Mike Pence's Ominous Extremist Shadow

While many are hoping for the quick impeachment of Donald Trump so as to save the nation from some ego motivated outburst that takes the nation to war, the main problem is that then we as a nation would be faced with a different menace:  Mike Pence, a true right wing Christian fanatic.  Even now, some suspect Pence as the puppeteer behind Trump's support for Christofascist policies, although much of that momentum could easily derive for Trump's willingness to pander to those who stroke his ego and appeal to his never ending narcissism.  A column in the New York Times looks at just how extreme and out of the mainstream Pence is in fact.  Here are column highlights that ought to send a shiver down the spines of sane and rational people: 

Do you think Donald Trump is just Mike Pence’s puppet?

Interesting idea, right? Particularly since the very idea would make our new president totally nuts. Hehehehe.

And it’s possible. Trump is not a man who concentrates on policy issues. So far, the parts of the job that have obsessed him most are crowd size and vote size. And yeah, the wall. But there has to be somebody behind the scenes deciding the non-ego questions. Pass the word that it’s Pence.

The best early evidence is reproductive rights.  Not an issue Trump seemed all that interested in during the campaign . . . . Yet one of the first things he did as president was to sign an order that will eliminate American aid to international health programs that provide information on abortion. . . . Trump’s targets global health in general. . . . . We’re talking about a potential loss of billions of dollars in American aid.

The only politician who would behave like that would be someone who had spent his entire career trying to impose his deeply held conservative religious values on people who had different beliefs.

That would be Mike Pence. This is the guy who, as a member of Congress, co-sponsored a bill that would allow hospitals to deny abortions to pregnant women who would die without the procedure. Whose war against Planned Parenthood when he was governor of Indiana led to the closing of five clinics. (None of them did abortions. They did, however, provide testing for sexually transmitted diseases, and one of the counties where a clinic was closed suffered a big H.I.V. outbreak.)

Pence, by the way, also voted against the Lilly Ledbetter act for equal pay for women. He once argued that having two working parents would lead to “stunted emotional growth” in children. In 2006, he said same-sex couples were a sign of “societal collapse.” I am just mentioning this for you to remember the next time you hear people say they hope President Trump is impeached.

The early Trump administration, however, looks as if it’s being run by somebody who can’t wait to jump into the abortion fray. Republicans in Congress are working away on defunding Planned Parenthood — an organization Trump once said he admired. And the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees women’s right to get birth control coverage in their health insurance, is of course target one.

I propose you also spread the word that the president has only gone on this anti-reproductive rights bender because he’s under Mike Pence’s thumb.

California Democrats - Ready for Political War With Trump

I spoke by telephone last night with an older woman distraught over the recent election results who wanted to get more politically involved to oppose the Trumpist agenda.  Like many I suspect, she has had numerous run ins with friends and others who supported Trump and don't like to have it pointed out to them that they backed a racist and misogynist agenda, something that speaks volumes about them.  I gave her contact information for local Democrat circles and she pledged to get more involved.  The issue, of course, is who will lead the opposition to Trump and his make America white and heterosexual again agenda.  Here in Virginia, the immediate battle will be to make sure Democrats win all of the statewide offices in next year's elections.  On a more national front, perhaps California, where Democrats have vowed to fight the Trump agenda, can be a model for others. Bloomberg looks at the vows being made in California.  Here are excerpts:

The Republicans are about to control Congress and the presidency for the first time in a decade, and they have an ambitious agenda. They’ve promised to undo Obamacare, deport undocumented immigrants, and roll back environmental regulations. The Democrats who run the state government in California aren’t happy. Immediately after the election, state Senate President Kevin de León and his Assembly counterpart, Anthony Rendon, both Latinos from Southern California, sent out a scathing statement in English and Spanish assuring all 39 million Californians that they were ready for political war. “Today, we woke up feeling like strangers in a foreign land, because yesterday Americans expressed their views on a pluralistic and democratic society that are clearly inconsistent with the values of the people of California,” they wrote. “We will lead the resistance to any effort that would shred our social fabric or our Constitution.”

With the largest economy in the U.S. and the sixth-largest in the world, the state enjoys greater independence from Washington than most. It was the first state to adopt its own vehicle emissions standards, in 2002. In 2012, California created the only state-level cap-and-trade system for limiting greenhouse gas emissions after Republicans in Congress rejected a national model. California, which has more undocumented immigrants than any other state, offers them driver’s licenses as well as financial aid for college. It has imposed some of the country’s strictest background checks on firearms purchases. It’s one of three states to provide paid family and medical leave and one of five that require employers to offer paid sick leave. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen in modern political history,” says de León. “We’re going to do everything in our power to protect our people and our values as Californians.”

Hillary Clinton won more than 61 percent of the state’s vote, a higher share than President Obama won in 2012. Voters approved ballot measures decriminalizing recreational marijuana use, restricting ammunition purchases, and increasing taxes on the rich. The national election triggered a resurgence of California secession fantasies, this time under the hashtag #Calexit—a reference to Brexit, Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

State Democrats say there’s plenty they can do short of leaving the U.S. California has long been a net contributor to Washington’s coffers . . . . That gives state leaders potential leverage when it comes to complying with policies it doesn’t like, starting with the deportation of undocumented immigrants.

On Nov. 14, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said he won’t reverse long-standing department policy blocking officers from doing immigration enforcement, despite Donald Trump’s threats to cut federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities, which offer residents protection from federal agents. “We are not going to work with Homeland Security on deportation efforts,” Beck said. “That is not our job, nor will I make it our job.” 

