Classless Act

I'm a loser.

Apparently Ken Cuccinelli has no plans to make the traditional congratulatory call to the winner in the Virginia gubernatorial contest, Terry McAuliffe. The Cooch lost the race by 2.5% or about 55,000 votes.

Even the most bitter rival meet on the field and shake hands - loser congratulating winner even though it rips the soul. It is the right thing to do. Cuccinelli lost on Tuesday and his lack of class shows he is a loser as a human being, too. Virginian's should hope this is the last we see or hear of him.

Over 70% of my precinct voted for the three Repugs. Gives me reason to pause and reflect. Love thy neighbor as thyself only goes so far.

How Terry McAuliffe almost blew it

Terry McAuliffe will be the next governor of Virginia but he almost let a sure thing slip away during the last couple of weeks. In doing do, he likely hurt both his statewide running mates, especially attorney general candidate Mark Herring who will have a fight to survive a recount. What are some of the factors that cut what looked like a comfortable 6-8% margin of victory down to about 2.5%? And what can Democrats learn from a near collapse that, if the election were held a week later, could have turned the Commonwealth into a bitter tea party? My foggy brained analysis after counting and recounting absentee votes until after 2:00 a.m on Wed morning:

• Terry McAuliffe was never able to shake the label of "outsider" or "carpetbagger" and by bringing in Bill Clinton for a statewide tour he reinforced that image among independents and energized Republicans. I'm all in favor of bringing in political heavyweights to fire up the base, but beware of unintended consequences in a campaign's closing days.
• With the right wing media bashing, and the mainstream media questioning, the rollout of ObamaCare, was it the right thing to bring the president and vice president to the state for campaign appearances? I think not. All that did was, in the minds of some voters, to tie McAuliffe to questions about the competency of government and to link him more with Washington than Richmond. Again, McAuliffe's campaign brought more Republicans out to vote and got many independents questioning him just as it was time to cast votes.
• Terry McAuliffe we hardly know you! At some point voters want to make a personal connection that establishes trust. Negative campaigns tarnish everybody - voters need at least a few positive reasons to support a candidate rather than simply voting against the other guy. Beyond the Democratic diehards, McAuliffe never succeeded in building that relationship. Perhaps McAuliffe should have taken a page from the Obenshain playbook and given his family a greater role in explaining Terry "the father and the man" to voters.
• I never thought a minor party candidate would garner double digits like some pre-election polls indicated. I wondered if, come election day and crunch time in the voting booth, more than 5-6% of the voters would decide to "send a message" or "waste a vote." Sarvis, with few resources or recognition, ran a pretty good campaign and aired some compelling TV ads but in the end about half of his "support" drained away, with most going to Cuccinelli.

Virginia was lucky to dodge the disaster that a Governor Cuccinelli would have inflicted on this fine Commonwealth. Now Governor Terry McAuliffe needs to build and mend the bridges that he failed to build and mend in the campaign.

Oh, I've got that day after the election "what if" hangover.  ~Bill Bolling

Five reasons to NOT support Mark Obenshain

Mark Obenshain has not been a very good senator and he would be an even worse attorney general. Here are the top 5 reasons you should NOT vote for Mark Obenshain on November 5:

1. Mark Obenshain supported legislation that would force a woman who had suffered an emotionally devastating miscarriage to report it to police. He eventually withdrew the bill citing "flaws" but that doesn't excuse his basic premise that government should actively intrude in women's personal lives.
2. Mark Obenshain has pushed for voter ID laws that obviously target minorities and poor and would make voting more difficult for thousands of Virginians.
3. Mark Obenshain supported a personhood bill that, if enacted, potentially would ban some forms of birth control.
4. Mark Obenshain did not support the transportation bill that eventually passed with bipartisan support and the signature of a Republican governor. In short, Mr. Obenshain voted against jobs and improving the Commonwealth's economic climate.
5. Mark Obenshain has received big bucks from oil, coal, and natural gas companies. If you care about issues like clean water and clean air then Obenshain's friends who favor mountain top removal coal mining, fracking, and uranium mining in Virginia should scare the bejesus out of you.

Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain - twin sons of different mothers. The former is a far right extremist with a mean-spirit scowl. The latter is a far right extremist with a fake smile. Don't be fooled. If Obenshain is elected the Office of the Attorney General will become ground zero for rolling back women's rights, for diminishing our democracy, and for degrading our environment.

Rand Paul takes a page from Wikipedia.... literally!

Appearing at a campaign stop on behalf of Ken "The Cooch" Cuccinelli, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul tried to connect pro-choice Virginians with the evil state depicted in the 1997 sci-fi movie (and financial flop), Gattaca. Paul stopped by Lynchburg, the home of Liberty University, to help The Cooch make up a double digit deficit in the most recent polls.

But, if this appearance by tea party favorite Rand Paul was supposed to put a tourniquet on the bleeding, it failed miserably. Seems Mr. Paul, who wants to run for president, was at a loss for words so he heavily plagiarized the Gattaca article on Wikipedia. Now The Cooch and his campaign are distracted by a prominent surrogate cheating. Watch for yourself:

Voters are heading to the polls in one week and the Cuccinelli, Jackson, Obenshain team of monsters and goblins just got caught in another scary mess. Have fun this Halloween, but if any of this trio gets elected the trick will be on the people of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This crew is all tricks and no treats.
Be afraid, very afraid.

Cooch's attack ad misfires

If you run a dishonest
campaign, how can you
be trusted as governor?

This week the Cuccinelli campaign released a new ad attacking Terry McAuliffe, alleging that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate made millions when Global Crossings went bankrupt in 2002. The ad features emotional responses from three former Global Crossing employees. Two of those employees told Mother Jones magazine they were never told their (heavily edited) interviews would be used in a political attack ad in another state.

Deb Goehring, a former employee featured in the ad says she was asked several times about McAuliffe making money off Global Crossings. "I said I don't really know anything about Terry McAuliffe," Goehring told Mother Jones. "He was not involved in day-to-day operations in any way that I saw. As far as I'm concerned, he was like me, a stockholder, and he was able to make money at it. More power to the man. Good for him."

Also featured in the ad is former employee Corey Darrow, who seemed glad to tell her story about the impact of the Global Crossing bankruptcy, but feels mislead that the filmmaker never disclosed that it would be used for a negative ad, telling Mother Jones, "I'm kinda glad I got my story out there. What's it doing for me? I dunno," she says. "But I wish I would've known where it was going to be shown and when."

There is more at Mother Jones, including the background of how Cuccinelli's filmmaker misrepresented himself to take advantage of innocent people for political purposes.

First Cracks in the VA GOP

Watch out for shards if
you drink the tea.

Republican heads are exploding over the news that Boyd Marcus, a widely respected GOP strategist, has endorsed Terry McAuliffe for governor. Marcus, who has worked for the likes of Eric Cantor, Jim Gilmore, and Bill Bolling told the Associated Press, “I was looking at the candidates, and I saw Terry McAuliffe as the guy who will work with everybody to get things done.”

The McAuliffe campaign's announcement included a quote from Marcus that further elaborated on his difficult decision to reject the extremism of Ken Cuccinelli, “I’ve never before supported any Democrat, but this election Terry is the clear choice for mainstream conservatives.”

In the wake of the announcement, Marcus sold his interest in the GOP-based PR firm Marcus & Allen thereby cutting ties with his old Republican buddies. GOP chairman, Pat Mullins, and other party leaders expressed anger and dismay as they resorted to familiar, but tired, tactics of character attacks and name calling.

Boyd Marcus hasn't changed his philosophy about government. Rather the Virginia Republican Party, under control of tea party whackos, has abandoned mainstream and responsible conservatives. Marcus may be the biggest name to jump from the sinking (and stinking) ship, but he won't be the last. Because of issues affecting the Commonwealth's economy - transportation for example - some GOP-leaning business leaders have already moved towards McAuliffe. Over the next couple of months, motivated by Marcus's lead and by the extreme and the divisive Cuccinelli agenda, we can expect to see more Republicans endorsing Terry McAuliffe as the best candidate for Virginia's future.

Republicans beholden to title loan sharks

LoanMax, the car title loan outfit with dozens of stores across the Commonwealth, is banking heavily on a GOP win in November.

