By Peter Galuszka
Virginia’s Republicans are posed to take big hits because of the infuriating deadlock in Congress over the budget and debt ceiling. The ones looking the worst are U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Majority Leader, and gubernatorial candidate Kenneth Cuccinelli.
Both have played too hard to Tea Party anarchists whose scheme seems to be to crash government just to show they can do it. The stakes are extremely high since the U.S. presents the underpinnings for much of the global finance.
Their pandering, and House Speaker John Boehner’s utter incompetence, show how hard right elements have come to dominate the Republican Party to the detriment of all. Stocks, bonds and your retirement accounts could crash thanks to some yeah-hoos who run around with tri-cornered hats and rattlesnakes on their flags. Cuccinelli reflects how radically conservative Christians who want to dictate their ideas of morality on everyone else have come to dominate terms in the state GOP.
Unfortunately, Cantor appears politically safe because of the conservative voters of the 7th Congressional District. As for Cuccinelli, poll after poll shows that he is trailing Democrat Terry McAuliffe who will likely win on Nov. 5. If that happens, one hopes that the state Republican Party will undergo a housecleaning.
Meanwhile, the bad news continues to pile up for Cuccinelli. State Inspector General Michael A. Morehart, a former FBI agent hired by Gov. Robert F. McDonnell, has found that a deputy attorney general improperly aided two out-of-state coal companies in a lawsuit involving natural gas rights.
Incredibly, Brian Gottstein, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, says the finding “vindicates” Cuccinelli because it shows he did not condone or know of his deputy’s action. That makes him sound like one hell of a manager.
And Cantor sounds like a hell of a negotiator, too.
