McAuliffe: Huckabee's "Joke" About Voter Suppression is "no laughing matter"

Good for Terry McAuliffe:

VA Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe criticized the GOP's nominee, Bob McDonnell, for allowing Mike Huckabee, in state stumping for him this week, to suggest that the party faithful should block voters from going to the polls if they're not supporting the Republican contender.

"There are no jokes around denying peole the right to vote in this country," McAuliffe said on a call with reporters. "It's no laughing matter. It's no joking matter."

[...]

...McAuliffe noted that, as a member of the Virginia House, McDonnell voted against a Motor Voter law. And McAuliffe, the former Democratic National Committee chairman, said McDonnell "stood by silently" when the House opposed proposals by Gov. Tim Kaine (D) to expand early voting and offer no excuse absentee voting.

"People fought and died for the right to vote in this country," McAuliffe said. "It's a fundamental right."

He said Huckabee's remarks could not be misunderstood. "There's no way to interpret this kind of language other than trying to suppress the vote," McAuliffe said. "I think it's time that Bob McDonnell stopped being silent on this issue."

So what's Bob McDonnell's response to this? Totally lame, with spokesman Tucker Martin claiming it's all a "lighthearted political joke" and that McAuliffe is "feigning outrage." In stark contrast, Terry talked about how -- in his first act as DNC chair -- he created the Voting Rights Institute.

So there you have it in a nutshell: Bob McDonnell thinks that voter suppression is a big joke, Terry McAuliffe thinks it's a "fundamental right." Now which one of those is the correct answer? Hmmmm...tough one. Ha.

UPDATE: McAuliffe issues a press release which says, among other things, "In addition to opposing measures like the motor voter law, [McDonnell] stood by silently when the House of Delegates recently voted down early voting and the no excuse absentee legislation. Now he is standing by silently as Mike Huckabee encourages his supporters to suppress the vote."

UPDATE #2: How juvenile can Mike Huckabee get, telling CNN, "As someone who served as a Governor for 10 years, I can say if these are the type of things Terry McAuliffe worries about and make him break down and cry, then he won't last 10 days as Governor much less four years and he doesn't deserve the people of Virginia's vote." Tough guy, Mike Huckabee. Yeah, whatever.