WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.880 Hey, today, we're going to take a quick look at why Virginia turned red. 2 00:00:05.880 --> 00:00:12.080 That's next. 3 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:25.440 Hey, welcome back to the Barry Fresh Show Culture Shift, and boy is today's talk all 4 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:26.960 about culture. 5 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:30.080 As we learn more about the Virginia upset, there are lasting lessons. 6 00:00:30.080 --> 00:00:35.120 I'm going to get to the second half of the inflation discussion next time, but we did 7 00:00:35.120 --> 00:00:39.960 have a historic election, and we really should learn from it while the lessons are fresh. 8 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:45.080 So back in November of 2020, Virginia went for Democrat Biden by 10 points. 9 00:00:45.080 --> 00:00:50.460 In November of 2021, Virginia went for Republican Glenn Youngkin by two points. 10 00:00:50.460 --> 00:00:53.240 That's a 12-point swing. 11 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:56.200 How did he do it, and can it be replicated? 12 00:00:56.200 --> 00:00:59.360 First, Youngkin is a very pleasant person. 13 00:00:59.360 --> 00:01:03.160 He doesn't turn off the Volvo-driving suburban mom with a harsh tone. 14 00:01:03.160 --> 00:01:04.920 He also didn't shy away from his faith. 15 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:09.340 He used language that signals to that large segment, the Christian community, that he's 16 00:01:09.340 --> 00:01:10.340 one of them. 17 00:01:10.340 --> 00:01:14.800 For example, he said, I've long felt a calling to service, and he used words like conviction, 18 00:01:14.800 --> 00:01:16.480 blessed, and belief. 19 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:20.420 He helped start Holy Trinity Church on a farm that he purchased. 20 00:01:20.420 --> 00:01:25.740 He didn't hide his faith, but he didn't wear it on a sleeve, and his pleasant demeanor 21 00:01:25.740 --> 00:01:28.020 did not frighten anyone. 22 00:01:28.020 --> 00:01:31.420 Second, Youngkin is disciplined. 23 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:35.980 He did not get caught doing things or saying things that can severely hurt you in a campaign. 24 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.340 He didn't anger the base by emphatically saying there was no fraud in the election. 25 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:44.860 He made election integrity a key issue during the primary, but he gave himself latitude 26 00:01:44.860 --> 00:01:49.200 to make the issue forward-looking versus trying to undo the past. 27 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:52.120 He stated the obvious, Biden is our president. 28 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:58.000 This helped him come across as pragmatic, focusing on what can actually be controlled. 29 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:02.080 Third, Youngkin is relational. 30 00:02:02.080 --> 00:02:06.140 He reached out to the fractured Republican Party and spent hours listening to them and 31 00:02:06.140 --> 00:02:07.680 attempting to unify them. 32 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:13.480 He developed, with the help of his capable wife, a personal army to help him win. 33 00:02:13.480 --> 00:02:17.500 He went deep into that church community with volunteers and surrogate speakers. 34 00:02:17.500 --> 00:02:23.060 He had 27,000 women volunteers, most of whom were church-going moms. 35 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:27.180 There wasn't much to hate, so the hardened Republican establishment guys that might have 36 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:33.380 been upset about a political newcomer eventually came along and they eventually supported him. 37 00:02:33.380 --> 00:02:35.900 Fourth, his message was solid. 38 00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:39.700 He started with a hefty ad spend, introducing himself to Virginians. 39 00:02:39.700 --> 00:02:44.420 He washed dishes as a teen to help the family pay bills when his dad lost his job. 40 00:02:44.420 --> 00:02:45.860 That's pretty impressive. 41 00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:47.420 But he did become very successful. 42 00:02:47.420 --> 00:02:51.700 He made it to Harvard, top consulting firm McKinsey and Company, and then he joined a 43 00:02:51.700 --> 00:02:54.020 leading private equity firm, Carlisle. 44 00:02:54.020 --> 00:03:00.280 There he helped take them public in 2012 and eventually became the co-CEO and made a lot 45 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:01.640 of money doing it. 46 00:03:01.640 --> 00:03:06.860 But all that was under the auspice of starting from an, aw shucks, I come from humble beginnings, 47 00:03:06.860 --> 00:03:07.860 perspective. 48 00:03:07.860 --> 00:03:10.820 And it was genuine enough that he connected with people. 49 00:03:10.820 --> 00:03:13.760 Then he kept the message local to Virginia. 50 00:03:13.760 --> 00:03:15.820 He made it a statewide issue. 51 00:03:15.820 --> 00:03:20.300 And when he talked about kitchen table topics, he did so from a credible business executive's 52 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:21.300 perspective. 53 00:03:21.300 --> 00:03:26.000 And when he talked about cultural topics, he did so without an edge. 54 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:30.020 The kitchen table topics included eliminating an unpopular grocery tax. 55 00:03:30.020 --> 00:03:34.820 He conveyed that message with this uplifting tone. 56 00:03:34.820 --> 00:03:40.120 The cultural topics included critical race theory and gender identity and explicit sexual 57 00:03:40.120 --> 00:03:42.980 content being taught in schools. 