“Moderates Defeated in VA Primary: GOP Ideological Struggle at Heart of VA Races” shouts WaPo‘s front page.
Do not hyperventilate about the Primary results regardless of clan identity.
The following is based on the expertise that comes from being an Independent who supported some candidates that won and chatted up the political insiders who gathered at last night’s victory parties.
There were half a dozen prime RINOs in the hunt.
Two retired. The RINO-in-chief’s hand picked candidate won in a pre-Primary political process.
While Donkey clan members might rather run in November against the anti-RINO candidate that was indicted on 11 counts of election fraud during the primary campaign (See our post “I Am Not Making This Up”), they should settle for someone from Hunt Country when most of the votes are in the Valley where Potts was popular.
Of the other four, two won and two were defeated. All the margins were narrow, in light turnouts.
It is hard to believe there were not 758 Donkey Clan members in the First Senate District who like to get out on election day and who would rather see a new someone WaPo says signed a petition to end “government involvement in education” rather than an entrenched incumbent.
RINO hunters did not do that well — plus there is an ideological vs personality / incompetence spin that can be put on every race — in the contests which we know the participants.
It may sell papers but seems just plain silly to feature a quote from a RINO hunter such as “The people have spoken, and it is time for a change. It is time to stop raising taxes in Virginia.”
True conservatives would do better to urge their supporters to start saving more and consuming less and buying a lot of insurance.
Governance of contemporary society is expensive. Effective government that addresses pressing issues of Mobility and Access, Affordable and Accessible Housing, Food Security Air Quality, Water Supply and Adequate Health Care will be spending a lot more money.
What this election said to many we spoke to was that the political process is broken, badly broken.
It is to easy, however, to see the glass half full when your candidate won.
EMR