Since the “mainstream media” obviously is not going to do its job and cover the SUBSTANCE – as opposed to the “horse race” or who “won”/”lost” – unfortunately it comes down to all of US to do the work ourselves. In this case, you can watch the video of last night’s SD27 debate here, and also see below for a few notes I took watching it. Oh, and make sure you vote for Democrat Joel Griffin, and also remind everyone you know in SD27 (Stafford/Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania) to do thes same!
Lie after lie after lie by Republican Tara Durant in her opening statement. For instance:
*Liberal Democrats in Virginia do NOT “threaten our security” – WILD LIE; literally zero truth to this.
*In stark contrast to Durant’s mischaracterization, VA Dems actually wanted to cut taxes for working people, responsibly/sustainably, while investing in public education. In contrast, VA Republicans wanted to cut taxes for big corporations and the wealthy, while not adequately investing in public education.
*Crime isn’t even CLOSE to being at an “all-time high” – WILD LIE; in fact, Virginia’s violent crime rate today is FAR lower than it was in the 1980s and 1990s…
*Not a single VA Dem elected official, to my knowledge, advocates “defunding the police” – ANOTHER WILD LIE BY DURANT
Perhaps Durant’s most egregious/disgusting lie last night was this:
“the true extremists on this issue are my opponents, because they support abortion up to the minute a baby is born and the minute after…You just need to listen to the last leader at the Democrat [sic] party. Ralph Northam, he said it”
That’s just wildly false, as NO DEMOCRAT supports killing a baby after it’s born! That’s just crazy to even think, let alone say in public. As for third-trimester abortions, those are VERY rare in Virginia, almost nonexistent, and only take place in the most horrendous, tragic situations – where the life/health of the mother is in grave danger, where the fetus is non-viable, etc.
Another whopper by Tara Durant: “radical Democrats in Virginia…have made it clear that they really don’t want us to be able to drive our car.”
FALSE – Democrats in fact have never in any way/shape/form done anything even remotely preventing people from driving their cars. What Durant’s apparently referring to is that, over the next decade or whatever, electric vehicles are forecast to grow RAPIDLY in market share, and that the goal should be to move towards an all-electric vehicle fleet for a bunch of reasons – national security, health, economic, environmental, etc. So we want Virginia to be on the cutting edge of that inevitable/rapid transition, not trailing behind. But obviously, Durant doesn’t appear to understand any of this.
Joel Griffin, in stark contrast, nailed it when he spoke. For instance:
“The biggest questions this evening are whether or not we will uphold equality under the law, whether a woman’s right to choose is her own, whether knowledge is something that we cherish, or something that we fear and whether our robust economy should work for all Virginia families or the wealthy corporations”
More from Joel Griffin: “I took an oath to defend our constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and right now I see the rights of fellow Virginians under attack.”
Anyway, those are just a few “highlights” from last night’s SD27 debate; check it out for yourself and make sure you VOTE for Joel Griffin.
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