I am troubled by the fact that Virginia’s Junior Senator is troubled. In a recording of a recent Senate hearing, Tim Kaine (D-VA) reacted to a statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said, "Our rights come from God, our creator, not from our laws, not from our governments." Kaine said:
“I find that very, very troubling. … The notion that rights don't come from laws and don't come from the government but come from the creator. That's what the Iranian government believes. It's a theocratic regime that bases its rule on Shia law … So the statement that our rights do not come from our laws or our governments is extremely troubling.
This statement is so inane that it is unbelievable. Good people and bad people both believe the sun rises in the East. It is still true.
Kaine was raised in the Midwest and married a native of Richmond, Virginia. He certainly studied civics before he left high school. He has a Harvard Law Degree. I’ve lived in Richmond. Kaine was a Virginia Governor. You can’t be in that area long enough to have dinner before you know who wrote:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men.
Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian and a Governor of Virginia, wrote those words. Jefferson said clearly that the government doesn’t give us our rights, it protects them. If a government can give us rights, it can take them away.
A long time ago, I was still a Democrat, and the Democrats still believed in the activity of what the Founders called Providence. Over time, things have changed. They don’t want to have to answer to anything: Providence, Mother Nature, voters, or parents.
Nationally, the Democrats are still taking very controversial positions. Virginia voters are not that far from the middle. The Democratic candidate for Governor is former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger. She is trying to use the “say nothing and they’ll think I’m a moderate” strategy. Whenever there is a controversy, her team releases a comment.
Her Republican opponent is the sitting Lieutenant Governor, Winsome Earle-Sears.
Northern Virginia suburbs would usually be overwhelmingly Democratic. But in state and local politics, school issues play a significant role. Analysts are sure that the Republicans won the 2021 races for Governor and Lt. Governor when Democratic candidate Terry McCauliffe said, “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
This year, parents are fighting school boards in Northern Virginia over protecting girls and young women in sports and locker rooms. They even need to work to keep young women out of boys' locker rooms. The school boards are adamant in resisting the parents, state, and federal efforts. Earle-Sears is publicly and openly backing the parents by showing up at rallies and county council meetings, and promising support as Governor.
Supporters of the school boards are part of the Democratic base in Virginia and nationally. Votes and money are at risk for Spanberger if she supports the parents. Silence is her best option. It is up to the parents to make an educated guess about how she will act if she becomes Governor. Do they really think she will suddenly support them if she is elected?
The impact of the government cutbacks on Northern Virginia workers favors Democrats. Safety and immigration issues favor Republicans statewide. Northern Virginians regularly travel to Washington, D.C, and experience safety issues there. Spanberger’s former district bordered Richmond, which also has crime and safety issues. The current Republican Governor, Glenn Youngkin, has entirely cooperated with President Trump in having ICE agents work in Virginia.
Substantial portions of the Democratic base are passionately committed to positions many parents oppose with the ferocity of a mama bear. The “progressives see the views as the inevitable future and insist their candidates hold them. Parents who would otherwise “vote blue” will run away from any candidate who, in their view, puts children at risk.
The politicians are in a box. As much as their media allies might try to help them, they can’t all “pull a Biden” and hide through the campaign. The “mama bears” are determined to protect the little ones, and they want to know who the candidates will serve.