Right after the Republican Convention nominated Ken Cuccinelli, E. W. Jackson, and Mark Obenshain, Select Management Resources LLC, operator of LoanMax outlets, took the trio barnstorming across the state. Wonder why didn't they use some of the cars they've repossessed? The trip, which was by air, lasted three days and took the candidates to various cites on a "meet the voters" tour. Bet there were few customers of LoanMax in those audiences!

Such a trip isn't cheap and that is probably a good indication that LoanMax wants even less oversight than the little they currently have in the Commonwealth. The payday and title loan business model typically preys on the uninformed and those in need to lock them in a cycle of high interest and unreasonable fees. So much better if nobody is watching the henhouse!

According to the Virginia Public Access Project Cuccinelli and Obenshain reported in-kind donations of $9,000 for the trip. However, Jackson, the lieutenant governor candidate, reported nothing. It isn't the first time Jackson has neglected to report contributors. And, he has previously been fined by the State Board of Elections for failing to make timely reports.

So, we have a GOP ticket with cozy ties to a predatory industry that takes advantage of Virginia residents. That's enough chicken litter to sink most campaigns but read on.... 

Ken Cuccinelli's ethics continue under intense scrutiny for the thousands of dollars in gifts he received (many unreported until he was called on it) from Governor McDonnell's friend Jonnie Williams.

And in Rev. Jackson we have a candidate who plays fast and loose with money and the truth. Wonder who counts the cash in his offering plate?

You'd have to be a dumb cluck to support this ticket!

Gov. McDonnell's final service to Virginia - Resign!

With federal prosecutors closing in on Governor Bob McDonnell's corruption, the Commonwealth is left leaderless with an impotent chief executive until a new governor is sworn in early next year. The best thing that Bob McDonnell can do for Virginia, and for himself, is to resign.

Governor McDonnell flanked by
Lt. Governor Bolling - who is clean in this scandal -
and Attorney General Cuccinelli - who isn't.

The Washington Post reports that Jonnie Williams Sr, the chief executive of Star Scientific, has been interviewed by prosecutors and has turned over financial records detailing the more than $120,000 in gifts given to McDonnell and his family. Other company officials are also being interviewed.

McDonnell could be charged with corruption under the Hobbs Act that prohibits elected officials from taking official actions in return for money or gifts. The Supreme Court has held that a violation of the law occurs when "... a public official has obtained a payment to which he was not entitled, knowing that the payment was made in return for official acts."

Even if McDonnell is not charged, his tenure as chief executive is basically done - his political goose is cooked. He can stay in office while bringing more disgrace to Virginia as government stumbles along to the end of his term. Or, he can resign, free the Commonwealth of six months of purgatory, and allow Lt. Governor Bill Bolling to take over the Executive Mansion. True, Bolling would be little more than a caretaker, but that is preferable to months of a state government mired in scandal and controversy that destroys faith in our representative democracy.

Perhaps we can thank Governor McDonnell for bringing attention to Virginia's lax ethic laws that earned a big fat "F" from the Center for Public Integrity for being "...one of nine states with no statewide ethics commission, one of four states with no campaign finance limits and one of only two states (South Carolina is the other) where the part-time legislators handpick the judges before whom many of them practice law." Smells like rotten eggs.

The cooked goose of a governor says he'll propose changes to the Commonwealth's ethics laws - kinda like a fox with a bloody chicken in his jaws promising to fix the lock on the henhouse door. It would be far preferable for someone removed from this scandal - perhaps an interim Governor Bill Bolling - to lead a sweeping ethics reform movement and have proposed legislation ready for the 2014 session of the General Assembly. If the elite 140 (who also get lavished by nice gifts that are legal - but not moral or ethical IMHO) under state law drop the ball on ethics reform shame on them - and us - for failing to raise our Commonwealth to a higher standard.

Prior posts on corruption and the lack of enforceable ethics laws in Virginia:

• Carlos Danger meets Robbin' Hood
• Governor McDonnell is more than an embarrassment, he's breaking the law
• Corruption at the intersection of money and politics in Virginia
• Virginia Gets a F in State Integrity Grades
• Judging judges
• Pitchfork Rebellion

Carlos Danger meets Robbin' Hood

“Halt, who goes there,” Carlos Danger shouted in the cold night air. “Between the chill and the shrill sound of the jangling coins the equipment is wilting.”

