In Lead Up to Election Day, McAuliffe Depicts Cuccinelli as Anti-Gay

In the final days of the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial campaign, Democrat Terry McAuliffe is reminding Virginians that Ken Cuccinelli - like the rest of the GOP statewide ticket - is virulently anti-gay.  Personally, I view Cuccinelli as a likely self-loathing closet case and like so many closeted members of the GOP, he over compensates for his own psychological/sexual orientation issues by attacking normal gays who remind him of what he knows he really is in his secret heart of hearts.  No one is so hysterically anti-gay if they are comfortable with their own sexual orientation.  The Washington Blade looks at McAuliffe's well deserved accusations against Cuccinelli.  Here are excerpts:

HERNDON, Va.—Former Democratic National Committee Chair Terry McAuliffe continues to portray Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli as anti-gay in the final days of the commonwealth’s gubernatorial campaign.
 

McAuliffe pointed out his Republican rival once described gay Virginians as “soulless human beings” in response to a question during an Oct. 24 debate at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg that Roanoke television station WDBJ sponsored.

“Who talks like that,” McAuliffe said. “There’s somebody in this audience who might be gay or has a friend who’s gay. You cannot grow and diversify our economy with this mean-spirited language.”

McAuliffe, who has publicly backed marriage rights for same-sex couples alongside the two other Democratic candidates for statewide office, further sought to differentiate himself from Cuccinelli during a campaign rally at Herndon Middle School on Monday at which former President Clinton spoke. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner; Congressman Gerry Connolly and state Del. Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria), who chairs the Democratic Party of Virginia, also addressed those who attended the event.

“We must be a state where gay Virginians are treated equally,” McAuliffe said.

Fifty-four percent of likely Virginia voters who responded to the Washington Post/Abt SRBI poll said they feel Cuccinelli’s views on most issues are too conservative. Forty-six percent of respondents who took part in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted between Oct. 2-8 had the same opinion of the attorney general. 

LGBT rights advocates and Democrats have repeatedly criticized Cuccinelli and Virginia’s statewide Republican ticket over their opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples and other gay-specific measures in the commonwealth.

Obenshain sponsored a bill that Gov. Bob McDonnell signed into law in March that bans public universities from denying recognition and funding to student organizations that discriminate in their membership based on sexual orientation and other categories that federal law does not protect. Obenshain also opposed a measure a Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee in February tabled earlier this year that would have banned discrimination against LGBT state employees.

“For the past four years, Ken Cuccinelli has bent and twisted the law in order to impose policies on Virginians that are far outside the mainstream,” Mark Herring said during the McAuliffe rally at Herndon High School. “My opponent — Mark Obenshain — would be a continuation of that approach.”

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month denied Cuccinelli’s request to appeal a lower court ruling that found Virginia’s sodomy law unconstitutional.

Bottom line: Cuccinelli, as well as "Bishop" Jackson and Mark Obenshain are extremists who need to be defeated on November 5, 2013. 

Bill Bolling Announces Formation of The Virginia Mainstream Project - A Challenge to Cuccinelli?

It's no secret that Lt. Bill Bolling and GOP gubernatorial nominee for governor Ken Cuccinelli hold no lover for one another and that Bolling is likely still livid that Cuccinelli sabotaged Bollings aspirations by changing the nominee selection process from a primary - where Bolling might well have won - to a convention peopled by the most extreme elements of the GOP base in Virginia who salivate at the prospect of an extremist like Cuccinelli in the Governor's mansion.  Now, Bolling may be counterattacking for revenge by establishing the Virginia Mainstream Project which aims to elect "mainstream" Republicans to office.  No matter what lies and contortions he might engage in, Cuccinelli will never qualify as "mainstream."  Not outside of the Spanish Inquisition.  Blue Virginia looks at this surprise development.  Here are excerpts:

I'm not sure it was Bill Bolling's intention to highlight how OUT of the mainstream Ken Cuccinelli is - just 3 days before the Republican Party of Virginia nominating convention, no less - but this sure does the trick.  