58 00:03:42.980 --> 00:03:47.800 He really just exposed what was happening, but he did it effectively. 59 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:51.600 The mask mandates and the controversial social curricula really helped him. 60 00:03:51.600 --> 00:03:55.320 Virginia parents were fed up with these high paid educators telling them how to raise their 61 00:03:55.320 --> 00:03:56.560 kids. 62 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:00.960 And Youngkin's opponent, Democrat Terry McAuliffe, made it easy. 63 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:04.160 In a debate, he said, I don't think parents should be telling schools what they should 64 00:04:04.160 --> 00:04:05.660 teach. 65 00:04:05.660 --> 00:04:08.040 Youngkin seized on that unforced error. 66 00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:12.160 He responded, you believe school systems should tell children what to do? 67 00:04:12.260 --> 00:04:15.980 I believe parents should be in charge of their kids' education. 68 00:04:15.980 --> 00:04:18.560 It was an absolute home run. 69 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:24.920 He hammered this message with more self-funded television ads, and the parents were sold. 70 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:28.100 Youngkin won school-age parents by 15 points. 71 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:31.140 Everyone knows he's a Christian, but he didn't moralize. 72 00:04:31.140 --> 00:04:32.540 But his opponent did. 73 00:04:32.540 --> 00:04:35.640 This made it even clearer that Youngkin was on your side. 74 00:04:35.640 --> 00:04:36.960 He pointed to the parent. 75 00:04:36.960 --> 00:04:38.340 The parent needs to be listened to. 76 00:04:38.340 --> 00:04:40.760 The parent should have control over their kids. 77 00:04:40.760 --> 00:04:46.140 This enabled him to bring both the Volvo-driving suburban mom and the pickup-driving blue-collar 78 00:04:46.140 --> 00:04:49.500 guy to the same rally. 79 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.960 Fifth, Youngkin has money. 80 00:04:52.960 --> 00:04:57.320 A personal treasure estimated at $440 million. 81 00:04:57.320 --> 00:05:00.040 So he could afford to invest 5-10% of his money. 82 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:07.120 net worth on his own campaign without flinching. And he did. His ad spend was huge. He hired 83 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:12.560 expensive top consultants to work for him. And he proved his executive skills in the way he 84 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:21.040 ran the campaign. Sixth, he appealed across the board. You know, he got 54% of the Hispanic 85 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:25.920 community. It's hard to listen to him and his black female lieutenant governor and think of 86 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:31.200 him as a racist. That's because he isn't. Yet the Democrats tried to make him out to be one. 87 00:05:31.200 --> 00:05:35.200 Even though he's white and his family is beautiful, so is the Democrats. 88 00:05:35.200 --> 00:05:41.360 So McAuliffe's attempts to make racism an issue just didn't stick. It didn't work. 89 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.440 Youngkin's opposition to critical race theory wasn't racist at all. It was just a factual 90 00:05:45.440 --> 00:05:50.640 opposition to a theme most parents didn't want their kids taught. Racism didn't stick because 91 00:05:50.640 --> 00:05:55.920 Youngkin didn't become defensive and he didn't try to placate the, you don't agree with me, 92 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:02.320 so you're a racist mob. He just focused on what was in it for the citizens of Virginia. 93 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:09.200 His kind demeanor didn't make him weak. He held tough and firm when the false accusations came 94 00:06:09.760 --> 00:06:16.800 and that convinced some Trump voters that he was strong. And seventh and finally, 95 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:23.120 he finessed the issue with Trump and Trump was willing to support that strategy. In Virginia, 96 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.200 Trump's antics outweigh the benefit of his policies in the mind of the large independent 97 00:06:27.200 --> 00:06:32.480 population. Youngkin is a smart private equity executive and he's comfortable in the presence 98 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:38.160 of billionaires. He used his relational skills to engage Trump and his team. The request was 99 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:42.240 basically, for the sake of the country, please know that we're implementing your policies, 100 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:46.720 but let us do this without your larger than life personality coming to Virginia. 