Congratulations to Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who has advanced into the ranks of GOP presidential timber candidates targeted for destruction by the political establishment. The latest evidence, coming in the wake of publication of his new book,  The Last Line of Defense, is convincing.

The National Journal, which targets the Washington political set (and charges a lot of money for its insider reports - "Make the power connection"), has published a profile questioning Cuccinelli's political viability because he is a skeptic on Anthropogenic Global Warming theory. The article by Cora Davenport  casts him as an anti-science nut, characterizing his transparency efforts in uncovering the record of leading warmist Michael Mann when he was an employee of the State of Virginia  as "his crusade against the science of climate change."  

Cuccinelli, who has announced he will run for governor of Virginia, has demonstrated an ability to espouse conservative principles and won solid majorities, including many Democrats. Warmists fear him for good reason, and the political establishment which feeds off of government power and is loath to give up the lucre of a potential carbon tax and the discretion of all the regulations which can derive from AGW, does not want an effective skeptic appealing to a wide political audience.

Conservatives who hunger for an effective advocate of conservative principles are starting to take notice.

The second bit of evidence of is a PBS interview by Judy Woodruff, also related to his new book. AS Mark J. Fitzgibbons notes of the interview (video below), "Ken Cuccinelli provides a perfect example of addressing a liberal, establishment interviewer, and always articulating conservative principles in the face of "polite" but loaded questions.  He makes it look easy because he is studied in first principles, and truly believes in them.  He provides stark contrast with Republicans who are not studied in those principles.

Watch the video below, or read the transcript here.