Virginia GOP Candidate Ripped By Business Leaders

From Politico:

...In a weekend interview with POLITICO, however, [Gary] Shapiro [CEO of the Arlington-based Consumer Electronics Association] expressed deep reservations about Cuccinelli and said he feared hard-core social conservative policies would make Virginia less attractive for business.

“I’ve told Cuccinelli I would not support him,” said Shapiro,an independent who supported Mitt Romney last year and has criticized Cuccinelli in a Washington Post op-ed. “Virginia’s incredible tilt rightward, thanks to a lot of Cuccinelli initiatives, has not been helpful at promoting Virginia as a diverse, pro-business state.”

With Cuccinelli as the national party’s most prominent off-year candidate, Shapiro said he was concerned about “how the United States views Republicans in 2013.”

That’s partly why Friday’s back-and-forth is so embarrassing for Cuccinelli: A coming-out party for the attorney general in front of a national big money crowd turned into another reminder of the internal difficulties he’s faced since pushing Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling from the race in November...