Virginia's next governor?
Our next governor? Bensblurb #606 5/6/11
What’s an activist? Someone carrying signs and writing hate mail to public officials?
The pejorative typically describes a leftist, an anti-government drumbeater or nutty conspiracy monger.
But consider Ken Cuccinelli. He’s Virginia’s Attorney General. He’s also an activist by any measure with a headline-grabbing talent to rival Tea Partiers while fighting both the global warmists and the Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition, he’s taking on Obamacare, claiming it’s unconstitutional because it wrongly invokes the interstate commerce clause in forcing everyone to subscribe. The courts so far agree, and disagree, now slapping down Virginia’s request for expedited review of the Obamacare lawsuit, forcing us to spend more taxpayer money on Obamacare in the meantime. He’ll argue the case in the Court of Appeals in Richmond next week.
What’s behind Cuccinelli’s busy agenda? Besides being naturally energetic, he likely has other goals in mind, like becoming Virginia’s next governor, since the incumbent can’t run again.
Whatever, his legal opinions do stir the headline writers. “Bullets and Bibles spark Va. debate,” blared the Washington Post after Cuccinelli issued an advisory opinion this spring allowing parishioners to carry guns to services.
His political energies trace back at least to his election to the Virginia Senate, representing Fairfax County from 2002 to 2010. According to Wikipedia, during that time he took conservative positions on abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigration, taxes, government spending, eminent domain and more, while supporting law enforcement and the mentally disabled.
Now as Attorney General he’s into numerous divisive legal thickets. As a global warming skeptic, he brought suit to force the University of Virginia to release records of climate scientist Michael Mann who worked there, supported by taxpayer-funded grants. Mann, later at Penn State, constructed the infamous “hockey stick” graph that erroneously depicted much worse global warming than had occurred.
He’s also ridiculed EPA’s proposed rules to limit trucks’ tailpipe emissions. In a Tea Party speech at a rally in January, he said, “[If] fully implemented...they will keep the temperature from rising nearly five one-hundredths of a degree Fahrenheit. By 2050."
An EPA spokesperson later affirmed: "Although the projected reductions are small...they are quantifiable and would contribute to reducing climate change risks." Uh, huh.
Then there’s this nugget from a February press conference. Cuccinelli: “The decision by the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide as a dangerous pollutant is going to have a severe impact on the people of Virginia...[Obama] wants to force the coal industry out of business because of the carbon dioxide emitted when coal is burned to create electricity. Coal, as you know, is the economic engine of the southwestern part of Virginia and is one of the main job providers down there...Getting rid of coal means that energy prices are going to skyrocket...”
This young fellow may go far. Stay tuned. Our next election for governor and other state elected positions: Nov. 2013.
What’s an activist? Someone carrying signs and writing hate mail to public officials?
The pejorative typically describes a leftist, an anti-government drumbeater or nutty conspiracy monger.
But consider Ken Cuccinelli. He’s Virginia’s Attorney General. He’s also an activist by any measure with a headline-grabbing talent to rival Tea Partiers while fighting both the global warmists and the Environmental Protection Agency.
In addition, he’s taking on Obamacare, claiming it’s unconstitutional because it wrongly invokes the interstate commerce clause in forcing everyone to subscribe. The courts so far agree, and disagree, now slapping down Virginia’s request for expedited review of the Obamacare lawsuit, forcing us to spend more taxpayer money on Obamacare in the meantime. He’ll argue the case in the Court of Appeals in Richmond next week.
What’s behind Cuccinelli’s busy agenda? Besides being naturally energetic, he likely has other goals in mind, like becoming Virginia’s next governor, since the incumbent can’t run again.
Whatever, his legal opinions do stir the headline writers. “Bullets and Bibles spark Va. debate,” blared the Washington Post after Cuccinelli issued an advisory opinion this spring allowing parishioners to carry guns to services.
His political energies trace back at least to his election to the Virginia Senate, representing Fairfax County from 2002 to 2010. According to Wikipedia, during that time he took conservative positions on abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigration, taxes, government spending, eminent domain and more, while supporting law enforcement and the mentally disabled.
Now as Attorney General he’s into numerous divisive legal thickets. As a global warming skeptic, he brought suit to force the University of Virginia to release records of climate scientist Michael Mann who worked there, supported by taxpayer-funded grants. Mann, later at Penn State, constructed the infamous “hockey stick” graph that erroneously depicted much worse global warming than had occurred.
He’s also ridiculed EPA’s proposed rules to limit trucks’ tailpipe emissions. In a Tea Party speech at a rally in January, he said, “[If] fully implemented...they will keep the temperature from rising nearly five one-hundredths of a degree Fahrenheit. By 2050."
An EPA spokesperson later affirmed: "Although the projected reductions are small...they are quantifiable and would contribute to reducing climate change risks." Uh, huh.
Then there’s this nugget from a February press conference. Cuccinelli: “The decision by the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide as a dangerous pollutant is going to have a severe impact on the people of Virginia...[Obama] wants to force the coal industry out of business because of the carbon dioxide emitted when coal is burned to create electricity. Coal, as you know, is the economic engine of the southwestern part of Virginia and is one of the main job providers down there...Getting rid of coal means that energy prices are going to skyrocket...”
This young fellow may go far. Stay tuned. Our next election for governor and other state elected positions: Nov. 2013.
posted by Ben Blankenship at
7:22 PM
