By Paul Gilbert – An award-winning conservationist and lifetime resident of Fairfax County, who led NOVA Parks for 20 years. He is Executive in Residence for the Recreation Management Program at George Mason University. He has led environmental non-profits, ran for the 42nd House of Delegates District, and worked on numerous Democratic campaigns including Don Beyer’s first campaign. He has been appointed to Boards and Commissions by Governor Doug Wilder, the General Assembly, and the last four Democratic Chairmen of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.
When a wave forms, you first feel it in your ankles as you are almost knocked over by the undercurrent. We feel the political undercurrent of the MAGA movement today. But I believe a new Democratic wave is already beginning to build.
We have seen a Democratic wave like this once before, in the aftermath of Watergate in the 1970s. Consider JD Vance’s June 25th comment that, “if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story.” What Vance was admitting is that the level of corruption, graft, and undemocratic actions from the Trump administration, make Watergate pale by comparison. And he is right.
Nixon attempted to steal campaign secrets to influence his reelection campaign. With January 6, 2021, Trump attempted a violent coup, and now as president with the powers of the federal government at his disposal, there are fears that he is preparing to take over, interfere with, or even nullify the midterms. Nixon was criticized at the time for making the trappings of the Presidency feel more imperial. Today, Trump’s fixation with gold, and his name on coins, passports, arts centers, and other vanity projects, are the acts of a would-be monarch.
Following Watergate, reform-minded Democrats at every level of government made major strides. Mark Twain is often attributed as saying, “history does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” If this is true, we could be about to experience a “blue wave” that could transform our society in positive ways.
Some of the federal reforms put in place in the early 1970s that are cracking today include:
- Campaign Finance Reform including donation limits and public disclosure.
- War Powers Resolution limiting military engagements to 60 days before Congress needs to authorize.
- Strengthening Congress’s role in the budget, created a check on Executive power.
- The Senate Committee to Study Governmental Operation with Respect to Intelligence Activities led by Frank Church put guardrails on intelligence agencies after illegal wars and domestic surveillance.
Former Fairfax Supervisor Penny Gross, who was a staff aide to Senator Frank Church during this time, said “the post-Watergate wave of reform championed by Democrats in the 1970s, helped our democracy at all levels thrive for decades.” Here in Virginia, there was progress as a reaction to Watergate. In 1974 Democrats flipped the 8th and 10th Congressional seats in Northern Virginia. My mother was reporting for local radio news covering Joel Broyhill (R-10th) on election night when he lost after two decades advocating segregationist policies. I remember her telling me that the racist comments that night from the Broyhill campaign were so toxic they could not be aired on radio. That was the tuning point of Northern Virginia’s multiyear shift towards progressive Democrats.
When the MAGA movement goes down in flames, like Nixon did, what will follow? The wave is already forming. We saw it with Governor Spanberger’s decisive win last year, as well as with Democrats flipping 13 House of Delegates seats in 2025. It was there in the vote for redistricting, which passed (only to be overturned by the VA Supreme Court’s majority). The wave has started and will continue to grow.
Virginia State government should be a leader in the following areas, in the coming era of reforms:
Restoring faith in democracy. From 747 airplanes “donated” by foreign nations, to Trump-branded cryptocurrencies and insider trading, there is open corruption at the federal level right now. In Virginia, we saw a casino corporation attempt to force a local land use decision over the objections of the Fairfax Board of Supervisors and public opinion. We had Dominion Energy raising rates last year while spending heavily to influence legislators/regulators. We need corporate money out of politics. Hawaii passed a law this year to eliminate corporations’ ability to give political contributions, and Montana voters will consider a similar measure this November. Virginia should be next. In a jaded time, we need to restore faith in good government.
Strengthening voting. Talk of federalizing elections, and normalizing military presence in Democratic areas is clearly an effort to undermine the electoral process that underpin our democracy and society. We need to be fully prepared to defend the Constitution against the President’s efforts to delegitimize state and local run elections. Decades of gerrymandering for Republican control, has disenfranchised many. We need political districts honestly drawn that mirror the population’s political affiliation.
Clean energy transition, and expansion of natural areas. Data centers are creating significant power, carbon, and water issues that are largely unregulated. We need a two-pronged approach of reducing the impacts through regulation and new technology, and natural systems to offset the impacts we currently have. Trees, and natural areas are the answer to absorbing carbon and conserving water. I have helped to add thousands of acres of new parkland in Virginia; but to keep pace, these efforts need to rapidly expand! The speed and the way in which data centers are being built in Virginia is unsustainable. Let’s not forget that tourism, driven by natural and historic resources, and agriculture are Virginia’s top economic drivers.
Education is never an expense, always an investment in the future. The fact is, areas with the best education systems have the strongest economies, and this will be even more true in the future. Virginia’s economy will grow if our people have top quality K-12, community colleges, and universities. This creates a path for individual success and community development. Higher education should be affordable and accessible. I have taught at George Mason University for over 15 years and mentored countless students. If we help students succeed, we are building our future society and economy.
Healthcare will be seen increasingly as a basic human right, and not just a luxury for those that can afford it. Much of the developed world has already moved in this direction, and the new wave of reforms will see this element of the affordability crisis a high priority. There will be a focus on lowering costs and vastly expanding access at both a state and federal level.
Long before my career growing the Regional Park System in Northern Virginia, I worked full time for Democratic campaigns for President, Senator, and Lt. Governor in addition to running myself for House of Delegates (former 42nd District) in Fairfax County. What I learned through multiple campaigns is that politics moves with momentum, and that momentum appears to be shifting in our favor now. After Watergate, a wave of progressive and reform-minded Democrats were elected. With the scale of the current corruption and erosion of democratic institutions, the coming blue wave could (hopefully, with our efforts of course) be a tsunami! If this happens, the result will mean both victories on election day and significant progressive reforms. Virginia can be a leader in these reforms!
Can you hear the rising chorus of demands for change? Can you feel the push for progressive reforms like we have not seen in decades? Virginia invented American democracy, and we can be at the forefront of saving it now. Now is the time to act. Let’s work towards an historic blue wave this fall, in 2027 (when the entire Virginia General Assembly will be up for election) and in 2028, then push to enact our Democratic values on an urgent basis.
