BREAKING NEWS/ANALYSIS: 'I'm done with politics.' ... Not
Rabih Abuismal is new chair of Spotsylvania County Republican Party
by Martin Davis
FOUNDER AND EDITOR
This past December, I sat across from Rabih Abuismal at Tito’s Diner in Central Park as he informed me that he’s “done with politics,” and was leaving “for good.”
Based on how that interview went, it looked to be a good decision.
Clearly hurting from the criticism he had taken for openly supporting book burnings, and his performance at school board meetings - frequently walking off stage; complaining about incivility, while consistently supporting the decidedly un-civil Lisa Phelps, April Gillespie, and Kirk Twigg; talking about bringing people together while voting over and again for policies that excluded the wishes of the majority of parents and students in Spotsylvania - Abuismal looked and sounded every bit like a dog who’d been kicked to the curb in the rain and left to fend for himself.
But like Richard Nixon, Billy Martin, and just about every starting NFL quarterback over the past 20 years, Abuismal simply doesn’t know when to say when.
The Advance has learned from three sources that Abuismal has been named the new chair of the Spotsylvania GOP Party.
His selection could mark the beginning of the expansion of the Tea-Party-MAGA-fueled-insanity that Abuismal helped usher in on the School Board. We aren’t holding our breath. Abuismal’s inability to rise above playing the role of victim, to accept responsibility for his own irresponsible actions - as he did with me in December - doesn’t bode well for a party desperately in need of someone who can resist MAGA-ism and Christian Nationalism and return the GOP to its more-respectable roots.
Time will tell the tale.
Retirement, after all, worked out well for Nixon.
I’m more inclined to believe, however, that Abuismal is walking in the path of Brett Farve. Following three (or four, or five - but who’s counting?) retirements, Farve has risen to the level of his incompetence. Today, with all the problems he is facing, Farve probably wishes he’d just stuck with fishing and hunting.
We suspect by Christmas, Abuismal will likely be wishing he’d just stayed away.
Democratic opportunity?
Now would be a good time for the Democratic Party in Spotsylvania to get its act together and start leading.
Based on what we’ve seen, if there were ever a time for the Democratic Party in Spotsylvania, which has been ineffective at best over the past decade, to step up and gain ground with voters - this is it.
The party has a solid line-up of School Board candidates and experienced Board of Supervisor candidates, all of whom are running against the backdrop of two years of what can only be described as a collapsing government.
The stars are aligned in their favor, and Abuismal looks to be no serious impediment to the Democrats recasting themselves as a group with ideas, good candidates, and with a vision for moving forward.
If only they can realize it, and act on it.
November in Spotsylvania just got a lot more interesting.
He can't make his own decisions, so who will be pulling his strings? I have my thoughts, but I've already said enough.
I know I am going to come in with an unpopular opinion, but given that the other choice was Roy Searles, I can't say that I am unhappy with how this turned out. I understand that our local Republican party has been pulled further to the right and frequently embraces what I would consider more extreme positions. But as right wing and conservative as Rabih is, he has separated himself from that group. It would have been horrible to see the local Republicans side with people such as Roy Searles, Nick Ignacio, and others, but just maybe we will start to see a return to normalcy. Don't get me wrong I think they have a long way to go. But not electing Roy last night, and rescinding Nick's endorsement gave me some hope.
Yes, Rabih said he was done with politics. I believe his implication was with holding elected offices. He was responding to whether he would seek another term as a school board member or even try running for board of supervisors, neither of which he is doing. Staying involved in politics through his party membership was not what he was referencing.
I do understand that Rabih's politics are heavily informed by his Christian values and that always gives me pause, as I would like to see a clear separation of church and state and want decisions based on good governance rather than a religious doctrine. But I also recognize that although I almost never agree with Rabih's votes on the school board, what may be perceived as his strings being pulled could also just means he listens. Just because he doesn't always land on the side we would wish, doesn't mean he isn't listening. I disagreed with his vote recently on the trans policy and many others. But I also can't ignore that when we were upset about a proposed policy to limit snack donations to once a month, it was Rabih who motioned to table that policy indefinitely. Or that it was Rabih who motioned to remove the 5 speakers-per-topic limit after hearing feedback from his constituents. And when the budget needed to be cut after the BOS didn't give us our $20 million ask, Rabih really led that meeting to a compromise where the minority got about 90% of what they were asking for - more SPED teachers and paras in particular.
I don't agree with his politics. The current Republican party leans into those evangelical Christian values more than I would like. That is why I am not a Republican. But having Rabih as the local chair of the Republican party rather than Roy Searles seems like the party is actually heading in the right direction for itself. It would be weird to think that the Republican party is headed in the correct direction only when they start looking more like the Democratic party. What the Spotsy Republican Party needs is a fundamental change in action -- a denunciation of the extremists who have used their party to mask hatefulness behind conservative values and a renouncement of flashy opportunists who use snark in place of thoughtful dialog -- not a fundamental change in philosophy. And seeing Rabih win out over Searles is a promising sign that the extremism is becoming unpopular.