Watching last week's debate between Democratic candidate for Virginia attorney general, Jay Jones, and his Republican opponent, current Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, one could be forgiven for thinking that Donald Trump was on the debate stage rather than Miyares.
Jones made reference to Donald Trump by name or to "the president" nearly 50 times, according to media reports. I found it so tiresome while watching the debate myself that I stopped counting. Clearly, Jones's internal polling is telling him that Donald Trump is a triggering factor for many Virginians.
As a resident of northern Virginia myself for 32 years, in its very blue Fairfax County, I can certainly attest to this. If you want to stay in the good graces of your neighborhood circle of friends, you do not mention Trump or anything remotely political or social. Stick to the weather, your kids' doings, or the Redskins ("Commanders," if you must).
But putting Mr. Jones's obsessive fixation with Donald Trump aside, the debate offered some learning opportunities for aspiring politicians.
Here's a rule of thumb for any political candidate: When you have to open your appearance on a debate stage with an apology to your viewing audience for text messages that you sent to a colleague saying that you wished someone would put "two bullets" in the head of a political opponent, and that you wish that the opponents' children would die in their mother's arms, you probably should conclude that apology with, "And upon painstaking reflection, and heartfelt discussions with my wife, I have decided that it is only proper for me to withdraw from this race to be the chief law enforcement officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia."
Spoiler alert: That statement was not forthcoming from Mr. Jones. That would have been the decent thing to do, but no. After saying, "I am ashamed. I am embarrassed. And I am sorry," Mr. Jones plowed ahead, teeing up his various jibes at Miyares for somehow being in Donald Trump's pocket, wanting to be Mr. Trump's "pro bono lawyer," and supposedly allowing Mr. Trump to run roughshod over the state of Virginia.
Mr. Miyares did an estimable job of reminding Virginians why they should not elect the former Virginia House delegate to replace him.
In addition to mentioning the homicide-laced text messages and similar sentiments expressed in a strange follow-up phone call to Jones's former House colleague, Delegate Carrie Coyner (discussed at greater length in my previous column, here), Mr. Miyares reminded voters that in the same year of his ill-advised texting, Mr. Jones received remarkably lenient treatment for a serious driving infraction. Mr. Jones was caught going 116 miles per hour on Interstate 64.
Now, anyone familiar with I-64 is very aware that the maximum speed limit is 70 MPH. And they also know that Virginia State Troopers enforce that limit with gusto. Having spent a lot of time on I-64, I know you set your cruise control to, maybe, 72 MPH, and don't override it. Now, exceeding that 70 MPH limit by 46 MPH is not showing very good judgment. As they say, it's a speed "limit," not a "suggestion."
As Mr. Miyares helpfully noted, three other drivers were caught going at a similar rate of speed on I-64 that day. And those individuals all received either active or suspended jail sentences. But not Mr. Jones. Not only was his driver's license not suspended, but he also merely had to pay a $1,500 fine and do 1,000 hours of "community service." As Mr. Miyares pointed out, the "community service" was laughable.
Of the 1,000 hours, 500 were spent working on his own political action committee, Meet Our Moment. The other 500 hours were spent purportedly working for the NAACP Virginia State Conference. So, instead of spending a year in a Virginia hoosegow – the normal punishment for reckless driving in Virginia – Mr. Jones got to work burnishing his political career.
Now, why would the judge have been so gentle with the former House delegate? Well, Mr. Jones offered the debate audience some enlightenment. He is a child of privilege.
Mr. Jones comes from an impressive lineage. His grandfather, Hilary H. Jones, Jr., came from an impoverished background in a segregated Deep South to attend college and law school, and became a prominent civil rights attorney in Norfolk, Virginia. Then, Jay's father, Jerrauld Corey Jones, Sr., himself a lawyer, became a seven-term member of the Virginia House of Delegates, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2001, and became a judge on the Norfolk Circuit Court, where he served for many years. Jay's mother, Lyn M. Simmons, was a prosecutor for many years and then a judge herself in Norfolk, Virginia.
In short, Jay had very accomplished parents. Jay was sent to the very prestigious private high school, Norfolk Collegiate School, followed by the College of William and Mary, and then the University of Virginia Law School. He had a very entitled home life and an expensive, top-tier education.
Obviously, there's nothing wrong with a privileged background in and of itself. However, one has to wonder if that privileged upbringing then extended to the very lenient treatment he received for a driving infraction that would send others to prison. Or would lead him to feel he could send very disturbing, murderous text messages about a political opponent, without exposure of those writings leading to his disqualification for office, as would happen to virtually any other candidate for public office.
Jason Miyares, a product of public schools, whose mother fled Communist Cuba as a 16-year-old homeless person and who truly came from nothing, has a demonstrated record of accomplishment as Virginia's current attorney general. He deserves to retain the job we put him in.
William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private, and non-profit sectors for 39 years. He is a senior investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc., and has been a contributor to Townhall, American Thinker, Epoch Times, The Federalist, American Greatness, and other publications. His work has been featured on CBS News' 48 Hours and NBC News' Dateline. (The views expressed are the author’s alone, and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.)