A Question For Cuccinelli
Can He Tame Blunt Style For '13 Race?
Posted: December 28, 2012
As negotiations resume in Washington with the countdown to both the new year and the fall off the “fiscal cliff” in full effect, Republicans are struggling to keep a united front and message.
As evidenced by the failed attempt last week by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to pass a “Plan B” in the House of Representatives, there is a divide within the party between those standing firm on the principle of no tax increases for anybody and those willing to make some sort of deal with the Obama administration.
To that end, it seems that every time Mr. Boehner signals he will compromise, the president demands even more. But that drama will play out over the next several days.
As we have noted on this page before, the Republican Party in Virginia has its own issues to deal with as we turn our attention to the statewide elections of 2013. And, according to an article earlier this week in Politico, Virginia is a microcosm of “the GOP’s national dilemma.”
The article by Jonathan Martin is titled “Virginia Embodies GOP’s Woes,” and it provides an instructive examination of the work of the conservative wing of the Republican Party in the Commonwealth and how that may unfold in 2013.
There is no doubt that Virginia has become “purple,” having gone twice for President Obama and having elected three consecutive Democrats to the United States Senate while still keeping 8 of its 11 seats in the House of Representatives solidly in Republican hands.
Mr. Martin refers to the “Old Dominion” as a “firmly centrist state,” but notes that in the midst of this evolution, “Virginia Republicans are shifting rightward.”
By now, readers of this page are aware of the state of the contest for the Republican nomination for governor in 2013. In 2009. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling stepped aside to pave the way for current Gov. Bob McDonnell to get the nomination with the promise that McDonnell would support Bolling in 2013.
But that agreement didn’t include Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, also elected in 2009. Mr. Cuccinelli announced his intention to run earlier this year. And, as has been reported extensively, the conservative wing of the party changed the nomination process from a primary to a convention, which put the contest squarely in Cuccinelli’s favor.
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Mr. Bolling bowed out early but has not endorsed Mr. Cuccinelli. Speculation of an independent run by Mr. Bolling continues to float across the Commonwealth.
The question remains whether a strict conservative like Mr. Cuccinelli can have statewide success. Republicans point to Gov. McDonnell as an example when they say yes.
But, by his own admission, Mr. McDonnell knows you have to repackage your message to win such a contest. As he told Politico, in order to win statewide, a candidate has “to find a way to capture the majority of the independent vote that represent 30 percent or 40 percent of the electorate.”
And how does one do that? Well, McDonnell tells Politico that “many times that’s as much a matter of tone and style.”
Tone and style may be Mr. Cuccinelli’s best friend when firing up his base, but he has much work to do if he wishes to follow Mr.
McDonnell’s game plan to the governor’s mansion. One general question is whether a conservative Republican can be both principled and pragmatic at the same time. And one specific question is whether Mr. Cuccinelli’s “blunt style” will be able to evolve at all.
That quandary will be at the forefront in Virginia politics throughout 2013.
As evidenced by the failed attempt last week by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to pass a “Plan B” in the House of Representatives, there is a divide within the party between those standing firm on the principle of no tax increases for anybody and those willing to make some sort of deal with the Obama administration.
To that end, it seems that every time Mr. Boehner signals he will compromise, the president demands even more. But that drama will play out over the next several days.
As we have noted on this page before, the Republican Party in Virginia has its own issues to deal with as we turn our attention to the statewide elections of 2013. And, according to an article earlier this week in Politico, Virginia is a microcosm of “the GOP’s national dilemma.”
The article by Jonathan Martin is titled “Virginia Embodies GOP’s Woes,” and it provides an instructive examination of the work of the conservative wing of the Republican Party in the Commonwealth and how that may unfold in 2013.
There is no doubt that Virginia has become “purple,” having gone twice for President Obama and having elected three consecutive Democrats to the United States Senate while still keeping 8 of its 11 seats in the House of Representatives solidly in Republican hands.
Mr. Martin refers to the “Old Dominion” as a “firmly centrist state,” but notes that in the midst of this evolution, “Virginia Republicans are shifting rightward.”
By now, readers of this page are aware of the state of the contest for the Republican nomination for governor in 2013. In 2009. Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling stepped aside to pave the way for current Gov. Bob McDonnell to get the nomination with the promise that McDonnell would support Bolling in 2013.
But that agreement didn’t include Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, also elected in 2009. Mr. Cuccinelli announced his intention to run earlier this year. And, as has been reported extensively, the conservative wing of the party changed the nomination process from a primary to a convention, which put the contest squarely in Cuccinelli’s favor.
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, Mr. Bolling bowed out early but has not endorsed Mr. Cuccinelli. Speculation of an independent run by Mr. Bolling continues to float across the Commonwealth.
The question remains whether a strict conservative like Mr. Cuccinelli can have statewide success. Republicans point to Gov. McDonnell as an example when they say yes.
But, by his own admission, Mr. McDonnell knows you have to repackage your message to win such a contest. As he told Politico, in order to win statewide, a candidate has “to find a way to capture the majority of the independent vote that represent 30 percent or 40 percent of the electorate.”
And how does one do that? Well, McDonnell tells Politico that “many times that’s as much a matter of tone and style.”
Tone and style may be Mr. Cuccinelli’s best friend when firing up his base, but he has much work to do if he wishes to follow Mr.
McDonnell’s game plan to the governor’s mansion. One general question is whether a conservative Republican can be both principled and pragmatic at the same time. And one specific question is whether Mr. Cuccinelli’s “blunt style” will be able to evolve at all.
That quandary will be at the forefront in Virginia politics throughout 2013.