FOP endorsement for McDonnell, Bolling, and Cuccinelli

As reported, the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Bob McDonnell for Governor, Bill Bolling for Lt. Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli for Attorney General of Virginia this morning in a news conference at the Capitol building in Richmond this morning. This is a huge endorsement for the whole ticket but especially for Ken Cuccinelli. Steve Shannon is really trying to push his public safety record and so forth on TV now. Yes, he did help bring AMBER alert to VA which was a great thing but in the General Assembly he really hasn't been a person who supports public safety or law enforcement. The special session was a huge example of this. These police officers, who have now endorsed Sen. Cuccinelli, are working hard everyday to keep these drug dealers and drunk drivers behind bars and the Melendez-Diaz v. Mass. case in the Supreme Court really put a damper on the job that they are doing and Ken Cuccinelli stood up and wanted to create a positive solution so that the public can be safer and these police officers' good works for the people would not be done in vein. Steve Shannon called this a "political stunt" and I have a feeling that this could have possibly had a lot to do with him not getting this endorsement. This is great for Ken and proves that he is the candidate who will have public safety as his first priority.

From the FOP:

These candidates were chosen by the members of the FOP of Virginia. Every member had the opportunity to vote for the candidate they thought would do the best job for their respective offices. These candidates have proven and pledged to support the FOP of Virginia in keeping our state safe and secure for all Virginians.

The Washington Post reported this on their blog this morning and so far the following is the only comment on the post and was posted by a user under the name HumbleGovWorker at 9:42 am:

Wait a minute. The FOP endorsed Cuccinelli over Shannon? Incredible.

They endorse an ambulance chasing attorney who prefers representing criminals--most of whom were arrested by police--over a former former Fairfax County prosecutor????

Stupid FOP. Really, really stupid.

Well HumbleGovWorker, you obivously haven't researched your facts at all. This is the attorney profile of Ken Cuccinelli directly from the Cuccinelli & Day PLLC website:

Ken Cuccinelli is a litigation and business law attorney who serves as an outsourced general counsel to small and mid-sized companies. His wide range of experience includes litigation, licensing, financing, employment, advertising, branding, corporate formation and acquisition, business transactions and contracts for both domestic and international clients.

Wow! And you called Ken Cuccinelli an ambulance chaser and criminal defense attorney? Obivously not my friend. And to say that Ken Cuccinelli is an ambulance chaser is even more puzzling than the saying he is a criminal defense attorney because he has been one of the biggest supporters of tort reform during his time in the General Assembly. Why would someone be an advocate for tort reform if he was a medical malpractice lawyer? They wouldn't because then they wouldn't be making any money. And to say that it is a bad thing to be a criminal defense attorney is a statement which undermines the legal system of our Commonwealth and our nation. Every criminal is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and has their right to a fair trial. To say that being a prosecutor qualifies Steve Shannon for Attorney General more than Ken Cuccinelli is wrong too. In the Attorney General's office the Attorney General rarely does any prosecuting himself. The Attorney General's office is one of the five largest law firms in the state of Virignia and has many lawyers who do the actual prosecuting for the Attorney General. Additionally, Steve Shannon was an Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Fairfax County. I have been unable to find how many Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys there are in Fairfax but I was able to find that Roanoke City employs eleven Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys. So that means Steve Shannon was one of hundreds or more people in Virginia who do more or less the exact same job. I am not trying to make an attack on Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys becuase I know that they do a great job keep our state safe and representing the people in court. But to say that he is qualified to be Attorney General of Virginia, the top lawyer in the state, because he was Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney is just ridiculous. It requires much more legal experience, legislative experience, as well as an extensive knowledge of the law. If you are going to be making statements like this I suggest to cease to involve yourself in promoting Steve Shannon for Attorney General because you obivously don't understand the legal system of Virginia or the job of the Attorney General.


For further reading please check out this letter to the editor of the Burke Connection of a Fairfax Police officer in support of Ken Cuccinelli.