Opinion: McAuliffe’s loss is good for the Dems

You know what? I’m actually glad that McAuliffe lost. Now,not for the traditional reasons. I’m not a Republican, not even trying to be okay. Glenn Youngkin is the new will be the new governor of Virginia. He ran a very localized campaign, kept issues state-centric, and did not nationalize his campaign. He told Donald Trump, “Hey, thank you. But no.” He did not want that flavor in his campaign.

McAuliffe, on the other hand, he invited, he wanted that national connection. He thought that national connection with president Joe Biden and others would somehow boost his campaign. Nope. You know why? Because people are starting to understand the transactional value of politics. Here’s the reality. Joe Biden, President of the United States, Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States. They were elected on the progressive agenda. Remember, people were excited. You had unprecedented turnout, individuals and communities all over this country.

They decided to band together as coalitions. And they came out and they supported a bold, progressive policy agenda. They sent Biden and Harris to the White House to deliver an agenda. That agenda has not been delivered. So don’t think it’s strange when people who elected you are not excited about you when you do not deliver.

Here’s why I say, I’m glad it happened. I wish it didn’t happen. But in hindsight, I’m glad it happened because the game of politics is really the game of chess. It’s not checkers. It’s not about power. It’s also about position. Position is important. Democrats, especially corporate Democrats, mainstream Democrats, they believe that individuals will continue to vote for them as long as they are Democrats, and they say the right thing and they’re connected to the right personalities and to give the right speeches. No, the game of politics is about policy.

Literally, when you vote for someone, you are not voting for a person, you’re not voting for a personality, you’re voting for a policy. That means when they get elected, they should deliver a policy agenda for you.

Now, maybe this is the wake-up call that national Democrats needed to see in order to get on their jobs and start delivering what they said they would deliver in the previous presidential election cycle because if they do not, if they do not change course right now and start actually delivering on the promises they made during the last campaign, if they don’t do it, expect a massive defeat in the midterm elections, and good luck in the presidential cycle. So yes, McAuliffe lost and he lost with major connection to ma to massive campaign donors with major connections to big time Democrats didn’t work. So what will work?

Here’s what will work? You know, the things that you said, I’m talking to every mainstream Democrat, that things that you said you would deliver, those things got people excited. The vast majority of Americans are actually on your side. They’re on your side with increasing the minimum wage. They’re on your side with the Build Back Better plan, line by line, item by item. They are on your side. How in the world are you still taking ills? How are you losing? How are they winning? Literally what they represent — I’m talking about conservatives — what they represented, what they propose is adversarial, antithetical to the general movement of America. How are they still winning? They’re winning because not only are they messaging, they are localizing, and they are delivering on policy items. That’s why Republicans are saying we don’t need to like the person we elect because we are electing a policy. Democrats, this is a wake up call for every single one of you. You have to deliver what you campaign on. That is the only way to save your leadership status and perhaps even the country.