Welcome to our ‘new’ democracy.

[David Lockmiller]

New York Times story (November 4, 2021): Who is Glenn Youngkin and How Did He Win the Virginia Governor's Race?

One year ago, Glenn Youngkin was well known in the world of high finance, but almost a complete cipher in politics.

After a remarkable upset in the race for governor of Virginia, Mr. Youngkin is the newest star of the Republican Party.

His ability to direct multiple messages — red meat to the G.O.P. base via interviews with right-wing media, and a less divisive pitch to swing voters — will serve as a blueprint for his party in the midterms.

With a personal fortune estimated by Forbes at $440 million, Mr. Youngkin contributed $20 million to his own bid. That lavish sum paid for top-tier G.O.P. consultants and an avalanche of TV ads, and it prompted speculation that Mr. Youngkin’s sights were set beyond Virginia, where governors must step down after a single term.

While he has promised to end a sales tax on groceries and to cut regulations to spur new businesses, Mr. Youngkin’s best known pledge is to ban critical race theory in schools on Day 1.

We the People can thank the U. S. Supreme Court, by means of the infamous Citizens United ruling, for our 'new' democracy.

Please note: Mr. Youngkin amassed a 31.5-acre property around his family home in Great Falls, in the Washington suburbs, which he and his wife developed into a horse farm and a riding arena. (They received a 95 percent tax reduction in 2020 after petitioning to have the property designated an agricultural preserve.)

I wonder if this “95 percent tax reduction” agricultural preserve is open to the Public.