As always, it was a wild and wacky year for Virginia’s fine, if utterly insane, Attorney General Ken Kookinelli. With 2012 rapidly winding down, and before 2013 undoubtedly has us slamming our heads against our computers/desks/etc. at Cuckoo’s campaign craziness, I thought it would be fun to review his 2012 extremism and all-around bizarre behavior. Enjoy!
January
*Cuccinelli started off 2012 just as he behaved in 2010 and 2011 – politicizing the AG’s office, inserting himself into an intra-Republican-party dispute (over access to the Republican presidential primary ballot here in the Commonwealth), one that he certainly had a right to have an opinion on as a private citizen, but also that he would have been wise – if wisdom were one of his virtues, which it clearly is not – to keep a low profile on, at least in his role as AG. In the end, as usual, Cuccinelli was forced to reverse course, even admit he was wrong, and abandon his attempts to change the Virginia’s ballot qualification rules in midstream.
*More insanity and corporate hackdom, this time with Cuckoo-bird disavowing the health benefits of restricting mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. Of course, Cuccinelli has always served the wealthy, the powerful, and the polluters over the people, so what else is new?
*That’s right, Cuckoo compared immigrants to rats. Seriously. And again, this bigoted freakazoid is Virginia’s Attorney General. Wow.
*Corruption, anyone? Cuccinelli Announces Settlement with Fraudulent “US Navy Vets,” Totally Omits Own Involvement!
*Cuccinelli at Cocktail Party Tonight to Honor Anti-“Obamacare” Fanatic
*Rats! Cuccinelli Continues to Waste Taxpayers’ Time and Money on Utter Nonsense – Bad enough that Cuckoo compared immigrants to rats, but he also wasted Virginia taxpayers’ time and money on this nonsensical non-“issue.” So much for being a fiscal “conservative.”
March
*Of all the horrible things Kookinelli’s done since he became Virginia AG, his assault on climate science, on former UVA Professor Michael Mann, and on academic freedom is the worst, in my view. Fortunately, not everyone’s a know-nothing Grand Inquisitor type like Cooch. Virginia Supreme Court Ruling Against Cuccinelli “a victory for science in Virginia” (“The Virginia Supreme Court today sided with the University of Virginia in its fight against the state attorney general’s investigation of former U.Va. climate scientist Michael Mann.”)
*37 Attorneys General Sign Google Privacy Policy Letter — But Where’s Cuccinelli? (“when it comes to using the considerable powers of his office to actually help Virginia consumers? Then Cuccinelli is harder to find than an ivory-billed woodpecker. You can almost randomly choose an issue of real concern to everyday Virginians and you’re guaranteed to find our Ayatollah General missing in action.”)
*I do what I want! Cuccinelli on Supreme Court health care ruling (“Perhaps he was feeling left out because his lower court challenge to the health care law did not make it to the big dance this March, so he’s back to fighting the health care law any way he can-even if it means breaking the law. Last week, Attorney General Cuccinelli stated that unless there are criminal penalties, he would be comfortable breaking the law by not implementing the Affordable Care Act.”)
*Why U-VA Should Be Compensated for Cuccinelli’s Follies (“Virginia Senate Democrats recently submitted their demands for the state budget, and in a stroke of inspiration, included compensating the University of Virginia $576,000 for its legal costs in fighting Attorney General Cuccinelli’s appalling legal assault on it.”)
*Cuccinelli’s Latest Enemy: Energy Conservation (“…who could be against this great idea? You guessed it. When Dominion spoke before the State Corporation Commission last week in favor of its energy conservation plan, Cuccinelli’s office sent a paid consultant to testify against it”)
*Cuccinelli Flip Flops on Obeying the Health Care Law – That’s right, Virginia’s chief law enforcement officer can’t figure out when or whether he needs to follow the law of the land. Earth to Cuckoo – the answer is ALWAYS! What part of the word “illegal” don’t you understand, you teahadist jerk?
*VIDEO: Cuccinelli on how it’s not his job to fight corruption; report is a Soros plot (“Yes, you heard that correctly. When asked about the widely reported State Integrity Investigation that shows Virginia is at high-risk for corruption, Attorney General Cuccinelli shrugged it off as so-much nonsense. After rudely dismissing a constituent’s concerns about government integrity, he went on to say it’s not his job to fight corruption.”)
*Cuccinelli on Electric Rates: Follow the Money (“As I predicted not long ago, our Attorney General is now launching what will surely be a major theme of his just-announced gubernatorial campaign: demagoguing electric power rate increases, blaming them on big gov’mint and environmentalists — while leaving energy companies blameless. Yes, power rates are all the fault of that evil EPA…”)
*What Ken Kookinelli Was Up To Today (Photos, Video) (“…speaking to a few hundred anti-“Obamacare” Tea Partiers at the “Road to Repeal” rally at Upper Senate Park. Needless to say, he wasn’t speaking at the much larger Reason Rally”)
APRIL
*Ken Cuccinelli Has the Solution to All Your Problems: Ken Cuccinelli (“Ken Cuccinelli has quite the televangelist-style pyramid scheme going. He’s always so close to stopping those evil moderates … if only you’ll give him a little more money, and ask your friends to do the same.”)
MAY
*The Real Cuccinelli (“Let’s not let Virginians forget that Ken Ciccinelli has done things that raise serious questions about his fitness to fill any office in the Commonwealth. I shudder when I think of his sitting in the governor’s chair.”)
