Virginia Set To Elect A Democrat As Governor, GOP Voter Suppression Efforts Undone

There’s an air of quiet panic surrounding Ken Cuccinelli. OK, it’s not that quiet but it’s there. You would think that it would all be coming from his failing campaign and from Cuccinelli himself but you’d be wrong. Next month’s election will be (mostly unfairly) taken as a bellwether concerning the GOP engineered shutdown. But the more concerning issue is the midterms and 2016.

First, we’ll address the (mostly unfair) bellwether aspect. As with any election taking place during a national crisis, Cuccinelli’s impending loss will be blamed on the shutdown. While it is true the shutdown will influence the election, Cuccinelli has been significantly behind in the polls for months. This (mostly unfair) bellwether status will be coming from liberals as well. They will, without doubt, claim that the GOP blowing this election is a sign that America is tired of their insane political behavior.

The reasons that Cuccinelli is losing are legion: he’s a religious fanatic that wants to ban blow jobs. His running mate is a lunatic. Etc. etc. etc. But the loss of the Virginia governorship has far wider implications for the GOP. And this is where the fear comes in.

No Cuccinelli, no voter suppression

Virginia is still a swing state. That makes it vital to any Republican strategy for winning the White House. And the most vital aspect of that strategy? Voter suppression.  Without Cuccinelli in place to push and sign off on whatever ridiculous scheme the GOP comes up with next, voter suppression efforts fail. No voter suppression? Virginia lurches to the left in elections.

It is indisputable that voter suppression needs to be the Republican Party’s national strategy. Even after their 2012 drubbing, the right loudly and proudly announced that they were going to pursue the same strategy that just lost them the election. They were going to court the angry old white man vote. Blacks, Latinos, women, the LGBT community, Asians, etc. could all go screw themselves. These are all constituencies that are growing in size or influence or both. Liberals stared in disbelief and smiled at the pronouncement, knowing it was doomed in the (not so) long run. Republicans cheered because they’re insane. and then they nominated Ken “No Blow Jobs” Cuccinelli to run for governor.

Party purity versus cold, hard reality

In 2010, the GOP lost several Senate elections because they picked an unelectable loony to run. Christine O’Donnell comes to mind as does Sharron Angle. Ken Cuccinelli’s candidacy is following the same pattern. The Tea Party faithful pick a raving madman to keep ‘Murika pure. Madman opens mouth. The general public actually learns what madman stands for. Public vomits on self, votes for madman’s opponent.

I’m not a witch. I’m also not electable.

This hurt but not as much as losing Virginia will. If (when) Cuccinelli loses, the chances of Virginia voting Red in 2016 evaporate. Without Virginia, the road to the White House becomes significantly more treacherous. This is why the Republican Party is in middle of a full-fledged civil war. Sadly, the rest of us are caught in the crossfire. In the meantime, the Tea Party fanatics would rather go down with the ship than share a life raft with a liberal or, god forbid, a moderate. The establishment GOP is trying to figure out who they’re more afraid of: their racist drunk-on-Tea base or their corporate masters. The old guard of the right is thoroughly disgusted with the imbeciles of the suicide caucus and wishes they had never signed that bargain with the devil.

The loss of Virginia will only throw gas on that little bonfire of the insanities. That’s a very good thing. Sooner or later, the Tea Party will realize that their districts are so safe that they can forgo any attachment to the Republican Party. Once the split occurs, the Tea Party will attract of the frenzied hate on the right. The GOP will move back to the center where normal people can disagree without one side screaming for secession. The Tea Party will be reduced to an ultra localized regional party that everyone can mostly ignore.

Maybe they can elect Ken Cuccinelli and his revulsion of oral and anal sex. He can be their Minister of Morality.