Consolidated VA Elections Thread

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IMO they shot themselves in the foot by closing school. What an impact they made on so many people day in and day out for a year. I certainly hope it is a case study for the future.

They made informed, reasonable decisions based on the info we had and resources available. You think we have staffing issues now? Imagine if you forced teachers in last fall before the vaccine and as numbers were skyrocketing.

Our schools (local, not state) didn’t just say F it and send kids back in.

Sorry that pisses you off so much that you had to vote for a Trump Republican.

I voted D like I always do but your attitude is exactly why the Rs won and I’ve been saying that.
I also remember that Northam allowed schools to open hybrid in August 2020 and Fairfax had some of the best corona numbers in the state - not the worst - such that we should have considered being more conservative than he allowed with school reopening. And I also didn’t forget that the Dept of Health approved of the hybrid plan as well.

So you’re pissed at FCPS?

I am just telling you where the people are so the Ds don’t miss the mark next time.

Most of the parents don't remember the nuance of what the governor approved vs. what happened. All they saw is that public schools weren't open for most of 2020-2021, while private schools did open full time.

I agree.

Agree too (Dem voter). This wasn’t the only issue, but one of the big ones. I fear my party is getting a set of alternative facts (like all the PPs set on arguing that Nova schools were opening just as early as the rest of the country??) Voting Youngkin may have been a stupid way to “punish” school boards, but it still was a strong motivation IMHO.

+1 the “CRT” stuff wasn’t important to NoVa voters (it was just a bone for the R base in the rest of the state), but the closures and the perception that the curriculum was being “dumbed down” by the Democrats in the state DoE WAS important here. All it takes is a few percentage points of people who usually vote D switching to the other side.

And no, NoVa schools didn’t open at the same time as other schools. Anyone with functioning eyes and access to social media could have seen that. The closures killed Democrats and people took out their frustrations on the first election they could.

Yes, to this. I think it was much more bread-n-butter educational issues that motivated (or didn't motivate) NoVa voters. And Terry had to win big there. And now Democrats are going to respond to those concerns by calling everyone uneducated Karens, which wrong or right, is going to further drive the suburbs away. Ugh.

This. I know it’s next day bitterness, but the response that the swing voters who voted Youngkin are uneducated Karens is a terrible look. You will need these swing voters to come back to the Dems in 2022 and 2024, so what is insulting them accomplishing?

So the key to winning elections is to coddle voters and just tell them what they want to hear?

Are you kidding?? Yes. I see we have a very succinct illustration of why Democrats always shoot themselves in the foot.

They just don’t get it. It’s not coddling to refrain from labeling every person who agrees with some Republican ideas as a racist or uneducated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And the rest of the world laughs at us again.

Yet continues to take our aid money and ask fir more. At least Biden pulled off Glasgow without having to interact with the Chinese or Russians.

[Anonymous]

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IMO they shot themselves in the foot by closing school. What an impact they made on so many people day in and day out for a year. I certainly hope it is a case study for the future.

They made informed, reasonable decisions based on the info we had and resources available. You think we have staffing issues now? Imagine if you forced teachers in last fall before the vaccine and as numbers were skyrocketing.

Our schools (local, not state) didn’t just say F it and send kids back in.

Sorry that pisses you off so much that you had to vote for a Trump Republican.

I voted D like I always do but your attitude is exactly why the Rs won and I’ve been saying that.
I also remember that Northam allowed schools to open hybrid in August 2020 and Fairfax had some of the best corona numbers in the state - not the worst - such that we should have considered being more conservative than he allowed with school reopening. And I also didn’t forget that the Dept of Health approved of the hybrid plan as well.

So you’re pissed at FCPS?

I am just telling you where the people are so the Ds don’t miss the mark next time.

Most of the parents don't remember the nuance of what the governor approved vs. what happened. All they saw is that public schools weren't open for most of 2020-2021, while private schools did open full time.

I agree.

Agree too (Dem voter). This wasn’t the only issue, but one of the big ones. I fear my party is getting a set of alternative facts (like all the PPs set on arguing that Nova schools were opening just as early as the rest of the country??) Voting Youngkin may have been a stupid way to “punish” school boards, but it still was a strong motivation IMHO.

+1 the “CRT” stuff wasn’t important to NoVa voters (it was just a bone for the R base in the rest of the state), but the closures and the perception that the curriculum was being “dumbed down” by the Democrats in the state DoE WAS important here. All it takes is a few percentage points of people who usually vote D switching to the other side.

And no, NoVa schools didn’t open at the same time as other schools. Anyone with functioning eyes and access to social media could have seen that. The closures killed Democrats and people took out their frustrations on the first election they could.

Yes, to this. I think it was much more bread-n-butter educational issues that motivated (or didn't motivate) NoVa voters. And Terry had to win big there. And now Democrats are going to respond to those concerns by calling everyone uneducated Karens, which wrong or right, is going to further drive the suburbs away. Ugh.