101 00:06:47.840 --> 00:06:52.720 And Trump basically complied. Trump didn't force Youngkin to campaign with him. 102 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:59.040 He didn't shame him. He didn't make the Virginia election about him. He made it about the country 103 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:03.760 and that helped Youngkin navigate the Volvo driving mom effectively. Glenn Youngkin's 104 00:07:03.760 --> 00:07:08.720 opponent, Terry McAuliffe, attacked him over and over saying that Youngkin was just like Trump, 105 00:07:08.720 --> 00:07:15.520 even called him Trumpkin, but he really isn't. So it never stuck. Yet his message had many 106 00:07:15.520 --> 00:07:20.560 elements of the Trump policies laced through them and that kept him in play with the Trump 107 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:27.440 supporters. This also kind of raises a question, how strong the Trump support really is? I mean, 108 00:07:27.440 --> 00:07:35.040 is the support for the policies or the person? For the policies, I mean, on policy, Trump lowered 109 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:42.160 taxes, reduced regulations, and his pro-freedom across the board did great things for freedom. 110 00:07:42.880 --> 00:07:50.000 There are a lot of people that like those policies a lot. The person, Trump, showed people what it 111 00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:55.280 looked like to take on that hostile mainstream media when you're from tough side of New York. 112 00:07:55.280 --> 00:08:00.800 And his approach is a head-on confrontational approach. It was often not very pretty at all. 113 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:06.480 And in his defense, his opponents lie, they cheat, they're corrupt, and very few people could hold up 114 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:11.440 under such hostility. So a lot of supporters just appreciated how hard he would fight. And they were 115 00:08:11.440 --> 00:08:16.720 like, I couldn't fight that hard, so I'm glad he's doing it. And they were willing to overlook some 116 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:24.720 of the self-aggrandizing for the benefit of taking on the bad guys. Youngkin was strong on the policy 117 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:28.320 issues, but could win the Trump supporter by being tough enough on the cultural issues. 118 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:33.520 He didn't go out of his way to embrace Trump, but he said he was honored to get his endorsement. 119 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:39.360 Youngkin used the school choice parental authority issue as his galvanizing message. And that was, 120 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:44.240 frankly, a kind of a political gift. But to his credit, he was ready for it and seemed to 121 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:51.040 be authentically conservative on the pro-parent control issue. So he won. He walked this political 122 00:08:51.040 --> 00:08:56.000 tightrope and got all three segments that are possible for a Republican to get. Of course, 123 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.080 he didn't get the hardened Democrats. You're never going to get those if you're a Republican. 124 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:05.520 But he got the independents who are not hardened Democrats. He got the establishment Republicans, 125 00:09:05.520 --> 00:09:11.280 and he got the faith community of Republicans who sometimes sit out of elections. That segment 126 00:09:11.280 --> 00:09:18.400 should not be ignored. It just wants a principled, genuine fighter. Youngkin's probably already 127 00:09:18.400 --> 00:09:24.240 thinking about the possibility of a presidential run. Why do you think? Well, Virginia only allows 128 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:29.600 one term for a governor at a time. You can't then run successively for a second term. 129 00:09:30.560 --> 00:09:35.920 Regardless, Youngkin won a statewide election in a blue state, and no Republican had won statewide 130 00:09:35.920 --> 00:09:41.440 in Virginia in a dozen years. He was fully engaged. He was energetic. And that isn't all. 131 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.360 He brought the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, and the House of Delegates along for the 132 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:53.920 ride. It's a total victory. So how do you duplicate this? I mean, in a state like Colorado, 133 00:09:53.920 --> 00:09:58.240 as blue or bluer than Virginia, but almost identical in voting demographics, it seems 134 00:09:58.240 --> 00:09:59.840 impossible. But it isn't. 135 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.500 The electorate is ready to move beyond polarization. 136 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.900 They do not like the nasty failures of the Democrats in power now. 137 00:10:06.900 --> 00:10:10.200 They're tired of the arrogant education bureaucracy and more. 138 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:14.400 Republicans need to get beyond their establishment mindset. 139 00:10:14.400 --> 00:10:17.800 They have an opportunity here. They have to quit 140 00:10:17.800 --> 00:10:22.200 playing favorites for the next guy in line. They need to embrace political 141 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:23.400 outsiders like Yunkin, 142 00:10:23.400 --> 00:10:26.700 who may not have as deep pockets 143 00:10:26.700 --> 00:10:31.200 as Yunkin. He had the instincts to identify widely popular grassroots issues. 144 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:35.800 He remained firm to the end. The left will scream bloody murder, 145 00:10:35.800 --> 00:10:39.600 but the left ignores the people. Now, 146 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:42.300 the role of governor is more than policy. To some extent, 147 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:46.100 you have to be the right person. Yunkin answered the subconscious question. 