Media, Dems Try New Line of Attack as Glenn Youngkin and Team Get Down to Business

As we’ve previously reported, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and his administration have caused hurt feelings galore on the left and in the mainstream media ever since they were sworn into office on January 15th.

Since taking office, Youngkin has overturned mask mandates for kids in public schools, effectively outlawed the teaching of Critical Race Theory, and rescinded vaccine mandates for state workers. Jason Miyares, the state’s new Attorney General, has also been busy trying to “un-woke” the AG’s office, firing some 30 employees including some attorneys that were in the civil rights division.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears’ mere existence also continues to trigger the Usual Suspects, as they can’t deal with the fact that the first woman and black woman to hold the Lt. Gov. seat is not a woke Democrat.

As Youngkin, Sears, and Miyares continue their work trying to undo the damage done to the state by former Democrat Govs. Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe, their critics are launching a new line of attack, suggesting that maybe Youngkin and Company are overstepping their boundaries because they didn’t win by huge margins or something.

For instance, here’s how the Washington Post started off a weekend piece that was critical of just how “red” Youngkin had shown himself to be his first week in office:

The big unknown about Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) as he ran for office last year — apart from the exact size of his vast fortune — was just how red the political newcomer really was behind that easygoing demeanor.

One week into his term: mystery solved.

Youngkin stormed into Richmond with an assertion of executive power that has thrilled the GOP base but caught even some allies off guard, and he has made clear that he views his two-point margin of victory as a mandate for conservative change.

On down into the article a bit, they noted the differences between Youngkin’s election and another Republican who won the governor’s seat a long time ago – George Allen in 1994. “But unlike Youngkin’s slim victory, Allen could use his 17-point win to claim a resounding mandate,” they wrote.

Further upsetting the WaPo is the fact that other Republican gubernatorial candidates appear to be mimicking Youngkin’s campaign approach/style in some ways, with requests for joint fundraising appearances increasing:

It appears that Republicans running for office in other states are trying to latch onto Youngkin or some of the trappings of his campaign. In Illinois, for example, Gary Rabine, a businessman running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, has plastered a photo of himself with Youngkin on a flier. A rival for the nomination, state Sen. Darren Bailey (R), has begun sporting a vest embroidered with his name and campaign logo — much like Youngkin’s signature campaign attire.

Youngkin has received at least two dozen requests to headline GOP fundraisers in other states, including two from New Hampshire, according to an adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy. He has turned them down so far, the adviser said.

Echoing this line of attack have been some Democrats in the state, including State Senator Scott Surovell, who virtue signaled against Miyares’ pro-life views by suggesting he had zero mandate to do what he was doing, and saying that the state senate would be “a brick wall for women”:

VA's new AG won an election by 0.8% or 26K votes of 3.2M cast in a state that is over 60% pro-choice and files a brief saying that Roe v Wade should be overturned
The @VASenateDems will be a brick wall for women if the AG will nothttps://t.co/q7zxITp1mC

— Senator Scott Surovell (@ssurovell) January 22, 2022

I find all of this to be incredibly amusing, considering we were told by some of these same folks after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election that he had a sweeping mandate for change, which they claimed was further solidified when Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock won their respective Georgia Senate races in early January.

Except that merely made the Senate 50/50. And in the 2020 House elections, though Democrats maintained control they were dealt a drubbing, losing 13 seats and shrinking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s majority considerably.

In contrast, in last year’s election, not only did Youngkin, Sears, and Miyares win their races (the first time a Republican has done that statewide since 2009) but the statehouse flipped back to red in dramatic fashion. The state senate, where members are elected to four-year terms, is still controlled by Democrats 21-19, and elections for those seats will be held in 2023.

Beyond that, if we go by the left’s rules – which is to maneuver numbers in whatever way makes our candidate look best, Youngkin still absolutely does have a mandate for change:

Biden’s EC margin of victory in GA+AZ+WI+NE-2: 65,009
Youngkin’s margin of victory: 63,480

Yes, we are playing the left’s game and using the power we earned to MAKE CHANGE https://t.co/qIb9s20dIW

— Tim (@TimDCpolitico) January 23, 2022