Glenn Youngkin? For Governor? Are you kidding me?

Dear Editor:

Fellow Virginians, we have seen this movie before, and it doesn’t come with a Hollywood ending.  A BS Candidate (Blank Slate) with no record of public service, not one vote ever cast for him, a bio thick on making lots of dough, paper thin on making things happen on behalf of fellow citizens.

But he does possess a big hairy business resume. (Sidebar on business resume: I hate to break it to you, but government cannot be run like a business, because government is not a business. It’s a government, with lots of dueling stakeholders). 

But bottom line: Having walked away with gazillions from the Carlyle Group makes Youngkin smart and lucky. It doesn’t make him a good gubernatorial prospect.

If this guy is elected, he’s going to get to make appointments. He’ll get reprieve/don’t reprieve power over life and death. He’s going to be CEO of a government serving eight and a half million people while asking those eight and a half million people to grant him some world-class on-the-job training.

So who’s our alternative? Terry McAuliffe. Yes, I know what you’re saying. Here’s a bloke who gives high energy a bad name.  All that optimism, all those boosterisms. Can we believe him or is this just a perpetual pitch?

Well, we can. We can because he’s been governor before. He had a decent record. Lots more jobs. Strong economy. Companies wanting to do business here because 1) Virginians are well educated, 2) Virginia schools are first rate, 3) Virginia is, well, Virginia.

If we are to believe him, McAuliffe’s second term will focus on cleaning up Covid (GY is squeamish on vaccination mandates, paying teachers a living wage, and continuing to raise the standard of living).

Meanwhile, though it’s pretty hard to draw a bead on GY’s positions. You can pretty much bet the ranch that he’ll try some don’t-tax-the-wealthy shenanigans.

To give this letter a dollop of balance, he will present well. He’s of that tall, lean, slightly horsey Mills Godwin/Bill Battle/George Allen mode. He’ll serve up that “aw shucks” schtick 24/7.

McAuliffe has a history in government by which to judge him. We Virginians love history. It’s our thing. It’s in our DNA. Let’s go with the proven Governor, not the untried amateur.

P.S.: McAuliffe is a pretty successful businessman himself. You can look it up.

Drew Babb

Fauquier County