One of the biggest points of contention between Sacramento and Trump’s Washington will be climate change. The incoming president has called global warming a hoax “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive.” . . . . Governor Brown has devoted himself to strengthening California’s carbon pollution rules, already the nation’s toughest. “We will protect the precious rights of our people and continue to confront the existential threat of our time—devastating climate change,” . . . . Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says cities should be willing to uphold the Paris commitments at the local level. 

California’s Democrats are also exploring ways to ensure continued access to health care. . . . A repeal [of Obamacare], as Trump and Republicans have pledged, would cost the state more than $15 billion in federal subsidies a year, according to the nonprofit Urban Institute. “In theory, California could implement its own universal health-care program,” says California’s insurance commissioner, Dave Jones—though doing so, he warns, would require significant state tax increases.

California leaders have taken steps to expand access to the procedure [abortion], and could make the state a haven for women seeking abortions if Roe were to fall. And some ideas that Trump has endorsed, like stop-and-frisk law enforcement policies, are determined at the local level, not by Congress.

Says Mayor Schaaf: “I think it is wise to not react too much to things that have not yet occurred, but rather to be prepared and strengthened in the event that they do.

Reminder: John Kasich Is Also Evil

Given the insanity and freak show nature of the Republican presidential nomination contest, it is easy to be lulled into believing that Ohio Governor John Kasich might be somewhat acceptable as the GOP nominee or as president.  Unfortunately, that view overlooks the reality of Kasich's record and that, among other things, he is anti-gay and anti-woman when not engaging in union busting and diverting funding from public education.  Only  the extremism of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz make Kasich seem sane and moderate in comparison.  Gawker has a timely piece that reminds us that Kasich is just as scary  as his opponents, just in a less flamboyant way.  Here are article highlights:

With Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio out of the running, Ohio Governor John Kasich is the establishment candidate no one saw coming. And sure, compared to the rest of the GOP’s increasingly terrifying sideshows in suits, Kasich comes across as sane. But don’t be fooled: John Kasich is just as much of a monster as the rest—he just hides it better.

In March of 2009, Kasich infamously (at least in Ohio) noted that the state needed to “break the back of organized labor in schools.” Which is to say, John Kasich would like to break the back of the teachers unions. The same teachers unions that have, according to him, “smeared my record and distorted it.” It’s not just teachers Kasich wants to bust; it’s organized labor in general. From The Columbus Dispatch:

Kasich, who is backed by business groups, also opposes paying prevailing wages on state-funded construction projects. And as part of a sweeping review of state laws and regulations, he wants to reexamine the 1983 law that gave public employees in Ohio the right to collective bargaining, arbitration and strike (except for safety forces).

John Kasich loves to talk about how he brought jobs back to Ohio after the recession. The problem with that line of thinking, though, is that every state regained jobs after the recession. In fact, most states even managed return to pre-recession employment rates. Ohio was not one of those states.

According to Cleveland.com, by May of 2014, Ohio actually had 119,900 fewer jobs than when the recession began. As for the jobs Kasich did create, the majority were low-wage. According to a 2014 report by a progressive Cleveland think tank, Ohio’s median wage was nearly a dollar below the national average at $15.81 per hour.

Kasich is big on charter schools, which in his case meant spending over $1 billion on a program that exists to divert public funding to private pockets. According to progressive advocacy group Innovation Ohio:

·        Traditional public schools, which educate 90 percent of Ohio’s kids, receive $515 million less state funding than before Gov. Kasich took office.
·        Charter school funding has increased by 27 percent, and charters now receive more state money per pupil than do traditional public schools.

What’s more, The Akron Beacon Journal reported that “state auditors have uncovered $27.3 million improperly spent by charter schools, many run by for-profit companies, enrolling thousands of children and producing academic results that rival the worst in the nation.”

It’s incredibly fortunate for John Kasich that Ted Cruz is Ted Cruz. Because if he weren’t standing next to an opponent so phenomenally, nauseatingly unlikeable, we all might realize that Kasich himself is also a dick.

Back in 2014, John Kasich was asked about his decision to sign into law a provision prohibiting rape crisis counselors from referring rape victims to abortion services. In other words, John Kasich imposed a rape crisis counselor gag rule. Instead of answering a perfectly reasonable question about an incredibly pernicious law, Kasich just... ignored it. . . . . Dangerously backwards women’s health laws aren’t just for the South anymore. In fact, Ohio has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, mostly thanks to John Kasich.

In just five years, Kasich manged to pass 11 different laws restricting abortion rights for women. Mother Jones points out that “since 2011, half of Ohio’s 16 clinics have closed, and according to The Columbus Dispatch three of the remaining eight are in risk of closing if they cannot find a hospital within 30 miles willing to enter a transfer agreement.”

As Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, told Mother Jones, “He is, if not the worst, among the worst of anti-choice governors in this country’s history.” There’s your reasonable, moderate Republican, everyone!

Mike Huckabee: Deploy U.S. Troops To Stop Women From Getting Abortions

The desperation of the occupants of the GOP presidential candidate clown is surging with those unlikely to make the cut for the first candidate circus debate next month seemingly willing to say the most outlandish things in order to pander to the Christofascist element of the GOP base.  Case in point?  Mike Huckabee - who I personally believe should be in a mental institution and not in any elected office - who has suggested that U.S. military troops be used to stop women from getting abortions.  Think Progress looks at Huckabee's growing insanity and willingness to make a mockery of the rights of others.  Here are excerpts:

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said at a campaign stop on Thursday that he would consider sending federal troops or the Federal Bureau of Investigation to stop abortions.

