Today's Washington Post has an editorial about Jerry Kilgore's loss last month and how Conservatives in the Commonwealth appear to be utterly clueless regarding its implications.
...the party's leadership seems to have drawn precisely the wrong lesson from the outcome ["Jerry W. Kilgore's stinging defeat" last month], concluding that Mr. Kilgore, a staunch conservative, was not sufficiently right-wing. If that analysis sticks, look for the Republicans to lose the next gubernatorial election by even more.[...]
...Mr. Kilgore bashed gay marriage and illegal immigrants, celebrated the death penalty and courted pro-life activists and gun owners...His favorite president was Ronald Reagan. And this is the man GOP leaders say didn't measure up as a conservative? Please.
Mr. Kilgore lost because he was too much of an ideologue, not too little... He hewed to the GOP's anti-tax rhetoric and disdained the no-nonsense, nonpartisan, pragmatic governance that has made the incumbent Democrat, Gov. Mark R. Warner, so successful.
The editorial further points out that Bill Bolling barely won his race against Leslie Byrne, while Bob McDonnell essentially tied with Creigh Deeds. In addition, the attempt by "anti-tax activists" to defeat 17 Republican delegates fell flat on its face. As the Post points out, "Rather than being punished for pursuing a pragmatic course on investing in the state's future, moderate Republicans were rewarded."
The editorial concludes with something most of us - but not the Pat Robertsons, Grover Norquists, and clueless conservatives like Virginia Republican chairman Kate Obenshain Griffin - understand:
Virginia is a predominantly Republican state, but its voters' brand of Republicanism is moderate and pragmatic. Party leaders who fail to grasp that will face further electoral setbacks.
Personally, I hope that Virginia Republicans keep missing the lessons and implications of Tim Kaine's victory in November - not to mention Mark Warner's 70%+ approval ratings - and simply "keep on keepin' on." That's a recipe for continued Republican losses in Virginia, an outcome that couldn't make me any happier - unless, of course, it was at the national level as well. Come to think of it...hmmmm.