A few weeks ago, I posted a diary with a title similar to this one, in which I discussed how my Congressman, VA-05’s Tom Garrett, went on an unhinged screed on Twitter in the wake of the Alexandria shootings. It was the left, you see; all terror and everything that ailed this country was the fault of those violent leftists.
I laid into him- hard. I wasn’t in the mood for those sort-of histrionics; I’m running for the House of Delegates here in Virginia, and on Primary Day, I had volunteers at two different polling places threatened for the incredible sin of standing outside on a 91-degree day on my behalf. I was personally told Democrats were “like bugs that need to be exterminated.” Not to mention the man is a federal congressman, holding the same seat once represented by James Madison. A little decorum, leadership, and respect wasn’t too much to expect of him, I thought.
I laid into him so hard, it actually ended up in the regional news- and what’s more (and completely unsurprisingly), Congressman Garrett blocked me on Twitter. Yes, the hot take from a podunk ER Nurse and first-time candidate was so terrifying to him that he didn’t just MUTE me; oh, no, he completely demeaned and embarrassed himself a bit further by blocking me on Twitter.
I’m not surprised. Bullies love to punch down, and when they can’t, they generally flee, or try to get other people to fight their battles for them. Heh, and indeed, in the wake of that- completely by chance, I’m sure- the chairman of the Virginia GOP went after me personally, on Twitter, to mock my fundraising, my association with this very site (libbiest lib that ever libbed, Pelosi in Virginia, you’ve all heard it a million times), and said I didn’t stand a chance against my opponent (a friend of the Trump family in the district with the Trump Winery in it).
But my Congressman being a constituent-dodging, echo chamber-seeking discredit to his office isn’t why I’m writing this today; nor is the Chairman of the Virginia GOP feeling the need to fight his battles, aren’t what I wanted to discuss here. No, I thought this was a good time to talk about The Tweet from Yesterday™.
Both my Congressman, and my opponent in this House of Delegates race, were unapologetic Trump supporters; they didn’t hold their nose and vote, which would’ve been bad enough. No, sir. As a matter of fact, when the Trump campaign was trying to prove they weren’t abandoning Virginia last fall as being unwinnable, the first name out of their mouth was that of my opponent.
But after that CNN Tweet yesterday, which I’m sure will soon be replaced by something even more outrageous, I think I understand more why Congressman Garrett went on his panicked diatribe.
I’ve said for years that the Republicans that rode the Tea Party wave, that stoked it at every possible turn, that laughed at the people they were manipulating and figured there would never be any repercussion for their behavior would find a rude awakening, because they’re empowering a lot of very, very, very nasty people. But bills always come due; always. And I knew theirs would, as well.
This is one reason I went from eye-rolling, casual dismissal of Trump in December of 2015, to heart palpitation-inducing fear for our country in January 2016. In the wake of the Oregon Standoff fiasco, I managed to get into an extended conversation with JJ Macnab (whose work you need to follow and read). If you want to talk about eye-opening in a way that makes even an ER Nurse aghast… buddy, it’ll keep you up at night.
And I’d wager that’s a good part of where Mr. Garrett’s panic is coming from. He can see what’s coming, and he’s terrified he’s going to be held accountable for his part in stoking, feeding, and running on exactly that. Especially since the President seems bound and determined to engender exactly that- a violent response to the rhetoric they’ve been feeding all these years. And for politicians like him, like my opponent, being held accountable is what they’ve spent their entire careers avoiding.
But that’s exactly what we all need to do- and what I’m trying to do here in Central Virginia this fall. To show people like my opponent that if you’re okay sneering that “Trump values are Virginia values”, you will be held accountable.
That if you thought you could enable folks who’re okay doxxing people who oppose the President; calling them at home, saying things like “Hey, we know where you live. We know where your kids go to school. Why did you wife drive Susie to class all alone today? Tsk tsk tsk,” guess what? You will be held accountable.
It’s why people like me and the other amazing candidates we’ve got here in Virginia this fall are doing what they’re doing; sacrificing time with their families. An extra forty to sixty hours a week on top of their already overburdened schedules. Getting called a “bug”, or “garbage”; being hung up on, doors slammed in your face. Some folks have even received death threats, but it's that sort-of thing is exactly why we're doing this. We’re not doing it for the screaming adulation, or the big fact corporate donor checks (which all of us have pledged not to take). No, we’re doing it because the Republic needs us; needs people that can stand up to a bully with the biggest pulpit in the world, and all his enablers.
It’s why I keep doing it- and because I’ve been built on the grassroots strength of communities like this one. It keeps me out there, fighting strong; fighting for our values. The sort-of crazy, wacked out ideas the Chairman of the Virginia GOP sneered about… like that everyone deserves access to healthcare; it’s a moral obligation, and a matter of life or death for some people. Or that gerrymandering has disenfranchised millions, and is the actual genesis of most of the “evil” in our country right now. Or that we wish they’d take other Constitutional rights, like voting, free speech, and freedom of the press as seriously as they do the Second Amendment.
Chip in today, not just to my campaign as we raise the money we need to build our GOTV infrastructure for the fall, but to the other candidates who’re making the same sacrifices as I am- and think real hard about running yourself. The pay is lousy, the hours suck, you’ll get almost as much flak from the folks who’re on your side as you do your opponent (really, the primary wars gotta end, y'all)- but the Republic needs you. It needs all of us to step up, work hard, and sacrifice, because the precipice we find ourselves on is unparalleled in the history of our country.
And the consequences for failure are dire.
Kellen Squire is an emergency department nurse from Barboursville, Virginia, running for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 58th District this fall.