It's all about keeping score and settling grudges

It appears that parent concern about public school classrooms, curricula, and teachers played a large part in the Republican candidate's win in the Virginia governor race.

And the guess is that this concern over schools and what gets taught will remain with us as a political issue for years to come. 

After all, modern politics has basically devolved into winning vs. losing, and actual policies don't get much attention. I am sure there would be counterarguments, but the Republican Party seems to have settled on culture wars and limiting who gets to vote as their entire reason for being.

Here's another strategy that may be emerging: NOT having Trump on the ballot saps a lot of the energy that Democrats tapped in the 2020 election. He is so odious that many voted against him rather than FOR anything in particular. Keep him off the ballot (but retain the basic ideas of whatever his positions are) and R's will return to power in 2024. They likely will control Congress after the 2022 elections. After all, how much worse could it be than a continuing pandemic, rising prices, delayed goods, and the clarity we all have about all politicians being in the pockets of the rich. 

SOMEONE must be blamed. And it certainly isn't going to be US.

We saw a bit of that locally, here in Douglas County, as the four radical right school board candidates, mostly motivated by masking rules but more generally concerned by standard Republican talking points, swept into office and start their agenda in about three weeks.

Interestingly, everyone on the school board is basically a Republican -- you can't win elections otherwise in our rich, white, insulated country -- but some of them just aren't radical enough. So they have to go.

Of further interest is that a quite small percentage of eligible voters made this decision, with most voters not intrigued enough to even put a stamp on their mail-in ballot or drop it off at one of many voting boxes. The state mailed everyone a ballot, weeks ago. You can lead a horse to water...

Maybe it's good to be reminded that most people just don't care enough about local issues, or even national issues, to be bothered. Life is demanding. Kids need to be driven to practice and after-school tutorials, and music lessons. Our patience is at its limit as we imagine even global pandemics being tamed quickly and normalcy restored ASAP. 

Impeachments and insurrections and all types of misconduct by the previous administration are old news for an America that has the memory of a goldfish.

BTW: the defeated Dems in Virginia congratulated their opponents and vowed to do better next time, which is how politicians coming in second have always behaved (well, with one notable exception). There were reports that Republicans had lawsuits lined up alleging fraud in Virginia if they did NOT win. 

Dems have the moral high ground. And they are being punished.

So it goes.