Donald Trump peacocked earlier in the week how loved he was in Arlington and how he was returning to Arlington soon, real soon, but now it looks like his ardor has fizzled out to a mere phone appearance. Oh well, for the Faithful of the Cult, just hearing his voice is bliss, right?
It was originally thought that his appearing in Virginia on Glenn Youngkin’s behalf would tank Youngkin, who has assiduously been trying to avoid too close of an identification with Trump while he makes efforts to lure other voting factions back into the fold. However, after the Lincoln Project’s stunt on Friday, staging a demonstration of a handful of alleged Youngkin supporters carrying tiki torches at a Charlottesville campaign stop, who knows? Trump will most likely seize on that and talk about false flag operations, which is how he’s tried to depict the Capitol riot. At least that is what I would expect. And bear in mind, this has now become a nail biter race.  Salon:
While the Youngkin campaign has maintained a healthy distance from Trump so far, it appears that firewall is breaking down as the candidate gains ground — a Fox News poll out Thursday reflects momentum being on the side of Youngkin, with an eight-point spread between the candidates, whose views couldn’t be more ideologically split.
FiveThirtyEight, in its aggregate of numerous national poll totals, shows a once runaway race for McAuliffe now turning into a nailbiter. On Thursday night, Youngkin was ahead by .01, and hours later on Friday, McAuliffe was up by .01.
Much of Democrats’ strategy has hinged on highlighting Youngkin’s association with Trump, which the Republican candidate has been able to downplay and dodge successfully. Last week, when asked by Salon if Trump would stump on his behalf, Youngkin responded, “So I’ve been really clear all along. I’m campaigning down the stretch in Virginia.”
And as the race comes down to the wire, it appears Youngkin is finally welcoming the ex-president’s helping hand, accepting a phone-in appearance Monday during a last-minute rally on the eve of the election.
“It’s confirmed: on Monday, Donald Trump is showing up to support Glenn Youngkin,” McAuliffe stated in a Thursday press release. “Youngkin’s entire campaign has been a full embrace of Donald Trump’s dangerous extremism: divisive culture wars, racist dog whistles, and bigotry.”
The former Virginia Governor added that the people of the Old Dominion state “now know all they need to know about Youngkin’s plans for the Commonwealth,” while calling on residents to hit the ballot box and “reject Donald Trump and his extreme agenda once again.”
I hope that the Lincoln Project’s stunt doesn’t do to McAuliffe what James Comey’s letter to Congress did to Hillary. In a tight race, something that influences opinion even one percent can be crucial. On the other hand, Youngkin may represent something of a compromise for Republicans, someone who can keep the MAGAs happy and appeal to less extremist factions. This race in Virginia has implications way outside of just the commonwealth itself. It could serve as an instruction manual on how GOPers should proceed to be successful.
Whenever I’ve been texting for the VA Dems in the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hearing a quote from General Phil Sheridan ringing in my head: “God damn you, don’t cheer me, fight!” In my own small way, that’s what I’ve been doing.
Keep in mind too that a lot of the early votes are already locked in too. Come what may, the DNC is leaning on this race like the close one it is.
White supremacy is like cancer, i.e., hard to kill, easily spread, & often hides in normal looking people. Keep up the good fight.
I hope for Virginians’ sake, they pull their heads out of their asses.