Anyway, I for one am happy that Bolling will be a conservative, Republican voice out there highlighting how crazy Republicans like Cuccinelli, Mark Obenshain, Pete Snyder, and Corey Stewart truly are. As an added bonus, hopefully Bolling will suck up a little money that would otherwise go to the crazies.

Finally, perhaps (if we're lucky) Bolling might help to encourage a serious schism within the Republican Party of Virginia, between the traditional pro-business Republicans and the Pat Robertson/John Birch Society wing that we see with the Cuccinellis, Obenshains, and Snyders of the world. Can Bolling lead the Republican Party of Virginia back from tinfoil-hat extremism to sanity? Doubtful, but I'm glad to see he's going to take a shot at it.

Bolling's press release states this as the organizations goal:

Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling today announced the formation of the Virginia Mainstream Project.  The Virginia Mainstream Project is a state-based political action committee that will focus on electing mainstream Republicans to public office and promote responsible policy solutions to the most important challenges facing the Commonwealth.

Lieutenant Governor Bolling stated, “I’m proud to announce the creation of the Virginia Mainstream Project.  As I’ve said many times over the past several months, there is a growing need in the Republican Party in Virginia to recruit and elect mainstream, conservative candidates to state and local office and promote responsible policy solutions to the most important challenges facing Virginia. The Virginia Mainstream Project will work to address these issues while encouraging bipartisan cooperation and compromise on the major issues facing the Commonwealth.  I am excited about this opportunity to continue to serve Virginia and remain actively involved in the public debate.”

The primary missions of the Virginia Mainstream Project include:

1. Recruit, advise and support mainstream Republican candidates for state and local office, with particular emphasis on the House of Delegates in 2013 and the State Senate in 2015.
2. Provide a platform to continue discussing the need for mainstream approaches to governing in Virginia that put policy ahead of politics and seek to promote compromise and bipartisan cooperation to solve the most important challenges facing the Commonwealth.
3. Develop and promote responsible conservative policy solutions to the most important issues facing Virginia, with an emphasis on fiscal policy, economic development, tax reform, education reform, transportation and health care.

In short, Bollings organization claims to support everything that is diametrically opposite to Kookinelli's position on virtually everything.  Cuccinelli wants to give control of Virginia the the Christofascists and Tea Party extremists.  The man is a menace to Virginia's future.

Star Scientific Ensnares Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli in Ethics Questions

No one pretends to be more squeaky clean on ethical issues than conservative politicians and the "godly Christian" crowd.   Yet, time and time again, reality proves that things are very different from what these folks claim in all their prancing false piety.  Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonnell and Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli are cases in point as more information comes out about their cozy relationship with Star Scientific, a Virginia based company now focusing its efforts on supplements, that has been most generous to McDonnell and in which Cuccinelli has focused all of his investments.  Star Scientific is engaged in litigation with the Commonwealth of Virginia and Cuccinelli's refusal to get outside counsel raises very real conflict of interest issues as noted previously on this blog.  For McDonnell - who made national news last night - the Star Scientific saga is even messier.  A column in the Richmond Times Dispatch looks at the situation. Here are excerpts:

Bob McDonnell, the earnest-sounding kid from Fairfax County, is governor of Virginia, an office to which he vowed to bring the sensibilities of his middle-class upbringing. That included ethical straightforwardness. McDonnell is veering from it — again.


This time — as with last time and before that — McDonnell is tripping up over money. Again, it’s someone else’s. Again, it’s a large amount. Again, it’s perceived as having strings attached. Again, it’s explained away as much ado about nothing.

The latest: $15,000 from the politically active boss of Henrico County-based Star Scientific, Jonnie Williams Sr. The money paid for dinner at the Executive Mansion for about 200 guests at the 2011 wedding of McDonnell’s daughter, Cailin, to Chris Young.



The money, first reported by The Washington Post, was never disclosed by McDonnell because it was not a gift to him, the governor’s office said. Rather, it was for Cailin, who — unlike the governor — is not required by state law to provide an annual inventory of gifts, be it travel, entertainment or tchotchkes.

