Tax Policy

Ahead of his official nomination this week as the GOP's candidate for governor of Virginia, state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli has a new ad outlining part of the Republican's economic plan.

"I have a plan to make Virginia an engine for job growth," Cuccinelli says in the 30-second spot. "It starts with ending tax loopholes and putting an end to special interest giveaways." He touts his proposal to lower tax rates for small business owners and middle-class families.

"The powerful and well-connected already get their breaks," Cuccinelli concludes. "As governor, I'll be on your side." Watch the ad below:

National Democrats, meanwhile, have begun to link Cuccinelli's anti-abortion views with those of "radical Republicans" like Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock, two failed 2012 Senate candidates whose campaigns were sunk by innapropriate comments on rape and abortion. Watch the Democratic Governors Association web ad below:

According to the Real Clear Politics poll average, Cuccinelli leads his Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe by 4.4 points.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, hosted by Michael Graham, with contributing editor Irwin Stelzer, on how to discuss the sequester at (presumably boring) cocktail parties.