Glenn Youngkin has spent the last several months trying to have his cake and eat it, too, regarding the devotees to Donald Trump’s Big Lie about last year’s election. From refusing to acknowledge Biden’s victory [1] to insisting he did no such thing [2] (and everything [3] else [4] in [5] between [6]), Youngkin has attempted to do just enough to win over the Trumpenproletariat without scaring off the rest of the Commonwealth.
On Tuesday night the Republican nominee’s time courting the Big Lie brought Bannon, Chase, and Trump together in support for him. Youngkin’s effort has certainly paid off. The question remains: For whom?
The Washington Post‘s Laura Vozella [7] provided a blow-by-blow of the GOP rally. Steve Bannon kicked it off [8] “with the pledge – to a flag said to have been present ‘at the peaceful rally with Donald J. Trump on Jan. 6.’ ” That’s right, the RPV kicked off its rally with a Blutfahne moment. Expect that in Democratic ads near you.
Donald Trump himself was not at the rally, but he dialed in [8] to declare Youngkin “is a great gentleman” before getting back to his favorite topic (the Big Lie). Amanda Chase, meanwhile, decided to re-run the last Republican gubernatorial campaign’s greatest hits with a demand [9] “to gold-plate” Confederate monuments.
This isn’t the first time I have noted that a Youngkin victory – all by itself – would give the Republicans complete control of Virginia’s election infrastructure. It’s one of the key reasons Chase et al are with him, while he hopes that it’s too obscure a matter for anyone not already a grifter or a mark in Big Lie Inc. Trump himself drove the point home, insisting that Youngkin [10] will “do all of the things that we want a governor to do.”
As Trump has made abundantly clear, there is only one thing he wants a governor – or any other ally of his – to do: help him steal the next election.
The question remains: will Virginians give him what he wants?