Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (Republican) is only in his second day of office, but he has already started to work with his team to make good on campaign promises. Ralph Northam (D) left, which is causing hurt feelings and an increase in demands for truckloads of smelling salts among Democrat/media elitists in the state who prefer the “business as usual” way of doing things.
Youngkin has had to deal with his left-leaning critics and the media in predictable ways about parental rights. If you’ll recall, Youngkin made that a central part of his gubernatorial campaign last year, especially after Democrat nominee Terry McAuliffe admitted during a debate that “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
Polls heading into Election Day showed massive swings from McAuliffe to Youngkin among those concerned about public education – with education even ranking ahead of the economy and the pandemic among voters, and ultimately it’s what ended up dooming the McAuliffe campaign.
So naturally, that’s going to be a big area of focus for Youngkin. As you can see, Youngkin’s anti-woke agenda regarding education and school masks is leading to a meltdown in media outlets on both the opinion and straight news sides. On this front, the Washington Post published the following piece:
What a headline … pic.twitter.com/YqgOBbmzwj
— Farahn Morgan (@FarahnMorgan) January 20, 2022
While in fairness that was an opinion column and not a straight news piece, that’s been the general tone and tenor of the media since Youngkin was sworn in. They are not surprising to support Democrats’ view on wanting parents to be excluded from the decision-making process regarding public school curriculums, students in masks, and student education.
In monitoring coverage of Youngkin by the Virginia press corps as well as reporters from national news outlets, it has become increasingly clear that Youngkin is being treated as their next DeSantis – and that’s not really a bad thing, in my view.
Florida residents have embraced DeSantis despite their constant attack on him by the press. His expert handling of these attempted dunks has made him more popular. And while I know Virginia and Florida are different states politically, DeSantis has been able to redden the state by governing based on his instincts and just being a straight shooter rather than readjusting his agenda after every fake media “scandal” thrown at him.
Youngkin and DeSantis may not be the same stylistically, but Youngkin is skilled in handling the media. Except in Youngkin’s case, he gained in popularity in the state last year not by playing hardball with the press but by, for the most part, ignoring their attacks and taking his case directly to the people.
While neither approach is superior or inferior to the other, the proof of the pudding is that each is equally valid. DeSantis’s has worked for him so far, and Youngkin’s helped win him an election, with the commonality being that neither trust the media. Further, both are likely aware that most people in this country don’t, either. So they respond accordingly by not coddling the press and not trying to get on their “good” side.
Youngkin will Youngkin become like DeSantis and be able to pull the state in his favor over his tenure in office? It will be interesting to see. But one thing is for certain: When you’re a GOP governor and you’re being given the Ron DeSantis treatment by the MSM, you know you’re doing something right.
Flashback: Virginia Democrat Group’s Yearbook Attack on Gov.-Elect Glenn Youngkin Goes Down in Flames
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