We’re now well into 2023, and the Washington Post – whose horrendously lame coverage of the 2021 Virginia governor’s campaign (e.g., see Three Front-Page WaPo Stories on the VA Governor’s Race…and They All SUCK (Hell, They Even Describe Youngkin as a “6 foot 5 Mystery Date” – WTF???) helped elect Glenn Youngkin in the first place, continues to relentlessly whitewash Youngkin’s extremism. The latest is by the abysmally, relentlessly awful Karen Tumulty (who, believe it or not, is Deputy Opinion Editor of that rag!), who posted more cringe-inducing/embarrassing drivel yesterday (I’m not linking to it!), while the reality of what Youngkin’s really about is MUCH more in line with what the Huffington Post reports today. See below for a few highlights and reactions:
- “Despite Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s attempt to appear moderate by calling for a 15-week abortion ban, the Republican governor is quietly funding anti-choice extremist lawmakers, many of whom have said they believe life begins at conception.”
- “Youngkin’s PAC donated at least $3,500 to House of Delegates candidate Republican John Stirrup, who said earlier this year that he would support a total abortion ban.”
- “Other candidates funded by Youngkin’s PAC include incumbent Del. Emily Brewer, who pledged to “100% support pro-life policy,” believes that life begins at conception, and has supported forced ultrasounds and pre-abortion counseling. Incumbent Tara Durant, who also believes life begins at conception and has vowed to enact anti-abortion legislation, received funding from Spirit of Virginia as well.”
As Sen. Scott Surovell explains, “Glenn Youngkin is funding extremists [who] will vote to enact a VA abortion ban by January 15, 2024 if we do not defend/expand our majority & obtain control of the House of Delegates.” And as the Arlington Democrats put it, “[Youngkin’s] goal is clear – Elect anti-choice extremists who will ban abortion in Virginia.” And as Norm Ornstein correctly puts it, “Glenn Youngkin is no moderate, contrary to the WaPo’s coverage of his campaign. He is a racist, radical Trumpist through and through.”
Also, check out today’s article in Vanity Fair, “Glenn Youngkin’s Biggest Power Grab May Come Well Before 2024,” which explains:
“Meanwhile, a number of the Republican candidates running in battlegrounds in November have espoused extreme views on reproductive rights. Senate candidate Bill Woolf has said that human trafficking intersects with the abortion industry, and that he supports legislation around parental notification of abortions. Senate candidate Juan Pablo Segura has supported anti-abortion activist Lila Rose, who has argued that abortion “is never medically necessary to save a mother’s life,” and he has donated to politicians like Rick Santorum, who opposes birth control. House of Delegates member and candidate Kim Taylor voted yes on legislation that would define the accidental or inadvertent killing of an unborn fetus as manslaughter. Similarly, Chris Obenshain, another House of Delegates candidate, is aligned with his cousin Mark Obenshain, who introduced a bill in the Virginia Senate in 2009 “that would have required a woman to report her miscarriage to the police within 24 hours of it happening or risk jail time,” according to HuffPost. (Obenshain later withdrew the bill after acknowledging that the legislation was too broad, with his spokesperson adding, “Senator Obenshain is strongly against imposing any added burden for women who suffer a miscarriage, and that was never the intent of the legislation.”)”
So this is what we’re dealing with, and what we’ll be facing next year if we don’t vote in DROVES starting on September 22 for *Democrats up and down the ballot* – a Virginia that will look a lot like Ron DeSantis’ Florida and Greg Abbott’s Texas, in which far-right/MAGA Republicans roll back ALL the progress we’ve made the past few years under Governors Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam, the Democratic “trifecta” in 2020-2021, etc. It can’t be emphasized too much what a disaster that would be, and how we’d better not let it happen.
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