This. I know it’s next day bitterness, but the response that the swing voters who voted Youngkin are uneducated Karens is a terrible look. You will need these swing voters to come back to the Dems in 2022 and 2024, so what is insulting them accomplishing?

So the key to winning elections is to coddle voters and just tell them what they want to hear?

Are you kidding?? Yes. I see we have a very succinct illustration of why Democrats always shoot themselves in the foot.

They just don’t get it. It’s not coddling to refrain from labeling every person who agrees with some Republican ideas as a racist or uneducated.

But there definitely seems to be a moral outrage when the mirror is turned. It’s one of the biggest complaints in this thread. Which seems, well, childish.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:So, so happy this morning, for the people of Virginia and all of us as Americans.

We are back.

Biden and Kamala are toast. That is the real story now.

And make no mistake about it: This was a Culture Wars win. This election was about CRT. Next up is the trans agenda in our public schools. Yes, we're coming for you too. Enough is Enough.

Well, at least one person is willing to say it out loud.

We should all say this aloud. I vote Dem and we are losing because of our smug take on the culture war.

We won on LGBT rights with same sex marriage and anti discrimination laws, but then waaaaay too far with the neopronouns, XY people in womens sports, “men will never take advantage of new bathroom laws!” crap.

BLM galvanized the country and opened even my very conservative family’s eyes, but then no one was able to turn this into any actual change for the better and instead Dems just focus on shaming white “Karens” with no goal in sight.

Dems have been saying “follow the science” on vaccines, but then go overboard with school closures when the science says the risk of the virus to children is minuscule.

People want affordable healthcare, parental leave, and good infrastructure, but instead all the Dems offer is endless cultural shaming because talk is cheap and legislation is hard. You’re handing the country to the GOP on a platter. (They don’t have any brilliant solutions either, but the Dems are being so annoying no one even blames them for that.)

+1 The most sensible post on the thread. Thank you.

NP and I would take this one step further.

Democrats wage these cultural wars so earnestly because they fundamentally don’t threaten the real entrenched interests in this country: corporations and the rich. This is why they are having so much trouble legislating when policies like, having the government negotiate prescription drug prices are a no brainer. Paid family leave is a no brainer. Reversing the Trump tax cuts is a no brainer. But no, they threaten corporations and the rich, so the Democrats fail. And what do they have to fall back on? Rainbow pins and “loving” cheap illegal immigrant labor.

The Dems are just as entrenched in corporate politics as Rs. It’s no coincidence Obama became a millionaire the second he left office and spends months on Richard Branson’s islands instead of his 3 and counting mansions. Half his administration left to work at Google, Facebook, and the like. Eventually the parties will need to realign to corporatist vs worker, instead of “liberal” vs. “conservative”.

[Anonymous]

This excerpt from a piece in Persuasion (which attempts to, you know, persuade rather than insult, the forte of DCUM posters) sums things up nicely:

"The blame for what happened in Virginia does not fall at McAuliffe’s feet alone. Youngkin was only successful in painting him as out-of-touch and overly obsessed with identity politics because that’s how voters already see the Democratic Party. And yet, Democrats seem likely to brush this off as a made-up problem. In a pre-election rally for McAuliffe, Barack Obama told supporters, “We don't have time to be wasting on these phony trumped-up culture wars, this fake outrage that right-wing media peddles to juice their ratings.”

What Obama misses is that it’s not only Republicans who are ginning up phony culture wars. Democrats risk doing the same thing under the guise of social justice and identity politics. Of course, Democrats shouldn’t stop fighting for justice or cultural progress, but the way they are fighting those battles now is both politically unpopular and substantively counterproductive.

If Democrats want to win elections and actually make progress on issues of social justice, they will need to stop distracting themselves with a superficial culture war and focus more squarely on improving the lives of everyday Americans."

Over the past two years, Democrats in Virginia have governed as if what they stand for is far more important than what they accomplish in office. At the national level, of course, they are impeded by Republicans in Congress; at the state and local level, however, the wounds are almost entirely self-inflicted. They are now paying the price electorally and this will only continue unless they took a hard look in the mirror.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Biden will get his bills passed, 5-11 kids will get vaxxed, people will be happy and Biden’s approval numbers will soar. Talk of GOP retaking the House in 2022 is wishful thinking. Calm down, folks.

You still don't get it, do you?

Get what? Biden will now have an excuse to move back to the cevter, which is where he wanted to be anywhere. Silver lining for him here.

Biden is senile and his handlers are far left, so he is just going to double down on whatever they put on his teleprompter.

+1 He had been a moderate his whole life but he doesn’t have the oomph anymore. He won BECAUSE he was a moderate. The country was not trying to vote in the progressive caucus.