“Tis only me,” replied Robbin’ Hood. “I’m taking from the rich and giving to me. They’re showering me with money. My cup runneth over.”

“I don’t give a tweet about money. Ya know any hot babes who want a little sexting fun? That’s what I give a tweet about,” Carlos firmly replied. "Besides, I thought Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to the poor."

Bob McDonnell flashes
his Rolex.
I won't post what
Anthony Weiner flashes.

“Sexting?” Why waste your time on that? It won’t buy you clothes, watches, or other nice things. I agree with The Cooch... time for us Republicans to ban that nasty stuff. Besides, I gotta agree with my compatriot and the next governor, if ya gotta pick your sin, money lasts longer than poon tang.

“Ah Robbin’, your wife looks really hot in those new clothes from Nordstrom, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Lord & Taylor. What’s her cell number? Maybe we can exchange a few pics.”

“Oh, Carlos,” shouted Robbin, “leave my wife outta it you perverted Democrat.”

“Okay Robbin’, forget it. Five kids? She’s been rode hard and put away wet... way past a prime weiner like mine. But whatta ya gonna do with all your cash?”

“I’m just trying to get to the end of my term without being tarred and feathered and with my bank account stuffed. Plus, I like this watch! These damn Virginians are getting pissed off over nothing. Don't they realize that everyone does it? They'll really be mad when they find out taxpayers are picking up my legal bills.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. The national media is trying to run me out of the mayoral race just cause I want to stuff something... if ya know what I mean.

Three months later...

“Well, Robbin’, guess we’re cooked goose. Run outta the Big Apple and the Capitol of the Confederacy. What do the people not understand about the privileges of power? Why don’t we hang together for a while and plot our comebacks? After all, they forgave Sanford and Vitter.

“Carlos, you are so right... the voters don’t have any understanding of the sacrifices we make doing the people’s business. They seem to forgive sex scandals, but no so much when money is involved....! Hey, maybe my friend, The Cooch, will let us stay with him Smith Mountain Lake for a week or so. Freebie from his (and my) friends with deep pockets. Sweet place. Besides, he's got nothin' to do now that he got his butt kicked.”

“Any hot women around the lake?”

“I’ll flash the Rolex!”

“I’ll flash my junk!”

"Well that's okay but, The Cooch won't look at any boobs."

"Party pooper."

A short spoof of political corruption starring:

• Anthony Weiner as Carlos Danger
• Bob McDonnell as Robbin’ Hood

Corruption at the intersection of money and politics in Virginia

What do Virginia Republican and Democratic officeholders have in common? They love gifts! Nice gifts! Expensive gifts! Ah, the perks of political office in the Commonwealth. But, is it really a "commonwealth" when some birds, already feeding at the public trough, feel entitled to some extra luxury grist?

Between 2002 and 2012 Bob McDonnell gladly received gifts worth $303,550, including a $25,000 flight to Puerto Rico and a $19,000 luxury suite at a Redskins game. During the same period, his predecessor in the Executive Mansion, Tim Kaine, received $201,595 worth of gifts.

Politicians don't have to be a big dog Governor for Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy to visit his or her office with nice things: Current Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has accepted gifts valued at $69,363 (is he running for Governor hoping for a big shower of freebies?). Speaker of the House William Howell  topped the Cooch with $73,171. Even lesser known legislators like Senator Frank Wagner ($45,182) and Delegate Ken Plum ($40,679) get some damn nice stuff.

And just who are these Santas and Tooth Fairies lavishing gifts on politicians? Among the top 10 between 2002-12 are some familiar lobbying big dogs including: Dominion ($175,149), Virginia Uranium ($148,274) Virginia Trial Lawyers Association ($87,776), and American Legislative Exchange Council ($77,048).

As long as the gifts are reported on the annual financial filings it is perfectly legal under current Virginia law.

But, there are reports that Governor McDonnell was given a $6,500 Rolex by Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the CEO of a dietary supplement manufacturer who has been lobbying government officials. It is also alleged that Williams paid for a $15,000 Bergdorf Goodman shopping spree for McDonnell's wife and ponied up $15,000 for catering at McDonnell's daughter's wedding. If true, the Governor is covered in broken eggs and the yoke is on him.

