Lowell noted in a recent diary how one of the Commonwealth’s right wing blogs was beginning to argue that Ken Cuccinelli was actually not that extreme.
While on its most basic level, this assertion seems to me to say more about the intellectual depravity of Conservative thought in modern America, to the extent that it argues that President Barack Obama, a slightly left-of-center Democrat, is a raging Socialist who is too liberal for an American public that elected him President twice, while the antediluvian Mr. Cuccinelli, who once remarked that he would not get his newborn child a Social Security Number because it is used by the government to track you throughout your life, is somehow a mainstream politician.
The idea, of course, is absurd. Lowell nonetheless took the opportunity to provide us with twenty-five examples of Mr. Cuccinelli’s extremism, , and even at that level apparently did not come close to exhausting all the available evidence.
Regardless, I suspect we’ll hear plenty more of this nonsense as the summer wears on and the GOP attempts to recast Mr. Cuccinelli as an acceptable choice for a more moderate Virginia. Indeed, based on the poll released last night by the Washington Post, this effort will become more desperate as more people start paying closer attention to the race and Mr. Cuccinelli’s record. According to the Post, Terry McAuliffe “does far better among those very closely tuned in than he does among those yet to pay much attention.”
The GOP game plan won’t break new ground. Unable to defend Mr. Cuccinelli’s record substantively, they will blame the messenger. Look for them to argue that Mr. Cuccinelli’s reputation as an extremist is simply the result of the typical liberal propaganda enabled by a liberal media.
So, I thought I might take a look at how other conservatives view Mr. Cuccinelli in terms of how extreme he is or, in their view, isn’t.
A bona fide Conservative like, say, Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post’s “Right Turn” blogger.
Here, then, on the flip are the top ten Jennifer Rubin quotes about Ken Cucinelli’s extremism:
10. “Republican Ken Cuccinelli is going to have a heck of a time persuading women as well as Northern Virginian moderates to vote for him. His record on social issues (trying to stop prohibitions on gay discrimination at state schools, mandatory ultrasounds, etc.) fits easily into the ‘war on women’ or ‘right-wing fanatic’ attack that Democrats are adept at.” – Right Turn, 4/26/13.
9. “In an increasingly purple state, his strident positions on social issues were already a problem for him in winning women and moderate voters in the more populous D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia. Moreover, he so far has run a contentless campaign, devoid of meaty agenda items that would give voters reason to support him.” — As quoted in the Richmond Times Dispatch, 3/5/13 .
8. “But he is also strident on social issues, immigration and most other matters to very little result. He went after state universities that wanted to adhere to policies prohibiting discrimination against gays. He has backed an Arizona-style immigration law for the state. He has also repeatedly tangled with the State Board of Health over regulations on abortion. If there is a symbolic victory on hard-right grounds (i.e., a loss that paints the GOP as extremist), Cuccinelli is close by.” Right Turn, 11/12/13.
7. “If there is a hard-liner who could lose big in Fairfax County and hand the election to the Democrats, he’s the guy.” – Right Turn, 11/12/13.
6. “[A] firebrand base-catering faux outsider (he’s actually been in government since 2002) who is easily portrayed as hostile to minorities, gays and single women.” – Right Turn, 10/12/13.
5. “He is a dogged ideologue, which might be fine in a deep-red state or as a federal lawmaker when you are one of 365 or 100, but the governor of a purple state must be a practical problem solver. Cuccinelli suggests he will be anything but.” – Right Turn, 2/5/13.
4. “Cuccinelli is preaching and screeching to the choir, ignoring the nonideological voters and painting himself as an ideologue. He sounds simultaneously clueless and mean-spirited.” – Right Turn, 1/31/13.
3. “More important is whether Cuccinelli can produce a compelling agenda on issues that voters care most about. … It is with these issues that I suspect the gubernatorial race will be decided. As for immigration and gay rights, I will quote that great philosopher: ‘If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.'” – Right Turn, 3/20/13 .
2. “Cuccinelli remains unwilling or unable to set forth an agenda that women, and indeed all voters, can relate to.” – Right Turn, 4/26/13.
And the top Jennifer Rubin quote about Ken Cuccinelli’s extremism:
1. “If Virginia were Alabama, Cuccinelli would be a shoo in.” – Right Turn, 11/12/13.
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