The radicalization of the Fairfax Democratic Party

This op-ed was written by Stephanie Lundquist-Arora, IWN member and chapter leader in Virginia.

Despite its lip service to diversity and inclusion, the Fairfax Democratic Party does not support these principles in practice. Over the last few years, extremists have hijacked the party, leaving Virginia’s Fairfax residents behind.

Most recently, at a special meeting on Oct. 18, Fairfax Democrats ousted Ed Nuttall from their party. In their view, Nuttall has committed the unforgivable offense of objecting to the George Soros-funded incumbent candidate for Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney office, Steve Descano. Under Descano’s reign, crime in Fairfax County has increased, prosecutions have decreased, and there has been a low conviction rate on felony cases. In favor of his “progressive” agenda, Descano ignores victims of crime and, in six years, has never prosecuted a case in Fairfax County.

Like many of us in Fairfax, Nuttall was fed up with Descano prioritizing politics over safety and therefore challenged him in the June 2023 Democratic primary. Unfortunately, Soros’ money and the extremists’ influence in the Democratic Party prevailed, helping Descano to win the party’s nomination for Fairfax Commonwealth Attorney. There is not a Republican candidate for the November election, so Descano is listed as the only choice for Fairfax County voters.

In response, concerned citizens of Fairfax County created a write-in campaign for Nuttall, who, until recently, was a member of the Fairfax Democratic Party in good standing, to unseat Descano. Campaign supporters explain, “We simply want to live better lives in safer communities, and Ed Nuttall continues to be that only path forward for Fairfax voters.”

Instead of pressuring Descano to support community safety initiatives and victims’ rights, Fairfax Democrats held a special meeting to oust Nuttall from their exclusive tribe. Ejecting and rejecting members who do not march unquestionably to the beat of their radical drum is not new to Fairfax Democrats, which proves they are anything but inclusive and ideologically diverse.

Fairfax County’s 12 Democrat-endorsed school board members, for example, certainly were not being inclusive when they decided to incorporate racism against Asians into their new admissions procedures to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, beginning in 2020. Among the parents fighting for fairness and race-blind admissions to the county’s magnet school is Harry Jackson, a father and current school board candidate in Fairfax County’s Hunter Mill district. In Oct. 2021, Fairfax Democrats punished him for supporting merit in education by voting against his membership to their exclusive, radical party.

A few months later, in Jan. 2022, Fairfax Democrats also voted against the memberships of concerned parents and community members who supported in-person public education for our children. Saundra Davis, a mother and current at-large school board candidate, was among them. At the time of the meeting, Davis was an active member of OpenFCPS, a non-partisan group of parents advocating for our children to return to their classrooms. Fairfax Democrats denied her membership to their exclusive, homogenous party.

Some of the Democrats responsible for this exclusion are school board members, such as incumbent Melanie Meren, who is seeking reelection. Meren repeatedly voted in favor of closing our public schools while she simultaneously enrolled her own children in private pods. Where was her concern for equity and equal outcomes then? Clearly, party elites do not apply the institution’s principles to themselves.

Now, parents on both sides of the aisle are concerned about the learning loss, plummeting test scores, and chronic absenteeism caused by prolonged school closures. Hindsight is looking favorably at Davis and the other brave parents of OpenFCPS, and not so much on the radical Fairfax Democrats who advocated keeping our schools closed.

The resounding message from the Fairfax Democratic Party is that anyone calling for fairness, moderation, and thoughtful debate; anyone who is not in lock-step with the Fairfax Democratic Party’s radical initiatives, will be ejected without question or remorse. And we are all worse off for it.