While we should all be hopping mad if the allegations about Governor McDonnell's failure to report the watch and other gifts are true, we should totally outraged that with simple disclosure, all the gifts are perfectly fine by Virginia's ethics rules. The corrupting influence at the intersection of money and politics threatens the foundations of our democracy. It apparently isn't enough for donors to make huge contributions to campaigns, they also "buy" influence with nice personal perks for the people's representatives.

One branch of Virginia government, the courts, is taking ethics seriously (maybe too seriously) and has promulgated a rule that clerks offices can't accept any gifts without the approval of the judge. So a clerks office accepting a Christmas fruitcake or box of candy from a law firm gets far more scrutiny than the Governor pocketing a top tickets to a Redskins game or a $4,000 night-vision monocular from defense firm.

In the henhouse we affectionately call the "Commonwealth of Virginia" all birds are equal, but big birds are definitely more equal than little chicks employed by the state. I cry fowl... err... foul. It is past time for a constitutional amendment or legislation to end the wholesale buying of the people's government that takes place under both corrupt political parties.

Cuccinelli's cesspool

Ken Cuccinelli, the simultaneously idiotic, funny, and incompetent attorney general of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has stuck his foot in his mouth and his head up his ass again. During a recent interview on right wing entertainment radio WMAL he alleged that President Obama only won because lax voting laws (presumably Virginia's as well) allowed for voting fraud.

During the "interview" the host Cheri Jacobus suggested that Obama lost every state where photo ID is required. "He can't win in a state where photo ID is required, so clearly there's something going on out there."

Cuccinelli agreed saying, "your tone suggests you're a little upset with me (a photo ID is not required in Virginia). You're preaching to the choir. I'm with you completely." He went on to lament that inquiries into election issues can only be raised by certain local and state officials and as attorney general he could not act without a complaint.

As if it makes it difference on conservative entertainment media where the truth is a fiction, Jacobus was dead wrong - President Obama carried Michigan and Florida, states which have strict voter ID laws.

Every Virginian should be involved in Cooch Watching because this fool wants to be governor. Unfortunately, when NOVA dozes during gubernatorial elections bad things happen to the Commonwealth.

Cooch watching

Although Virginia is a critical toss-up state in the presidential election, many eyes have turned to the Commonwealth's 2013 gubernatorial election - specifically on the likely GOP nominee, Ken Cuccinelli. For anyone other than reactionaries of the far right, the attorney general has a very dangerous mind. Activists on issues ranging from individual rights to protecting the environment are taking preemptive action to make sure Ken Cuccinelli, aka "the Cooch," is exposed in all his glorious wing nuttery.

The Cooch has made news, and Virginia a laughing stock, since he took office. You may remember him covering the left breast of the Virtus, the goddess of virtue, on pins of the Virginia State Seal. Changing our Founding Father's work is certainly job #1 in this AG's office!

Donate to the VA Sierra Club PAC - get this bumper sticker.

Then the Cooch used state resources and energy to sue the University of Virginia as a way of attacking climate scientist, Michael Mann. The Cooch, who rejects science and is a climate-change denying ideologue, alleged that Mann committed fraud by using UVA funding for the research. He also sued the EPA saying they had no scientific evidence to regulate greenhouse gasses. The attorney general had swings and misses on both cases, but in the meantime he spent an estimated $1 million in tax dollars. The Virginia Chapter Sierra Club has taken notice of this crazed anti-environment fanatic and launched their Cuccinelli is a Hoax campaign.

Ken Cuccinelli made his early political name trying to do away with abortion rights in the Commonwealth. As attorney general he has continued to do everything in his power to bring the power of big government to regulate lady parts. This past June, the Board of Health issued regulations for abortion facilities. Because they included a grandfather clause for existing facilities, the Cooch abandoned typical procedures and delayed action for a month before refusing to certify them. In response a group of abortion rights activists has started COOCH WATCH 2012 because, as their website notes, "The Cooch has been keeping an eye on your vagina, so now we’re going to keep an eye on him…"

The Cooch just keeps on embarrassing Virginia. Last night Rachel Maddow highlighted COOCH WATCH 2012 and discussed how the Cooch and Virginia Republicans probably torpedoed Governor Bob "ultrasound" McDonnell's craving to be tapped by Mitt Romney as the VP candidate. Rachel tells the story with humor and class....