[Anonymous]

My MIL doesn't live anywhere near Virginia and she's spent the whole morning ranting at us over text about "stupid red voters." Maybe instead of insulting people we could focus on issues that are important to them instead of super progressive social policies? Democrats used to be the party of the working class but now it must seem very out of touch and crazy to these voters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it done? This is so awful. I don’t even live in VA anymore, but I am devastated. What the F is wrong with our country??

What's wrong? Still too many people like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MIL doesn't live anywhere near Virginia and she's spent the whole morning ranting at us over text about "stupid red voters." Maybe instead of insulting people we could focus on issues that are important to them instead of super progressive social policies? Democrats used to be the party of the working class but now it must seem very out of touch and crazy to these voters.

They are no more immune than anyone else to the impact of social media. She's disappointed in the results so now she's looking for her dopamine hit to make her feel better by looking for "likes."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Remember this: Terry was up by double digits this summer. All he and the Dems had to do to win this was not be crazy.

And they couldn't even manage that.

SMH.

Honestly, over the last few weeks, they had to have had a conversation that went something like:

"Looks like we're losing serious ground on parents of K-12 aged children. School closures and education could be the reason we lose. What should we do?"

"How about we bring in Randi Weingarten to help?"

"Great idea!"

She was the kiss of the death; I knew he would lose the minute she shared a stage with Terry. She might be the second most hated person in politics right now

It was either Rand or Hillary. He chose the lesser of two evils.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The easiest way to bring down food inflation is to stop the monthly child tax credits and pull back expanded SNAP benefits. Less money chasing the same product means a lower price. I'm not sure the rural R voters would appreciate that though.

It may lower food prices, but low-income families will have less money to buy food, so how does that help them?

I don’t think it will even lower food prices. Once prices start going up, they don’t really appreciably come back down. Look at gas prices since 2008 vs. the price of oil.

I can’t find the original comment about ending child tax credit. So I’ll put this here. I’ve been working in person in the service industry most of the pandemic but I had to reduce my hours greatly. When school opened up again and the tax credit became available we were able to afford after care. This is the only reason I can work semi full time hours right now. Because we made less money last year there was no cushion for child care. The credit pays half of what we need and that’s an enormous help. I do typically get a credit at the end of the year but having a monthly installment makes so much more sense for our family. If you are a family that needs it, it’s a life saver.

+1 The stimulus money and the tax credit are helping us pay for our child's therapies without going into debt. Therapy we weren't able to get through the public school system because they refused to do evaluations in 2020.

Yeah. Take that up with Democrats, and the teachers union who fought hard to keep kids out of school last year.

If you lived in a Red state, your kid likely would have attended in-person school.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Biden will get his bills passed, 5-11 kids will get vaxxed, people will be happy and Biden’s approval numbers will soar. Talk of GOP retaking the House in 2022 is wishful thinking. Calm down, folks.

You still don't get it, do you?

Get what? Biden will now have an excuse to move back to the cevter, which is where he wanted to be anywhere. Silver lining for him here.

Biden is senile and his handlers are far left, so he is just going to double down on whatever they put on his teleprompter.

+1 He had been a moderate his whole life but he doesn’t have the oomph anymore. He won BECAUSE he was a moderate. The country was not trying to vote in the progressive caucus.

I really don't like all the insults calling Biden senile but I am definitely disappointed. I'm a Never Trumper who voted for him to get rid of Trump and because he seemed like a down to earth, sensible moderate. After voting D for the last few elections, I voted R this year because things have just gone too far left.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:My MIL doesn't live anywhere near Virginia and she's spent the whole morning ranting at us over text about "stupid red voters." Maybe instead of insulting people we could focus on issues that are important to them instead of super progressive social policies? Democrats used to be the party of the working class but now it must seem very out of touch and crazy to these voters.

They are no more immune than anyone else to the impact of social media. She's disappointed in the results so now she's looking for her dopamine hit to make her feel better by looking for "likes."

Some white dude has being doing the same thing here crowing about the results. Same dopamine monkey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MIL doesn't live anywhere near Virginia and she's spent the whole morning ranting at us over text about "stupid red voters." Maybe instead of insulting people we could focus on issues that are important to them instead of super progressive social policies? Democrats used to be the party of the working class but now it must seem very out of touch and crazy to these voters.

Democrats were the party of the working class until they went full tilt on social justice issues. They are getting killed in their former working class union strong holds and they respond by doubling down. The unfortunate thing is that there really isn't a labor party in this country anymore, they closest is probably Trump's populism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:The easiest way to bring down food inflation is to stop the monthly child tax credits and pull back expanded SNAP benefits. Less money chasing the same product means a lower price. I'm not sure the rural R voters would appreciate that though.

It may lower food prices, but low-income families will have less money to buy food, so how does that help them?

So which problem do you want to solve? Do you want to lower food prices or do you want to make sure families and children eat enough?

Lower prices for goods that don’t contribute to the obesity problem