There are few requirements on disclosures by relatives. Officials must report investments and other holdings shared with members of their immediate family. They also must report paid positions, such as jobs and directorships, held by a spouse or child.

In addition to unnecessarily casting a pall over a joyous occasion, this episode of administration dissembling calls attention to Virginia’s porous ethics law. It relies almost entirely on self-policing, requiring elective and appointive officials and candidates to, in effect, tell on themselves.

Star Scientific has, over the past four years, supplied McDonnell and his political action committee with $108,500 in travel on the company jet, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The firm and Williams have given McDonnell more than $9,600 in food, lodging and entertainment since 2011.

As a regulated venture, Star Scientific has issues not with the state government but with the federal government; specifically, an inquiry by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia into the company’s stock transactions.

However, Star Scientific — much as other companies do in a state where the business of government is business — looked to Richmond for help. McDonnell played host at the Executive Mansion for the launch of a Star Scientific dietary supplement. First lady Maureen McDonnell talked up the product at an investors conference in Florida.

 The cozy relationship between Star Scientific and McDonnell is not an isolated example, especially of the headaches such entanglements have caused him.

This is a throwback to Old Virginia, when government was largely the purview of a privileged, well-mannered few — an “affluent minority,” as Times-Dispatch political reporter Jim Latimer put it. There were almost no official rules because gentlemen didn’t need them to know how to behave.

There's more, but you get the drift.

Will Ken Cuccinelli's Slavery-Abortion Video Doom His Gubernatorial Bid?

Few current day Republican politicians are as certifiably insane in my opinion as Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli.  If the Christofascists elements of the GOP want an extremists politician pushing their "values" at the ballot box, then Kookinelli is their man.  The question is, however, whether sane and rational voters will ultimate run screaming from Kookinelli once they become better informed of what a nutcase and extremists he is in fact.  This is especially true of women whose wombs Kookinelli seeks to control and monitor.  A piece in Mother Jones looks at Kookinelli's extremism on abortion (he wants to end it completely):

The Virginia governor's mansion always seemed like a high ambition for Ken Cuccinelli, who is arguably America's most divisive state attorney general. Now that he's officially running on the GOP ticket, even Republicans admit that Cuccinelli—an unabashed culture warrior who has led the fight against Obamacare—needs to avoid the controversies that piled up during his three years as AG. (Sample headlines: "Ken Cuccinelli's climate-change witch hunt." "Virginia attorney general to colleges: End gay protections." "After breast controversy, Cuccinelli ditches new staffer lapel pins.") Virginia voters, as Gov. Bob McDonnell demonstrated in 2009, are more likely to support a calm, reasonable conservative who focuses on jobs and the economy.

But the latest row in the gubernatorial race, which pits Cuccinelli against former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe, has put the spotlight back on Cuccinelli's hardline views. A week ago, the state Democratic Party released a short video from a June 2012 event for the pro-life Family Foundation. In the clip, Cuccinelli compares the anti-abortion movement to the abolitionist movement. "Our experience as a country has demonstrated that on one issue after another," he said. "Start right at the beginning, slavery. Today, abortion. You know, history has shown us what the right position was."

[T]he release of the clip has spawned nearly two dozen stories in the state and local media, condemnations from fellow pols, cries of support from conservatives, and fresh scrutiny of Cuccinelli's history of comments related to abortion. In short, it has breathed new life into the debate over whether Cuccinelli's view on social issues are too extreme. "The [Virginia] GOP would prefer to campaign on economic issues, so potentially inflammatory statements about abortion are off-message," says Charles Walcott, a professor emeritus of political science at Virginia Tech. "That's why the Democrats are massaging this one—it fits into the 'Cooch is an extremist' narrative."

Robert Holsworth, a retired political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, would concur. "While people in the movement are not offended at all, suggesting moral equivalence between something as horrible and brutal as slavery and abortion, it antagonizes many people outside the movement," he told the Associated Press. "And the Democrats are going to use that to their advantage because they want people to find [Cuccinelli] an extremist from another planet."

