Why Ken Cuccinelli Can’t Type a Joke
By Michael Fletcher | Thursday, May 5th, 2011 | Politics
Photo by Jane Dudley
According to the left-o-sphere [see here, here, here and here] Ken Cuccinelli is the only person who’s ever repeated a bad joke or worse, misspelled something on Twitter.
Bearing Drift’s own Jim Hoeft posted the joke (which apparently originated with Robin Williams in 2002) on Facebook where he tagged Cuccinelli. Here’s the joke:
This was originally for Zarqawi, but it’s still good:
After Osama bin Laden was killed, George Washington met him at the Pearly Gates.
He slapped him across the face and yelled, “How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!”
Patrick Henry approached, punched him in the nose and shouted, “You wanted to end our liberties but you failed!”
James Madison followed, kicked him in the groin and said, “This is why I allowed our government to provide for the common defense!”
Thomas Jefferson was next, beat UBL with a long cane and snarled “It was Evil men like you who inspired me to write the Declaration of Independence.”
The beatings and thrashings continued as George Mason, James Monroe and 66 other Americans unleashed their anger on the terrorist Leader.
As UBL lay bleeding and in pain, an Angel appeared.
UBL wept and said, “This is not what you promised me. “The Angel replied, “I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you in Heaven. What did you think I said?”
Not long after Cuccinelli tweeted:
Unfortunately for the AG, tweeting from his BlackBerry caused him to miss the third “i” in “Virginians” prompting a firestorm of follow up tweets from people who 1) spend their lives in Mama’s basement trying to catch conservatives in a “macaca” moment, and/or 2) never heard the joke.
OMG 4COL AWGTHTGTTA ?
Translation for those of you who can’t read “Virginans” as “Virginians”: Oh My Gawd! For Crying Out Loud! Are we going to have to go through this again?
Thing about the joke is though, that Osama met some Virginians. But they weren’t at the Pearly Gates.
He met them in his compound in Pakistan. As Jim Hoeft noted on Monday: What’s all the more gratifying about this operation is that it was the U.S. Navy from Virginia enforcing a punishment a longtime in coming.
Cuccinelli did follow up his tweet with an explanation. But, for the left, it wasn’t good enough.
See, Ken is a conservative. And worse than that, he’s a successful conservative.
I’m sure that when Robin Williams told the same joke almost ten years ago, that the left thought it was knee-slappingly funny.
But for Ken, it’s an unpardonable sin, and he’s only to be further condemned for the omisssion of the “i” in Virginians.
And for that, he’ll be unmercifully punished by the left…at least until someone else drops a vowel.
Or Mama calls them upstairs to tell them their Spaghettios are ready.
Cross posted at The Write Side of My Brain
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About the author
Michael Fletcher works as a freelance writer and consultant in Richmond, Virginia. He blogs regularly at http://www.thewritesideofmybrain.com, http://www.richmondvabusiness.com and http://365thingsibelieve.wordpress.com
Comments
31 Responses to "Why Ken Cuccinelli Can’t Type a Joke"
Cuccinelli should have just said he was taught to spell by unionized teachers.
All leftists are brilliant including Joe Biden, Al Gore, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Mr 57 States himself. Most of whom got worse grades than Bush43 (admittedly no scholar). All conservatives are stupid. Until conservatives level the playing field in the media and academia (which may never happen) they better get used to it. It doesn’t seem to affect the vote that much so maybe the unwashed public the Dems love to look down upon aren’t as stupid as …. fill in the blank.
I’m guessing you didn’t see my reaction to the AG’s attempt at humor. Not everyone on the left didn’t get it.
The joke was funny when Robin Williams said it. It still is funny, especially given the light of the situation.
If Cuccinelli had done it correctly people would have laughed. But he butchered it and looked dumb. He didn’t fix himself and looked dumber.
I’m not that big of a fan of Cooch, but I admire the way that he keeps the liberals foaming at the mouth. If I had this many national-level blogs following me, I would consider that a great compliment.
Oh wait, he did correct himself and looked even dumber.
“It seems some were confused by my earlier tweet. Read it closely:…72 Virginians…(Not a typo, ie, people who live in Virginia…)
http://twitter.com/#!/kencuccinelli
But you would never update your post would you? Come on, I’m waiting for your replies…you Virginans.
How ’bout this, ToR. We’ll update the post when you use your real name?
Actually ToR we are still waiting for your replies on the 57 states and the various Bidenisms etc.
ToR, I noted that Cuccinelli followed up with an explanation. There’s no need to update the post because we realize there’s nothing that will change your mind, or cause you to use your real name.
I am afraid that I don’t understand the hostility towards people commenting here under user ID’s instead of their actual names. Many of us work in sensitive, non-political career fields and don’t want our blog comments appearing on a Goggle search. And at least two BD contributors appear to be blogging under a pseudonymous ID. Given that, at least in my case, the contributors can see my real name in my email address, I don’t understand what the beef is.
