They say a lot can happen in twenty-four hours, give it 365 days and the whole nation is off its rocker, even more than they were before. One year ago, we could not have predicted what would have transpired over the course of the past year, though we promised you that it would be nothing short of interesting. Although we are starting to think a year later, maybe that’s not a bad thing after all. Maybe the complete and utter mess of the executive branch of government along with the federal government, is doing what it did back in 2016.
You see, yesterday marked the most important day of the past year, politically speaking, since President Biden was inaugurated. Besides, all the other mayoral and gubernatorial races around the country yesterday, the one that really mattered was the gubernatorial race in the State of Virginia. The state that President Biden won by a ten-point majority only one year ago. (Supposedly) Though, today, that state of Virginia tells a different tale, with Republican candidate for Governor, Glenn Youngkin winning the Governor’s mansion. A year out from what many deemed a win for saving democracy, after four years of President Trump, Virginia Republicans showed that they are still angry, some possibly angrier. Glenn Youngkin is a political outsider, a well accomplished businessman, who largely funded his own gubernatorial campaign. Sound familiar yet? Though what was appealing about Youngkin, that so many despised about Trump, he wasn’t in your face on the campaign trail or tweeting twenty-four seven. He had strong views but focused more on the ones that people in suburbia are concerned about, namely education. He portrayed himself to voters as an average family-man, a regular dad, worried about the education his children are receiving. Especially now as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, something most if not all parents can relate to. You see the closure of schools in the name of public health has turned people’s lives upside down in the worst possible way. People with young children who were doing remote learning, couldn’t leave those young kids home alone.
Many families hard hit by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 Pandemic are not able to pay for childcare. While many rave about the new normal of working from home, that is not a reality that many can accomplish. As a result, this has pushed millions of parents, largely women out of the workforce altogether, which is a statistic you will never hear popular media discuss. Instead, they are staying at home with their children trying to make sure they are getting an education from behind a screen. They are also worrying about how they were going to make ends meet to support those children. To put it subtly, it’s a tragedy that for many of these individuals didn’t and still do not have a clear solution.
To add to that according to The Atlantic, “from April to October last year, the nationwide share of doctor visits that were related to mental health spiked 24% for kids ages 5-11, and 31% for kids ages 12-17. Existing disparities in learning got worse, with the biggest hits coming to kids with disabilities, kids from low-income families, and kids from Black and Latino families-all demographics that Democrats expect to do well with at the ballot box.” Taking this into account, the issue for Democrats nationwide, if Republican candidates continue to follow the lead of newly elected Glenn Youngkin, is grave and doesn’t seem to be going away soon. The ramifications from education and isolation during the early days of Covid-19, will be seen for a long time to come. Such will influence the decisions made at the ballot box, and from what we have seen so far, it doesn’t look too favorable for the Democrats.
Spending over a billion dollars for a presidential election during a pandemic may have successfully won Democrats the White House, but a year later, spending around five million dollars on one election for the governor, wasn’t so appealing or relatable to the people of Virginia. Not to mention that the homeless problem in the state of Virginia and the surrounding areas, including our nation’s capital, has sky-rocketed over the past year. Maybe, just maybe, some of that money could have gone to finding a solution for these people instead of saying that they are working on it while American citizens live in tents in the cold. Throwing away five million dollars in an election that the Democrats lost, is not only tragic but it is also sad as that money could have been utilized for real change.
Once again it shows that Democrats are out of touch with the general public. People are fed-up yet again with life-long career politicians. What most politicians forget is that they do not have normal lives and can really not relate to their constituents, you know every day Americans, even if they tried really hard. When it comes to someone like Youngkin, he was an outsider, while wealthier than the average American, he could relate more to the day-to-day lives of the people voting for him. He knows what people are concerned or care about, and what they, frankly, don’t have the time to worry about either.
Virginia’s public school system like so many others has taken a large hit over the past year as a result of the upheaval of kids being out of the classroom due to the pandemic. The parents of these children are rightfully angry, and being a parent himself, Youngkin tapped into that anger. He tapped into something that his opponent couldn’t figure out. It appears the Democrats have a hard time relating to the American people in any real, concrete, or valuable way. As well the Democrats don’t seem to have much of a strategy. It is very reminiscent to a low-budget film. It is as if, they didn’t think past getting President Biden elected, and then had some over-confidence in the American people when it came to the governor’s race in Virginia. Keep in mind the fact that President Biden’s approval ratings have gone down and the Democrats currently having dominance in both houses hasn’t proved to be all that productive in doing anything beneficial for the American people. Which begs the question, why would people vote for you or members of your party, when there has been no return on investment?
The ramifications of the Virginia election will be seen for a long time, just as the ramifications of education during the COVID-19 Pandemic. The midterms are not far away, and while we are very aware that a lot can change in a year, we are also aware that the issues that anger voters, aren’t going away, as they are continually intensifying. What happened yesterday in Virginia is scary for Democrats. Take it from Vice President Kamala Harris; while our Vice President was campaigning for former Virginia governor, Terry McAuliffe, she stated, “what happens in Virginia will, in large part, determine what happens in 2022, 2024, and on.” She begged voters to, “not let Virginia be an experiment.” We definitely agree with the first portion of Vice President Harris’s statement. Though we are wondering if she regrets making those statements on such a public stage, after all, we want to remind the Vice President that on its most basic level, this country is quite literally an experiment, it doesn’t always work, and sometimes maybe, it just doesn’t work in your favor or doesn’t support the hypothesis you made one year ago.
The American people love a comeback story, and with newly elected Governor Youngkin’s playbook, things may get worse for the Democrats come 2022 and 2024. One thing is for sure ladies and gentlemen, it’s about to get really interesting…buckle up.
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