After the election of minority Republicans to statewide offices cratered the Democrats’ narrative that systemic racism drove the GOP’s red wave Tuesday, left-wing members of the pundit class have clung to their talking points.
“Whiteness remains undefeated,” wrote Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali, after Republicans captured the Virginia governor’s mansion with businessman Glenn Youngkin. Youngkin’s victory was joined by fellow Republicans Winsome Sears, a black Jamaican immigrant and former U.S. Marine who was elected the state’s new lieutenant governor, and Jason Miyares, a Cuban-American elected as Virginia’s next attorney general.
For those GOP trying to dunk on this tweet, let me repeat: whiteness wins again. They won’t get it.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) November 3, 2021
The GOP triumph flipping a state that’s become reliably blue over the past decade — where Republicans haven’t won statewide since 2009 — came as a product of conservative campaigning on salient cultural issues. The center of that platform included vehement opposition to the state-sanctioned racism embedded in K-12 curricula and labeled critical race theory.
In Ali’s world, the election of a black woman as Virginia’s first female lieutenant governor can be racist too, as long as it goes the wrong direction.
Totally normal picture. Phew, you got me. Owned and humbled. Republicans will shoot that CRT, coronavirus, prescription drug costs, and income inequality away. Also, no one is racist because, look, they voted for a POC woman! All cleared up. Everyone can now rest in peace. https://t.co/v1Nne9wQfL
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) November 3, 2021
Read and watch the elite pundits paid to analyze American politics below blame white supremacy, and even white women, for an election outcome they can’t handle, in a contest where Democrats staged a race hoax in desperation to prove their false narrative.
It’s not the messaging, folks. This country simply loves white supremacy.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 3, 2021
Two things can be true: 1) Youngkin voters are racist. 2) Democrats stayed at home. The latter does not change the former.
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) November 3, 2021
The argument that white supremacy & racial resentment couldn’t have helped power Youngkin to victory in VA because the Republicans elected a black lieutenant governor – Winsome Sears – is as convincing as saying Trump isn’t a racist because he made Ben Carson his HUD secretary.
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) November 3, 2021
Yes, Glenn Youngkin ran a racist dog-whistle campaign against CRT.
Yes, Terry McAuliffe ran a bumbling campaign against Youngkin.
But if Ds had passed the #BuildBackBetter bill last week, McAuliffe would have won.
Manchin’s obstruction did Ds in.https://t.co/MZjlZv0LMp
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) November 3, 2021
I’m so fucking sick of this country being dragged into the dark ages at the whims of scared, gullible, stupid, racist white people.
— Rob Sheridan (@rob_sheridan) November 3, 2021
White backlash is a real thing, but it’s not the far right who does the backlashing. It’s the self-identified white “moderates”, “centrists”, “suburbanites”, “swing voters” (and their various other euphemisms) who rush to defend white supremacy when they feel threatened.
— Bree Newsome Bass (@BreeNewsome) November 3, 2021
Coddling and normalizing white supremacists is how we got Trump and how we get more Trump. Dems didn’t fight hard enough in Virginia and lost the turnout wars bcs Trump and his white supremacist insurrectionists & his Russian asset thugs have not been held accountable.
— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) November 3, 2021
Glenn Youngkin race baits his way to victory over feckless Democratic establishmenthttps://t.co/cF3PWxomR4
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) November 3, 2021
CNN’s @brikeilarcnn: Some of @GlennYoungkin’s messaging was “dog whistle racism” @KirstenPowers: “1,000 percent” pic.twitter.com/Taa2RhhMqK
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) November 3, 2021
Garbage hot take by racist Nia-Malika Henderson on CNN: “We see the enduring power of the culture wars and the Republicans are better at playing this game because it’s essentially white identity politics.”
This thinking is why Virginia is going so well for Republicans. pic.twitter.com/9YRnpbxlSM
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) November 3, 2021
MSNBC’s Joy Reid says “Education” is “code for white parents don’t like the idea of teaching about race.” pic.twitter.com/Y6QMAnklRy
— Tristan Justice (@JusticeTristan) November 3, 2021
MSNBC’s Joy Reid, with dangerous rhetoric that’ll get Republicans hurt: “Republicans are dangerous…[T]his isn’t a party that’s just another political party that disagrees with us on tax policy. That at this point, they’re dangerous. They’re dangerous to our national security.” pic.twitter.com/5NiWIbn1Qk
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) November 2, 2021
MSNBC in full meltdown mode. pic.twitter.com/MtBKJjYxC0
— Ian Miles Cheong @ stillgray.substack.com (@stillgray) November 3, 2021
“Glenn Youngkin had 18 months to convince people that he was not a…horns out of his skull racist,” Jason Johnson says. “It only works if you have been able to present yourself as neutral…that’s not something that a lot of Republicans are very good at.” https://t.co/xqrRjeyRDA pic.twitter.com/LLleWTPHHH
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 3, 2021
Glenn Youngkin’s successful closing argument in Virginia was a promise to stop the teaching of Black history and ban the book “Beloved” by Toni Morrison.
But sure, tell us this isn’t about racism.
— Bill Prady (@billprady) November 3, 2021
Actually you’re playing word games Eli. Racists happily voted for Trump who appointed Ben Carson and Nikki Haley to high positions. You need to stop thinking of racists as just KKK members. Plenty of ‘ordinary’ Americans have racially resentful views. Stop being so reductionist. https://t.co/f9ANV5M8TR
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) November 3, 2021
White women voters are footsoldiers of white supremacist patriarchy.
In Virginia, white women swung back towards the GOP by 15 percentage points compared to 2020, h/t @rerutled https://t.co/dw8neoH5EL
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) November 3, 2021
Here’s my column on #whitewomen who went for Youngkin and the fake CRT scare in Virginia. Hope you can read and share. https://t.co/9kDKlmXaIH
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) November 3, 2021
Lots of reasons for Virginia election results—including bad Democrat candidate messaging—but the truth that must be told is that too many white parents still don’t want their kids to be told the truth about racism; and the Republicans used and ran on that—and it worked.
— Jim Wallis (@jimwallis) November 3, 2021
