In the Donald Trump Loyalty Olympics, next week’s congressional competition in central Virginia is the medal match to watch.
In one corner, we have the incumbent, Rep. Bob Good, a very conservative Republican who beat the previous conservative Republican holder of the seat by running sharply to that guy’s right. Good, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, is one of the handful of hard-right House members who orchestrated the ouster of former speaker Kevin McCarthy and has the endorsem*nt in next Tuesday’s GOP primary of such Trump loyalists as Stephen K. Bannon and Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert.
In the other corner, the challenger, state Sen. John J. McGuire III (R-Goochland), whose website’s “About John” section offers this headline: “Pro-Life. Pro-Gun. Pro-Trump.” McGuire, elected to Virginia’s Senate just seven months ago, was the clear underdog in this race until late May, when he trumped Good with this effusive endorsem*nt from the King of Queens himself:
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“Bob Good is BAD FOR VIRGINIA AND BAD FOR THE USA. He turned his back on our incredible movement, and was constantly attacking and fighting me until recently, when he gave a warm and ‘loving’ Endorsem*nt — But really, it was too late. The damage had been done!”
Wait, this is Trump’s endorsem*nt of McGuire? Ah, yes, he does get around to calling the challenger “a true American Hero.” But mainly, this is payback against Good, who committed heresy by initially endorsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis back when there were people who believed that a Republican Party might still exist independently of the former president.
Every Republican I called in the 5th District agreed that on the things members of Congress actually are supposed to do, the differences between Good and McGuire are minimal. This contest could be seen as a test of the power of incumbency against the imperative to demonstrate absolute fealty to Trump. But really, it’s just the Loyalty Olympics, period.
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Or, as Marjorie Taylor Greene put it, “Bob Good is an angry, disloyal, MAGA traitor who was caught on camera trashing President Trump and doing everything he could to defeat President Trump.”
But hold on: Didn’t we see Good in New York during Trump’s criminal trial, dressed in his Official Loyalty Suit, complete with cherry red tie? Yes, but Good’s tie also had some blue in it, which could be perceived as insufficient loyalty. (Additional fact, in case facts matter anymore: After Good’s DeSantis alliance, the congressman returned to the Trump fold, totally and completely.)
Because we’re all about totality and completeness, we must add that McGuire was at the trial, too, on the very same day as Good and also in his Official Loyalty Suit (tie totally and completely red). But while Good only stood with other Trump Troopers outside the courthouse, McGuire got to ride in the Trump motorcade from Trump Tower to the (totally and completely rigged) courthouse.
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(I apologize for the exhaustive detail, but we want to be sure to supply voters all you might need to make an informed choice in this vital election.)
Oh, one other possibly useful tidbit: On Jan. 6, 2021, McGuire attended the Trump rally on the National Mall, but he says he didn’t inhale — er, go inside the Capitol with the insurrectionist mob.
Also you should know that the Trump campaign sent a firm cease-and-desist letter to Good last week, demanding the removal of yard signs that said “TRUMP / BOB GOOD” because the only Official Loyalty-Guaranteed Yard Signs are those that say “John McGuire / TRUMP ENDORSED.”
Okay, so how’s a good Republican in the 5th District to judge the Loyalty Olympics?
You could follow the money, with millions of dollars going to McGuire (well, mostly against Good) in the form of TV ads paid for by PACs funded by Wall Street billionaires, and other millions of dollars going to ads for Good, paid for by PACs funded by libertarian billionaires and the Club for Growth.
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Not helpful? How about this: I called some Republican county chairs in the 5th District, and they noted with dismay that McGuire had promised — it’s on video! — last year that if he won his state Senate seat, he would support Good’s reelection and wouldn’t run against him. Confronted with that broken promise, McGuire told the Cardinal News that it was ancient history: “That was a year and a half ago, at least.”
It’s not quite prehistoric to Robin Horne, past chairwoman of the Louisa County Republican Committee. “They have the same beliefs — closing the border, keeping America safe,” she told me, “but John McGuire lied and said he would not run against Bob Good. People don’t like that.”
As a strong Trump supporter, Horne has no problem forgiving Good for his brief sojourn straying from the path. “People have to stop saying you’re disloyal if you supported DeSantis,” she said. “We all support President Trump, but for him to endorse McGuire because Bob Good was for DeSantis, that’s just childish. That’s not how you bring people together.”
And here I was thinking it was all about loyalty.