Soon after the video's release, the Washington Examiner dug up a 2008 version of the same comment; Cuccinelli, then a state senator, drew connections between the work of the famous abolitionist William Wilberforce and his own efforts to restrict abortion. 

Truth be told, I suspect there are hours and hours of footage in existence that show Kookinelli going off the rails.  Let's hope the Democrats get their hands on a great deal of it and run the footage over and over.

Terry McAuliffe for Governor of Virginia

Last night the boyfriend and I attended a fundraising reception for Terry McAuliffe, the prospective Democrat nominee for Governor of Virginia who will oppose Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli the all but crowned GOP nominee.  It was my first chance to talk with McAuliffe one on one and candidly, I was impressed.  It is hard to stress just how stark the choice Virginians will face in November 2013.  And frankly, the prospect of Cuccinelli in the Governor's mansion ought to terrify anyone rational - which is one reason we are seeing members of the Republican business community attack Cuccinelli and in some cases openly endorse McAuliffe.  McAuliffe is a successful businessman (and ironically, his mother went to my high school) who has a let's work together and get the job done attitude.  Here's a partial summary of the contrasts between McAuliffe and Cuccinelli:

On the one hand there will be McAuliffe who first and foremost isn't a religious fanatic who seeks to impose his religious beliefs on all Virginians.  Indeed, he has come out in support of civil law gay marriage.   In contrast, Cuccinelli is allied with the most vicious and extreme Christofascists in Virginia and seeks to (i) end all abortions in Virginia, (ii) make contraception decisions for women, (iii) keep LGBT Virginians a perpetual under class in terms of civil rights and employment protections.  Cuccinelli may blather about freedom and liberty, but like most of the Christofascist set, his idea of liberty and religious freedom comes down to imposing far right religious beliefs on all citizens and making public policy follow the most extreme beliefs of the far right Christians.

Another huge issue - and one that I confront daily using the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel - is that of transportation funding.  Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads are being strangled economically by the increasingly outdated and inadequate transportation system.  Here as sampling of McAuliffe's view on the problem:

Virginia is a great place for business, but one of the things holding us back from the top is an infrastructure system that can feel outdated and inefficient. In Hampton Roads, commuters are stuck in traffic for 43 hours per year, with a total economic cost of $700 million annually. In Northern Virginia, it’s 67 hours and over $1 billion. And roads and bridges that need repair are a pressing problem all over the Commonwealth.

In February, Governor McDonnell and both parties in the legislature came together to pass a plan to fund transportation that will finally begin to address gridlock. It wasn’t perfect, and there are plenty of things I disagree with, but inaction on transportation was no longer an option.

By focusing on projects that best serve the economic travel needs of our citizens and businesses — along with key safety improvements — we will ensure that those rail, road, and bridge projects that absolutely must get done do get done.

Second, we need to incentivize regional planning and implementation of smart growth planning. Some of our transportation issues aren’t the result of bad roads or transit systems; they’re the result of improper or poorly planned development.

Where is Cuccinelli on the issue?  He is seeking to undo the transportation funding plan passed by the General Assembly last month.  Just yesterday - in a pattern that is standard for Cuccinelli who finds anything he doesn't like to be "unconstitutional" even when the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled otherwise - issued opinions claiming that the transportation funding plan is unconstitutional (as is the Medicaid expansion plan).  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

Two of the legislature's biggest policy actions this year - approval of a major road-funding bill and inclusion of Medicaid expansion language in the state budget - are legally suspect, according to Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.

One advisory opinion issued Friday by Cuccinelli questions the constitutionality of elements in the transportation bill to assess higher sales taxes in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia to raise revenue for regional projects.

Cuccinelli's other piece of guidance applies to a provision in Virginia's revised two-year budget that vests a Medicaid expansion decision with a 10-member legislative commission, a delegation of authority that the attorney general considers constitutionally improper.

