The First, Maybe Only Good News From the Government Shutdown – It is Hurting the Campaign for Virginia’s Governor Radical Conservative Ken Cuccinelli

And Contradicting Republican Claims That There is Support to Shut Down the Government

Virginia Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the nominee for Governor in the only Fall campaign that matters is a wolf in wolf’s clothing.  A hard line conservative, he is trying to do what all conservatives do when they have to run outside a circle of like minded voters, he is trying to shed his image, drop his principles and act like he is something he is not, a moderate. 

But Mr. Ccuccinelli is being tied to the government shutdown, a terrible thing in Virginia because contrary to Republican claims, the federal government and its spending is largely responsible for Virginia prosperity. 

The Cuccinelli campaign’s strategy for avoiding blowback is to distance itself from the work of Congressional Republicans. Danny Diaz, a senior campaign adviser, said voters would be able to make a distinction between Washington lawmakers and the statewide gubernatorial candidates.

“I think these are voters who are going to understand, O.K., this is the federal government, and these are guys running for state office, and I’ve heard from them and I’m going to weigh that,” he said.

Okay, maybe Mr. Cuccinelli is sincere here.  Or maybe not.

His political identity was forged through his staunch opposition to Mr. Obama’s health care law — he filed a lawsuit minutes after the president signed it in March 2010 — and he is a hero to the Tea Party as a result.

He plans to appear at a fund-raiser Saturday in Richmond for a family-values group with Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who drove the “Defund Obamacare” campaign in Congress.

Mr. Cuccinelli, like many politicians thinks voters are stupid.  In most cases they are just ill-informed.  But in the case of the government shutdown they are informed, at least in Virginia where their livelihood is being threatened by Mr. Cuccinelli’s cohorts. 

Sorry Ken, maybe you can fool enough of them to win but we doubt it.