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Fox in the henhouse

The powerful and secretive American Legislative Exchange Council sins have been documented in several posts on Coarse Cracked Corn. It is easy for individuals to feel powerless against such corporate back room shenanigans ALEC is robbing us of our democracy while dishonestly portraying itself as a "charity."

There are things you and I can do right here in Virginia. Contact Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and tell  him to investigate the tax-exempt status of ALEC. Tell him anyone or any business can lobby government officials, but they shouldn't get tax breaks for doing so.


Tell the attorney general there is a fox in the henhouse and he needs to get his gun!

Keep him center stage

In some ways I've been pleasantly surprised that Governor Bob McDonnell has been conservative, but relatively moderate, on some issues since taking office in January. He's a sharp politician and knows many Virginians are in the middle of the political spectrum and he has to work with a Virginia Senate controlled by the Democrats. But, CCC still believes McDonnell is a hard right conservative by ideology and he is being pulled towards stage right by the tea party whackos who are increasingly influential in the Virginia GOP and by "friends" like the extremist attorney general. Ken Cuccinelli is actually doing the governor a favor - as long as he's prowling the far right, McDonnell appears to be moderate by comparison.

So, in the hope that McDonnell will remain a somewhat pragmatic politician who knows the best political hay is in the middle of the field, I hopeful that his current town hall tour will fill his ears with more than right wing manure. Tonight (August 26) the governor will be at JMU Festival Conference and Student Center at 7:00 PM. In this format there will be time for only 12-15 speakers/questioners. If you plan on attending get there early and sign-up to speak - even so, it is likely his handlers will tilt the verbal questions to known conservative friends of the governor's policies.

If like me you cannot attend, or if you don't have the opportunity to speak, you can always leave comments at the governor's Reform Task Force website. Cluck, cluck... the site is slow loading today.

One issue the governor along with a local state senator will be pushing is privatization of the Commonwealth's liquor stores. I'm not opposed to the prospect of private liquor stores, but it is far from clear that this makes dollars and sense. There are two issues that I think are unresolved. The dollars don't seem to add up over time - it would be a real shame if a one-time cash infusion built a few roads and made the governor look like a hero only to have that funding stream dry up when he's out of office. Does it make sense to have more stores selling whiskey? Or would this lead to more DUIs or more hard liquor in underage bellies?

Earlier this year Governor McDonnell proposed closing five state parks and has sided with Ken Cuccinelli on the legal challenge to the EPA which questions global warming. Some right wingers want to privatize state parks. If we don't speak up, this administration may dismantle Virginia's parks and do nothing (or take steps backwards) on protecting our rivers, air, and the Chesapeake Bay. Here is what this bird is telling the task force:

• Do not privatize our state parks. Do not close state parks. Instead, assure adequate state funding to keep our parks some of the best in the nation. My family and many of our friends have too many fond memories of camping, of picnics, and of exploring our great state parks to let you or anybody shut them down or diminish their splendor.
• Get real about transportation by moving encouraging rail-freight solutions on I-81, smart investments in public transit including high speed rail, and encouraging local governments to have common sense regulations to end the sprawl that means more and more cars on the roads. VDOT must be fully accountable to all environmental regulations.
• Make Virginia a green model for the nation. A recent report indicates that many of Virginia's streams and rivers are impaired. Impaired rivers mean an impaired Chesapeake Bay. We need tougher regulations to assure our water supplies are going to be cleaner in the future than they are today. The governor supports off-shore drilling - now let's see enthusiastic support for off-shore wind energy and other green businesses. That's hard to do when your attorney general, to appease the right wing, is conducting witch hunts in his crusade against global warming.

The governor has shown he can be nudged to center stage on some issues. But only if common sense Virginians are willing to speak up... indeed, stand up... to keep Virginia moving forward.