During a campaign stop in Iowa, reporters asked Huckabee about a recent controversy over an anti-choice organization‘s efforts to paint Planned Parenthood as a dubious entity that is selling “aborted baby parts” through the release of several heavily edited videos.

Huckabee said he would “invoke the 5th and 14th amendments for the protection of every human being.” The Fifth Amendment states, “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger.” This suggests a Hucakbee presidency would unilaterally make all abortion illegally by deeming all fetuses are people. 

“I will not pretend there is nothing we can do to stop this,” Huckabee said. When a reporter asked if hew would use federal troops or the FBI to this end, he said, “We’ll see if I get to be president.”

He cited Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln as his inspiration, saying they were previous presidents who have defied Supreme Court rulings. 

Get out the straight jacket and please take the man away!!

Mark Warner Undoes Cuccinelli/McDonnell Effort to Shutter Clinics

One of the agendas of now felon, Bob McDonnell and Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli was to burden abortion and family planning clinics with hospital like requirements that would have forced many to close.  The effort was to supposedly "protect women" but other outpatient clinics performing even more dangerous and invasive procedures were exempt from the requirements.  As always, the Christofascsts' alleged justifications did not hide their anti-abortion and anti-family planning clinic goals.  Now, as the Washington Post reports, Attorney General Mark Herring has ruled that such clinics do not have to meet the excessive requirements.  Needless to say, the always evil Victoria Cobb of The Family Foundation - Virginia's leading anti-gay hate group - has her panties in a wad. Here are highlights:

Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) ­sided Monday with abortion rights advocates seeking to free clinics from strict, hospital-style building standards, issuing a legal opinion that whipped up those on both sides of the polarizing issue.

Herring’s action reverses an opinion from his Republican predecessor, Ken Cuccinelli II, and put an issue that has long divided lawmakers back on the front burner.

The advisory opinion has no immediate effect on clinics currently operating, but it could influence the state Board of Health when members consider an overhaul of rules. On June 4, the board will review rules that require the commonwealth’s 18 existing abortion clinics to widen hallways, add parking spaces and make other costly building renovations.

Abortion rights groups say those changes are a blatant attempt to close clinics and reduce access to abortion in Virginia, while abortion opponents say the rules are needed to ensure safety for women and access for emergency personnel.

Monday’s opinion “supersedes and reverses incorrect advice” given to the Board of Health in 2012 by Cuccinelli, Herring spokesman Michael Kelly said. Democrats accused Cuccinelli of bullying the board into forcing existing clinics to conform to the rules.

“That advice — that design-and-construction standards had to apply to preexisting facilities — is not supported by the law and represented an anomaly in how the Board of Health has treated the facilities it regulates and the way that laws are interpreted in Virginia,” Kelly said.

The new opinion restores the Board of Health’s usual practice of making such standards apply only to new construction and major renovations, Kelly said.

“[I]t’s not surprising that the Attorney General is inserting his political agenda by ignoring the will of the legislature,” Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said in a statement. “He has proven time and again that he believes he is not bound by the law.”

Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) said he agreed that the move was an end run around the legislature, adding: “Now he’s saying, ‘Screw you,’ again.”

But Herring accused Cuccinelli of bending the law to his political agenda when he advised board members against grandfathering existing clinics.

The Board of Health is expected to vote June 4 on the proposed rules in a showdown likely to draw out passionate advocates on both sides of the issue. The vote will trigger a review by McAuliffe and Herring as well as a 60-day public comment period culminating in a final vote sometime this fall.

The issue has a contentious history in Virginia. In early 2011, the General Assembly voted for, and McDonnell approved, a law that categorized facilities that perform five or more abortions a month as hospitals.

GOP: Abortion to Be Other Main 2014 Issue

The Republican Party has no plan for immigration reform, no plan for a jobs bill, and no alternate plan for Obamacare.  And then there's the neglected issue of the nation's crumbling infrastructure.  Yet what does the GOP plan to make a major campaign issue in the 2014 midterm elections?  Abortion.  Again.  Why? Because other than gay bashing, it is the favor issue with the Christofascists.  And with a dwindling party base - the angry old white men die off a little bit each and every day - the rocket scientists in the GOP think abortion is a sure winner.  The New York Times looks at the coming election push.  Here are excerpts:

When the Republican National Committee gathers for its winter meeting here on Wednesday, the action will start a few hours late to accommodate anyone who wants to stop first at the March for Life, the annual anti-abortion demonstration on the National Mall. And if they need a lift to the meeting afterward, they can hop on a free shuttle, courtesy of the Republican Party.

“We thought it only fitting for our members to attend the march,” said Reince Priebus, the party chairman.

Abortion is becoming an unexpectedly animating issue in the 2014 midterm elections. Republicans, through state ballot initiatives and legislation in Congress, are using it to stoke enthusiasm among core supporters. Democrats, mindful of how potent the subject has been in recent campaigns like last year’s governor’s race in Virginia, are looking to rally female voters by portraying their conservative opponents as callous on women’s issues.

“Republicans have turned the floor of the House into the battleground for their relentless war on women’s health care and freedoms,” said Representative Steve Israel of New York, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Every time they launch another extreme attack against women’s rights, they lose more ground with women voters.”

In the House in the coming weeks, Republicans will make passing the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” one of their top priorities this year.

Democrats say their success this year will depend on how close they can come, given lower turnout, to President Obama’s overwhelming margins with female voters . . . . 

