Entry #091: Ken Cuccinelli
This is a difficult one. Vileness and punditry would usually not be sufficient for inclusion in our encyclopedia, but when the vileness is bred by ignorance, denialism and a general anti-scientific stance, I suppose it should - possibly - qualify.
Ken Cuccinelli is the Virginia Attorney General, and is most famous for his persecution of scientists who obtain results he does not like, trying to threaten them into silence by issuing groundless subpoenas. Described and discussed here, here, here, here, here, here, and here (and many other places). Even other denialists, such as MacIntyre, thought Cuccinelli’s stunt was over the top. That tells you something.
In my eyes, this counts as lunacy, and should be sufficient for inclusion. If you disagree, then Cuccinelli also led a rabid, flailing attack on Virginia’s state seal since it depicted the goddess Virtus with a bare breast. That should do the trick in any case.
Cuccinelli also argued extensively that universities in Virginia were not allowed to prohibit discrimination against gays. Apparently gays aren’t protected by the 14th Amendment since the people who wrote it didn’t like sodomites.
A couple of updates on Cuccinelli are here, here, and here.
Cuccinelli shows once again why he is unfit for any position of power by buying wholeheartedly into the "Obama-stole-the-election" conspiracies. Cuccinelli gives advice in lieu of being the Virginia Attorney General. Don't even try to argue that this man is fit for any position of power. Cuccinelli invokes the legacy of Martin Luther King in his fight against contraception.
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Diagnosis: Bigoted asshole and ignorant, anti-science nutcase. He is, however, frighteningly powerful - a real threat to science, rationality, liberty and civilization.