The covid-19 pandemic has been a clarifying era in modern American politics. We have learned the absolute power Democrat governors will seize and wield against us if given the opportunity.
In California, even the ultra-radical 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found Democrat Gavin Newsom had gone to far and acted unconstitutionally by shutting down private schools in the name of the public health emergency he declared and keeps declaring on a daily basis almost a year and a half later.
For that and many other examples of incompetence, belligerence, and outright corruption, Newsom is facing an existential threat to his once-promising political career with a recall effort and special election scheduled for September.
Over in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the people didn't need to circulate thousands of petitions demanding the recall of their ineffective governor, Ralph Northam, his one term expires at the end of this year.
As a result of that state's quirky one-term mandate and their off-year election schedule, Virginia is in the middle of a full-blown gubernatorial election and this November, the people will decide between returning former governor, Democrat-operator and Clinton bag man Terry McAuliffe and political newcomer, billionaire Glenn Youngkin.
Despite the fact that the state has been trending Democrat for the past ten years, Youngkin has kept the race as a dead-heat, if you believe the polls. If you're like me and you assume these polls are all media-driven propaganda vehicles to drive a narrative and suppress Republican voters, the actual race is probably in Youngkin's favor by five points and only shows up as a dead-heat because that's what the polls want it to show.
Regardless of the polling, Youngkin clearly has a great opportunity to stem the blue tide Virginia has been experiencing. The groundswell of anger and activism surrounding school board decisions (and incompetence) in Northern Virginia is building a coalition that transcends traditional Republican vs. Democrat voters as parents see their children suffering from inadequate instruction due to strong-arm tactics from the powerful teachers' union that McAuliffe and his party are beholden to.
As Virginia parents plan to get their kids back to school in a month, the biggest open question is if their kids will be "in" school when they are back "to" school.
McAuliffe has used typical weasel words and has not definitively stated that kids will return to in-class instruction this fall. The fact that he has the endorsement of the Virginia Education Association should tell all voters that he'll do what they tell him on this issue and Critical Race Theory and anything else the teachers' union wants.
Youngkin, on the other hand, has been definitive on the issue. Not only does he insist children should be in the classroom, but they shouldn't have to wear masks when they do return.
I asked him about this Monday on O'Connor and Company on WMAL in Washington DC:
O'Connor: Glenn Youngkin, you see the political energy behind the recall movement in Northern Virginia. Fairfax County just qualified, it appears, for a special election - we're waiting for judge's decision there - Loudoun County moving forward with their signatures. A big part of the frustration for parents has been the school boards' and also Governor Northam's inability to get kids back into the classroom and now we're hearing rumblings that we might not be ready for the fall and if kids do go back to the classroom they're going to have to wear masks. The governor has a lot of influence if not complete control over these kinds of things. As Governor what will your policy be with regard to kids in the classroom and with regard to masks for children?
Youngkin: Our kids MUST be in the classroom 5 days a week. MUST. And it's just inexcusable to suggest that they won't be. It's what's held Virginia kids back for the last year as we watch states like Florida be in the classroom 5 days a week all year, they didn't miss a day. We watch private schools all over Virginia figure this out. The public school systems must figure this out.. get our kids back in the classroom.
And based on what I know today, based on the fact that I know today, a mask mandate for our kids in schools is just not right. Ee won't have one if I'm Governor.
He went on to put it pretty plainly: "Get our kids back in school and get Critical Race Theory out."
That's how it's done. This election should be pretty clear for voters... in the wake of the covid pandemic, do you want a governor who will make decisions like Newsom and New York's Andrew Cuomo or Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer? Or do you want a governor who will make decisions like Florida's Ron DeSantis?
McAuliffe will be Gavin Newsom on the East Coast, and voters know it. Youngkin needs to be smart and bold enough to point it out. Starting with this position about our schools and our kids, he's on the right track.
Listen to my entire interview with Glenn Youngkin right here.