Who the Heck Would Praise Ken Cuccinelli as “One Of The Nation’s Most Innovative Policy Makers?”

UPDATE 10/25/13: I’ve updated this post, given that Ferrara is now leaping to Ken Cuccinelli’s defense. Extremists of a feather flock together…

Earlier today, I ran across an op-ed in Forbes magazine entitled Ken Cuccinelli Emerges As One Of The Nation’s Most Innovative Policy Makers. I was astounded, couldn’t imagine how anyone could write such a thing, as it’s laughably, demonstrably false to the nth degree. In fact, Ken Cuccinelli is an uber-Tea Partier, as well as a tool of polluters and other powerful interests. And, of course, there’s absolutely nothing “innovative” about him, except perhaps the extent to which he’s managed to distract voters from his extremism sufficiently for them to elect him. Now THAT is innovative! LOL

Anyway, I was curious who the author of this bizarre op-ed (Peter Ferrara) was, since the only identification provided on Forbes is the unhelpful, vague line: “I cover public policy, particularly concerning economics.” So, to “Teh Google” we go: who is Peter Ferrara exactly? Here are a few highlights from his Wikipedia entry:

*At age nine, he was “transfixed while watching television as Barry Goldwater stormed the 1964 Republican National Convention.” That was the convention where Goldwater uttered the infamous line, “extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice…moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” That was Goldwater’s political philosophy, and it’s Cuccinelli’s as well, nearly 50 years later. Goldwater, by the way, went on to lose in a landslide of epic, historic proportions. We can only hope the same thing happens to Kookinelli this year in Virginia.

*”His senior law school thesis evolved into the debut hardcover publication by the libertarian Cato Institute in 1980, Social Security: The Inherent Contradiction.” Ferrara’s big idea back then: privatize Social Security. Ferrara himself called it “the craziest idea in the world,” and he was certainly right about that at least!

*He “founded the Virginia chapter of Club for Growth,” a radical, anti-government group which has “more than 9,000 members, dominated by Wall Street financiers and executives.”

*He “took money from erstwhile lobbyist Jack Abramoff to write op-ed pieces favorable to Abramoff clients.” As if that’s not bad enough, “Ferrara did not disclose which pieces he was paid to write, but Business Week noted that he wrote favorable articles in the Washington Times about the Northern Marianas Islands and the Choctaw Indian tribe, both Abramoff clients.)” That’s about as sleazy as you can get. No wonder he’s supporting the corrupt right wingnut Ken Cuccinelli.

*”In April 2011, Ferrara became senior fellow for entitlement and budget policy at The Heartland Institute.” What is the Heartland Institute? Well, it spreads climate science denial, for one thing, including running “a digital billboard ad campaign in the Chicago area featuring a photo of Ted Kaczynski, (the ‘Unabomber’ whose mail bombs killed three people and injured 23 others), and asking the question, ‘I still believe in global warming, do you?'” Also, “In the 1990s, the Heartland Institute worked with Philip Morris to question the link between secondhand smoke and health risks.” The group is funded by the ExxonMobil, the Koch brothers and other right-wing groups with strong ties to polluters. Yes, the Heartland Institute’s as scum suckingly bad as they come.

*He has advocated for years that we should privatize Social Security.

*He has compared gay marriage to bigamy and polygamy.

*Earlier this year, he wrote an insane article called President Obama’s Plan for A Socialist One Party State.

*He claimed that Failure To Raise The Debt Ceiling Will NOT Bring About Federal Default.

So, that’s the type of person who would praise Ken Cuccinelli as “One Of The Nation’s Most Innovative Policy Makers.” Translation: “If Cuccinelli’s Elected Governor, He’ll Do Our Bidding and Make Us Even Richer than We Already Are – Bwahahahahaha!” Sound good to you?