148 00:10:46.100 --> 00:10:48.600 Is this the guy that I can believe in, that I mean, 149 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.100 I want running the state in an emergency? 150 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:54.100 Is it okay with me that he's on the local news all the time? 151 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:59.000 Do I trust that he's basically a good guy and wants what's best for the state, 152 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:04.800 not just what's best for him? And Yunkin answered those questions. 153 00:11:04.800 --> 00:11:07.900 But can we learn from Yunkin for other offices? 154 00:11:07.900 --> 00:11:11.800 Well, certainly. Stay on message. Stay clean. Remain disciplined. 155 00:11:11.800 --> 00:11:14.100 Stay upbeat. Push back firmly, 156 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:17.700 but it's okay to do so with decorum. At the end of the day, 157 00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:20.400 communicate that you're running to serve people, 158 00:11:20.400 --> 00:11:22.600 especially parents. Do these things 159 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:28.700 and you might win in a district or even a state where a Republican hasn't won in over a decade. 160 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:30.700 If you're running for a congressional seat, 161 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:34.600 it's local. It averages under 800,000 people per district. 162 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:38.100 It's also national. And here you need a galvanizing message, 163 00:11:38.100 --> 00:11:42.600 and that requires a repeat of the concept of the 1994 contract with America. 164 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:44.900 So back in 1992, Bill Clinton, a Democrat, 165 00:11:44.900 --> 00:11:49.200 became president over a very lackluster competitor. By 1993, 166 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:51.300 he was unpopular for a number of reasons, 167 00:11:51.300 --> 00:11:56.000 including his wife Hillary's overreach. In the off-year election of 1994, 168 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.800 Republicans took the House and the Senate, 169 00:11:57.800 --> 00:12:01.700 first time in 40 years. Why'd they do that? 170 00:12:01.700 --> 00:12:05.900 Well, they developed and ran on a popular contract with America. 171 00:12:05.900 --> 00:12:09.900 These included changes to the way Congress would act among themselves. 172 00:12:09.900 --> 00:12:11.300 For example, on day one, 173 00:12:11.300 --> 00:12:15.300 they would implement that they would require that Congress would submit to the same laws 174 00:12:15.300 --> 00:12:17.000 they were making everyone else abide by. 175 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:20.400 They would require a 60% majority vote to pass any tax increase. 176 00:12:20.400 --> 00:12:23.600 Imagine that. They'd require all the meetings to be open to the public 177 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:27.200 and they would require a more transparent budgeting process. 178 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:30.500 And in addition to those rule changes internally, 179 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:36.000 they pledged to bring to the floor 10 bills that would affect policy across the country. 180 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:39.400 The text of those bills were actually released before the election. 181 00:12:39.400 --> 00:12:43.600 They included a balanced budget. That would be amazing. Tax cuts, 182 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:49.400 term limits for Congress, tort reform, and welfare reform. 183 00:12:49.400 --> 00:12:53.100 Most of these popular reforms didn't make it out of Congress. 184 00:12:53.100 --> 00:12:57.100 Some got vetoed by President Clinton. A few were actually implemented. 185 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:02.600 But if you're in Congress now, put together a revised and improved contract for America. 186 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:06.100 I mean, learn from those past mistakes, figure out a better way to do it 187 00:13:06.100 --> 00:13:09.900 so that it doesn't get shut down by the Supreme Court or shut down by Congress. 188 00:13:09.900 --> 00:13:11.400 And if you're wanting to be in Congress, 189 00:13:11.400 --> 00:13:14.700 start running on those broadly popular ideas now. 190 00:13:14.700 --> 00:13:19.100 I mean, they support limited government and those support your freedom. 191 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:23.200 In any event, whether you're running for mayor, city council, or governor, 192 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:27.300 the lessons learned from Youngkin should not be ignored. 193 00:13:27.300 --> 00:13:30.700 To your freedom and God bless you. 194 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:35.100 Hi, I'm David Farah. Thank you for listening to my dad's podcast, 195 00:13:35.100 --> 00:13:41.200 The Barry Farah Show, Culture Shift. Click subscribe now to be sure you don't miss an episode. 196 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:47.200 Share this podcast with your friends on social media and give The Barry Farah Show your five-star rating. 197 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:53.100 Check out today's show notes below this episode and at TheBarryFarahShow.com. 198 00:13:53.100 --> 00:14:00.100 This podcast is also available in video format at The Barry Farah Show on YouTube. 199 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:03.100 See you next time.