Both opinions were released in response to earlier requests from Del. Bob Marshall, a Prince William County Republican and key player in the legal challenge that toppled regional taxing authorities created in a sweeping 2007 road-funding bill.

Cuccinelli is a Tea Party extremist - and climate change denier - who opposes any and all tax increases even as Virginia's transportation system is crumbling.   The fact that he is in league with Bob Marshall, perhaps the most delusional lunatic in the General Assembly - speaks volumes about Cuccinelli's extremist views and beliefs.  It is also telling that Cuccinelli's insane lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of laws have been failures across the board.   On the issue of Medicaid expansion, here is McAuliffe's view: 

According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the federal government is offering Virginia $21 billion in funding over seven years to expand our Medicaid program. If we don’t accept the money, it will simply flow to other states. I believe that Virginia taxpayer money should stay in Virginia.

Accepting federal funds for Medicaid has broad bipartisan support: Both very conservative and very liberal Governors have accepted the funds.

Expanding Medicaid will cover nearly 400,000 uninsured Virginians and create up to 33,000 jobs by 2021, according to the Senate Finance Committee. Covering the uninsured for regular visits to the doctor for shots and checkups and life saving cancer screenings and treatment will also help reduce health care costs for those with insurance already.

Despite his claimed religiosity and piousness, Cuccinelli would kick these 400,000 Virginians to the curb.   Sadly, he is like most Christofascists who are best known for who they hate - gays, blacks, non-Christians, Hispanics, etc. - and utterly ignores the Gospel message of aiding the poor, the sick, and the less fortunate.

On the issues, there is really one one decision one can reach: vote for Terry McAuliffe in November.

Cuccinelli Involved in Conflict of Interest in Lawsuit?

It looks like Virginians may be seeing another example of Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli believing that he is above the laws and rules that apply to everyone else.  How so?  A company in which Cuccinelli has made his principal financial investment is involved in litigation with the Commonwealth of Virginia in which Virginia is seeking $700,000, yet Cuccinelli has not removed himself from the case nor has he hired outside counsel.  And - perhaps not unsurprisingly - the case has languished for 19 months.   Any other lawyer in Cuccinelli's position would have removed himself/herself from the case.  But not Kookinelli.  Such rules and ethical standards don't apply to him apparently.  The Virginian Pilot looks at the situation.  Here are highlights:

A lawsuit against the state of Virginia by a nutritional supplement maker whose stock comprises Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's total investment portfolio is raising questions about the Republican's potential conflicts of interest.

Henrico-based Star Scientific Inc. sued Virginia's Department of Taxation in Mecklenberg Circuit Court in July 2011 over a $700,000 tax dispute with the state. A deputy attorney general filed an answer to the complaint the following month. There have been no new motions, pleadings, filings or hearings in the case since.

The issue comes as the conservative attorney general — who is unchallenged for the Republican gubernatorial nomination this year — fends off critics, particularly Democrats, over his refusal to resign his current office to run for governor. His decision ends a tradition observed by six attorneys general since 1985 who resigned to campaign for governor, including current Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Paul Campsen, a private attorney in Norfolk for whom tax litigation is a specialty, said he seldom sees tax cases languish the way the Star Scientific lawsuit has. If plaintiffs don't push them along, then the government to which the disputed tax bill is due usually moves more quickly to recover its money.

The delay, however, viewed alongside Cuccinelli's financial ties to the plaintiff, exposes Cuccinelli to criticism on the ethical question of whether to recuse himself and his office from the case by hiring a private law firm to litigate it, something the office has done regularly for any number of reasons.

"I think in a case like that, it's probably better for the attorney general to step out of it," Tobias said.

Campsen said he believes the decision to step aside and hire outside counsel should have been an easy one for Cuccinelli, given his direct financial interest in the company.  "To me this isn't just the appearance of a conflict, it is a conflict of interest," he said. "This looks bad and this smells bad."

Gottstein dismissed suggestions that Cuccinelli or his staff had shown Star Scientific preferential treatment.

