Quote of the Day: WaPo - Mr. Cuccinelli Has Only Himself to Blame

As noted in this morning posts, the blame game has exploded within the GOP for the Ken Cuccinelli's loss in Tuesday Virginia gubernatorial election.  The Christofascists/Tea Party are blaming the so-called GOP establishment while the establishment types are throwing responsibility for the defeat at the feet of the Christofascists/Tea Party.  Meanwhile, the poor loser, Ken Cuccinelli seems to want to blame anyone but himself.  A main page editorial column in the Washington Post looks at the accusations being lobbed by both sides within the GOP's very small tent.  The opinion piece also zeros in on the man ultimately to blame.  Here is the money quote:

Fundamentally, what caused Tuesday’s Republican wipeout was Mr. Cuccinelli himself and the record he compiled — a clear, consistent right-wing agenda forged over a decade in Richmond.

The Cuccinelli record had nothing to do with job-creation or the state’s economic well-being or alleviating deepening transportation problems, all of which are central to Virginians’ well-being. It was mainly about bashing homosexuals, harassing illegal immigrants, crusading against abortion, denying climate change, flirting with birthers and opposing gun control. A hero to the tea party and a culture warrior of the first rank, Mr. Cuccinelli lost because he was among the most polarizing and provocative figures in Richmond for a decade. That made him the wrong candidate for Virginia.

It goes without saying that the usual far right talking heads will shriek and deny the truth stated in the Washington Post piece, claiming that the Post is a liberal propaganda machine.   But the Post isn't the only outlet placing the blame ultimately on Cuccinelli.  Here are some highlights from The Week written by Matt K. Lewiswho  writes for The Daily Caller which is anything but a liberal mouth piece:

To quote Don Corleone, "Never tell anybody outside the family what you're thinking."

Yet Cuccinelli went out of his way to tell everybody outside the family what he was thinking by literally publishing it. (And this wasn't some sort of touchy-feely, heartwarming biography that campaigns sometimes put out to soften up a candidate before running, either.)

In reviewing the book, Last Line of Defense, Politico touched on a fundamental problem: "Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli," James Hohmann observed, "has no intention of modulating his uncompromising conservatism to get elected governor. He just needs to explain it better than others have."

The "explain it" part is telling. Why? A maxim in political campaigns is that "if you're explaining, you're losing."

The obvious problem, of course, is that the political environment has changed dramatically in the last few years — especially in the Old Dominion.  It ain't George Allen's Virginia any more.

The cynical part of me hopes that the GOP doesn't get the message that the Christofascists/Tea Party need to be thrown overboard.   Only by further destruction to the GOP will the GOP donor class cease giving money to flawed candidates.  It make take a number of additional election cycles, but ultimately the Christofascists/Tea Party must be sent into permanent political exile if the GOP is to ever regain its role as a responsible national party.