Our better candidates won
Now that the smoke has cleared here in Stafford following our election of supervisors in early November, maybe we can sit back for a few moments and figure out what happened.
Why did the GOP candidates all win handily?
First of all, Republicans have nearly always been a stronger force in the county. And this time their candidates clearly ran stronger campaigns and had better credentials. Doesn’t everyone agree?
Further, our Democrat friends in the county had seen the sitting supervisors they favored being outsmarted. The chairman of the board let too many meetings and agendas get out of hand.
Third, we voters tending to favor the GOP were angry and motivated--and not just about board decisions on BPOL and the wrangling over the SPCA deal.
In retrospect, it must not have been good strategy when county Democrats for too long kept blaming businesses and builders for all the county’s woes. In more prosperous times earlier in this century, that kind of rhetoric worked. Now, with many employers in the county hurting, beating on them has surely become counterproductive. Voters apparently noticed.
The county’s constrictive comprehensive plan, long in the tooth and still on the drawing board, leaves a bad taste. Democrats have championed it so as to further restrict (obviously) county builders and businesses. The tide has changed. They and we aren’t growing.
Moreover, we do not exist apart from the Washington political scene. We’re only a major, often huge, traffic jam away. Up yonder, things have changed since Obama’s election and not in positive ways: Huge new debt, no economic rebound, costly new health care and energy tax bills--both as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
Locally, Dems must have thought that, since Obama had fared so well a year ago here, nearly tipping the county to the Democrats, that his coattails would still influence. Negative.
First sign of change I saw here was on July 4. About noon I drove down to the Stafford County courthouse to see if anyone had shown up for a lightly publicized Tea Party on its front lawn, expecting maybe a few malcontents with bullhorns. I was shocked. The place was overflowing. Over 500 mostly pleasant folks milled around chatting with each other and listening to a few rambling, mostly patriotic speeches.
So that straw in the wind shouldn’t have led to any shock and awe that the GOP this fall won all our state offices. How nice.
Will it make much difference to us here in Stafford in the long run? I doubt it. Gov. Kaine, the Richmond lawyer and pol, didn’t do too much damage, and I do like McDonnell and his military record. Yet, we Virginia voters change oil, not traditions and habits. I’ve liked it like that, right here for over 30 years, growing older with lots of friends who feel the same way--and always vote.
True, our county continues to evolve. Our supervisors must cope with problems. Mostly they have. And now I think they will do better. And our businesses and builders will, too. Let’s all hope so.
Ben Blankenship is an Aquia Harbour resident and career journalist. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com".
Why did the GOP candidates all win handily?
First of all, Republicans have nearly always been a stronger force in the county. And this time their candidates clearly ran stronger campaigns and had better credentials. Doesn’t everyone agree?
Further, our Democrat friends in the county had seen the sitting supervisors they favored being outsmarted. The chairman of the board let too many meetings and agendas get out of hand.
Third, we voters tending to favor the GOP were angry and motivated--and not just about board decisions on BPOL and the wrangling over the SPCA deal.
In retrospect, it must not have been good strategy when county Democrats for too long kept blaming businesses and builders for all the county’s woes. In more prosperous times earlier in this century, that kind of rhetoric worked. Now, with many employers in the county hurting, beating on them has surely become counterproductive. Voters apparently noticed.
The county’s constrictive comprehensive plan, long in the tooth and still on the drawing board, leaves a bad taste. Democrats have championed it so as to further restrict (obviously) county builders and businesses. The tide has changed. They and we aren’t growing.
Moreover, we do not exist apart from the Washington political scene. We’re only a major, often huge, traffic jam away. Up yonder, things have changed since Obama’s election and not in positive ways: Huge new debt, no economic rebound, costly new health care and energy tax bills--both as crooked as a dog’s hind leg.
Locally, Dems must have thought that, since Obama had fared so well a year ago here, nearly tipping the county to the Democrats, that his coattails would still influence. Negative.
First sign of change I saw here was on July 4. About noon I drove down to the Stafford County courthouse to see if anyone had shown up for a lightly publicized Tea Party on its front lawn, expecting maybe a few malcontents with bullhorns. I was shocked. The place was overflowing. Over 500 mostly pleasant folks milled around chatting with each other and listening to a few rambling, mostly patriotic speeches.
So that straw in the wind shouldn’t have led to any shock and awe that the GOP this fall won all our state offices. How nice.
Will it make much difference to us here in Stafford in the long run? I doubt it. Gov. Kaine, the Richmond lawyer and pol, didn’t do too much damage, and I do like McDonnell and his military record. Yet, we Virginia voters change oil, not traditions and habits. I’ve liked it like that, right here for over 30 years, growing older with lots of friends who feel the same way--and always vote.
True, our county continues to evolve. Our supervisors must cope with problems. Mostly they have. And now I think they will do better. And our businesses and builders will, too. Let’s all hope so.
Ben Blankenship is an Aquia Harbour resident and career journalist. Reach him at info@staffordcountysun.com".
posted by Ben Blankenship at
10:22 AM