Can someone enlighten me on what the proper etiquette is or are we just beating up on people who take contrary positions?
Vivian, that’s why we love you. You may be on the left but have a sense of humor and are reasonable. We are waiting for you to get on the right side.
Good joke, but bad execution. Really bad execution. Either way, an Attorney General should probably try to avoid (re)Tweeting jokes (and misspelling the name of his state/commonwealth). Unless said jokes are about the due process clause or the Fourth Amendment. Or West Virginans.*
*Yes, I meant to do that.
rinolove,
This reminds me of a really old, old story…
There was a prison where the warden had a very strict rule about boisterous behavior in the dining hall and enforced a total silence rule. The inmates devised a system where they memorized all their favorite jokes and numbered them. At mealtimes, everything would be quiet until one inmate would shout out, “Number 8!” The entire dining hall would burst into laughter while the guards ran around rapping on the tables with their nightsticks ordering the inmates to be silent. Soon, another inmate shouted out, “Number 4!” And the hall burst into laughter with the same response from the guards. Then, someone shouted, “Number 2!” But the hall was completely quiet except for a few groans.
A new inmate leaned over to his cellmate and asked, “what was that all about?”
“Well,” he replied, “some guys just can’t tell a joke without screwing it up.”
Hostility? That’s a bit strong, don’t you think?
Give me a break.
ToR was calling out Bearing Drift’s integrity from behind a pseudonym. How do you expect me to react?
If I have anything, it’s my integrity. You can take away my money, my possessions, my family…but, I pray to God, I’ll always have my faith and my integrity.
Total tempest in a teapot.
Being the Typo Police is pretty much the lowest form of Internet interaction.
It was a funny joke — although Cucinelli probably should have included the actual joke, although I guess that would hae taken a couple of tweets. Even without that, and with the typo, people should have known what he meant.
And they did, but wanted to score poltical points.
The A.G. does enough stuff that merits criticism, that something like this is just stupid to focus on.
Steve V,
The entire joke would have would have exceeded the twitter character limits. I agree with you you we are talking about a tempest in a teapot.
I did enjoy reading the long-form version of the joke though (tie in to Obama’s birth certificate intentional if you didn’t catch it).
Thanks for injecting some common sense into this Vivian and Steve. OMG he spelled Virginia wrong…..heaven forbid….. Obviously many of these people are not Robin Williams fans.
I am going to expound a little bit. I am wondering why Virginia’s Attorney General thinks he needs to tweet?
Is he a celebrity or a government servant?
Maybe I am exposing myself as being behind the times, but my opinion of such an important public servant who shoots from the hip so readily goes down. If he wanted to be a celebrity he should have sought an occupation as movie star instead of Virginia’s Attorney General.
Everybody tweets. It’s just a way to share your opinion with folks who care to hear it. Nothing wrong with doing it. Everyone from the President on down does it nowadays.
LD- I kind of agree with you there. Maybe Kirwin could weight in, he’s a political consultant. But if I was advising a candidate I’d certainly tell him not to go firing off opinions on Twitter. Esepcially without having somebody on staff vet and spell check. Just seems to be a big downside risk for little gain.
Val,
I’ll laugh all day at a good Bidenism, who doesn’t. But they don’t even come close to a mediocre Bushism.
You have got to have a good sense of humor, no matter whether you support the person politically or not. Obviously I’m not a fan of the AG. However, if it had been a Democrat I would have laughed, called him a moron, and been disappointed that he made himself look stupider with the correct. We go through this all the time when Biden speaks. And if the AG had of successfully written the joke, I would have laughed and given him credit.
J.R.
Really? Come on.
Michael,
You chose not to note that the “explanation” was much, much worse that the original. You left that out of the story and instead attempted to say that the left didn’t think his “explanation” was good enough. IT WASN’T!!!!! The “explanation” is what made him the laughingstock of VA for a while.
What is there to change my mind about? We don’t have to agree politically. But, as I’ve stated in the past, hypocrisy, dishonesty, and inaccuracies are off limits. If you want me to agree to those, well I simply cannot do so. And for the record, this post falls somewhere dishonesty and inaccuracy.
And to everyone wanting to know my name. Why is it such a big deal? What is knowing my name going to do for you? Providing my name would only enable people to go after me outside the arena of this blog? When Bearing Drift requires commenters to use their real names I will make a decision-use my name or quit commenting. Until then, attempting to discredit my comments simply because I choose to post anonymously has no validity.
HisRoc, I wish I had more time to describe the pseudonym issue. You explained your personal situation long ago. I didn’t like it particulary, but I made an exception for you. There are a few problems with pseudonyms. I am one to criticize them especially when they’re throwing bombs or using multiple pseudonyms to inflate the presence of their opinion (making it look like lots of people agree, when really, they’re just talking to themselves.) Sometimes it is obvious….sometimes it isn’t.
