Video: On MSNBC, Speaker Don Scott Says He’s Hopeful Gov. Youngkin Is a “Pragmatist,” Not an “Ideologue,” and Will Sign “Reasonable” Package of Legislation

On MSNBC’s “Last Word” last night, Virginia Speaker Don Scott said the following. Let’s just say, I’m highly skeptical that Glenn Youngkin is actually a “pragmatist” and not an “ideologue” (given all of this stuff, including  campaigning in Virginia and around the country for a slew of extremist candidates, plus pretty much all his other behavior) but we’ll see how he acts now that Democrats control the legislature and he’s not running for president. Plus, obviously, I get that Speaker Don Scott (and also Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell) need to get stuff done, including passing a budget, so like it or not, they have to work with the governor, even if he’s as abysmally bad as Youngkin.

• “Virginians voted to come back to the middle, come back to normality, come back to making sure that we protect the freedoms that so many women expect – they expect to have bodily autonomy…to make decisions about their own health care…And so, I think there was a message that was sent to the governor and the Republicans that enough is enough…I believe Gov. Youngkin made a concerted effort to try to normalize restricting freedom, and I think that freedom won the day in Virginia – the freedom to have reproductive health care decisions between your doctor and your family…I think people made a decision that we did not want to go backwards. The governor ran on some divisive concepts, talking about CRT and DEI and all these other things, and at the end of the day, it didn’t work…”
• “Voters said get back to solving problems for us…gun violence…ban these weapons of war from our streets and our childrens’ schools…we can do better than this…We will ask the governor to put his money where his mouth is when he says he believes in freedom for all Virginians…a living wage that we’re asking the goverrnor to sign…I think [Youngkin’s] a pragmatist, I think he’s not an ideologue even though he has to run that way sometimes…I think he wants to get things done. I think if we put some things together, put a package in front of him that is reasonable, that he will sign it. We do not have the power to overturn his veto, so the only way we get things done is to get things done together.”