Coupling the issue of abortion with a subject important to Republicans’ Tea Party followers — government spending — is one way the party is recalibrating its election-year message. Republicans say that by framing the abortion debate in terms of fiscal conservatism, they can make a connection to the issue they believe will ultimately decide who controls Congress next year — the Affordable Care Act.

Mr. Priebus, the Republican chairman, will attend the March for Life this week, rare for a party leader. So will Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader. In years past, Republican presidents have addressed the march by phone or video message to avoid speaking in person.

Nowhere was the power of the abortion issue more evident recently than in the governor’s race in Virginia, where the Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, won in November in part because women preferred him by nine percentage points over the Republican, Ken Cuccinelli, whom Democrats portrayed as extreme on women’s issues.

It's not a matter of portraying Republicans as extreme on the issue.  They ARE extreme on the issue plain and simple.   And if they truly wanted to decrease abortions, they would back reality based sex education programs and making contraception widely available.  Yet they do neither.  In the end, it is all about trying to impose Christofascist beliefs on all citizens.

 

Wayne Coleman - A Ken Cuccinelli Clone?

Another Cuccinelli?

The special election to fill the Virginia Senate seat vacated by Lt. Governor elect Ralph Northam is on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.  The race pits Democrat Lynwood Lewis against GOP newcomer Wayne Coleman.  Coleman is trying to depict himself as a new kind of Republican and a "different kind of candidate", but from his ads and the positions on his website, he is sadly just a warmed over version of the same old anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-minority Virginia Republican that voters rejected in November.  The world and Virginia are changing, yet Coleman wants to continue the same failed GOP policies that have placed a "Not Welcome" sign on Virginia for anyone who isn't a white, evangelical Christian, heterosexual.  Don't believe me?

First, most of Coleman's campaign ads sound as if they were pulled directly from Ken Cuccinelli's failed campaign, especially those attacking Lynwood Lewis on "Obamacare." These ads are little more than a dog whistle for the racists in the GOP base who cannot countenance a black man in the White House.  Why do I say this?  Because Coleman's ads ignore the fact that the Affordable Health Care Act is a FEDERAL LAW.  A Virginia state senator can do NOTHING to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act, yet Coleman dishonestly plays this dog whistle meme. The only thing a Virginia state senator can vote on is whether or not Virginia expands Medicaid and accepts federal funds that will otherwise go to other states.  Oh, and did I mention that Medicaid expansion would bring health care coverage to 400,000 Virginians and create thousands of health care industry jobs?

Second, Coleman's ads claim that Lewis is pursuing a "radical agenda."  This supposedly radical agenda is resisting GOP voter suppression efforts, ending the state sponsored GOP jihad against gays, and getting Republicans out of women's vaginas.  It is Coleman, not Lewis who is pushing the radical agenda.

For the record, Coleman's daughter has contacted me and she seems like a lovely person.  She claims that her father isn't a racist and the ad in which she is featured depicts Coleman as a good father.  Unfortunately, being a good father and person in his personal life doesn't carry over into the public policies that Coleman is espousing: God, guns, gay bashing - and voter disenfranchisement. I've offered to meet with Coleman and be proven wrong on my analysis, but he has not taken up the offer.

I encourage voters in the 6th District to get out and vote for Lynwood Lewis on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.  We need to block the GOP effort to take control of the Virginia Senate in order that the GOP's failed, backward in time facing agenda can be forced on all Virginians.

Four Legal Battles that May Cost Cuccinelli the Governorship

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:

As Election Day in the Virginia gubernatorial election nears, new polling increasingly shows Democrat Terry McAuliffe has a significant lead over Republican opponent Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli in the race.

Though the reasons for Cuccinelli's flagging campaign are complex, one of the stalking horses may well be his very record as attorney general. He's known for using his position to aggressively pursue the pet issues of social conservatives. McAuliffe's campaign began using his socially conservative record as attorney general against him, especially as those cases are beginning to fall apart in court.
Here are four legal battles that are coming back to haunt Cuccinelli.

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.

New Mark Herring Ad Focuses on Obenshain's Horrific Miscarriage Bill

Throughout the 2013 Virginia statewide campaign Mark Obenshain has been shamelessly and disingenuously seeking to depict himself as a moderate who holds mainstream views.  Of course, for those who have followed Obenshain's career in the Virginia General Assembly, nothing could be more far from the truth.  Obenshain is every bit as extreme as his ticket mates, Ken Cuccinelli and "Bishop" E. W. Jackson.  Democrat Attorney General candidate Mark Herring has unveiled a new ad that seeks to educate Virginia voters as to the full extent of Obenshain's extremism which is perhaps best typified by the bill he introduced which would have subjected women having miscarriage to jail time if they failed to report their miscarriage to local police withing 24 hours.  Here are details on Mark Herring's very important ad via his campaign web site:

In a new, emotionally-packed web ad, a Virginia family reacts to Mark Obenshain’s politically-driven measure that would force families going through the trauma of a miscarriage to report that miscarriage to the police. The ad features Virginians Lorilie and James Neckel from Leesburg sharing their deeply personal story of trying to build their family for five years and the torment they would have experienced if Senator Mark Obenshain’s callous bill had become law.

“When I read that Obenshain sponsored this bill requiring women to register a miscarriage with the police, I just thought that was the craziest thing I’ve ever heard; it blew my mind,” said Lorilie Neckel. “To even think of trying to go through an investigation at that time is just ridiculous.”