Additionally, when you’re making a bold statement, I question the integrity of some that can’t have enough conviction to use their real name. I put my name on what I say. I don’t throw daggers from the shadows. Again, I understand your position. There are real reasons to object generally to pseudonyms. Hope this helped.
The joke was/is funny. We can all appreciate Cuccinelli’s sentiment. This mostly liberal fear. It is also an empty hope to paint Cuccinelli as a dumb clone of “W” or Quayle’s run in with his famous spelling error. Too bad for the Left, that Cuccinelli is simply briiliant. It isn’t like this is the first time they tried to brand him as a kook or unfit.
Britt,
The integrity of a statement has to do with the facts backing it up. Someone’s perception of its integrity has to do with that person’s name.
If any of my statements are not factual, call me out. Correct them. Show me how I’m wrong. If you’ll notice, nothing I’ve said is inaccurate. I’ve called out inaccuracies.
As for creating multiple pseudonyms; I think it’s quite obvious that I don’t do that. Secondly, if I chose Jeff Williams, Brian Young, Amir Johnson, Emilia Huntsman, Susanna George, or Karen Harris that would solve the problem? Your readers would think they know my name. But no, they wouldn’t and there are probably plenty of those around to confuse everyone. Is what you want my name, phone number, physical address, a DNA sample, and probably my long form birth certificate? Because, as we’ve demonstrated, for the people on this blog wouldn’t be enough. And if you had those, and knew who I was, what would it solve?
Knowing any of those will do anything to improve the integrity of my statements.
Brit,
Thanks for the response. Just to be clear, I can sign my posts with my real name if that makes a difference. I’m not famous or a high profile person–just a consultant whose clients can be overly-sensitive to political leanings. If I make comments that are untoward or trollish, then I expect to be called on it. I never post anything that I wouldn’t be willing to say to your face at a cocktail party and I don’t throw daggers from the shadows. Yes, I have made dismissive comments to people face-to-face and, somehow, I still have a full set of teeth and a straight nose.
Just explaining the points fellas. I think you both are good posters. I like reading your stuff. That eventhough I disagree at times. Although, I can’t defend your use of fake names, you are the kind of posters I would probably not harp on that for. Mostly for those inflating posts or being particulary venomous and anonymous.
ToR, don’t get me wrong I like your posts and don’t see you as a problem, but if you go after the integrity of the blog or anyone for that matter and can’t even use your real name, well………..JR has a point. In my opinion you leave yourself vulerable to that if you use a fake name.
Yes, you’re right. It isn’t easy to catch people using fake names like Joe Smith when your name is Skip McGuillicuddy. It does happen! Ask the last guy that was banned from here. Even if you can get away with it, that doesn’t make it ok for everyone to do it.
Nothing personal with either of you. Just trying to explain objections you may come across.
Ken did his own facebook, tweets and such when he was running for AG. I guess he enjoys it.
Kathy: That doesn’t mean that, from a political strategy standpoint, it’s a good idea.
Most of running for office is doing things you don’t want to do, like calling people you only vaguely know to ask for money and holding your tongue when you have the opportunity to lash out at an opponent verbally.
One of the reasons I’d be a terrilbe candidate;-)
Britt Howard,
If anyone wants to know who I am, click on my handle and after that it is not too hard to figure out who I am.
By the way, my new trucking company is going to be called Little David Transport. If you see me on the road, give me a honk. I’ll look down to see whether you’re giving me the finger or a wave.
Lol, right, LD.
Of course, most of the BD regulars know that. So, you don’t really fit the issue. It isn’t as bad either if a long time regular does it. Good to put that out for the new posters to see, though.
I think from a blogger’s perspective, you would want real names. I think it makes people more likely to thoughtfully engage in debate. That makes for a healthier blog if people realize their name is attached to their words. You will try not to say things you might be ashamed of later.
LD, will you be posting a sign on your truck that supports raising the gas tax? You could spread your message that way………..but…..you might get more “fingers” than than could be accounted for on Bearing Drift.
Brit,
That’s the reason I come to this blog. It important for one to challenge oneself, to see if they are worth their salt. Ya’ll provide a perspective that I can’t get elsewhere and it reminds me that my ideas aren’t always the best, that there are people who disagree with me but whose ideas and opinions are just as valid. BD does that and its why I come here to read and educate myself.
I’ll more than likely continue to challenge postings and comments that I think are inaccurate, misleading, or hypocritical. So, if I do that and you disagree.Show me how I’m wrong, provide the facts, educate me but don’t go after me because I don’t use my real name. My validity is in the facts that back up my comments, not may name.
ToR, some people have the guts to put their name on what they say. They get more respect and are immune to the “fake name” arguement. I personally think you should use your name. That is your option, though.
You do make good points, and I like reading your posts even if we disagree.
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