TEABAGGING IS MY BUSINESS -- AND BUSINESS IS GOOD
(updated)

A George W. Bush-appointed judge just declared the health care law unconstitutional -- and almost immediately Ken Cuccinelli, the grandstanding Virginia attorney general who filed suit against the law, was using the ruling to raise campaign cash:

That's a screen shot (click it to enlarge it), but the real ad goes to this page. It's a campaign site, although the only campaign going on for this guy is, apparently, the campaign against the health care law. Cuccinelli is not up for reelection until 2013.

Or is he running for James Webb's Senate seat in 2012, as has been rumored? That'd be my guess.

In any case, this is an interesting way of looking at the job of being the people's lawyer in the State of Virginia: you win a ruling, the first thing you do is use that fact to pump the rubes for cash. Ethically interesting, that approach.

And let's see: here's what The New York Times has to say about the judge who overturned the law:

The opinion by Judge [Henry E.] Hudson, who has a long history in Republican politics in northern Virginia, continued a partisan pattern in the health care cases. Thus far, judges appointed by Republican presidents have ruled consistently against the Obama administration while Democratic appointees have found for it.

So we have a Virginia Republican dealing out a win to a Virginia Republican, who then uses it to fund-raise.

This, I guess, is what Republicans call "justice."

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UPDATE: Steve Benen and Right Wing Watch have much more on the very, very partisan career of Judge Hudson.

And Steve writes:

On the other hand, it's only fair to note Hudson did show some restraint. His ruling, for example, rejected the plaintiff's request to block implementation of the law, and more importantly, refused to go along with a push to find the entire Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. Instead, he targeted the mandate exclusively, reassuring some reform proponents.

I can't help wondering if this is less a sign of restraint than a chess move worked out for what the GOP believes is its maximum benefit. Remember, Republicans in Congress intend to go into 2011 with opposition to the health care law at the top of their agenda. Rightly or wrongly, they think launching a full-on assault on the law is extremely good politics. Hudson's ruling complements their efforts without stealing their thunder -- if implementation of the law were blocked, or the whole thing declared unconstitutional, that might reduce the sense of urgency GOP House and Senate members are going to try to keep ginned up in order to keep the base and teabaggy swing voters on their side. If you think the law is the worst thing that ever happened to America -- as most Fox viewers and 2010 GOP voters apparently do -- we're still in a crisis (fortunately for Boehner and McConnell and the gang). Or at least that's how I read the situation.

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UPDATE: The Fix says the Cooch probably wants to be governor, not senator.