Cuccinelli's inconsistency

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli advised Senator Robert Hurt (R-Chatham) that he could continue campaign fundraising during the session of the General Assembly. Hurt is seeking the GOP nomination for to run for Congress in the 5th district. Virginia law prohibits campaign fundraising by members during sessions of the General Assembly, but in a January 25 opinion, the attorney general advised Hurt that the prohibition only applies to raising money for Virginia elections. Cuccinelli wrote, "federal law preempts Virginia's fundraising prohibition when a General Assembly member solicits or accepts contributions solely for a federal office."

Earlier this month, the attorney general wrote to presidents of state colleges and universities to advise that they should rescind their policies banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It was an wrong-headed follow-up to Governor Bob McDonnell's decision to remove sexual orientation from an executive order banning discrimination. These decisions should surprise no one familiar with their history - neither man is exactly a champion of equality.

When compared to the advice given to Senator Hurt, the Cuccinelli letter to the colleges stands out as rank legal hypocrisy. If federal law preempts Virginia's law on fundraising, than federal law and the United States Constitution also preempt Virginia laws that discriminate. Our universities regularly receive federal grants, and nondiscrimination is a condition of all. More importantly, the United States Supreme Court and federal courts have repeatedly struck down laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

Could Mr. Cuccinelli be giving out less than impartial legal advice to the agencies and officials of the Commonwealth? Does he think the U.S. Constitution only applies in Virginia when he says so?

Cuccinelli: Affable Extremist

As a candidate for attorney general, Mr. Cuccinelli has profited from an affability and quick wit that have tended to mask his extremist views. As a lawmaker in Richmond, he has displayed contempt for non-English speakers; for those who care about global warming; and for the First Amendment. Many of his fellow Republicans regard him as occupying the far-right fringe of the party, the ultimate small tenter. The more immediate concern is this: If he is elected attorney general, Mr. Cuccinelli would drive away qualified lawyers from an office that functions as the state government's law firm, and, given his bizarre ideas, he would very likely become an embarrassment for the commonwealth.

Ken Cuccinelli's quick smile is a Halloween mask disguising the fact that he an evil spirit of a distant and ugly past. He is exactly the wrong man to elect as Virginia's Attorney General in 2009. Read more in Mr. Cuccinelli's Bigotry.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

A couple of paid ads in today's Staunton paper are of interest:

Perhaps reflecting the fractured local GOP, the Constitution Party of Augusta is having an organizational meeting at the Waynesboro Public Library this week. Appealing to far right Republicans, the ad promises a (unnamed) speaker and discussion on "means and methods of reasserting our Liberty!!" You may recall the Constitution Party had a booth at some county fairs and was attempting to get Chuck Baldwin on the ballot for president. Baldwin eventually ran on the Independent Green ticket in Virginia. 

The other ad titled "Message to Staunton and Augusta County Republicans" was paid for by the John Brownlee for Attorney General campaign. The ad promotes a reception for the candidate hosted by Chief Jim Williams and Dr. Steven Nichols. Both of these gentlemen serve in appointed positions that, while quite political, are generally seen as nonpartisan. Williams is Staunton Police Chief and Nichols is Superintendent of Staunton Public Schools. So why did these well known men cross the long and winding road into clearly partisan turf? Will conservative Republicans who support Ken Cuccinelli for AG sit idly by? Will Democratic leaning members of Staunton City Council cry foul? We may have a bird's eye view to any blowback. 

Experienced bird may jump into race

John Edwards, a state senator from Roanoke, is considering entering the race for attorney general. Edwards ran in 2001, losing the nomination to Donald McEachin. He considered running in 2005 but eventually decided against it - Creigh Deeds was the Democratic nominee that year. Rumors of Edwards' possible entry surfaced this fall, but seemed to have diminished some by the end of the year.

If he enters the race, Edwards will face Steve Shannon, a delegate from Fairfax County, for the nomination. Shannon has had the field to himself and has over $746K in his campaign coffers. Since Edwards is a member of the General Assembly he will, if he decides to run, have to wait until after the session to begin fundraising. Virginia law prohibits members from raising campaign cash during the session - a prohibition that also affects Shannon and Deeds, as well as Senator Ken Cuccinelli who is seeking the GOP nomination.

Senator Edwards made his comments just after Governor Tim Kaine delivered his State of the Commonwealth Address.