Is Ken Cuccinelli a Liar, an Idiot, or Both?

You know, for years I’ve heard that although Ken Cuccinelli might be an extremist, nuts, and all that, he was: a) an ace politician, particularly at the “retail” level; and b) very, very smart. Then 2013 came along, and “a” pretty much went down the tubes, as Cuccinelli has run an inept, flailing, and ultimately LOSING campaign for governor. As for “b,” you’ve really got to wonder when you read stuff like this.

Virginia state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli accused former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe of lying about his record on women’s issues…

“Take birth control, my opponent is flat out lying and he knows he’s lying,” said Cuccinelli of a new ad McAuliffe’s campaign is running in the Virginia governor’s race. “I do not support government playing a role in adults’ choices about contraception. Just don’t, period. Haven’t in the past, he would like to say that I have, but I haven’t. And I’m committing to not doing that in the future.”

OK, so there are two possibilities here, neither flattering to Cuccinelli. Possibility #1 is that he’s just lying through his teeth, knows full well that he’s lying through his teeth, and just doesn’t care. In other words, he’ll say ANYTHING to get elected. Now, I certainly can believe that with most politicians, especially of the Republican persuasion, but Cuccinelli’s a “true believer” type, so I tend to think he actually might have convinced himself that he’s telling the truth on this.

Which, of course, he’s not. As Chris Cillizza notes in his article (which should have just outright stated that Cuccinelli is lying, but of course didn’t, because that would be…uh, real journalism or something), the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said about Cuccinelli’s “personhood” legislation that it “could limit women’s access to preventative health care and contraception, including birth control medication.” Don’t believe the American Congress of Obestetricians and Gynecologists? Well then, fine, here’s what Cooch’s actual constitutional amendment said:

OK, now you can’t get any clearer than that. Adding to the Virginia constitution that “the right to enjoyment of life” is “vested in each born and preborn human being from the moment of fertilization” clearly would do several things. First, it would criminalize abortion at any stage, for any reason (including rape or incest). Second, it would criminalize embryonic stem cell research. Third, it could criminalize in-vitro fertilization.  And finally, it would criminalize several popular forms of contraception such as birth control pills and IUDs. None of this is a secret, by the way; two seconds of using “teh Google” will find a bunch of articles on this from reputable sources. So…does Ken Cuccinelli not know how to use the internet(s) either, since he’s obviously the anti-science, anti-technology, know-nothing candidate in this race?

Again, one possibility is that Ken Cuccinelli understands full well what his “personhood” amendment would do, and is simply lying through his teeth. Then there’s another, perhaps more charitable, explanation (Possibility #2): he’s an idiot. I mean, after all, this IS the same guy who apparently can’t comprehend something as simple as the greenhouse effect (c’mon, a 3rd grader can easily understand this one) and “denies” science he doesn’t “like.” And this is the same guy who didn’t see anything unusual about some slimeball/grifter approaching him with $1,000 turkey dinners, so he obviously doesn’t have any common sense or “street smarts” either (or, again, he could have just been lying through his teeth again). In this case, as the top-rated comment on Chris Cillizza’s article puts it: “Does he really not understand anything about science?…He’s either lying or stupid, neither of which are qualities I want in a governor.”

So what do you think? Is Ken Cuccinelli: a) a liar; b) an idiot; or c) both? Personally, I’m still leaning towards “a,” but starting to think that “c” might make the best sense of this guy – a liar AND an idiot (what a combo!).