If the Media Covered Glenn Youngkin Like a Democrat
Here's the article we would be reading in every newspaper today.
Two mass shootings in twenty days. A stubbornly high murder rate. Concerns about public safety rising throughout the state.
Will the recent spate of violent crime in Virginia doom Glenn Youngkin’s administration before it’s even begun?
When Governor Youngkin made history as the first White Republican Governor of Virginia in over 4 years, he promised a new approach to criminal justice, which prioritized prison time for petty criminals and easy access to firearms for the state’s well-regulated militia.
But that historic right-wing agenda, which has been hailed by conservative social justice reformers, could be overshadowed by national headlines about crime in the state.
“It’s concerning, for sure,” said Ralph Northam, a Norfolk resident who describes himself as an independent. “It seems like he’s more interested in appeasing far-Right wackos like Kevin Sorbo than he is in keeping our communities safe.”
There are warning signs for Youngkin. An informal survey of Subarus at a Trader Joe’s in Arlington found few Youngkin bumper stickers.
And while Youngkin’s rhetoric about respect for the Second Amendment may have appealed to a moderate electorate, the rollout of that policy has proven bumpy.
Numerous GOP-controlled states like Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, and yes, Alabama again, are all suffering from sky-high murder rates. Republican District Attorneys and Sheriffs who made mass incarceration a centerpiece of their campaigns have done little to slow the bloodshed.
Voters have noticed. Polling data commissioned by the Daily Kos/Antifa suggests that suburban voters prefer gun control measures like those in Maryland, which recently flipped from Republican to Democrat control.
Meanwhile, gun maximalists like Kari Lake, Lauren Boebert, and Doctor Oz all struggled in purple states.
And the perception of Youngkin as soft on crime was not helped by an incident where the governor seemed to downplay Paul Pelosi getting violently attacked in his own home by a hammer-wielding lunatic.
“It was inexcusable,” said Al Sharpton, a centrist pundit. “I recently convened a focus group of 10 suburban swing voters. These are moderate Virginians who wrote in Bernie Sanders in 2016, but then in 2020 voted for Bernie again.
“These are winnable voters. And they all say Youngkin isn’t doing enough on gun violence.”
There is no easy answer for why Virginia has become, to put it lightly, a king-sized hotbed of murder and viscera. Critics say that Youngkin’s wearing of vests has contributed to the spike in crime, though statistics are inconclusive.
“He needs to get things under control, and fast,” said Dr. Jill Biden, a member of the key suburban voting bloc who recently moved to the Virginia area. “If the Governor can’t get gun violence under control, Virginians will elect someone who will.”