Ken Cuccinelli is running hard - from his own record both in the Virginia Senate and as Attorney General. He is trying to fool the gullible into believing that he's actually a moderate concerned about "all Virginians" rather than an extremist ideologue who has always pandered to the most extreme and ugly elements in Virginia. Four of his delusional lawsuits as Attorney General make this task of hiding his record harder. One, of course, is his failed quest to reinstate Virginia's sodomy laws which has garnered news coverage across Virginia and America. But it's not the only lawsuit effort that underscores Cuccinelli's extremism. A piece in Talking Points Memo looks at the lawsuits that may ultimately come back to bite him and help sink Cuccinelli's gubernatorial run. Here are highlights:
Abortion Clinic Regulations: On Wednesday, a Virginia judge ruled that a lawsuit, brought by the Falls Church Healthcare Center over Virginia's strict new abortion clinic regulations, could go forward. The laws (often referred to as Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers, or TRAP, laws) require clinics to meet some of the same standards as some hospitals. Though the bill was signed into law by current Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), Cuccinelli was instrumental in its strict implementation.
The case is unlikely to help Cuccinelli with women voters, where he has a double-digit deficit. McAuliffe's campaign has aggressively sought to portray the attorney general as "anti-woman." The lawsuit is likely to only aid that depiction.
Anti-Sodomy Law: On Monday, the United States Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling on Virginia's anti-sodomy law. Cuccinelli's office claimed that its pursuit of the case was about "using current law to protect a 17 year-old girl from a 47 year-old sexual predator," but they failed to mention that as a state legislator, he had opposed efforts in 2004 to reform the state's Crimes Against Nature law to only apply to "public sex, sex with minors, and prostitution."
When when the case was taken up in court, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the law was unconstitutional, citing the Supreme Court's Lawrence v. Texas decision.
The ruling reminded voters of his previous anti-LGBT polices, including arguing that colleges and universities in the state didn't have the legal authority to enact anti-discrimination policies for LGBT students. This is particularly bad timing for Cuccinelli since a July poll found that a majority of Virginians support same-sex marriage.
Voter Suppression: Last week, Virginia's Democratic Party filed a legal complaint against the Virginia state elections board, arguing that Cuccinelli and McDonnell have wrongfully purged as many 50,000 registered voters from state rolls prior in advance of the November gubernatorial election.
Climate Change: Though climate change and the environment have flown a bit under the radar in the gubernatorial campaign, Cuccinelli is also on the defensive on these issues. He has been haunted by an investigation over a climate scientist at the University of Virginia.
McAullife's campaign has also campaigned against Cuccinelli on this. The campaign released an attack ad titled "Witch Hunt" that says Cuccinelli used taxpayer funds to conduct the investigation. The McAuliffe campaign is using the investigation to paint Cuccinelli as a partisan bully and eccentric climate denier.
Virginians need to be aware of Cuccinelli's extremism and bad judgment. Cuccinelli has been all too happy to take up the cause of religious fanatics and white supremacists and I for one hope it all comes back to bite him in the ass big time.
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