The verdict is in: Virginia GOP ticket is a disaster
Virginia’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli did not get to choose his running mate. But E.W. Jackson is everything – short of experience, competency, and electability – Cuccinelli could have hoped for in a Lieutenant Governor.
With the spate of recent headlines, one might question why Cuccinelli would say of Jackson “I’m glad he’s on this ticket”:
Todd Akin, Virginia Style (Roll Call)
Virginia Republicans Panicking Over Their Choice for Lieutenant Governor (National Journal)
Bill Bolling: GOP pick E.W. Jackson's remarks ‘indefensible’ (POLITICO)
Virginia Republicans Aren’t Flocking To Anti-Gay Lieutenant Governor Hopeful (BuzzFeed)
But Cuccinelli and Jackson share a radical conservative worldview that is too extreme for Virginia. Jackson’s sudden emergence has caused his comments to draw the majority of the attention of late. Don’t forget that the man Republicans have nominated at the top of the ticket has his own history of outrageous comments that make Cuccinelli and Jackson a perfect match.
VIDEO: Cuccinelli-Jackson: Too Extreme for Virginia
After praising EW Jackson as a "committed devotee" and "a powerful voice," Ken Cuccinelli fully embraced his new running mate yesterday, saying,…
VIDEO: Cuccinelli praises EW Jackson as "committed devotee" & "a powerful voice"
Over the weekend, Virginia Republicans nominated the extreme activist EW Jackson. Let's see what Ken has to say about him.
CUCCINELLI: You all have heard the powerful voice of EW. He's a committed devotee of first principles and a great speaker about them and how they apply in our lives and what it means for government whether we follow them or not.
Bridge Briefing: Cuccinelli, Personhood & Birth Control
Cuccinelli Cosponsored Personhood Legislation That Would Criminalize Common Forms Of Birth Control As Well As Abortions Resulting From Rape Or Incest
In 2007 Cuccinelli Cosponsored A So-Called “Personhood” Bill. On January 10, 2007, Sen. Cuccinelli cosponsored legislation that would expand “the right to enjoyment of life” protected by Article 1, § 1 of the Virginia Constitution to “preborn human beings from the moment of fertilization.” The bill was rejected by a 43-53 vote in the Virginia House of Delegates on February 2, 2007. [HB 2797, 2/5/07] Legislation That Defines A Fertilized Egg As A Human Being Would Ban All Abortions, Including Those Resulting From Rape And Incest, And Would Declare Common Forms Of Birth Control, Like The IUD, As Murder. According to New York Times, “A constitutional amendment facing voters in Mississippi on Nov. 8, and similar initiatives brewing in half a dozen other states including Florida and Ohio, would declare a fertilized human egg to be a legal person, effectively branding abortion and some forms of birth control as murder. […]The amendment in Mississippi would ban virtually all abortions, including those resulting from rape or incest. It would bar some birth control methods, including IUDs and ‘morning-after pills,’ which prevent fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. It would also outlaw the destruction of embryos created in laboratories.” [New York Times, 10/26/11] More research after the jump.What is Ken Hiding? Cuccinelli Refuses to Answer Key Questions
WASHINGTON -- American Bridge 21st Century today called on Virginia Attorney General to stop stonewalling and answer key questions regarding his handling of a case involving Star Scientific and its CEO. Cuccinelli has refused to answer repeated questions about whether he discussed an ongoing tax case with CEO Jonnie Williams. 5/14: "Cuccinelli’s PR people, both in the office and with the campaign, never would give a yes or no answer to our (much repeated) question about whether he and Williams had ever discussed the tax issue." 5/11: "Through their spokespeople, Bob McDonnell and Cuccinelli repeatedly declined to comment when asked whether they had ever discussed the tax liability with Star CEO Jonnie Williams, who gave McDonnell and Cuccinelli gifts ranging from $15,000 for the wedding of McDonnell’s daughter to the use by Cuccinelli of the Smith Mountain Lake home." "Cuccinelli's stonewalling on very serious ethical issues is inexcusable," said American Bridge communications director Chris Harris. "It took Cuccinelli nearly two years and a boatload of bad headlines to finally admit that he had a conflict of interest in the ongoing case involving Star Scientific and his good friend Jonnie Williams. Now he's continuing to withhold key information from Virginia's taxpayers by repeatedly refusing to disclose whether he discussed the tax lawsuit with his buddy. What else is he hiding?"
VIDEO: Star Scientific Scandal 'Hounding' Cuccinelli
View more videos at: https://nbcwashington.com.
In this local news discussion, reporter Julie Carey says Ken Cuccinelli is being "hounded" by videos like ours on the Star Scientific scandal. Read more: https://GiftsForKen.comKen Cuccinelli: What else is he hiding?
As details continue to trickle out in what the Washington Post called “a rapidly thickening ethical morass,” American Bridge 21st Century released a new web ad today asking what else Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is hiding in the case of Star Scientific. After finally admitting that his office had a conflict of interest in the prosecution of Star Scientific, the matter grew even more complicated for Cuccinelli when it came to light that he failed to disclose thousands of dollars in gifts from embattled Star Scientific CEO Jonnie R. Williams. Last Friday, his office recused itself from prosecuting embezzlement charges pursued by Cuccinelli against whistle-blower and former Executive Mansion chef Todd Schneider. Now, reports have surfaced that Governor and Mrs. McDonnell are under investigation by the FBI for their relationship with Williams. Later today Cuccinelli's office is expected to defend his motion to recuse himself. Will Cuccinelli come out of hiding and argue the case himself, or stay in his bunker and continue to avoid facing Virginia voters?
American Bridge Launches GiftsForKen.com
This past week has been one Ken Cuccinelli would like to forget. But unfortunately for him, what he actually forgot was $13,000 in previously undisclosed gifts from Star Scientific CEO Jonnie R. Williams.
After finally admitting that his office had a conflict of interest in the prosecution of Star Scientific, the matter grew even more complicated for Cuccinelli when it came to light that he failed to disclose thousands of dollars in gifts from the embattled CEO.
Cuccinelli Comes Clean, Finally Admits Conflict of Interest
WASHINGTON -- After weeks of obscuring, denying and hiding, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli finally admitted what was painfully obvious to the rest of us: he has a conflict of interest in the prosecution of Star Scientific.
In a legal filing seeking recusal from a case involving Star Scientific CEO Jonnie R. Williams Sr., Cuccinelli’s office wrote that “the Office has a conflict of interest in the continued investigation and prosecution of this matter.”
Screenshot from the filing:
Just last week, however, Cuccinelli said there was no conflict.
BRIDGE BRIEFING: The Extreme Views Of “Women for Ken”
Recently, Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli announced the support of “Women for Ken.” Considering Cuccinelli’s record on issues of importance to Virginia women, the organization is reminiscent of the “Women for Akin” group that backed the Missouri Congressman even after he infamously claimed “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”
A closer examination of the list reveals that the comparison is apt – among the list of Cuccinelli supporters one will find some of the same women who rushed forward to defend Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, who called a pregnancy resulting from rape “something that God intended.” It’s not surprising that they place Cuccinelli in the same company.
Many of these women have been affiliated with the organizations and candidates who are most adamant about denying women the opportunity to make decisions about their own body or curtailing their access to health care. The list also includes the sponsor of the Virginia legislation that would have required women to undergo a transvaginal ultrasound before they could have an abortion.
The “Women for Ken” have made clear that they support Cuccinelli because he shares their views on the treatment on Virginia women and families. It’s worth keeping in mind what he had to do to earn the support of people like this.