Where In The World is Glenn Youngkin? #245
By Hank Silverberg
The answer to that question reads like a Johnny Cash song. He's been everywhere man...Maine, Nevada, Wyoming, Michigan, Texas and Georgia. He's been to a dozen places out of state between March and August. His security detail for the trips, cost $18,400 according to Virginia Public Media news. That's taxpayer's money for what were purely political trips.
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| (Where is he this week?) |
"I'm working in support of incumbent Republican governors and a handful of challengers who we think can win."
Lake is among those claiming that Joe Biden is in the White house only because of election fraud. It's a position similar to Maryland GOP gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox. Youngkin is NOT one of those who denies the election results, yet he continues to campaign or support those who claim the "big lie" like Lake and Cox.
Youngkin's upcoming schedule includes trips to Kansas, New Mexico and Oregon. Unlike previous governors who left the state for economic development, business reasons or vacation time, Youngkin's travel is all political.
Virginia's Governor cannot run for a second term under state law, so you don't have to be a political genius to figure out Youngkin is building up IOUs for a possible run for the White House. He has said more than once that's not something he has even begun to "undertake" but really, what other reason could there be for all the travel?
There are some significant questions about all this.
Number one: Is he going to reimburse the taxpayers for the cost of security on his out-of-state political trips?
He has the money. His Political Action Committee raised $1.8 million between July and September, bringing the total up to $5.8 million, including a million dollars of his own money. And again, he's prohibited by law from running for governor again.
Number two: Who is minding the store in Richmond while he is out stomping for other Republicans? The people elected him to be Governor, not a traveling salesman for the GOP.
Youngkin did have enough time between trips this week to join Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to say they would oppose any legislation to require a Covid-19 vaccinations for school children before they can go to school.
There is no such legislation at the moment, but there is a recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to add the Covid-19 vaccine to the list. The panel is made up of vaccine experts from across the country.
School children have been required for years to receive vaccines for mumps, rubella, measles and polio before entering school, but those decision are made state by state.
For example, Virginia and most other states do NOT mandate an annual flu vaccine to attend school.
Youngkin has a way of addressing issues before they are even issues, like his continued attack on critical race theory curriculum that has NEVER been taught in Virginia schools.
So, it will be interesting to see how Youngkin's buddies stack up in the elections next month. It could push him towards a presidential run or force him out of politics.
The Spread of Revisionist History
There is a growing trend in this country that should make you worry as much as climate change or even the crime rate. It's revisionist history.
Things you learned growing up or may have even experienced in your lifetime are now being changed
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I am writing about recent history, such as events that people who are still alive, lived through.
Here's an example from Indiana, where Dr. Matt Keefer, running for a seat on the Zionsville Community Schools Board of Trustees, has distorted the Holocaust.
Republicans across the country have been railing about our children being "indoctrinated" by left- leaning teachers. Dr. Keefer was asked in a Facebook inquiry about whether he thought teaching about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre or "that all Nazis were bad" would be considered by him as "indoctrination."
His response: "...all Nazis weren't bad as you specify. They did horrible things. They were in a group frenzy in both cases (referring to Tulsa as well). Who is to say if we were both there in the same place and time that we wouldn't have done the same thing?"
And when he was immediately criticized for his comments, he defended himself, saying, "I am correct."
His statements trivialize both the Holocaust and the Tulsa race riot and show a distinct lack of understanding about racism and antisemitism.
Keefer has his history all wrong because he also said that all Germans were required to join the Nazis party. It was not mandated. Many Germans did join by choice hoping to get special favors and power. They then went along with or participated in the murder of 20 million people, including six million Jews. Other Germans made the choice to resist.
Keefer went on to say that the negative response to his comments came from "the far left." Again, he totally misunderstood that his comments were historically wrong and offensive to Holocaust and Tulsa survivors who are still alive to speak the truth and bear witness to the atrocities.
Unfortunately, we have seen this type of historical distortion played out over and over again in the past few election cycles. The "southern heritage" argument over removing Confederate statues is a good example of distorted history.
Changing Times
A growing number of Republican candidates are actually running against the First Amendment. The separation of church and state is one of the mainstays of our Republic. Our Founding Fathers were concerned about the destructive and divisive role various denominations of Christian churches had played in the wars in Europe in the 17th and 18th century, and they wanted to prevent that here.
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- ". .I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.”
"may be accepted almost as an authoritative declaration of the scope and effect of the [first] amendment.”
But somehow a growing number of Republicans running for office this year never learned about this. They claim to believe in our Founding Fathers, but apparently have never read enough about them. Many in the GOP continue to try to negate such separation. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania, called the concept a "myth." Dan Cox, who is the Republican candidate for governor in Maryland, said that he "recognizes the creator" and said "we have rights that supersede government."
Then there is Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who says "the church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church."
And as I have written about before, Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene continues to say "we should be Christian nationalists" (the word "white" is added to that at times).
We have heard a lot this fall about what it means to be an American. I can't think of ANYTHING more un-American than attacking the First Amendment and the concept of "separation of church and state."
Dumbest (and most horrible) Quote of The Week!
The downfall of disgraced reporter Lara Logan got even more bizarre this week when she was fired from right-wing network Newsmax for spreading more conspiracy theories. Logan was once a correspondent on the well- respected 60 Minutes. But she was assaulted and held captive while on an assignment in Egypt, and she hasn't been the same since. Her career went downhill from there. Appearing on Newsmax, she claimed to have talked to a man she said had "infiltrated the global cabal at the UN." She then claimed that people at the World Economic Forum "dined on the blood of children."
“And they may think that they’re going to become gods, that’s what they tell us, [Israeli historian] Yuval Harari and all the rest of them at the World Economic Forum, you know, the ones who want us eating insects, cockroaches, and that while they dine on the blood of children? Those are the people right? They’re not going to win.”
It's a dumb and horrible quote, and also a sad one. Logan's career won't recover from this one and that is a good thing. The trouble is, there are people out there who actually believe what she said.
(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)
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