WashPost Hypes Doug Wilder's and Post's Endorsement of McAuliffe, Skips Ron Paul Endorsement of Cuccinelli

October 13th, 2013 3:01 PM

On Friday, Virginia’s GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli drew a significant endorsement from libertarian-leaning former Republican congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis has been polling in the high single digits, but the Washington Post has totally skipped the Paul news in the newspaper. (Its website has a tiny AP brief.)

But on Friday morning, the Post was apparently thrilled to report former Democratic Gov. Doug Wilder’s endorsement of Democrat Terry McAuliffe on the front page of the Metro section:

Former governor L. Douglas Wilder on Thursday gave his coveted endorsement to Terry McAuliffe, the Democrat running for governor.

Wilder is a Democrat but also something of a political maverick, having bucked his party on occasion. He withheld his nod from state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) in the governor's race four years ago.

The Post also officially endorsed McAuliffe  at the top of Sunday's editorial page (as if they haven't signaled that repeatedly in "news" coverage).

The subhead explained "The choice is clear: pragmatic and moderate or polarizing and provocative." Just like the rest of the Democrats, the Posties paint Cuccinelli as a bizarre extremist while McAuliffe isn't a liberal at all. (This is especially puzzling on social issues like abortion, where McAuliffe is staunchly in favor.)


The Post pretended every recent Democrat elected statewide was a centrist. But they posed as centrists: "Will Virginia stick to its long tradition of moderate, pragmatic governance, or will it veer off into an ideological adventure at the behest of one of Richmond’s most polarizing and provocative public figures of the last decade?"

They’re also repeating McAuliffe’s mantra that to be pro-abortion, pro-gay, and anti-“climate change” equals being business-friendly:

Mr. Cuccinelli, the most partisan, truculent and doctrinaire attorney general in memory, represents an assault on those same customs. That’s why a number of prominent fellow Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, have refused to support him, in an astonishing display of intra-party dissent.

Mr. McAuliffe, who is nothing if not a deal-maker, holds out the credible promise that Virginia will remain open, tolerant and pragmatic, friendly to business and committed to job growth.