Gottstein also said it would be almost impossible for the office to operate if it bowed out of any case where its attorneys owned stock in widely traded public companies. For instance, he said, employees may own stock in Virginia-based utility giant Dominion, which is also among the largest contributors to political campaigns in the state, "yet the OAG is involved as opposing counsel in large Dominion Power rate cases."

Even though Cuccinelli's Star Scientific holdings are appearing widely in news accounts, staff lawyers with the attorney general's office will continue to handle the Star Scientific tax lawsuit.

Gottstein's comparison of other staff attorneys with Cuccinelli is ridiculous.  Those attorneys do what they are directed to do.  Kookinelli, on the other hand is the one who tells the rest of the AG staff what to do.  The man is an arrogant menace and needs to be defeated in November.

Ken Cuccinelli: A Lunatic and Extremist

The boyfriend and I will be attending a fundraiser for Terry McAuliffe later this week.  Am I in love with McAuliffe and all of his political positions?  Not in the least.  However, his victory in November is critical because his opponent, Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli is, in my view, certifiably insane and a dangerous extremist.  While more judicious in many of his public statements, Kookinelli is cut out of the same cloth as Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock who dragged the GOP down to defeat in the Missouri and Indiana Senate contests last November.  Thankfully, Kookinelli has authored a book that helps to document both Kookinelli's lunacy and extremism.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at Kookinelli and his manifesto.  Here are highlights:

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia’s attorney general, Republican candidate for governor and tea party hero, is a man under siege — and that’s just the way he likes it.

He has become a target of ridicule from pundits on the right; in February, for instance, Joe Scarborough called him “certifiable when it comes to mainstream political thought.” He is being challenged in his own state, where a pair of Northern Virginia business leaders recently berated him as out of touch. Things have gotten so bad that Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling has refused to endorse Cuccinelli, even though he decided not to launch an independent bid against him.

A good bit of Cuccinelli’s predicament comes from the release of his book, “The Last Line of Defense,” an extended attack on what he sees as the criminal overreach of the Obama administration — a group he unsubtly describes in the title of Chapter 1 as “The Biggest Set of Lawbreakers in America.” Moderate Republicans worry that “The Last Line of Defense” places Cuccinelli out of the mainstream while handing Democrats endless fodder to use against him. It’s never a good sign when your opponents hold a news conference, as Democrats in Richmond did, to take turns reading aloud from your book.

He was tea party long before the tea party existed. And in “Last Line,” he makes clear that he aims to be tea party well after the tea party, too.

“Last Line” is not a particularly welcoming book. Those who don’t embrace Cuccinelli’s point of view are dismissed as naive or, as he puts it, “asleep.” It reads a little like talk radio sounds — loud, one-sided and at wit’s end. It is more a justification for what Cuccinelli has done than an invitation to join the cause.

As Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R), an equally fervent critic of the Affordable Care Act, put it in February: “It doesn’t matter what I believe. The Supreme Court made its decision. We had an election in the fall, and the public made their decision. Now the president’s health-care law is the law.” For Cuccinelli, however, what he believes is all that matters .  .  .  .

Politically, Cuccinelli has been criticized for echoing Mitt Romney’s assertion that 47 percent of Americans feel entitled to government giveaways. In one passage, he writes of “bad politicians,” saying: “One of their favorite ways to increase their power is by creating programs that dispense subsidized government benefits, such as Medicare, Social Security, and outright welfare (Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized housing and the like).

Cuccinelli is running this time in a world that has changed considerably since the tea party fervor of his last election. The convincing victories of Obama and other Democrats last year have prompted some Republicans to rethink their hard-line positions. In Virginia, Cuccinelli’s party has shifted, too. Last month, a bipartisan group of lawmakers backed a transportation plan by Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell that raises the sales tax and other levies. The plan includes a regional tax increasethat looks an awful lot like the one Cuccinelli rose to oppose all those years ago.

