RICHMOND, May 20, 2013 (LifeSiteNews) – The newly-nominated Republican candidate for governor of Virginia is a strong pro-life leader who told supporters at a fundraiser last year that LifeSiteNews.com is the homepage for one of the computers in his home.
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, 44, accepted the nomination Saturday at the Virginia Republican Convention in Richmond. Cuccinelli spoke to a crowd of 8,000 supporters at the Richmond Coliseum about freedom, jobs, infrastructure and the economy, and promised to work to defend “the elderly from abuse as well as the unborn.”
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards has already said defeating Cuccinelli is a top priority for the group. Together with Democratic opponent and former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe, Planned Parenthood started a website, “Keep Ken Out,” devoted to attacking the Republican candidate for his pro-life views.
“Access to safe and legal abortion, and even contraception, would be at risk in a Cuccinelli Administration,” the website claims. “The future of Virginia women’s health hangs in the balance, that’s why we’re going to make sure voters know exactly how out-of-touch he is, and why we need to keep Ken out of the governor’s office.”
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
The bottom of the website states: “Paid for by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Planned Parenthood Votes, and Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC. Authorized by Terry McAuliffe, candidate for Governor.”
Cuccinelli told supporters at the Richmond Coliseum that he favored a simplified tax code with fewer loopholes, and tax cuts targeted at middle-class Virginians. He also called for more streamlined regulations to help attract new businesses to the state.
He warned supporters that his opponent, former Clinton adviser and DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe, would try to paint him as an “extremist” and a “radical” conservative.
That can’t be true, Cuccinelli joked, “because I have not been investigated by the IRS,” the federal tax collection agency that is currently embroiled in a mushrooming scandal over its targeting of conservative groups.
“My opponent and his well-funded political insiders are going to call us lots of names,” Cuccinelli said. “They are going to try and scare folks and scream at the top of their lungs that we’re extremists and radicals.”
“But when did it become extreme to protect children from predators and human traffickers?” Cuccinelli asked. “When did it become extreme to guard our Constitution from government overreach? When did it become extreme to secure the freedom of the wrongly convicted? When did it become extreme to ask the government to spend less so our economy can grow?”
Cuccinelli said he has “an active and ongoing commitment to protecting the most vulnerable in our society.” He emphasized his concerns over human trafficking, wrongful imprisonment and mental illness, along with internet predators who target children.
He also reaffirmed his commitment to “defending those at both ends of life – protecting the elderly from abuse as well as the unborn,” drawing cheers from the crowd. “We should encourage a deep and abiding respect for all human life,” Cuccinelli said.
While Cuccinelli was speaking inside the Coliseum, Planned Parenthood staged a pro-abortion rally outside with about 35 demonstrators, including “Pillamina,” a woman dressed up like a package of oral contraceptives.
Cuccinelli has attracted vicious criticism from pro-abortion groups by voting to overturn then-Democratic Governor Mark Warner's veto of the partial birth abortion ban as a state senator. He also drafted Virginia’s parental consent law, led efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, and demanded the state's abortion facilities meet the same health standards as other surgical centers.