The Virginian-Pilot nails it with regard to the Attorney General's race: "Virginians have a choice between a low-key fellow partial to brown suits, and a pugnacious culture warrior more apt to need flameproof gear." Here's more (bolding added by me for emphasis), but definitely read the whole endorsement, it's a good one!...[Cuccinelli's] intellect could be an asset, but he relies instead on inflammatory appeals.All I have to add is this: it's about time somebody called out Cuccinelli for his intolerance, bigotry and radical ideology that will make Virginia the laughing stock of the nation. In contrast, Steve Shannon may not be the most scintillating personality you've ever encountered, but he's smart, steady, solid, moderate and mainstream. In other words, this choice for AG this year is a complete "no brainer" and shouldn't even be a close call. On November 3, make sure you vote Steve Shannon for Attorney General. If not, don't say you haven't been warned what will happen with Cooch the "pugnacious culture warrior" in charge.
As a Republican state senator, his limited-government philosophy led him to oppose common-sense safety measures and some crime bills. He voted against allowing cities to enforce traffic laws with red-light cameras and even argued against stricter laws for cockfighting.
He reconciles his anti-government record and his desire to be the state’s lawyer by promising to sue the federal government over environmental and union issues.
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Cuccinelli’s views on reproductive rights don’t align with those of most Virginians. He favors legislation that would grant legal rights to fetuses at conception. He has sponsored bills requiring strict regulations that would put most abortion clinics out of business. He voted against a bill stating that contraception is not abortion.
He declined to commit to a nondiscrimination policy against gays and lesbians observed by former Attorney General Bob McDonnell: "My view is that homosexual acts, not homosexuality, but homosexual acts are wrong. They’re intrinsically wrong. And I think in a natural law based country it’s appropriate to have policies that reflect that. ... They don’t comport with natural law. I happen to think that it represents (to put it politely; I need my thesaurus to be polite) behavior that is not healthy to an individual and in aggregate is not healthy to society.”
To put it politely, Cuccinelli’s election would bring embarrassment to Virginia, instability to the state’s law firm and untold harm to the long list of people who don’t fit his personal definition of morality.
UPDATE: The Roanoke Times also endorses Steve Shannon, saying that Cooch "would use the office to implement the extreme agenda that he could not push through the General Assembly as a senator from Fairfax County." The editorial correctly calls out Cooch as "a crusader against a woman's right to choose, gay rights, workers and any effort to confront climate change." It concludes, "Shannon offers little flash, but he would serve all Virginians, not just one extreme of the political spectrum."