JUNE
*Convention Buys Cuccinelli More Time To Rethink Potentially Fatal Decision
*Ken Cuccinelli: Loser (“Not since the Chicago Cubs has anyone assembled as impressive a losing streak as Ken Cuccinelli. With his reverse Midas Touch, every major case that Virginia’s chief legal officer champions just ends up swirling down the judicial toilet. The latest flush came today, as the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit rejected his baseless challenge of the US EPA’s scientific finding that greenhouse gases represent a threat to human health.”)
*Supreme Court Upholds “Obamacare”: America Wins, Ken Cuccinelli Big-Time LOSER! (“Our fanatic, wildly misguided Attorney General calls the Supreme Court ruling ‘a dark day for the American people, the Constitution, and the rule of law…a dark day for American liberty.’ As usual, with Ken Kookinelli, take the EXACT OPPOSITE of what he says and it’s very close to the truth.”)
JULY
*Starting Today, VA Republicans Mandate (aka, “Force”) Women to Have Ultrasounds Prior to Abortion (“… you’d think that Teapublicans like Ken Cuccinelli would be screaming bloody murder today.” But no!)
*Cuccinelli’s Lame Attempt to Interfere in Senate Race (“Cuccinelli is dredging up documents and issues nearly as old. In a NUTshell, they’re trying to blame Kaine for trying to send a German murderer convicted in 1990, Jens Soering, to complete his prison term in Germany rather than Virginia”)
*Surrogate Fail: Cuccinelli’s Obama Attack Backfires, Damages Romney (“While we already know Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is a terrible lawyer, today we also learned he’s a terrible campaign surrogate”)
*Herring Blasts Cuccinelli On Board Of Health Regulations (“Ken Cuccinelli shouldn’t be holding women’s healthcare hostage. This is politics, not sound legal analysis, and he’s wrong. It’s fine if Cuccinelli wants to run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, but he shouldn’t drag women’s access to healthcare through the mud along the way.”)
AUGUST
*Cuccinelli Invades Maryland (“…now the latest — Cuccinelli intervening in a Maryland gun control case with no implications whatsoever for Virginia. As if terrorizing our state weren’t enough, he has to interfere with our neighbors too.”)
*Bewildering: Romney Kicks Cuccinelli To the Curb; Endorses Rival Bolling – Hahahahahaha.
SEPTEMBER
*Herring Urges Board Of Health To Reject Cuccinelli’s Intimidation Tactics (“Attorney General Cuccinelli has moved outside the scope of his legal authority in his attempt to substitute his extreme political ideology for the will of the Board, threatening women’s access to reproductive healthcare in the process.”)
*Did Cuccinelli Just Concede the 2013 Gov. Race? VA Board of Health Coup Will Backfire. (“No reason to call this anything other than it is: a cruel and unnecessary vindictive action by the government which serves no necessary state interest.”)
*ProgressVA Condemns Va Board of Health Decision to Bow to Cuccinelli and McDonnell’s Bullying (“ProgressVA today strongly condemned the decision by the Virginia Board of Health to prioritize politics over evidence-based medicine and bow to bullying from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli by removing the ‘grandfather clause’ from proposed clinic regulations.”)
*Wanna Go Shootin’ with Ken Cuccinelli, “various assault weapons…with silencers?” (“When he’s not busy bullying the Board of Health into making health decisions for women, Ken Cuccinelli is helping raising cash with his allies by firing submachine guns with anyone who is willing to pay $2,500. This is what our Attorney General is focused on and this is why we need a change in the office.”)
OCTOBER
*Will Votergate Come Back to Haunt Cuccinelli?
*Climate Scientist Fights Back, Sues Right Wing Reality Deniers (“Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli clumsy attempt at “investigating” Dr. Mann’s work was laughed out of court. Mann has been contemplating a lawsuit for months and is now moving forward, so he must feel he has a much stronger legal case than science’s hapless enemies.”)
NOVEMBER
*Cuccinelli Ally Muses on When Obama “goes to Hell”
*Photo: Cuccinelli-Allen Joint #FAIL (Jamie Radtke: “So I get an invitation to attend a Cuccinelli fundraiser in my community, and look at the reply envelope they included for RSVP!! Seriously?!”)
*Rand “Aqua Buddha” Paul Endorses Ken Kookinelli for Governor
*Congratulations to Ken Kookinelli, Winner of the 2012 ProgressVA “Turkey of the Year” Award
*Ken Cuccinelli, Jeffersonian? (“Why is right wing crackpot Ken Cuccinelli running for Virginia governor? Well of course because he is the spiritual descendant of Thomas Jefferson”)
*Audio: Virginia AG Ken Cuccinelli Questions Legitimacy of President Obama’s Reelection
DECEMBER
*Audio: Bill Bolling on Takeover of RPV by Tea Party “Confederation”; Possible Run as an Independent (Run Bill RUN!!!)
*DPVA: Cuccinelli would be a Governor for Santorum, not for Virginia
Great year, huh? Can Cuckoo top it in 2013? My bet is that he most definitely can, as he’s now running for governor, believe it or not, and is certain to say all kinds of extreme, insane things before the year is out. Pop up some popcorn and enjoy! 🙂
P.S. Needless to say, all joking aside, this guy’s a menace and must be defeated – preferably by a wide margin, along with his fellow right wingnut running mates – in 2013.
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