When Virginia’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli comes to
mind, I think of the scene from Taxi
Driver where Robert DeNiro’s character asks himself in the mirror, “You
talkin’ to me?” Why does this scene come to mind, you ask? Because Cuccinelli’s
political style is more like that of a compulsive pit-bull than a well-reasoned
and considerate public servant.
I don’t mean to attack Cuccinelli’s character; I’ll leave ad hominem attacks to the Republican
Party since they’ve made an art out of character assassinations. In the wake of
Cuccinelli’s refusal to pay back over $18,000 in gifts that he received from
Star Scientific’s CEO Jonnie Williams, however, a new low has been reached in
Cuccinelli’s blemished political career.
Cuccinelli claims that the gifts Jonnie Williams gave to him
were service-type gifts like catering, vacation housing, private jet trips, and
so forth that can’t be repaid. I’d be willing to bet, however, that if this
were someone Cuccinelli had in his political cross-hairs, these “nonrefundable”
expenses would magically become easily repayable. That is, Cuccinelli is full
of it.
While Gov. Bob McDonnell took the half-measure of repaying
$125,000 in business and personal loans from Star Scientifics’ CEO (many of
which, according to Cuccinelli’s definition, can’t be refunded), Cuccinelli
bucked at the idea of repaying Williams with a machismo flare and
dismissive retort that has come to define his time as Virginia’s attorney
general and his campaign for Virginia’s Executive Mansion. “You talkin’ to me?”
In a sense, Virginians should be thankful we’ve had such a pugnacious
career politician like Cuccinelli step into one of the state’s most visible
public officials. It’s been a lot of fun to watch. But as the saying goes, if
you strike like lightning, you’ll crash like thunder. Sooner or later, the
arrogance comes back to haunt your political career and come this November,
Cuccinelli might well reap the sordid seeds he’s sown.
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