Far-Right Virginia AG Launches PAC

Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's far-right attorney general, has launched a political action committee to bolster his influence within state politics.

"Liberty Now" is designed to "support the efforts of Ken Cuccinelli in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and to elect Republicans to non-federal offices in the Commonwealth of Virginia," according to a filing made by the organization with the IRS last month.

John Selph, a political consultant who is listed on the filing as treasurer, confirmed the PAC's existence to TPMmuckraker, and referred questions about it to another member of Cuccinelli's political team, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cuccinelli recently launched an online petition in opposition to the health-care reform law, entitled "Stop The Mandate, Support Liberty Now."

Since being elected last fall, Cuccinelli has built a profile as an extreme conservative. He has moved to stop Virginia's universities from banning anti-gay discrimination -- prompting Gov. Bob McDonnell, himself a conservative Republican, to issue a statement affirming that workplace discrimination is illegal. And he has launched a lawsuit on behalf of the state -- separate from the suit brought by 13 other state attorneys general -- challenging the constitutionality of health-care reform.

"Ken was a Tea Partier before there was a Tea Party," one Virginia Republican told the New York Times.

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