Virginia Republicans and the gubernatorial campaign of Ken Cuccinelli have regularly hammered likely Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe for what they alleged is a lack of transparency and honesty. And while Democrats have brushed off those complaints, at an April 2012 forum hosted by the National League of Cities featuring former-RNC chairman Ed Gillespie, McAuliffe joked about being dishonest on television during his time as a national party chairman.
"I'm gonna give you my honest opinion today," McAuliffe said when being questioned about his thoughts on the upcoming election. "Not that when Ed and I were chairman of our two national parties we weren't always the most honest with you on national television," McAuliffe continued sarcastically.
"You know it's hard to go on Meet the Press the Sunday before an election and Tim Russert says, 'Mr. Chairman, you gonna win this, you gonna win this.' Oh no, Tim, we're gonna get our ass kicked, stay home. You know, it's not good for voter turnout, you know, if you don't think you're going to win. This is not Meet the Press, and I'm not chairman of the national party, so I'll give my honest opinion."