I just got back from Ken Cuccinelli's book signing at the Barnes & Noble in Tysons Corner (and no, I wouldn't buy one of his books if it was the last book on earth, I was stranded on a desert island, and I was absolutely desperate for something - anything! - to read). There was a long line of people waiting to get their book signed, including several members of the anti-Cuccinelli group Cooch Watch 2013. What I found perhaps most interesting was how anxious Cuccinelli obviously was to keep the public from asking him questions in a freewheeling fashion (e.g., as in a normal book reading/Q&A session). Also, I was surprised how much security there was (note that it was already pretty secure being deep inside a large shopping mall, with no direct access from the street, and with no ability for anyone to protest right outside the store), including people standing to Cuccinelli's left and right. I asked one of them if he was with the campaign, he said "no sir." I asked him if he was with the book store, he said "no sir." And that was that. Who the heck knows, but they made it VERY clear that they wanted nobody getting anywhere near Cuccinelli, unless they had bought a book and were willing to proceed, one at a time (under watchful eyes of security) to have the book signed. Hmmmm.
P.S. Also, see the "flip" for a photo of the "Cooch Watch" folks at the event by Gail Gordon Donegan. As Gail colorfully describes the scene: "Waiting in line with tea partiers is strange. The men look sociopathic and the women look broken. They all have haunted eyes." I simply can't understand how anyone in their right (as in "sane," not politically "right") mind could support this extremist, theocratic, anti-LGBT, anti-women, science denying sockpuppet of the Koch brothers. Of course, this is the mindset we're dealing with. Ugh.
P.P.S. Gail Gordon Donegan adds, "Cooch deflected my friend's questions about Medicare and Social Security, and he wouldn't even entertain my questions about abortion and the First Amendment. So, there you have it. He stayed about one hour."
The purpose of Blue Virginia is to cover Virginia politics from a progressive and Democratic perspective. This is a group blog and a community blog. We invite everyone to comment here, but please be aware that profanity, personal attacks, bigotry, insults, rudeness, frequent unsupported or off-point statements, and "trolling" (NOTE: that includes outright lies, whether about climate science, or what other people said, or whatever) are not permitted and, if continued, will lead to banning. For more on trolling, see the Daily Kos FAQs. Also note that diaries may be deleted if they do not contain at least 2 solid paragraphs of original text; if not, please use the comments section of a relevant diary. For more on writing diaries, click here. Thanks, and enjoy!
