Tea Party Shutdown Is Killing Ken Cuccinelli

 
“He’s Pretty Supportive of the House”… “Aligned with the Tea Party”… “Nothing But Bad News”… “Really Bad For the Cuccinelli Campaign”… “Brutal for Ken Cuccinelli”… “He’ll Be the One Who Pays the Price”
 
As the government shutdown rolls on, it’s increasingly clear that House Republicans are killing Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign for governor. Cuccinelli has refused to say whether his Tea Party allies in Congress should pass a clean continuing resolution to fund the government and live to fight their anti-Obamacare crusade another day. And this Saturday, he’ll roll out the red carpet for a fundraiser with the architect of the reckless Republican shutdown strategy, Senator Ted Cruz.
 
Here’s a sample of the brutal coverage:
 
NBC4: 
 
ANCHOR: We’re starting to hear from people that this could affect Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign –
 
DOMENICO MONTANARO: Yeah.
 
ANCHOR: — for governor. Why?
 
MONTANARO: Because he’s pretty supportive of the House – he’s very aligned with the Tea Party caucus in the House. They’re getting a lot of coverage and a lot of the blame this shutdown. He’s supposed to campaign at some point with Ted Cruz, and Ted Cruz is seen as an architect of what’s happening in the House and that could really upset a lot of voters, especially in Northern Virginia. Especially for people – a lot of government workers, and a different stripe than some of the other parts of the state.
 
Stephen Farnsworth, University of Mary Washington political scientist: “For Ken Cuccinelli, this is nothing but bad news… This is not his fault, but he’ll be the one who pays the price for what Republicans in Congress are doing.”
 
Larry Sabato, UVA political scientist: “There is no question a long shutdown helps McAuliffe… It will make loads of northern Virginians angry and give them a reason to get out to the polls, and northern Virginia is overwhelmingly Democratic.”
 
Mark Rozell, GMU political analyst: “I think it’s an easy argument for the Democrats to try to make that connection in the minds of voters, whether fair or not, Ken Cuccinelli with the tea party, the far right wing, look at what you get when Republicans get some power… I think it’s really bad for the Cuccinelli campaign.”
 
WRLH:
 
NOBLES: It was Cuccinelli who in 2006 said similar comments about the ‘04 budget battle with Mark Warner that included a big tax hike.
 
CUCCINELLI: In my view, well of course in my view, we shouldn’t have chickened out. I would have taken them right to the brink. I’d have gone right over the brink. That’s one of the things they love about me in the Senate.
 
NOBLES: And this will only be highlighted more this weekend with Senator Ted Cruz from Texas – one of the principal players from the Republican side in this debate – will be in Richmond at an event with Ken Cuccinelli. In Washington, I’m Ryan Nobles for Fox News at 10.
 
The New Republic: “The Government Shutdown Is Killing Ken Cuccinelli”
 
Slate: “The CR/Debt Limit Fight Will Be Brutal For Ken Cuccinelli”
 
Washington Post: “The [budget] showdown also means that Cuccinelli could alienate more middle-of-the-road voters — the folks who might not like Obamacare but dislike government dysfunction even more. That’s especially true in the Northern Virginia suburbs…He’s also scheduled to host Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) on the campaign trail. Cruz, a ringleader of the showdown, grabbed lots of attention this week after enlisting ‘Dr. Seuss’ in a 21-hour filibuster-like maneuver designed to intensify the battle over Obamacare. But Cruz’s maneuver also exposed the widening split between moderates and conservatives in the GOP and prompted Democrats to demand that Cuccinelli denounce Cruz’s tactics.”