“At that time in our life, it was very personal issues that we were dealing with and it was very hard times. I couldn’t imagine Lorilie being treated as a criminal going through this time,” said Lorilie’s husband, James Neckel. “I can’t believe someone would sponsor a bill like this for political gain. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Senator Mark Obenshain has pushed a truly radical record in the General Assembly without considering its effects on Virginians,” said Democratic candidate for Attorney General Mark Herring. “For Mark Obenshain, it's all about pushing his own personal political views onto others. His record is totally out of the mainstream and when Virginians find out more about his record, there is no way they will support his brand of radical politics.”

A recent internal polling memo shows that Mark Obenshain’s bill to force women to report miscarriages to the police is so unpalatable that it will sink his campaign. The memo shows that the race moves from a toss-up to an eight-point lead for Herring after voters hear about Obenshain’s record of assault on women’s health issues.

Mark Obenshain’s campaign is based on avoiding his radical right-wing record on social issues because he knows that his record is far outside of the Virginia mainstream. His record includes one of the strongest anti-women legislative agendas in Virginia history:

• Led the charge to stop the campus health center at James Madison University from dispensing emergency contraceptive pills. [The Washington Post, 04/24/03; Richmond Times Dispatch, 04/22/03; The Washington Post, 04/24/03; Harrisonburg Daily News-Record, 02/18/04]

• Voted in 2004, along with Ken Cuccinelli, to defeat “a ‘contraception is not abortion’ bill. [SB 456, 2004]

• Co-Patroned the “Personhood” bill that would outlaw all abortion and many common forms of birth control. [HB 2797, 2007; SB 1207, 2011]

• Voted in 2012 for a “Personhood” bill that would criminalize contraception. [HB 1, 2012]

• Introduced in 2009 a bill that would require women to report miscarriages to police within 24 hours. [SB 962, 2009]

• Mark Obenshain voted in favor of the 2012 transvaginal ultrasound bill, calling it “common sense legislation.” [HB 462, 2012; SB 484; World Virginia, 2/08/12]

• Sponsored a 2012 bill to outlaw abortions after twenty weeks, also known as the Virginia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act or Fetal Pain Act. [SB 637, 2012

Virginians need to know the truth about Mark Obenshain.  His agenda for Virginia is truly frightening.

North Carolina: GOP Extremism Unrestrained

If one wants to see what the GOP agenda for America, North Carolina offers a pretty good glimpse as a GOP controlled legislature and GOP governor run rampantly out of control and enact far right dream legislation that does everything from further restricting abortion to disenfranchising a significant percentage of voters.  Voters in Virginia would be wise to look southward to see what a GOP victory in Virginia in November would usher in.  A piece in the New York Times looks at what is happening in North Carolina - things that should have been foreseen by the cretins who either stayed home on election day or who stupidly believed GOP lies.  Anyone familiar with today's GOP base should have seen all of this coming.  Here are article excerpts:

When Pat McCrory, a Republican former mayor of Charlotte, was elected governor last year, he pledged to “bring this state together,” and to focus on bread-and-butter issues amid an ailing economy.

But with Republicans controlling all branches of the state government for the first time in more than a century, the legislature pushed through a wide range of conservative change. The Republicans not only cut taxes and business regulations, as many had expected, but also allowed stricter regulations on abortion clinics, ended teacher tenure, blocked the expansion of Medicaid, cut unemployment benefits, removed obstacles to the death penalty, allowed concealed guns in bars and restaurants, and mandated the teaching of cursive writing. 

Just this week, Mr. McCrory signed into law strict voter identification requirements, prohibiting same-day registration and cutting early voting.
Lawsuits have been filed — including one on Monday by the N.A.A.C.P. — and protests are taking place almost weekly in Raleigh, the capital, and other cities, leaving North Carolinians across the political spectrum worried that the state’s often-hailed political pragmatism may have given way to the ideological warfare of Washington. 

[I]n the 2010 elections, a cycle deeply unfavorable for Democrats nationwide, North Carolina Republicans won both houses of the legislature for the first time in a century. More critically, they also won control of redistricting. One year later, they drew districts guaranteeing safe seats for a Republican majority for years to come. 

In 2012, with Ms. Perdue’s late decision not to run again, Mr. McCrory won the governor’s office easily. Naming Mr. Pope as his budget director, he promised an agenda focused on economic growth, even pledging not to sign into law new restrictions on abortion. But Republicans in the legislature were not interested in half-measures. 

Doug Clark, a columnist for The News and Record of Greensboro, welcomed the partisan change, but he now sees the state’s Republican leadership as fostering “extreme partisanship and abuse of power.” He questioned why the legislature, after passing laws governing abortion, guns and voter identification, and frequently trying to exert control over issues traditionally left to local governments, never got around to passing the governor’s plan to overhaul job recruiting. 

While the number of North Carolina voters over all has risen since 2008, the number who are registered as either Republicans or Democrats has shrunk.  Unaffiliated voters now make up more than a quarter of the voting population. 

“Honest, I’m not much into North Carolina,” said Cyril Seacat, 78, who moved here decades ago to work in a Glen Raven-owned mill and was sitting in his truck outside a Walmart. “I don’t think they’re doing much of anything right.”

Anti-Abortion GOP Congressman: Fetuses Masturbate, Ban Abortion

Just when you think that the GOP simply cannot get any nuttier and insane, along comes a GOP member of Congress who proves that the insanity that permeates the GOP seemingly has no limits.  How else to explain the statements by Michael Burgess (R-TX, pictured above) on Monday wherein he asserted that he had witnessed male fetuses pleasuring themselves as early as 15-weeks after conception.  His point?  That fetuses feel pain and pleasure and, therefore, the GOP House approved anti-abortion bill was justified.  Left unaddressed was how this apparently natural behavior squares with the Christofascists hysteria against masturbation and sex in general (at least outside the confines of their secret viewing of Internet porn, something most prevalent in the Bible Belt).  What makes the whole affair more bizarre is that Burgess is leading member of a House subcommittee focused on public health and biomedical issues.  Raw Story looks at Burgess' statements:

Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX) on Monday asserted that he witnessed male fetuses pleasuring themselves as early as 15-weeks after conception, RH Reality Check reported.

