OPINION: A Forgotten Lesson from Last Tuesday - Don't Mess with Property Rights
In Culpeper County, it was the long-arm of local government intruding on property rights that cost three supervisors their reelection bids, according to Donnie Johnston.
By Donnie Johnston
COLUMNIST
The people seldom forget.
Last year the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors proposed sweeping changes in the county’s zoning ordinances, changes that would have restricted property rights in an effort to halt growth.
Landowners balked, feeling that the proposed changes would affect their pocketbooks. It quickly became obvious that the people wanted no part of this plan, but the supervisors, in effect saying, “we know what’s best for you”, forged ahead, determined to “save” a county that needed no saving.
In the end, the will of the people was so strong that the proposed ordinance was tabled indefinitely. The people had won.
But the damage had been done, and the voters did not forget. Three supervisors were up for election November 4, and all three incumbents lost, including one man who had been on the board for almost 40 years.
It was payback. You don’t mess with the people, especially their pocketbooks. Taxes, while not loved, are expected, but property rights are another matter entirely. In a world where one right after another is being stripped away by government, you must make a stand somewhere. For Culpeper taxpayers, property rights was it.
As expected, this was an important election, locally, statewide and nationally. Voters in Virginia made it clear that 10 months of Donald Trump was too much and Democrats won in what has been called a “blue wave.”
The Democrats took all three major state offices and 13 House of Delegates seats changed from red to blue. Even Jay Jones, who was certain to lose because of the texting scandal, proved the pundits wrong and won the attorney general election, defeating a Trump endorsee.
This election made it clear that riding Trump’s coattails no longer automatically takes you down the road to victory, not in Virginia, New Jersey or other key states. The tables seem to have turned.
The “experts” are now trying to figure out what all this means for next year’s mid-term elections. It would seem to indicate that Republicans are in trouble, but a lot can happen in a year, so any predictions now are mere speculation.
I have learned that there are two things that are completely unpredictable — how an election will turn out and what a jury will do. Jay Jones’ victory is a case in point. They said it couldn’t happen, but it did. Right now it would seem that Democrats have a good chance to turning a number of red congressional seats blue in 2026, but as I said, next November is a long way off.
But if Trump’s second year is as autocratic as the first, then the GOP is likely in for a rough ride. Moderate Republicans are already abandoning ship, and the lifeboats may be filled by the time mid-terms come around.
But between now and then, both parties should be preparing a presidential candidate for 2028. Trump won in 2024 because the Democrats were so unorganized and switched candidates in mid-stream. The party needs desperately to find a moderate candidate that will bring anti-Trump Republicans over to the other side.
Moderate Republicans need to do the same thing, and no, J. D. Vance or anyone in the Trump Administration will not do.
In this day and age, it seems like there is just one continuous election. We go from one to another almost seamlessly, always speculating what is next, always trying to predict how the voters will react.
There are some voters that are so party-oriented that they will vote for whoever is on the ticket. There are others in the middle, however, who actually think, and measure the candidate, not allow the party to rule their lives.
It is usually these thinkers in the middle that make the difference on Election Day.
These are the people who read the past and explore the future.
And they seldom forget.
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