There are times when I find a little, mild, sympathy with the view of some of my fellow travelers on the left that the national parties really are not very different. For example the difference between the Obama administration on national security issues and the Bush administration seems to be a matter of degree, not a stark delineation. Then I see an example of what the Republicans are capable of and it becomes clear that while Democrats might be weaker in many areas than we would like, they are in no way really like their counterparts.

The best example of this is the Attorney General of Virginia Ken “Cooch” Cuccinelli. You might remember his as the AG who insisted the Universities that get state funding follow the Commonwealth of Virginia down the path of not protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. He has been unapologetic in insisting that if they do so then they are in violation of the law.

It would be a good example of the difference between the parties if that were all there were to it , but AG “Cooch” has not stopped there. He is really intent on getting on the crazy train. He has signed on to the frivolous and wasteful lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act (the health insurance reform bill). The claim that it will only cost the Commonwealth the $350 filing fee is spurious on the face.

He is also now going after climate change scientists. His office is demanding the UVA hand over the documents of one Dr. Michael Mann, a climate researcher. They are looking for all of his e-mail and notes when working on a graph showing a deflection point in global warming.

Virginia’s Attorney General is actually trying to make it easier for people to discriminate against gays and lesbians in Virginia.