Who are the real Republicans?
Statewide, the answer is not clear. The Republican candidate for governor, Glenn Youngkin, is running multiple, soft, feel-good TV ads in the expensive northern Virginia market that do not reflect his party affiliation and former president Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Obviously, the Youngkin campaign’s objective is to create a fuzzy image to appeal to the suburban voters who may not support Trump. To avoid being questioned about his identification with Trump, Youngkin continues to shatter Virginia traditions. He has refused to participate in the Virginia Bar Association’s decades-long hosting of the first general election debate, as well as the subsequent debate hosted by the AARP.
It appears, however, that one Trump campaign theme Youngkin will run on is Trump’s unfounded allegation about election security, as seen by his participation in an “election integrity” rally at Liberty University.
If the statewide campaign’s focus is soft Youngkin ads, in Culpeper County, things are distinctly partisan, led by former Culpeper Republican committee chair Jon Russell and Marshall Keene, the county party’s current chair.
We all recall that Keene bragged about organizing and dispatching three busloads of Trump supporters from Culpeper to the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” event in Washington. Russell, now the Republican candidate for town mayor, watched the event on the right-wing One American Network and commented on Facebook that “patriots have breached the barricades at the U.S. capitol.” Since when is breaking and entering patriotic?
This June, Culpeper Republicans prepared a full slate for the nonpartisan Town Council by holding a “casting call” for the candidates they wanted to anoint with a GOP endorsement. Only four candidates were considered. Weren’t there others who filed and were either not considered or subsequently withdrew their paperwork?
The apparent conductor of the four endorsed Republican candidates for the council positions, mayoral candidate Russell, is running his own campaign on a platform of “New Energy for Culpeper.” Responsible independents who may vote as Republicans have served on the Town Council for years, so Russell’s platform could be considered an insult directed at a former generation of local leaders. Then again, it might be a meaningless, pandering slogan.
Note that Russell’s yard signs are Democratic Blue, not Republican Red. Because Russell has already made clear he wants to “protect” Culpeper’s heritage, like Lake Pelham, it is not clear where he and his four endorsed colleagues will differ from the preceding generations of local leaders.
Despite their claim of new energy, Culpeper Republicans have fallen in line with ultra-radical Republican themes. The Republican County Committee recently passed a meaningless resolution, signed by Keene, demanding that the Virginia General Assembly order a full forensic investigation of the state’s 2020 general election. There has not even been a whisper that Virginia’s election procedures need review. So why is it important for Culpeper Republicans and others, like Amada Chase, to show their fidelity to the unfounded claims of Trump?
Where were our patriotic Republicans at this year’s traditional Independence Day celebration in Yowell Meadow Park? Held at the park’s Monuments to Freedom site, the Minute Men program celebrated the founding of our nation and honored the people who fought the British for our freedom and right to self-governance. Instead, the Republican committee held its own event in the parking lot next to its headquarters, in response to a personal invitation on social media from state Del. Nick Freitas.
Who are the real Republicans? Youngkin, who dominates television and social media with blank happy talk, or the Culpeper GOP hardliners who are comfortable ignoring the Virginia tradition of nonpartisanship in Town Council races? Voters in November may have the answer.
David Reuther, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer, is a past chair of the Culpeper Democratic Committee. These are his personal observations. This letter was previously published in the latest edition of the Culpeper Star-Exponent newspaper and is reprinted here with the author’s permission.