Yeah, But a Lot of Embarrassing Failed Democratic Candidates Are Wrong on Job Creation

You know how we know our political world has gone off the rails?

The good folks at the Republican Party of Virginia* send me an e-mailed press release, with the headline, “Embarrassing: Failed Democratic Candidate Attacks Governor on Job Creation.”

My first thought was they were referring to Scott Lee Cohen attacking Governor Pat Quinn.

Scott Lee Cohen, the pawnbroker who flamed out of Illinois politics just days after voters nominated him as the Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, is making plans to run for governor.

Cohen would have a steep climb to redefine himself in the eyes of Illinois voters, even by the standards of this state’s tainted political culture. During his primary campaign, the 43-year-old political novice ran on notions of integrity and business acumen. But scrutiny of Cohen’s background after the election revealed troubling facts and false statements.

The most salacious revelation surrounded his 2005 domestic battery arrest, in which his convicted prostitute girlfriend alleged he put a knife to her throat. The case was dropped when she didn’t show up in court, but in explaining his side of the story, Cohen made statements that turned out to be false. He said he had met the woman in a bar, but later acknowledged that he met her when he was a patron at the massage parlor where she was arrested for performing sex acts for money. Cohen also said the woman would vouch for his character, but she issued a statement through a lawyer saying he was not fit to hold office.

But instead they were talking about our old friend Terry McAuliffe.

McAuliffe says the new governor, who just marked his 100th day in office, isn’t making it any easier to attract new jobs to the state by getting bogged down in controversies over his Confederate heritage proclamation and resisting legal anti-bias protections for gay Virginians.

Of course, on McDonnell’s 101st day, Northup Grumman moved its corporate headquarters from Los Angeles to northern Virginia.

UPDATE: The release was from the Republican Party of Virginia, not the Republican Governors Association; I initially misread the three-letter-acronym starting with “R.”