During the gubernatorial debate last weekend between GOP candidate Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe, the always sexually obsessed Kookinelli who wants to police Virginia bedrooms laughed at McAuliffe's stated concern that social extremism such at that espoused by Cuccinelli would be bad for Virginia economically. Apparently, many Virginia business leaders, while not thrilled by McAuliffe, see him as a lesser of two evils and are withholding support from Cuccinelli. A piece in Time looks at the issue. Here are excerpts:
Bloomberg, citing the Virginia Public Access Project, reports that of [Governor Bob] McDonnell’s top 25 individual donors, only 10 so far have contributed to Cuccinelli.
“I have yet to meet a business leader that says they will support Cuccinelli, which is surprising because Republicans are usually supported by business leaders,” says Gary Shapiro of the Arlington-based Consumer Electronics Association, who supported Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain “loudly and financially” in their respective runs for the presidency. “In my 35 years of Virginia, Attorney General Cuccinelli, if he became governor, would definitely be the most conservative. He makes [Governor Bob] McDonnell look left-wing,” Shapiro continued. “McAuliffe is definitely the lesser of two evils.”
“Most of the Virginia business leaders who I know are moderate Republicans,” says Bill Crutchfield, the founder of his eponymous consumer electronics retailing company based out of Charlottesville. “We believe that Ken Cuccinelli is far to the right of our philosophical comfort zone…Our state’s economic development could be adversely impacted if socially extreme candidates take over our government.” Crutchfield supported the Romney-Ryan ticket and spoke at one of their rallies last year.
Cuccinelli’s social views have made national news, with Jay Leno and Whoopi Goldberg ripping him this week for his stance on anti-sodomy laws. Cuccinelli has also been trying to overturn a federal court ruling that found the law, which outlawed oral and anal sex, unconstitutional.
“There is some concern that Terry McAuliffe is too close to organized labor. He needs to dispel that perception,” said Crutchfield. “Since Terry McAuliffe has never held political office, it is hard to know if he is a moderate or liberal Democrat. However, if Terry McAuliffe can demonstrate that he is a moderate, I suspect that a large number of Virginia’s business leaders will support him.” Shapiro agreed with Crutchfield.
Both candidates have some baggage, but at least McAuliffe is not batshit crazy and making Virginia a laughing stock on a regular basis. Moreover, America and the world are changing, yet Kookinelli and the Virginia GOP want to take Virginia back to some early 1950's vision of a time when blacks were segregated, gays were deep in the closet, and women were not expected to be much more than stay at home mothers. That is not a winning approach in today's world.
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