Desperate to land a knockout blow in a highly-competitive race with national implications, Virginia’s Democratic nominee for governor Terry McAuliffe is swinging wildly. Now, he claims that his Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin wants to purge Virginia schools of black authors.
Folks, let’s take a step back.
Glenn is spending his final days of the campaign focused on banning award-winning books from our schools & silencing the voices of Black authors.
I know we can read between the lines and see these Trumpian dog whistles for what they truly are.
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) October 25, 2021
However, rather than putting the spotlight on Youngkin, the latest McAuliffe attack has led many observers to increasingly scrutinize his eleventh hour campaign strategy. To onlookers, it appears that the former and would-be governor is calling parents racists for wanting their children’s school to notify them if their child’s teacher plans to use “instructional material that includes sexually explicit content.”
Fox News reports:
The books McAuliffe alluded to are “Genderqueer” and “Lawn Boy,” both of which, some parents have complained, contain graphic images inappropriate for adolescents’ eyes. Debate has also raged over teachers’ use of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” which contains graphic depictions of sex, violence and bestiality, while describing the horrors of slavery.
SEE ALSO: Youngkin Calls Out McAuliffe After Dominion Bankrolls Fake Ads
In response, the Youngkin campaign told McAuliffe they did not wish to get the book banned, but only to notify parents about the explicit text. Even the Washington Post, Youngkin noted, came to that conclusion.
This lie is beneath even you, Terry.
Washington Post FactChecker 9/30/21:
McAuliffe “mischaracterized the bills he vetoed. Neither bill would have allowed parents to ‘veto books’ or ‘take them off the shelves,’ according to the bills and the veto statements issued by McAuliffe” https://t.co/VYEk7yXgXh pic.twitter.com/QjYfgunpBx
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) October 25, 2021
Besides lying about the two bipartisan parental notification bills he vetoed as governor, McAuliffe conveniently failed to mention that 14 of the Democrats who supported them belonged to the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.
SEE ALSO: McAuliffe Campaign Caught Rewriting History
There is already animus between Virginia’s most successful black politician and McAuliffe.
McAuliffe’s Predecessor Isn’t Pleased
Speaking to ABC 7 News WJLA, former Gov. Douglas Wilder, 90, wasted no time excoriating McAuliffe for his actions since the media exposed Gov. Ralph Northam for wearing a “racist and offensive” costume.
In an interview with 7News, Wilder said McAuliffe used Gov. Ralph Northam’s black face scandal as a springboard to stage a political comeback.
“Terry McAuliffe has used it as a springboard to come back,” said Wilder. “He called on all of them to resign from office. A simple apology wouldn’t be enough for him then because it wouldn’t be a springboard for him to come back. And who did he call to step down? The Lt. Governor who was black. All the people he ran against for governor for the most part in the Democratic Party were black. Is he saying that he’s come back to rescue black people? Or to speak for black people? I think you know the answer to that is no.”
Wilder previously chided Vice President Kamala Harris for recording a campaign ad for McAuliffe that has aired in more than 300 African American churches. (RELATED: Virginia’s Only Black Governor Chastises Harris’ Church Ad)
Wilder suggested that the video would cause those churches to lose their tax-exempt status. Many experts agree, saying it violated the IRS’ Johnson Amendment, which prohibits houses of worship and other 501(c)(3) organizations from sharing messages “on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has taped an endorsement of McAuliffe that is being played at hundreds of African American churches around the state. The problem is the “Johnson Amendment” makes such political pitches in churches a violation of federal law. https://t.co/uASZBYdjLb
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) October 18, 2021
Perhaps most worrisome for McAulffe, Wilder has already expressed apathy about the election, despite it’s toss-up status. Speaking to reporters last week, Virginia’s first and only black governor openly mused if Virginia Democrats had done enough to earn the support of the black community.
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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of The Republican Standard.
