Pride goes before a fall. — Old Saying, based on Proverbs 16:18
To continue Part I and Part 2, this column seeks to explain more of the context and background for Virginia’s historic elections on Tuesday, which many see as a “political earthquake” sending shock waves not only across the Old Dominion but also across the country.
One question is, “Is this a referendum on the Biden Administration?”
For many across Virginia, the answer is “Yes!”
The fact is, Biden carried Virginia +10 just twelve months ago, but this week Youngkin won +2. That is a wild 12-point swing for the man whom the media has been adoringly calling “the most popular president in America” thanks to his 81 million votes last year.
While Republican Glenn Youngkin wisely worked to keep the race focused on Virginia, it was McAuliffe and the Democrats who chose to “nationalize” the race. Almost all summer the Democrats in speeches and TV ads tried to portray Youngkin and Trump as conjoined twins, but at the last minute when they realized that approach was backfiring, McAuliffe on October 30 backpedaled by suddenly claiming the election was “not about Trump.”
But it was too late. The die had been cast.
Plus, in the last days of the campaign, perhaps smelling defeat, the fading Democrat campaign brought in all left-wing “big guns” they could muster. Usually, savvy political figures with reasonable levels of popularity are reluctant to endorse iffy campaigns. This is because, if they stick their neck out and actively campaign for someone who loses, the endorser ends up with egg on his or her face and their endorsements will carry less value in future races.
On October 23, President Obama came to Richmond to stump for McAuliffe. On October 26, President Biden spoke for McAuliffe at an event in Arlington, right across the Potomac River from Washington. Those locations were strategic. Richmond has a large black population and Arlington is one of the bluest parts of Northern Virginia. Clearly, the McAuliffe campaign was seeking to boost turnout among their base.
I am no pundit, but when I heard that Presidents Obama, Biden, and Vice President Harris were coming to Virginia, I suspected two things.
- The Democrats are desperate. They are risking some of their highest-priority figures to campaign for a cause that might lose, and
- It will backfire. By late October, and with early voting going since September 17, I figured most Virginians who would obey Presidents Obama and Biden had already voted for McAuliffe, or would do so. Of course the Democrat Party has their party loyalists just as the GOP does. However, I reasoned that there were still probably many Virginians who had not voted for Youngkin yet, and were reluctant to do so. Some may have been die-hard MAGA types who feared Youngkin was a Mitt Romney in a fleece jacket, if not a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Many may have feared Youngkin was a RINO: Republican In Name Only. Or, they were the “leave me alone” “Don’t Tread on Me” or just apolitical types who were planning to sit out the election. However, considering the deep dislike many in Virginia have for Presidents Obama and Biden, I figured their visits would only fuel more people to get off their couches and vote for the GOP.
In fact, there was much blowback from both visits. President Obama spoke of how McAuliffe was “right” for Virginia, which made me wonder how a former president with multi-million dollar mansions in DC and on Martha’s Vineyard knew how we Virginians lived or what we valued or needed. He also dismissed very real, daily concerns that many Virginians have as “fake outrage.”
Addressing the fury that many Virginians had about the news of a girl being raped in a girls’ bathroom in a Loudoun County school by a boy wearing a skirt, The satire site Babylon Bee posted a photo of a sanctimonious-looking President raising a finger like a lecturer with this outrageous headline: “Obama Tells Girl Raped In School Restroom To Stop Peddling Fake Outrage.”
At the same time President Biden is demanding vaccine mandates which threaten to throw people out of their jobs, he appeared maskless at the McAuliffe rally and mingled closely with some in the crowd afterward.
For visits that were supposed to help drag the Democrat candidates across the finish line, they failed.
What other missteps were involved in this week’s Democrat meltdown? Stay tuned.
Sources:
McAuliffe backpedaled at the last minute, claimed this race “not about Trump.” (When CNN actually calls out Democrats, you know things are getting serious.)
Babylon Bee satire: “Obama Tells Girl Raped In School Restroom To Stop Peddling Fake Outrage.”
Biden appears maskless at McAuliffe rally