His comments came during a House Rules committee debate on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, which would ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The fact of the matter is, I argue with the chairman because I thought the date was far too late. We should be setting this at 15-weeks, 16-weeks.”

“Watch a sonogram of a 15-week baby, and they have movements that are purposeful,” he continued. “They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs. If they feel pleasure, why is it so hard to think that they could feel pain?”

Burgess said the Supreme Court would be forced to reconsider its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling due to legal fights over anti-abortion legislation like the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. He suggested the justices would be far less permissive of abortion thanks to modern sonogram technology.

For the record, I am not pro-abortion.  I do believe, however, that there need to be meaningful exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.  While the bill purports to contained exceptions for rape and incest and would permit abortion to save the life of the mother, critics said the exceptions were narrowly written and would prove problematic if implemented.  As always, it is amazing to see GOP white males passing legislation to govern the lives and bodies of women. And one has to wonder how the Catholic clergy will react to masturbation being a natural behavior - many must be having a severe case of the vapors.

GOP War on Women Continues: GOP Congressman Says "Incidence of Rape Resulting in Pregnancy areVery Low"

One has to wonder whether or not the GOP is sending its elected members of Congress to some sort of "Stepford Wives" treatment center or simply giving them a lobotomy followed by mind control programing.  Or do they simply need to fail an IQ test before being vetted as a candidate?  How else to explain yet another GOP congressman shooting off his mouth with no supporting data or justification and claiming that rape rarely results in pregnancy.  One can only assume that Congressman Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) - who is pictured above - was speaking from some talking points provided by some right wing anti-abortion (and likely anti-gay) "family values" organization.  But then again, look at the Virginia GOP's statewide ticket.  They are all crazy extremists.  Politico looks at the latest case of verbal diarrhea to overt the GOP.  Here are excerpts:

A House Republican pushing for a 20-week nationwide ban on abortions said Wednesday that the incidence of pregnancies resulting from rape is “very low” — then scrambled to clarify his comment after it went viral with comparisons to former GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin.

“The incidence of rape resulting in pregnancy are very low,” said Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) as the House Judiciary Committee debated his bill to ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks including in cases of rape and incest.

Franks’s comments immediately stirred comparisons to the controversies during the 2012 elections, when Akin and other GOP candidates made a series of statements about abortion and rape, or questioned whether abortion was ever needed to save a woman’s life. In several states — notably Missouri and Indiana — the remarks and their aftermath played into the larger Democratic theme of the “war on women” and helped Democrats win those seats and keep control of the Senate.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) challenged Franks when he made his comment in committee, saying his assertion was “astonishing.”

“The idea that the Republican men on this committee think they can tell the women of America that they have to carry to term the product of a rape is outrageous,” Lofgren said.

It wasn’t only Democrats who objected. Gabriel Gomez, the Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate, told ABC News: “I think that he’s a moron and he proves that stupid has no specific political affiliation.”

The House Judiciary Committee ultimately passed Franks’s bill, which would ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks based on the controversial assertion that a fetus can feel pain at that point. It is scheduled to get a vote in the full House next week, a spokesman for Majority Leader Eric Cantor said.

In addition to voting down a Democratic amendment along party lines that would provide an exception in cases of rape or incest, the committee voted down amendments to provide a full exception to preserve the life or health of the woman and a more detailed amendment that would provide an exception if the pregnancy could result in lung disease, heart disease or diabetes.

Note how even an exception in the bill to save the life of the mother was voted down by the GOP.   With two daughters of my own, I certainly do not want decisions that could threaten their lives being made by political whore to Bible beaters who glorify ignorance and reject modern medical knowledge. Today's GOP has become something very, very ugly.  It is also noteworthy that whenever to GOP supports bad legislation, the fingers of the "godly Christian" crowd are often all over it.

Virginia GOP Targets Abortion Clinics - and Women - Yet Again

The twin pillars of The Family Foundation - a Christofascist hate group that parades under the guise of a "family values" organization - are (i) insuring that gays are stigmatized and kept inferior under the laws of Virginia and (ii) ending all abortions in Virginia as well as restricting access to contraception.  Since The Family Foundation controls the Virginia GOP, its agenda and policies become those of the Republican Party of Virginia.  Anyone who claims differently is either a bald face liar or trying desperately to convince themselves that the Virginia GOP hasn't become a religious party.  A number of my former GOP colleagues are in this latter category as they stick their heads in the sand rather than face the reality of the Christofascist take over.  Given the reality of who controls the Virginia GOP, it is no surprise that once again abortion clinics have been subjected to costly regulations and requirements not applicable to comparable out patient surgery facilities.  The goal is simply to shut them all down.  A piece in Politico looks at the latest effort to end abortions and the availability of contraception in Virginia.  Leading the charge is sodomy law supporter, Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli.  Here are highlights:

The Virginia Board of Health gave final approval to a sweeping set of regulations for abortion clinics Friday.   Abortion-rights supporters say the regulations — which would require many clinics in the state to undergo costly renovations to stay in business — have one goal: to put abortion clinics out of existence.

“This is a political attack on abortion, designed to outlaw women’s health centers in the state,” said Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.

