When Glenn Youngkin first started running for governor of Virginia in early 2021, he had just been forced out of the Carlyle Group, where he used to talk about how China’s government was “incredibly helpful,” how diversity, ESG and “lowering [our] carbon footprint” were good things, etc. So at that point, one could have been forgiven if one thought Youngkin was going to run as a moderate Republican. But as soon as Youngkin started participating in Virginia Republican forums/debates in the spring of 2021, it was obvious that he was not a moderate anymore, if he’d ever truly been one, as he pretty much agreed with the other hard-right candidates on issue after issue, touted how similar he was to Donald Trump, etc.
And yet, for whatever reason, many journalists (with exceptions like Jennifer Rubin, who in May 2021 wrote that “Glenn Youngkin is no moderate. He’s a staunch right winger.”) fell for the whole red-sweater-vest/suburban basketball dad schtick – and never informed their readers about who Youngkin was *as a political candidate* for governor. To the contrary, they whitewashed Youngkin as some sort of “6 foot 5 mystery date,” a “moderate,” a “sane” Republican, a “normie Republican,” etc. Massive media fail.
Now, of course, we have three years of evidence that Youngkin’s not a moderate – from his right-wing rhetoric, his campaigning for the likes of Kari Lake and Hung Cao, his increasingly MAGA rhetoric and campaigning/kissing up to Trump, etc. Current case in point: Youngkin just signed on to this letter by Republican governors “express[ing] our overwhelming support for President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Initiative and request[ing] that Congress work alongside him to solidify the efficiencies that are found into law.” The letter further states:
“We support President Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and agree with their assertion that the federal government needs to be cut down to size. We stand ready to help.”
Of course, what Trump, Musk and Ramaswamy are up to with their absurd “DOGE” initiative is anything but a good-faith effort to find efficiencies in government, to prioritize government spending, etc. Instead, “DOGE” is part of an effort by the far right to slash essential government programs – Social Security, Medicare, etc. Because, clearly, given that the VAST majority of government spending is “entitlements” (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.), military/defense spending (which Republicans will increase, if anything) and interest on the debt (which can’t be touched), there’s pretty much ZERO chance that “DOGE” can cut trillions of dollars in federal spending without slashing Social Security and Medicare.
That problem, of course, gets even worse if they ALSO want to slash taxes for the wealthy and for big corporations – which they very much do – while also balancing the budget. In short, the math ain’t mathing, and it never will, because it’s simply impossible. But what “DOGE” *can* do, and will *try* to do, is to slash federal spending – and employment – in most other areas, whether we’re talking about education, transportation, environment, energy, you name it.
The thing is, Glenn Youngkin obviously *knows this*, as whatever else he happens to be, he certainly is NOT stupid! Even worse, Youngkin also knows that Virginia has a huge population of federal employees, federal retirees, federal contractors and military, and that “DOGE” could severely harm Virginia’s economy. But clearly, Youngkin doesn’t care – or, more accurately, he cares a LOT less about that fact than about furthering his own political career in the MAGA/Trump GOP. And to accomplish that goal, if Youngkin has to throw Virginia’s people and economy under the bus, he’s totally cool with doing just that. Keep that in mind later this year, as Youngkin campaigns for Winsome Sears, Jason Miyares, Republican House of Delegates candidates, etc. – and vote the OPPOSITE of whoever Youngkin supports!
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