Going Local to Defeat El Loco

By Ailurophile; an earlier version was posted in Daily Kos

We must defeat Donald Trump and we must rid the earth of Trumpism — root and branch.  There can be no political future for Trump, or for anyone who bears his name, or for anyone who carried his water.  Impeachment is necessary, conviction is necessary, for the rule of law to be upheld, but defeat at the ballot box is a political imperative.  And that is a matter of defeating everywhere they run any and all Republicans who support Trump by their words or by their silence.

The Republican leadership is smart.  Morally bankrupt, but smart.  They began decades ago to create their brand in local races.  They talk to people about the daily issues that matter most to them. They win lots of races in which a few hundred (or even a few dozen) votes can make the difference — all the more easily as we Democrats often don’t field a candidate or even make it to the polls. They create their brand that way and they build their candidates’ political careers the smart way — from the bottom up. We are definitely playing catch-up — but at last we’re doing it.

That’s why a truly critical race is that for the Henrico County Board of Supervisors. Sexy? No — but oh so important. Virginia is a crucial swing state for 2020, and Henrico is a crucial swing county. With this election, Democrats have a chance to control the county, which will put us in a more secure position for winning the state in 2020.

While it’s true that both county and state have gone blue in recent years, we’ve had to fight hard to make that happen and, while it would seem that the GOP is on the wane both at the state and national levels, we cannot be certain that there won’t be a right-wing backlash, especially with Trump threatened by impeachment.

There are two good Democrats running to represent two different districts: Marques Jones (Tuckahoe) and Steven Burkarth (Brookland). If either wins, Democrats will have a majority on the Board and will be able to fund the public schools equitably , fund public transportation and infrastructure projects, and ensure sane zoning and development. If both should win — well, how great would that be!

I’ve met Steven a few times and I know Marques well.  Both have life and professional experiences that would make them excellent additions to the Board. They are sane, they are compassionate, and they are pragmatic.

Help them create a strong Democratic presence in Henrico and so in the commonwealth. The Virginia 2017 elections were the “sound of distant thunder” for the 2018 midterms. Let’s double-down for Virginia 2019 and plunge a dagger in Trumpism. A strong message from us, now, in the midst of impeachment proceedings might help some Senate Republicans get reintroduced to their spines.

DONATE to Steven here

DONATE to Marques here

THANK YOU!!!