Timothy Birdnow

Yesterday there was much discussion on talk radio about the defeat of Ed Gillespie in the Virginia gubernatorial race. The news media naturally spun this to be a defeat for President Trump, who was not running and largely stayed out of the whole fray. Even Rush Limbaugh seemed to be chewing on the edges of this, looking for the reason why Gillespie lost. Healthcare stood accused, for instance. But in the end it comes down to one simple thing.

It was a huge victory for Trump.
Look; Gillespie was and is the penultimate swamp rat, having spent his entire career slithering about in the walls of the Washington Establishment. He was not on board with the populist uprising that gave us Donald Trump, and he was the promise of the old guard GOP, the guys everyone pretty much hates. There was nothing to vote FOR in this election; the Democrats couldn't get on board with a GOP insider and the Republicans couldn't get on board with a guy who pretty much advocates a Bush agenda. The country has moved on but the GOP ran William Howard Taft.

He lost, and fo rthe very reason that Trump won. If any lesson is to be drawn from this it is that RINO policies, the vaunted Middle of the Road strategy, does not work. Gillespie was run over by the same truck that hit Hillary Clinton.

Look; Gillespie won just 66% of Trump voters compared to Northams 77% of Clinton voters. Why? The media would have us believe it is because the public has turned against Trump, but the fact is that the public is still in favor of the policies Trump championed. As Ed Gillespie has supported the policies Trump opposed - he favors amnesty for illegals, for instance, Raised in a Democrat family, Gillespie has been a political insider all of his life, working as a lobbyist for medical insurance companies and also as a deep stater int he Bush administration, replacing Karl Rover - with whom he launched Crossroads, Rove's Super PAC. He was a senior advisor to Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign, thus polishing his loser bonafides.

On DACA, the plot to foist massive numbers of illegal aliens on the U.S. as "children" brought here and now not being forced to leave, Gillespie had this to say;

"believe that children should be punished for decisions that were not their own, but at the same time, it is important for us to enforce our laws"

Well, a big part of Trump's campaig promise was to end DACA, a promise he has at least in part reneged on. And Gillespie said it in Virginia, a state that is suffering under the invasion of illegals. (in the last few years the illegal aliepopulation of Virginia grew while falling in the rest of the country.)

Furthermore, Gillespie was for a ban on gay marriage before he was against it, changing his position when he decided to run for office. He has also opposed a state ban on letting transvestites use the little girl's room. He also favors restoring voting rights to felons.

In short, Gillespie seems to bloow whichever way the wind seems to be blowing.l He is the penultimate consultant's candidate, one with no real core principles. He is exactly what the public voted against in the last election.
Christie and
Meanwhile, the other gubernatorial candidate - Kim Guadagno - was a likely loss in New Jersey. Another consummate insider, she was unknown until Chris Christie tapped her as his running mate in 3009 (her name recognition was a paltry 15% voter name recognition and just three percent approval. But she won the election for Lieutenant Governor along with Christie and then became Secretary of State. Her tenure of office was dull at best, with numerous political/financial scandals dogging her career.

She is a typical liberal Republican, favoring abortion and gun control.

New Jersey is, of course, one of the most liberal states in the Union. Why would they vote for a moderate Republican when they can have the real thing? That is always the question in electoral politics; why accept substitutes when you can have the geniune article. A liberal Republican is rather like a knockoff product, like drinking Royal Crown cola rather than Coke or plAaying recordings of Australian Pink Floyd rather than digging out the Dark Side of the Moon Album. There isn't much point.

A number of commentators have pointed out that healthcare was a big issue in Virginia, and that the victory of the Democrats means the public wants Obamacare to stay. No. What the public wants is to be able to afford quality insurance, and to do so they would prefer to have a market based approach but, since the GOP is refusing to move on repeal of the horrible Affordable Care Act and if they would they will simply give us their version of it, the public wants them to at least take some steps to make it less onerous. Why not vote for the Democrats on this? They will at least fund it to keep the pain down, whereas the Republicans are letting it die but not acting to eliminate it. Only a fool would support someone who will make it impossible to go to the doctor ot he hospital. Bad as the ACA is, it is better than nothing to the average person. If your Lexus is reposessed, you at least want your old Yugo. The Democrats promise to fix the Yugo while the Republicans keep promising to get your Lexus back but won't do it.

So in the final analysis Trump is the winner in these elections, not the loser as the media keep trying to make you believe. It was not a rejection of Trump's policies but of the old worn out policies of the Swamp. In many ways it is cause for celebration.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 11:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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