Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: Ken Cuccinelli tries to remake himself as a centrist'at CPAC

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' VA-Gov: I don't think it works that way'on two levels. Republican AG and gubernatorial nominee by default Ken Cuccinelli is refusing to sign Grover Norquist's infamous anti-tax pledge, but here's the rub. First off, he's signed it in the past, and Norquist is pretty adamant that once a signer, always a signer, so he's definitely not off the hook. Indeed, Grover says he's "saddened" because he thinks Cuccinelli is "making a tactical decision that makes it less likely he'll win." (Apologies for the Newsmax link, but I read it so that you don't have to!)

Secondly, does the Kooch, who is as true believer as they come, really think he can tack to the center now? Apparently so. The National Journal's Beth Reinhard reports that in a Thursday speech to CPAC (the top gathering of conservative activists in the nation), Cuccinelli "only sparingly deliver[ed] red meat" and avoided all mention of GOP Gov. Bob McDonnell's new sorta-tax-hiking transportation bill that he'd previously railed against. To put this in context, it would be a little bit like Al Gore coming to Netroots Nation and failing to discuss climate change.

Notably, this latest attempt at a makeover comes right after Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced he wouldn't run for governor as an independent, so the timing is interesting. Did the business community, whom Cuccinelli has spooked with his incendiary rhetoric and 16th century views, broker some kind of deal as a condition of Bolling standing down? Tempting as that is to imagine, I doubt anyone's that powerful, or clever. Rather, I'll bet that Cuccinelli simply imagines he must move to the middle now that it's a two-way race between him and Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

But as I wrote the last time he tried this, it looks incredibly phony and also risks dampening his base's enthusiasm. Of course, what other choice does he have? Playing entirely to the movement conservatives, as he's done in the past, might be good enough for, say, 47 percent of the vote. But can Cuccinelli really keep his most zealous supporters in the fold while also squeezing out a few more centrist votes despite his naked expediency? I think he's going to have a very hard time doing that.