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.
Cuccinelli Claimed That Medicare, Social Security And Welfare Made People Dependent On The Government. According to Cuccinelli’s book, The Last Line Of Defense, “One of their favorite ways to increase their power is by creating programs that dispense subsidized government benefits, such as Medicare, Social Security and outright welfare (Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized housing and the like). These programs make people dependent on government. And once people are dependent, they feel they can’t afford to have the programs taken away, no matter how inefficient, poorly run, or costly to the rest of society.” [The Last Line Of Defense, 2013, Page 62]
Cuccinelli’s Website Touted His Efforts To Defund Planned Parenthood. According to a 2009 archived version of Cuccinelli’s website, “As a State Senator, I have supported initiatives to: … Defund (of taxpayer dollars) Planned Parenthood, a multi-billion dollars organization.” [Cuccinelli.com, Archived 3/10/2009]
Cuccinelli Called Obama Administration The “Biggest Set Of Lawbreakers In America.” According to Cuccinelli’s book, The Last Line Of Defense, Cuccinelli labels the Obama Administration “The Biggest Set Of Lawbreakers In America,” in the Chapter 1 title. Cuccinelli then goes on to write “No other president, no other administration has had such a willful disregard for the law… President Obama and his appointees time and time again ignored any limit to their power that they found inconvenient – federal laws, binding rulings of federal courts, and the Constitution – all to make government work in ways they couldn’t achieve through the democratic process.” [The Last Line Of Defense, 2013, Page 62]
Washington Post: Cuccinelli, “Opposes Access To Abortion, Without Exceptions In The Case Of Rape Or Incest.” According to the Washington Post, “Cuccinelli, 33, is counting on anti-tax and social conservative forces. “We’re not fighting over the middle ground,” he said. He grew up in McLean and practices patent law at an intellectual property firm in Arlington. Cuccinelli is a social conservative who opposes access to abortion, without exceptions in the case of rape or incest.” [Washington Post, 8/28/02]
In 2003, Cuccinelli Promised To Fight U.S. Supreme Court Decision Striking Down Anti-Sodomy Laws – Said “Homosexuality Is Wrong.” According to The Washington Post, “Virginia politicians say the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down anti-sodomy laws will unleash a torrent of state legislation that could mirror the fights over abortion rights and other social issues that have dominated recent General Assembly sessions. Proponents and opponents of the ruling say the court’s decision bolsters the gay rights movement in Virginia and provides a legal precedent for some protections long sought by gay rights advocates. […] State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax) said he would fight any extension of gay rights. He added that ‘homosexuality is wrong.’ Cuccinelli said gay rights will be an immediate campaign issue. All 140 seats in the General Assembly are on the ballot Nov. 4. Cuccinelli predicted that candidates will use the issue to let voters know where their values lie, much as they do with the issue of abortion. ‘This will be a strong indicator on a variety of issues for some voters,’ he said.” [The Washington Post, 6/29/03]
Cuccinelli Compared Anti-Abortion Movement To Slavery Abolitionism. According to the Associated Press, “Virginia Democrats pushed two deeply emotional hot buttons Tuesday in the state’s gubernatorial race, slamming Republican Ken Cuccinelli for equating the nation’s bloody reckoning over slavery with today’s anti-abortion movement. Nearly eight months before election day the Democratic Party of Virginia released video from last June that shows Cuccinelli addressing a small gathering of religious conservatives meeting in Williamsburg. It continues the Democrats’ strategy of portraying the socially conservative attorney general as too extreme for a swing state. ‘Over time, the truth demonstrates its own rightness, and its own righteousness. Our experience as a country has demonstrated that on one issue after another. Start right at the beginning — slavery. Today, abortion,’ Cuccinelli said in remarks recorded by a Democratic Party tracker at a Family Foundation event on June 14, 2012. ‘History has shown us what the right position was, and those were issues that were attacked by people of faith aggressively to change the course of this country,’ he said. ‘We need to fight for the respect for life, not just for life but for respect for life. One leads to the other.’” [Associated Press, 3/19/2013]
Published: May 22, 2013