By Peter Galuszka
The latest from the parallel universes of Virginia politics: failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Cuccinelli is pouting like a child while planning his next step.
According to an hour-long interview he gave to The Washington Post, Cuccinelli is lying low and eating dinners at home several nights a week which he finds comforting. Otherwise, it is sour grapes:
“He did not make the customary phone call to the winner, and he has not made any public appearances. His chief strategist, Chris LaCivita, has complained that the Republican Governors Association and other GOP donors prematurely stopped giving to Cuccinelli’s campaign at a time when a victory was still possible. That has led some observers to call Cuccinelli a sore loser.”
Cha! Now compare that to outgoing Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s recent sermon on “the Virginia Way” of gentlemanly politics that could teach those barbarians in Washington a thing or two. He wrote: “In Virginia, we still believe in the quaint notion that to succeed you must turn down the rhetoric, work together to find solutions and get things done.”
Excuse me? Maybe we should repeat that for Ken before he decides to go up against U.S. Sen. Mark Warner.
All in all, however, the scenario here is rather simple. Urged on by edge elements like the tea party, Cuccinelli invented his own bubble and still resides in it. Small wonder that his own party, at least the grownups therein, cut back on throwing good money after bad in a losing campaign. Something they seemed to have figured out — had the Cooch won, lots of people would have been in trouble from the LGBT crowd to Main Street business.
And, once again, we’re presented with myths. One is that Cuccinelli’s abrasive and abusive personality and politics had nothing to do with his defeat. It was the ill-timed government shutdowns and Republican governors. It was the biased news media. Not to worry: he’ll nail Warner on Obamacare (presumably if it isn’t figured out when that campaign starts).
Meanwhile, Richmond’s dream-spinners, led by the editors at the Times-Dispatch, are doing their best to make up a legacy and a history for their favorite son McDonnell. No mention that he’s still the target of a federal corruption probe. No mention of the state GOP being in disarray.
Someone should capture this and put it all down on some DVDs, “Lord of the Rings” style. Fantasy after fantasy after fantasy. It could sell.
