"Democrats in Congress had months to prove that they could legislate, to demonstrate that a government of the people, by the people and for the people could still function despite the creeping authoritarianism, the daily assaults on truth and the conspiracy-minded paranoia.
They let President Biden down. They let the country down. And on Tuesday night, Terry McAuliffe paid the price.
Virginia voters decided not to return him for a second nonconsecutive term as governor, instead electing Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin, who ran a Trump-inspired campaign of disinformation, conspiracy theories and race-baiting. It wasn’t terribly close. Republicans were leading the the lieutenant governor and attorney general races, too, and were within sight of a majority in the House of Delegates.
There’s no sugarcoating this loss for Democrats in a state Biden won by 10 percentage points a year ago. But if there’s anything positive in this defeat, it’s that Democrats are hearing this alarm with enough time to mend their ways. If they don’t, Tuesday’s loss will be as nothing compared to the shellacking Democrats will receive a year from now." (our emphasis) -- Washington Post pundit Dana Milbank in this morning's paper.
Milbank neglects to point out that the U.S. Senate is evenly divided and still under the Jim Crow era filibuster rule that gives obstructionist Republicans a powerful weapon to stall Biden's agenda. But, point taken.
It's worth noting that Terry McAuliffe was slow in getting his message out and in defining Youngkin as a stealth Trumper. Meanwhile, Youngkin started early, portraying himself as just a suburban dad in a fleece vest whose only interest was lower taxes, jobs and keeping critical race theory from being taught in schools -- which it hasn't been and isn't now being taught. Sadly, McAuliffe's foot-in-mouth statement that parents shouldn't tell schools what to teach was a turning point in the campaign, when he apparently meant to refer to the belligerent parents threatening school board members.
It was an ugly result, with the top three positions flipping to the Republicans: Governor, Lieutenant Governor (a religious nut named Winsome Sears) and Attorney General (insurrection sympathizer Cubano gusano Jason Minyares). The House of Delegates may also switch to Republicans, but because the Commonwealth's upper chamber remains under Democratic control (they elect every 4 years), there's still Democratic presence in the government.
It's also worth pointing out that a strong historical trend was against them: the party controlling the White House has now lost 11 out of 12 Virginia off- year gubernatorial elections. 2022 is looming, and while disgraced, mentally unstable demagogue Donald "Loser" Trump won't be on the ballot then, his shadow will be and Dems need to cope with that and with the dishonest culture war Republicans think is their path forward now.
