In effort to divert public attention from Star Scientific, Cuccinelli ‘promises’ tax return release

I  have to admit that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli continues to fascinate me with his campaign’s disjointed and bald attempts to recast this elitist socialite who infuses social conservatism with radical libertarian appeals as a “man of the people.” And in its latest attempt to do so, Cuccinelli’s campaign has ‘promised’ it will release 8 years worth of personal tax returns while pressuring his Democratic opponent for governor, Terry McAuliffe, to do the same.

But here’s the really funny part. Cuccinelli’s campaign “has offered to make those tax forms available for inspection to reporters who want to drive to Fairfax County for a peek Thursday and Friday, billing that as an indication of the attorney general's commitment to transparency.” This sounds real transparent if you have the time to make a trip to Fairfax County on a typical work day to view Cuccinelli’s tax returns. This is what could be called a political ‘false positive’, an attempt to promote a certain image while not actually doing anything substantive. What a man of the people, indeed!

In an email statement issued by Cuccinelli on Wednesday, he stated that “The decision to make my tax returns available to the public will hopefully provide voters more information as they decide who to support this fall." 

Of course, the primary reason behind Cuccinelli’s newfound “transparency” is to push the media’s and the voter’s attention away from the growing Star Scientific scandal that Cuccinelli is squarely in the center of. 

Unless we have different conceptions on what a man of the people does while in public office, it doesn’t consist of taking thousands of dollars from a man whose company is under state investigation. But we’re all sure this was just a mistake!

The contributions received by Cuccinelli are more than a so-called “ethical lapse” due to the nature of the action. That is, in taking the contribution, Cuccinelli was committing such an egregious ethical violation that one has to assume other “lapses” have taken place in the past.

I will concede, however, that all the facts are far from known and will, in all likelihood, never be known. For instance, did Cuccinelli really not see the ethical dilemma in taking a contribution from Star Scientifics’ CEO Jonnie Williams Sr.? If so, however, wouldn’t we have to question Cuccinelli’s competency?

This scandal only goes to show us once again that it’s those who scream the loudest that are often times the ones with the most skeletons in their closet.