While the column doesn't mention gays, Kookinelli is virulently anti-gay and holds views identical to those of the infamous Del. Bob Marshall who has stated that he would like to drive all gays from Virginia.  Extremists doesn't begin to describe Cuccinelli who has a confidence in his own frightening views that reminds me of at least two figures from history:  Hitler and Stalin. 

Three Republicans Legislators Endorse McAuliffe Citing Cuccinelli's Extremism

As the Virginian Pilot is reporting, apparently not all Republicans in Virginia are drinking the Kool-Aid being ladled out by the Christofascists at The Family Foundation and the objective reality denying Tea Party crowd who are near orgasmic at the prospect of Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli, a/k/a "Cuckoo" as the GOP nominee for Governor of Virginia.  Three former GOP members of the Virginia General Assembly have come out and endorsed Terry McAuliffe, the presumed Democrat nominee, for governor over Kookinelli.  There reason:  Kookinelli and his crowd are simply too far right and extreme.  Here are article highlights:

Two former Northern Virginia Republican delegates, and another from Richmond, have come out in support of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.

They include Del. Vince Callahan Jr., who served 40 years in the General Assembly, and Del. Jim Dillard, both of Fairfax, as well as Del. Katherine Waddell from the Richmond area, a onetime GOP member who won election to the House in 2005 as an independent.

In statements released by the campaign, Callahan said he's supporting McAuliffe because Virginia must get away from partisan and ideological battles and "needs a Governor who will promote a mainstream agenda that focuses on the economy and making Virginia better for business."

"Virginians are fed up with right wing extremism and divisive ideology, we need a Governor who will focus on mainstream economic issues," added Waddell, who now serves as president of the Women's Strike Force political action committee to defend abortion rights.  "Terry McAuliffe will do what is right for Virginia," she said.

The GOP's Cuccinelli Conundrum

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.

Joe Scarborough Mocks Ken Cuccinelli on National TV

Sane elements within the GOP seem to be waking up to the fact that Ken Cuccinelli isn't only bad news for the Republican Party of Virginia but that he could likewise be toxic for the national GOP given the high profile status of this year's gubernatorial race in Virginia.  There is no getting around the fact that Cuccinelli - or Kookinelli as I prefer to call him - is an extremist who embraces everything that is wrong with today's Republican Party.    Thus it was little surprise that Joe Scarborough blasted Kookinelli on nation television.  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

MSNBC television host Joe Scarborough is no fan of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and he's not shy about sharing that with his "Morning Joe" viewers.

On Tuesday's broadcast, Scarbourough provided some cover to Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell for his role in passing a $3.5 billion Virginia road funding bill with new taxes -- those tax hikes have infuriated fiscal conservatives, and Cuccinelli opposes them.

Scarborough called McDonnell a conservative and praised his fiscal management of the state before saying McDonnell has been distancing himself from Cuccinelli because of his extreme statements.
"I wonder what Bill Buckley would have said about a guy like Cuccinelli?" Scarborough said of the conservative thought icon.

"Remember when Buckley went after the John Birchers?" he added. "Threw 'em out. Threw 'em out of the movement. These are the people that are now infiltrating the movement, excluding winners like Chris Christie and embracing conspiracy theorists like Cuccinelli."

Scarborough previously targeted Cuccinelli, the Republican nominee for Virginia governor this year, in a late January online column and on the airwaves earlier this month, calling him "certifiable when it comes to mainstream political thought."

"This is a guy that has said more things that will offend the voters that swing elections than is humanly possible," Scarborough previously said of Cuccinelli.

As for Scarborough, Cuccinelli spokesman Jahan Wilcox dismissed his comments and the cable network that broadcast them.

"It is not surprising the same network that contracts President Obama’s buddies for their point of view doesn’t like Attorney General Cuccinelli’s mission of protecting the Commonwealth from a government takeover of our health care system," Wilcox said in an e-mail. "This is another example of out-of-touch liberals spouting their views on television and calling it news."

