"Cuccinelli Implies that Senate Colleague has Tourette Syndrome"

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September 12, 2007  Jonathan Murray

Sen. Cuccinelli Implies that Senate Colleague has Tourette Syndrome

In another rant-filled e-mail, Cuccinelli makes inappropriate and inaccurate comment about neurological disorder

FAIRFAX -Senator Ken Cuccinelli suggested in an e-mail last week that a Democratic Senate leader has Tourette Syndrome (TS).  The e-mail is the second bizarre e-mail that Cuccinelli has sent out in the last week.

On Sept. 6, Cuccinelli sent out a lengthy e-mail to supporters implying that Sen. Dick Saslaw (D-Fairfax) has Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by repeated, involuntary tics.

Cuccinelli's e-mail compared Sen. Saslaw to the stereotype of those suffering from TS, uttering obscenities or inappropriate comments. In fact, fewer than 15% of people with TS show the symptom of inappropriate comments, according to the Tourette's Syndrome Association (TSA).

In his e-mail, Cuccinelli wrote:

"Dick says what he thinks and he often forgets the usual political 'sugarcoating.'  It makes for some serious fun...

"As an interesting side note, Wikipedia says that 'Tourette's was once considered a rare and bizarre syndrome, most often associated with the exclamation of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks (coprolalia). However, this symptom is present in only a small minority of people with Tourette's.'

"How about 'politically inappropriate and derogatory remarks?"

Cuccinelli, who serves on the Virginia Commission on Mental Health Law Reform, bills himself as "the most experienced member of the Senate in addressing issues of mental illness in the justice system." More than 200,000 Americans live with TS, according to the TSA.

"Tourette Syndrome is an often misunderstood disorder that affects thousands of Virginians. It's not an excuse for Ken Cuccinelli to try to score laughs or political points," said Jonathan Murray, campaign manager for State Senate candidate Janet Oleszek. "With each extreme e-mail, Ken seems more out-of touch with mainstream Fairfax voters."

Cuccinelli's bizarre e-mail about TS comes in the same week that he sent out a strange e-mail saying that Democrats are "Socialists on steroids." The e-mail, also sent last week, suggested that the government should reconsider its role in providing Social Security and health care.

Full text of Cuccinelli's rant on TS is below.

Talk to the elephant, Ken!

September 6, 2007

Dear Fellow Republican:

Well, since Janet refused multiple offers for our own one-on-one debates, I am freed up from the rigors of 'debate prep.'  Thus, I thought I'd revisit the hypothetical notion of a Democratic majority.  Today, boys and girls, we'll take a closer look at the Majority Leader Wannabe, Senator Dick Saslaw (with some other silliness from Brian Moran).

Let me first say that while Dick Saslaw is blunt and abrasive, that's what I like about him.  He is, how shall I say?, more "frank" than most others in the General Assembly.  Dick says what he thinks and he often forgets the usual political 'sugarcoating.'  It makes for some serious fun.

I remember when there was a bill to opt kids out of dissecting frogs, Dick said we're going to raise a generation of wimps.  When we had a bill to allow parents with high school diplomas to home school their kids, he implied that in the other parts of Virginia (i.e., not NoVa) this bill would be a big deal because "they" aren't very smart there?

Bill Mims brought him a bumper sticker the next day that said "We're Rural, Not Stupid".  Oh yeah, he made the rest of us representing NoVa cringe that day?

As an interesting side note, Wikipedia says that "Tourette's was once considered a rare and bizarre syndrome, most often associated with the exclamation of obscene words or socially inappropriate and derogatory remarks (coprolalia). However, this symptom is present in only a small minority of people with Tourette's."

How about 'politically inappropriate and derogatory remarks?'

Here's a theory: maybe instead of listening to his elephant "Ron," Cooch has been tuning in to Rush Limbaugh, who last year infamously made fun of Miohael J. Fox's Parkinson's Disease?

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