Under the new rules, which are the result of a law passed by the Virginia Legislature in 2011, a Virginia clinic that performs more than five abortions a month is categorized as a hospital. And that means Virginia’s 20 licensed abortion providers must now meet a host of new architectural requirements — which could mean anything from replacing the ceilings, to widening the hallways, to installing a drinking fountain.

Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, said about half the states have structural requirements in place for abortion clinics. But Virginia’s new rules, which are similar to those in Utah and Kansas, are “just about the most restrictive,” she said.  Rosemary Wilbur Codding, owner and director of the Falls Church Healthcare Center in Virginia, which provides abortions and gynecological care, said complying with all of the regulations could require her small facility to add five rooms and could cost up to $1 million.

“Realistically, in this climate, for any small business to be able to invest $1 million in unneeded upgrades is just outside of the spectrum of even thinking about,” she continued. “I’m not even sure how I’d manage $100,000.”  Codding said she’s not sure how she can afford to keep her medical center open — but she’s determined to fight the regulations.

Since the law was passed in 2011, finalizing the regulations has been a laborious, contentious process. Last year, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican who is anti-abortion, refused to certify the first round of regulations approved by the board, which would have “grandfathered in” existing clinics so they wouldn’t have to rebuild or renovate extensively.

Ken Cuccinelli Picks Anti-Abortion Group Over Virginia Teachers Union

Would be Virginia governor Ken "Kookinelli" Cuccinelli continues to show his true extremist colors by snubbing the Virginia Education Association ("VEA") and instead speaking before anti-abortion extremists.  Even if one doubts they will secure the VEA's endorsement, historically, candidates at least make appearances at the VEA candidate forum and seek to come off as willing to listen to the views of the organization and its members - even my lunatic former classmate, George Allen attended when he was a candidate.  But not Kookinelli who through a spokesperson described the VEA event "labor boss soiree."  The Washington Examiner looks at the situation.  Here are highlights: 

Virginia Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli skipped an invitation Thursday to meet with the state's largest teachers union to appear instead in front of an anti-abortion summit in Washington that's being organized by his largest campaign contributor.

Republican and Democratic gubernatorial candidates dating back to former Gov. George Allen two decades ago have spoken at the Virginia Education Association's candidate forum, where the organization weighs who to endorse. Democrat Terry McAuliffe spoke and took questions at Thursday's gathering in Hampton.

Cuccinelli passed on the teachers' group to attend the Susan B. Anthony Campaign for Life Gala and Summit. He joined Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on a panel titled "Protecting the Conscience of Pro-Life Taxpayers." The Susan B. Anthony List has already committed $1.5 million to help Cuccinelli in this year's governor race against McAuliffe.

Cuccinelli spokeswoman Anna Nix wrote off the VEA event as a "labor boss soiree."

Cuccinelli's speech also came a day before the Virginia State Board of Health met to approve tough new regulations for abortion providers that the attorney general had a heavy hand in influencing. Susan B. Anthony List put out a call to supporters Thursday to speak at Friday's meeting and pressure the board to pass the new rules.

VEA President Meg Gruber said she was disappointed Cuccinelli skipped the forum.

"The VEA seeks the best candidate for Virginia's schoolchildren," Gruber said, "and we think everyone benefits when candidates state their views on public education formally and explicitly."

Virginians, especially the women of the Commonwealth need to start opening their eyes to just how extreme Kookinelli is in fact and how his goal is to control their bodies.  As his sodomy law appeal disclosed and his support for voter ID laws shows, he's surely no friend to LGBT Virginians or minority voters.  The man is a menace who needs to be defeated come November.

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.

Personhood Mississippi Seeks Second Statewide Vote

I am beginning to think that the water is tainted in states like Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana where the Christofascists continue to be obsessed with ending all abortions and pat themselves on the back for being "pro-life" even as they support draconian GOP policies that slash aid to poor children and the nation's most needy.  It seems that once one is no longer a fetus, one becomes disposable trash to these folks.  Now, Personhood Mississippi is striving to have another statewide ballot in Mississippi that would amend the state's constitution to grant all the rights of citizens ship to fetus from the moment of conception.  I'm not pro-abortion by any means, but these people are crazy not to mention complete hypocrites given their contempt and hatred for the already living.  Here are highlights from Raw Story:

Opponents of abortion in Mississippi on Tuesday filed paperwork to place a so-called “fetal personhood” amendment on the state’s ballot in 2015, according to the Associated Press.
Les Riley of Personhood Mississippi said voters were “confused” when they rejected a nearly identical proposal in 2011.

The proposed ballot initiative seeks to outlaw abortion by declaring that “the right to life begins at conception.” The initiative also states, “All human beings, at every stage of development, are unique, created in God’s image, and shall enjoy the inalienable right to life as persons under the law.”

Once the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office finalizes the ballot title and summary, the sponsors of the initiatives will need to collect nearly 108,000 signatures within 12 months.

Critics of the proposed amendment alleged in 2011 that it would not only outlaw abortion, but would likely also prohibit common forms of birth control, the treatment of ectopic pregnancy, in vitro fertilization treatment, and stem cell research. The amendment would also contradict the Supreme Court’s key Roe v. Wade ruling.

It also goes without saying that the folks at Personhood Mississippi have no problem depriving gays - and probably blacks and Hispanic - civil rights that they seek to reserve to themselves and fetuses.  Here in Virginia virulently anti-gay Del. Bob Marshall has continued to push a personhood amendment which to date has been killed in the General Assembly.  Like his Mississippi counterparts, Marshall doesn't give a damn about large portions of already living Virginians.

