I wrote a few days ago that Fairfax County Virginia is ground zero in the fight against racism and hate. The invisible line that was drawn there in the wake of nearby Charlottesville was crossed tonight and in not only the Democrats favor but in favor of upstanding and right thinking people everywhere. The polls closed a little over two hours ago on the east coast and Karen Keys-Gamarra, an “arrogant” black woman has officially wiped the floor with her Republican-KKK-endorsed opponent Chris Grisafe, in a race for a school board seat which is about so much more than just a school board seat.
Despite all Republican efforts to win this election by underhanded means, such as having a special election where voter turnout was expected to be extremely low, the usual Republican ploys did not prevail. Four percent turnout was anticipated and the Democrats rallied and raised that figure to ten percent. 62,000 votes were cast, in excess of the 50,000 max figure that was anticipated. Of those votes cast, 41,000 were for Keys-Gamarra and 21,000 for Grisafe. That’s a comfortable margin to win by.
This victory is so sweet for so many reasons. First and foremost, the Democratic candidate is wildly more qualified than the Republican candidate, earning her the endorsement of the Washington Post. The kids now have a real advocate who has pledged to address bullying and other issues of paramount importance in schools today. If that was all this election meant, we would have plenty of cause for celebration on those facts alone.
But this election means so much more. This was the first election in the country post Charlottesville and the fact that the electorate was galvanized to get out the vote and put a fine Democrat in office is not to be taken lightly. A message has been sent to Washington and not via Western Union. If Donald Trump and the GOP don’t get it, then we’ll just have to keep winning elections until they do get it and “it” is this: America is not going backwards. The blacks are not going back to the ghetto, nor the gays to the closets, nor the disabled to hiding in the shadows, nor all the plans that Donald Trump, David Duke, Richard Spencer and their ilk were rubbing their small hands together about in eager anticipation. It’s not going to happen.
Let’s see if we can keep this ball rolling. The next election in Virginia is November 7 and it is crucial to hold the line, and take back as many as possible of 66 House Delegate seats currently held by Republicans. We can do this if Ralph Northam can be successful in his quest for Governor, along with Justin Fairfax as Lt. Governor and Mark Herring (the incumbent Attorney General, running for re-election.)
It’s only appropriate to give a shout out to two key Democrats who made this happen, Karen Keys-Gamarra’s campaign manager Peter Dougherty, and 90 for 90’s Dr. Fergie Reid, Senior. These good people, along with hard working Democrats all over the country made this happen. We did this.
This is democracy in action, folks. This is what it is all about. The Republicans literally were running a white supremacist candidate, endorsed by the local Klan and the Democrats said, “Uh uh,” and did a thumbs down. This is the first of many races which are going to go thumbs down for the Republicans. It won’t take many thumbs down in the coliseum before Republicans look to abandon Emperor Trump altogether for their own survival.
Now is when the fun begins. Let’s see if Kellyanne Conway mentions this. She was so quick to jump on the marginal victory of Karen Handel over Jon Ossoff in Georgia and proclaim that that election “proved” that the people wanted Donald Trump and, by extension, his dysfunctional administration. Let’s see if she can spin something positive out of a resounding defeat like this one.
And never, ever underestimate the position of school board member. The school boards are the first line of defense against encroaching tyranny. Televangelist Franklin Graham has been advocating a Republican takeover of all the school boards in the country. Betsy DeVos and her brother Erik Prince have wanted for years now to sow the seeds of a dominionist takeover by taking over the schools and changing curricula to reflect distrust of science, homophobia, and other attitudes which match their agenda. The school boards are the first place where the line must be held. Tonight’s victory certainly shored up the school board in Fairfax County Virginia, at least for the next two and a half years, and this is just the beginning.
This is a happy night, Democrats.
