-change inquisition at the University of Virginia, his quixotic and ultimately futile pursuit of “Obamacare” in the federal courts, his views on women’s reproductive rights and civil rights for gays and lesbians that make even some members of his own party cringe, the Old Dominion’s attorney general is nothing if not a hunk of red meat for the political right hungering for a “true” conservative to vote for.
[T]raditional Republican conservatives were concerned about his electability in the general election. Their concerns and worries have only increased in the intervening weeks and months.
Politico, a Washington-based news magazine devoted to all things political, reported that two leading Northern Virginia Republicans openly raked the attorney general over the coals — to his face — before a large gathering of major donors, questioning his electability and his political judgment.
In the waning hours of the 2013 General Assembly, he also incurred the private wrath of many state Republicans for actions they interpreted as a direct attempt to scuttle a landmark transportation funding package, the political legacy of Gov. Bob McDonnell, a fellow Republican.
[I]n Cuccinelli, the GOP may have something far more dangerous to its long-term interests: a Republican version of former Gov. Doug Wilder ... the ultimate political narcissist whose sole agenda is what is in his own best interest at all times, with the party and commonwealth benefiting only his interests dovetail with the greater good.
Make no mistake about it, Cuccinelli MUST be defeated in November if he is the GOP standard bearer. The racists and religious extremists are already lining up to support him. He must be stopped.
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