VA <em>Conservatives</em> Did Fine Last Night ...

Matt Lewis | November 07, 2007 10:11 AM

As Jon noted (this is the 2nd post I've begun this way), Virginia Democrats regained control of the State Senate, last night.

While the MSM is spinning the results as a rejection of Republicanism, it is important to note that this is not a rejection of conservatism. In fact, conservative Republicans like

Ken Cuccinelli fared much better than liberal Republicans like Jeannemarie Devolites Davis. In the case of Cuccinelli, absentee ballot votes made him the winner by 72 votes (although his opponent is calling for a re-count). Conversely, Devolites Davis, a self-proclaimed "RINO" garnered only about 45 percent of the vote. Other conservatives who lost still fared better than their more moderate counterparts who also lost ...

It could be argued that the VA State Senate will actually be more conservative next year than it has been in the past. Of course, the problem is that the Democrats now have a lot more say in redistricting (Republicans still control the House).

Either way, it would be wrong to conclude that conservatives are dragging the GOP down. In fact, the results demonstrate quite the opposite is true.

One last note: Instead of mourning last night's loss with Virginia GOP candidates, VA GOP Chairman John Hager spent the evening at the White House with future in-law President Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. That might have been more fun, but it sent the wrong symbolic message. A captain goes down with his ship, he doesn't dine with VIP's while the ship sinks ...