Self-styled conservative columnist is at it again and calling out the Republican Party for its batshitery in a new column in the Washington Post. Sadly, she fails to sufficiently recognize the fact that Ken Cuccinelli is simply not a palatable candidate for anyone out side of The Family Foundation and extremist circles. She is correct, however, that the GOP forced government shutdown did noting to help Cuccinelli in Northern Virginia, the home region of nearly a third of Virginia voters. Hampton Roads, the second most populous region also suffered from the shutdown. Here are column excerpts:
Cuccinelli trails in voter-rich Northern Virginia by 18 points (McDonnell won in the D.C. suburbs). Without the Libertarian Robert Sarvis in the race, Cuccinelli still trails by 11 points. Cuccinelli is too conservative, according to 54 percent of the voters.
This surprises no one who lives in Northern Virginia — where the anti-Cuccinelli ads are prominent and where women, business people and moderate Republicans are more likely to roll their eyes or respond with utter disdain when asked what they think of Cuccinelli. People who have never in their lives voted against a Republican at the top of the ticket will tell you in essence, ”I have my limits.” They use words like “extreme” or even “nut” to describe him. It’s not merely that they won’t vote for him; they in effect want you to know he’s not their kind of governor. (“I’m a conservative, but. . . ” they often begin.)
The problem is not Cuccinelli personally or his campaign more generally; it is that he embodies the traits non-conservatives and some conservatives dislike about the GOP these days. If “he ran a rotten campaign” means “he ran as himself,” well then, yes, it has been a rotten campaign. If nothing else, voters know Cuccinelli is a rock-ribbed conservative. (If they had any doubt, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is campaigning for him around the state.) That’s currently a bad thing. By a 53 to 36 percent margin, people have a negative view of the tea party, and by a 51 to 30 percent margin they blame the GOP for the shutdown.
[T]his is a repudiation of the essence of Cuccinelli — the mentality that brought us the government shutdown, that decries fellow Republicans as disloyal for objecting to misguided tactics and that obsesses on social issues and sides with anti-immigrant groups. Rather than blame the Cuccinelli campaign, conservatives should acknowledge his candidacy is the first causality of the Cruz/DeMint shutdown and the revival of the far right. In once-Republican Virginia, that sort of candidate can’t win. Conservative pundits, third-party groups and GOP fundraisers would be wise to wake up and face reality — a double-digit deficit in a swing state means people don’t like what the hard right is offering. Maybe it’s time to stop making excuses for the political antics and approach that will drive the GOP over the cliff unless there is a serious course correction.
The problem the GOP faces is that its base despises reality and prefers to live in its own alternate universe. There is no way the religious extremists at The Family Foundation can or will moderate their positions. Likewise, the white supremacist will not suddenly change their views. Rather, these elements must be driven from positions of influence in the GOP. Never again should a designated hate group like Family Research Council be allowed to draft the social issues portion of the GOP national platform.
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