Trump in the Grassroots

The story is here. I’ve been reporting on this for a while now. My own county of Loudoun, in Northern Virginia, was one of the early jumping-off places. The key national organization is the so-called “Moms for Liberty.” Their salespitch consists of transphobia, homophobia, racism, and ignorance. They focus on public school bathroom rules, the alleged teaching of “Critical Race Theory,” and purported dirty books in school libraries.

The covert agenda of the Moms is quiet advocacy against reproductive rights, a killer issue for Republicans throughout the country. That means they do not run as anti-choice, but they govern to that end when elected.

School boards are a source of candidates for state legislatures. State legislatures mark the lines of Congressional districts, making possible extreme partisan gerrymandering. That leads to the kind of House of Representatives that is incoming for 2023.

Loudoun is nationally strategic. Democrats need a big enough margin in Loudoun, as they succeeded in getting in 2020, to carry purple Virginia. One less purple state for the Democrats, when it comes to the Electoral College and presidential elections, would be fatal. Fail to win Loudoun and you get the current Republican governor, Trump ally Glenn Youngkin.

Like other states, in Virginia we have a handful of Democratic strongholds in cities and some suburbs, and a multitude of deep-red rural counties. Until the Democrats get their act together for the white component of the working class, as well as in rural areas, they need the white suburbs to compensate. This is not a strong foundation for political success in the U.S., but it’s where we are.

The anti-racist counterpart to the Moms is the Defense of Democracy group. Both of these outfits are growing nationally.

The outburst of bigotry in my own area encourages me to run for an open seat in the lower house of the Virginia state legislature. (Donate here.) I’ve been delaying a decision. All funds raised but not used for my campaign will go to the eventual Democratic candidate. Moreover, donors will not be pestered by endless subsequent emails or texts begging for more money. People tell me that is not the way to run a campaign. I don’t care.

Happy holidays to all.