There seems to be a lot of resignation, defeatism, and despair over the damage that Democrats are doing to the Commonwealth of Virginia – which is exactly what the Democrats want – but that is the wrong response. Now is not the time to retreat or surrender; it is time to counterattack. As scandal-plagued Democrats mindlessly check off liberal agenda items to pander to special interest groups, they are handing Republicans issue after issue with which to rout them at the next election.
Here is just some of the radical legislation that Virginia Democrats have proposed or advanced this year:
- a ban on “assault” weapons;
- a “red flag” law;
- a bill allowing anti-gun localities to regulate guns;
- a limit on gun purchases;
- a repeal of informed consent for abortions, parental consent, and minimum health and safety standards for abortion facilities;
- a gas tax hike and increased car registration fees;
- a massive minimum wage hike;
- a repeal of the Right to Work law;
- a “Green New Deal” bill, which would lead to skyrocketing electricity bills;
- a repeal of the voter ID law;
- a bill allowing illegal aliens to get driver’s licenses; and
- a mandate that boys be allowed to use girls’ restrooms and locker rooms.
As if their legislative agenda were not bad enough, Democrat politicians are also huge embarrassments to the Commonwealth. For starters, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) admitted to wearing blackface but claims not to know why he had the nickname “Coonman” in college or how a photo of someone wearing a Klan outfit and another person in blackface wound up on his page in his medical school yearbook. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) is a disbarred attorney, who fathered a child with his 17-year-old secretary and served time in jail; unbelievably, Democrats have appointed him to the Judiciary Committee. Del. Ibraheem Samirah (D) is such an anti-Semite that he posted on social media that he thought it was “worse” to give money to Israel than to the KKK; he also has ties to Hamas, a terrorist organization. Del. Chris Hurst (D) was just caught drinking and driving, but escaped arrest due to his office. Del. Dawn Adams (D) was sued by a former staffer who alleged that the delegate required her to do private sector work without additional pay and that the delegate hacked her email account to hide the evidence. Finally, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) has been credibly accused by two women of forcible rape, and not a single Democrat – including Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D), the first female House Speaker – lifted a finger to investigate or impeach Fairfax.
To be sure, many conservatives across the Commonwealth are ready to fight. We have seen that in the massive turnout at many local government meetings where constituents have demanded their officials declare their areas Second Amendment sanctuaries. Those who may be feeling depressed at the current state of affairs in Virginia should take heart from these gun rights activists.
There are no permanent majorities, and Virginia Democrats do not have anything close to huge legislative majorities. Just flipping eight seats, puts them right back where they so richly deserve to be — in the minority. So we should spend less time thinking about how we can split up the Commonwealth, or join another state, or move to a more Republican state; and we should spend more time thinking about how we can recruit more volunteers, appeal to more voters, raise more money, and recruit and train more quality candidates to take our Commonwealth back.
As appalling as the Democrat agenda is, it is hard not to grudgingly respect their determination to conquer solidly Republican states, such as Texas. Republicans need to do much more long-term strategizing and be just as determined and subversive as Democrats are. After we send the Democrats packing in Virginia, who says that we cannot also flip New York, Illinois, or Oregon with enough time and resources?
Virginia Democrats think that they can just buy a narrow legislative majority and turn a moderate, family-friendly, and business-friendly state, overnight, into a cesspool like California. They also think that there is nothing we can do about it. Let’s teach these arrogant Democrats a lesson they will not soon forget. Instead of looking for somewhere to flee from these radicals, we should be working to retake the Commonwealth. Virginia’s worth fighting for. Who’s with me?
Richard McCarty is the Director of Research at Americans for Limited Government.
