The Virginia GOP’s Sole Hope: Democratic Overreach
by Chap Petersen
It’s been a month since I’ve sent out a newsletter. Since that time, Virginia has seen a statewide election and the Federal shutdown has come and gone. And UVA is on the verge of going to the ACC championship in football.
Twenty-four years ago, when I entered the Assembly as an unlikely Democratic challenger, the Republicans controlled 66 seats in the House of Delegates, as well as the State Senate — and 8 of 11 Congressional seats.
Today, the state has completely flipped. The Democrats control all statewide offices, the State Senate and 66 seats in the House of Delegates. Notably, the Democrats control the state politically, because they control it economically (they have a monopoly on all high-wealth legislative districts).
One of the great ironies has been the Virginia Republicans who for years failed to support campaign finance reform legislation, even though they would have been the biggest beneficiaries. (Super-size donors in Virginia lean pretty far left).
With a 2-1 deficit in the House and no statewide officials, the Republicans can finally wake up and realize: they have no power and thus no reason to defend the establishment on issues like data center proliferation.
The Republicans would be facing a life sentence of oblivion but for one fact …
The Democratic Party wins elections by capitalizing on hatred of Donald Trump.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
Meanwhile, the Party moves on an inexorable path towards a socialist worldview, as witnessed by the recent election of Socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York City.
His election is not an anomaly. Rather it is the future, as young people, edified by modern academia, seek leaders who will reflect these values on a national stage.
A foreshadowing occurred in the last couple weeks, as eight U.S. Senators “crossed over” and voted to end the Federal shutdown, an eminently logical move to give relief to unpaid Federal workers.
Immediately, these selfless leaders were attacked for being “traitors” or “sell-outs” or even “Republicans.” Of course, the critics weren’t concerned about the merits of the reopening deal, rather the fact that it allowed the Repubs to “win” the shutdown fight.
(In that way, the Federal government closure was a perfect mirror to the COVID-19 shutdown, in which the same activists told us that reopening schools while Trump was President would “give him a win” — the fact that children were being denied an education was a mere detail.)
Left-wing dominance leads to dissension; socialism leads to misery. Each principle has been proven again and again. And that may be the sole hope for Republicans in Virginia.
Chap Petersen is a Northern Virginia attorney and former Democratic state senator. This column is republished with permission from his blog The Virginia Attorney and Bacon’s Rebellion.