Cuccinelli Challenged to Document that He is Fulfilling Duties as Attorney General

This blog has noted before that Ken "Kookinelli," the uncrowned GOP gubernatorial 2013 candidate has refused to resign his position as attorney general given his full time campaigning for the 2013 election in November.  Not only is Cuccinelli drawing a salary at taxpayer expense for a job he isn't doing, but he has also been using staff on the office of Attorney General's to work his campaign.  Now, Cuccinelli has been challenged to document that he is performing all of his duties and a freedom of information act request has been tendered to the AG's office.  Here are the contents of a letter delivered to Cuccinelli:

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Office of the Attorney General

900 E. Broad St.

Richmond, VA 23219

Dear General Cuccinelli:

For nearly three decades, Attorneys General of both political parties in Virginia have stepped down from the office to run for Governor. The reason for this tradition is simple: Virginians elect their Attorneys General to serve the public, not to run for Governor. In fact, you stated last month: "I ran to be Attorney General, not to run for Governor." Yet, in recent months, you have been directing the Office of Attorney General while running for Governor.

This has naturally created a question in the public mind about whether the resources of the Office of the Attorney General are being invested in the public interest or in a political campaign. This concern can be readily dispelled with open information about your office.

Specifically, records about your schedule will reassure the public that you are not performing campaign functions during your work hours. Information about your reimbursements will assure us that travel arranged through the Attorney General's office is official and not campaign-related. Finally, your office's emails to political organizations will demonstrate that no campaign work has been performed using the Office of the Attorney General's resources. Virginia's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) follows Virginia's traditions of sunlight and accountability in government, befitting the Commonwealth that gave constitutional democracy to the world. As per §2.2.3700(B) of the Code of Virginia:

"The affairs of government are not intended to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy since at all times the public is to be the beneficiary of any action taken at any level of government. Unless a public body or its officers or employees specifically elect to exercise an exemption provided by this chapter or any other statute, every meeting shall be open to the public and all public records shall be available for inspection and copying upon request. All public records and meetings shall be presumed open, unless an exemption is properly invoked."

§2.2.3700(B) further states:
 

"The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities and afford every opportunity to citizens to witness the operations of government."

As these sections make clear, the Code expressly intends to ensure that Virginia's taxpayers know how every elected official, including the Attorney General, is spending our tax dollars.

Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, §2.2.3704(G) et seq., and as a Virginia resident, I therefore request copies of records of the following items:

 

1. Records of your schedule from Microsoft Outlook and/or any other electronic scheduling software for the months of December 2012 and January 2013.

2. Records of your schedule from Microsoft Outlook and/or any other electronic scheduling software for the days of February 1, 2, and 3, 2013.

3. Records of your schedule from Microsoft Outlook and/or any other electronic scheduling software for the day of February 4, 2013.

4. Any reimbursements, allowances, or travel charges that you have personally received for the months of December 2012 and January 2013.

5. For the months of December 2012 and January 2013, any email correspondence between you and any other staff of the Attorney General's office and any staff or associates of the following parties:

- The Republican Party of Virginia

- The Republican Governor's Association

- The Cuccinelli for Governor campaign

These records will be readily accessible by your staff in electronic format and so should be sent quickly and without additional fees. Indeed, §2.2.3704(F) of the Virginia Code prohibits the imposition of "any extraneous, intermediary or surplus fees or expenses to recoup the general costs associated with creating or maintaining records." Further, "Any duplicating fee charged by a public body shall not exceed the actual cost of duplication."

Will Cuccinelli comply?  I doubt it.  First, he thinks he is above the rules that govern everyone else.  Secondly, if he does provide accurate documentation it would prove that he is ripping off Virginia taxpayers who are being forced to finance his campaign.  As noted before on this blog I had a close up view of what a statewide race involves, first when my former law partner Mark Earley ran for Attorney General and later for Governor.  There is virtually no way that Cuccinelli can be performing his duties as Attorney General and campaigning at the same time.  It simply is not possible.  He if claims otherwise, he's a liar plain and simple. Cuccinelli needs to either resign or be brought up on ethics charges and removed from office.