Ken Cuccinelli is Wrong for Virginia

This blog has noted several times the extreme danger that would be governor of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli poses to the Commonwealth and its citizenry.  Or at least the citizenry that doesn't consist of angry white men and their browbeaten wives.  Never in my memory has a major party stood poised to nominate a candidate as extreme and in my view plainly insane as Kookinelli.  Bob McDonnell, who I have known personally since 1994, may be ultra conservative, but McDonnell is a flaming liberal compared to Kookinelli.  As the Title to this post indicates, Kookinelli is as extreme as defeated GOP candidate Todd Akin on abortion.  But Kookinelli's batshitery and dangerous policy agenda items extend far further and includes a rabidly anti-gay component, an extreme anti-black component, and anti-Hispanic component.  A piece in Think Progress lays out a good overview of Kookinelli's extremism .  Here are highlights (please read the entire piece):

Virginia’s Republican Party appears poised to nominate state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to be its candidate for governor in 2013 — embracing a man whose extreme political views bear striking resemblance to those of unsuccessful 2012 Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO).


Over seven-and-a-half years as a Virginia state senator and three years as the commonwealth’s attorney general, Republican Ken Cuccinelli II has been, in the words of the Washington Post’s editorial board, “the most overtly partisan attorney general in Virginia’s history.” Though he claims he is “best known for his efforts to preserve liberty and defend the US Constitution,” it is his opposition to liberty for women and LGBT Americans and his frequent court losses based on his flawed constitutional theories that have defined his political career to date.

While perhaps not as careless as Akin with his rhetoric, Cuccinelli has embraced many of the same extreme positions:

1. He wants an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. His 2002 campaign website laid out Cuccinelli’s abortion views clearly: “Ken believes that human life begins at conception, and that human beings should be respected and protected from conception to natural death,” it said. “Ken would seek to require sonograms to be part of a 24-hour waiting period with an informed consent requirement. Ken opposes abortions that are not for the purpose of saving the mother’s life.” Over his political career, he has pushed to defund Planned Parenthood and embryonic stem cell research. He pushed for a ban on third trimester abortions — making no exception for serious health risks on the woman — and for “safety” regulations for abortion providers designed to force clinics to close.  .  .  .  .  .  Cuccinelli frequently attacks Planned Parenthood and has suggested that the fact that abortion clinics in Virginia are in urban areas with large African American populations is an example of white racism. His “ultimate goal,” he has said, is to “make abortion disappear in America.”

2. He does not believe LGBT people deserve legal protections. Cuccinelli has made it clear that he believes same-sex relationships are immoral. In 2009, he told a Virginia newspaper, “My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that.” After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its 2003 Lawrence v. Texas case that such bans were unconstitutional, he still voted against repealing a state law making consensual sodomy a felony. He has actively pushed for state and federal constitutional amendments to prevent any legal recogntition of what he terms “what they’d like to refer to as ‘homosexual families,’” authoring a resolution calling for a federal amendment to invalidate any same-sex marriage, civil union, domestic partnership, or “other relationship analogous to marriage.”  .   .   .   .   He even opposed a state bill that allowed private companies to voluntarily provide health insurance benefits to employees’ domestic partners, warning it might “encourage this type of behavior.” His advisory opinion that Virginia’s public colleges and universities should rescind their non-discrimination policies was called “reprehensible” by a former Republican state legislator.

3. He is a climate-change denier. As part of his efforts to cast doubt on climate-change science, he used his position to launch an inquisition against a former University of Virginia climate scientist. Citing possible “fraud against taxpayers,” Cuccinelli demanded the university provide him with a wide range of records relating Dr. Michael E. Mann’s grant applications. A circuit judge and then the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the Attorney General was incorrect in believing he had the legal authority to undertake such a fishing expedition. He blasted the ruling, newspapers blasted him for wasting Virginia tax dollars. He also failed in his federal lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas — a unanimous appeals court upheld the agency’s regulations as based on an “unambiguously correct” reading of the law. Since his legal efforts for climate-change denial failed, he often relies on mockery, asking audiences to exhale carbon dioxide in unison, during his speeches, to annoy the EPA.

4. He suggested President Obama stole the 2012 election. In a radio interview, Cuccinelli told the host he completely agreed with her assertion that investigations are needed to determine why President Obama lost “every one” of the states with photo identification requirements for voting, yet won re-election. Though studies have shown Americans are more likely to be struck by lightning than to commit voter fraud, he told the host she was “preaching to the choir” with her unfounded theory.

5. He wants Arizona-style anti-immigrant policies and self-deportation. On his 2007 campaign website, he explained that since the federal government “has been negligent in its responsibility to secure our borders,” he was “committed to passing legislation that removes the economic incentives that fuel illegal immigration.” To do this, he opposed in-state tuition for undocumented students, embraced limits on the number of people who can live in a house, and supported civil litigation so competitors could sue when a rival “employer knowingly hires illegal aliens.” He opposed bipartisan immigration reform efforts as “amnesty” for the “illegal aliens in the job market” who are “depressing wages and reducing American’s standard of living.” In 2010, he wrote in an opinion that “Virginia law enforcement officers, including conservation officers may, like Arizona police officers, inquire into the immigration status of persons stopped or arrested.” And Cuccinelli joined an amicus brief defending key provisions of Arizona’s immigration reform law which were later ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

And despite the ruling of the United States Supreme Court upholding the Affordable Health Care Act - a/k/a "Obamacare" - Kookinelli rants on his campaign website that the  law is "unconstitutional."   The man is insane and anyone who falls for his disingenuous belated effort to pretend to be a moderate needs their head examined.