I have generally loved living in Virginia. There are a lot of good things to like about living here.
Until recently, Virginia was more or less a "red" state. Then we had not one, but two Democratic Senators. Oh yeah, we voted for Barack Obama for President. The state's electoral votes had not gone to a Democrat in 40 years.
But then, 2009 happened, and of course, the almighty and all-knowing conventional wisdom kicked in when the citizens of the state elected a trifecta of Republicans to the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General.
The thing is, I knew we weren't going to win. But I am scared pretty much every day, because the man who won, Ken Cuccinelli, is as fierce a conservative ideologue as I've seen.
He's crazy right-wing and proud of it.
Sure, Bob McDonnell has espoused plenty of very conservative viewpoints and positions in his tenure so far as Governor, but Bob has at least attempted to throw the veneer of "moderate" on most of his beliefs.
By and large I think most people have bought that.
But Cucinelli's beliefs and aims are nakedly transparent, and nakedly political. And the hits just seem to keep coming.
WaPo via Blue Virginia:
RICHMOND -- Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II has concluded that the state can impose stricter oversight over clinics that perform abortions, a move immediately decried by abortion-rights organizations and others as an attempt to circumvent the General Assembly, which has repeatedly rejected similar measures.
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Abortion-rights advocates said they are not surprised by Cuccinelli's decision and predicted that if the Board of Health acts on his opinion, the regulations could prompt the shutdown of 17 of the state's 21 clinics performing abortions.
"We've been waiting for the attorney general to take on abortion providers, and it looks like this is his first pitch," said Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. "These so-called regulations are only an attempt to shut down abortion clinics in the Commonwealth of Virginia."
It's unlikely that any changes would occur soon. The 15-member board is appointed by the governor. Eleven board members were named by former governor Timothy M. Kaine (D), and there are four vacancies.
Emphasis mine. The last paragraph is perhaps the only saving grace, but that could only be temporary.
Democrats in the state are worried about The Cooch:
"It is frightening to think of what Cuccinelli will do next," said Del. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), House minority whip. "The public needs to understand how reckless he is. He is not working on what is important to Virginia consumers. Instead, he is focusing on his own extreme ideology."
Why? Cuccinelli hasn't been around long enough to do much damage yet, right?
Oh wait:
In his seven months in office, Cuccinelli has sued the federal government over new health-care rules; waded into the national immigration debate, saying law enforcement can ask about immigration status; and launched an investigation into whether a former University of Virginia professor and climate scientist manipulated data to reach his conclusions about global warming.
Ahh, Virginia. Home of great ham, terrible traffic, historical bastion, xenophobic, Tenther and climate denier, at all once! Hell of a place to live.
Of course, Cuccinelli is only Attorney General. Sure he's got the support of Governor McDonnell, but he can only go so far as AG, right?
But then again, Cuccinelli's burning desire to be our next Governor is so strong that "he's no fool"...he's busy quietly running for the next election, even as we speak! Blue Virginia strikes again:
Right, when I was running the campaign, I was raising money to run the campaign. The day after the election, I immediately start running the next election. I'm not a fool, I know I'm a target and I'm becoming a bigger target. So, we are attempting to defend ourselves, and at the same time the petition is an attempt to build public support...
Yeah.
I don't know who the Democrats will find to run for Governor in 2013. It damn sure better not be Creigh Deeds again, because he fucking sucks. Tim Kaine or even Mark Warner could come back and serve again; Governors aren't allowed consecutive terms but they are allowed to serve at least one more 4 year term.
I've heard rumors that Warner doesn't like the Senate all that much. Maybe we need Mark Warner to come back and ward off a Cuccinelli gubernatorial bid.
Because to be quite honest, if the Cooch gets to play Governor, I am certain he'll attempt to run for future offices. How much higher? Who knows. Ken is Kooky. It's too easy to see why.
I hope we can turn him back in 2013. This is only a sneak preview. The main feature is absolutely terrifying.