AP Article on 2021 VA GOP Governor’s Race: Cox Won’t Say If He Wants Trump’s Help; Chase Refuses to Disavow QAnon; Trump’s Former VA Campaign Chair Calls VA GOP “a dumpster fire”

The title of this AP article is utterly ridiculous, of course, as Virginia Republicans most certainly are NOT seeking a “new playbook” – in fact, it’s likely going to be the usual “law-and-order,” anti-immigrant, anti-science bullshit they always run – but there’s a lot of good stuff in the article nonetheless. For instance, check out the following excerpts (my comments in parentheses/green after each item):

• “And yet, in the Republican Party remade in Trump’s image over the last five years, Chase is considered a serious contender for the gubernatorial nomination. ‘I like to think I’m a little more polished than President Trump. I’m a little bit more diplomatic, but I am not afraid to speak my mind,’ Chase said in an interview.” (The fact that Chase – basically Virginia’s version of Marjorie Taylor Greene – is “considered a serious contender” for the VA GOP’s gubernatorial nomination kind of says it all about that party. Also, the concept that Chase is “more polished” than Trump is…curious, let’s just say. But alrighty then.)
• “’You’ve got a bunch of candidates all trying to out-Trump each other,’ McAuliffe told The Associated Press. ‘2021 will be a key test for if Trumpism is still alive.'” (No doubt, none of the 2021 VA GOP gubernatorial candidates are running as “Bob’s for Jobs”-style moderate Republicans, but instead are all running to various degrees as Trumpist, hard-right candidates, which is NOT the winning formula in Virginia these days…but IS the winning formula for winning the VA GOP nomination, presumably.)
• “Moving away from a traditional statewide primary election, the party plans to hold an in-person nominating convention on May 1, though the state’s social-distancing rules would make such a gathering illegal. Party leaders are leaning toward an ‘unassembled’ satellite convention but have not ruled out letting the state GOP’s 12-member executive committee pick the nominee. Chase is openly threatening to run as a third-party candidate if she believes the rules are being manipulated against her.” (For more on this mess, see Audio: VA GOP Chair Says Party “Careening” Towards No Primary, No Convention and…Just 72 People on State Central Selecting Its 2021 Statewide Nominees! and Video: As VA GOP Argues Endlessly Over Its Method of Nomination, State Central Committee Member Complains About “the VICIOUS incivility and attacks that have been coming from one side”)
• “Former Republican congressman Denver Riggleman, who has repeatedly railed against Trump and his acolytes since leaving office last month, also raised the possibility of pursuing a third-party run for governor in recent days. A third-party bid from either contender would split the Republican electorate and make it all but impossible for Republicans to win this fall.” (Go for it! LOL)
• “Cox is trying to focus the election on local issues instead of Trump. He described Biden as ‘the legitimate president’ in an interview and disavowed the pro-Trump conspiracy theory known as QAnon. Cox also declined to say whether he’d want Trump to campaign in Virginia on his behalf.” (I mean, the fact that a leading Republican candidate for governor gets any credit for disavowing what Josh Marshall of TPM correctly calls a “fascistic political movement which predicts and advocates mass violence against liberals” is simply pathetic. Same thing with graciously acknowledging that Joe Biden is the legitimate president. Perhaps the best part of this excerpt is Cox trying desperately to avoid saying whether he WANTS Trump to come to Virginia OR whether he does NOT want Trump to come to Virginia…or what. Can you imagine any Democratic gubernatorial candidate agonizing for even a split second over whether they’d want Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, etc. to come campaign for them? Uh…no! LOL)
• “John Fredericks, who twice served as Trump’s Virginia state director, described the state GOP as ‘a dumpster fire.’ He predicted that Trump would get involved personally, though more likely in the general election than the Republican nominating contest. As for Chase, Trump’s most passionate ally in the race, Fredericks fears that she’s not viable in a general election because of her ‘shenanigans.’ ‘The word I get from Republicans is that she’s exhausting,’ he said. ‘They’ve had enough.'” (Yeah, well, party insiders might have “had enough” of Chase’s “exhausting” behavior, but that same party still doesn’t seem to have “had enough” of Trump’s “exhausting” behavior, so…)
• “In an interview, Chase declined to disavow QAnon, questioned her colleagues’ mental health after they questioned hers in floor speeches last week and refused to say that Trump lost the November election. ‘I believe the election was stolen nationwide,’ she insisted, though later in the interview she said she did accept the election results. In December, she called on Trump to declare martial law rather than leave office.” (Refuses to disavow QAnon – check. Believes the “election was stolen nationwide” – check. Hasn’t retracted or explained her December call for “Trump to declare martial law rather than leave office” – check. In short, Chase sounds like the *perfect* candidate for today’s GQP/GOPQ! LOL)