Del. Don Scott: Where Democrats Stand Going Into the Election
This week, Michael and Lauren are joined by House Democratic Leader Don Scott for a final preview of the upcoming General Assembly elections. Leader Scott talks about the Democratic focus on abortion and education, responds to criticisms from House Speaker Todd Gilbert, and gives his takes on some of the hottest races that'll be decided next week--which might land him a role as Speaker if the Democrats win the majority.
Episode Transcript
Michael Pope
I'm Michael Pope.
Lauren Burke
I'm Lauren Burke.
Michael Pope
And this is Pod Virginia, a podcast that is coming at you live on demand at ALX Community on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria. If you don't know about ALX Community, go to ALXCommunity.com. To learn more. They've got this location on the waterfront, plus a separate location called the Atrium. That's right next to the Lyceum in Old Town. Lauren, what do you think of ALX Community?
Lauren Burke
I love it. I think it's great. It's the WeWork of Alexandria. It's a nice place to hang out, with great rooms and great space. We love it.
Michael Pope
Great coffee and everything. All right. So, I want to welcome our guest today. He's currently the leader of the House Dems; he might be the next Speaker of the House. Now, the last time I saw him on the floor of the House of Delegates, I walked over to his side of the room where he sits opposite the press seats. And I asked him about the Republicans caving on all their budget demands. And this is what he said to me.
Don Scott
You're very smart.
Michael Pope
You're very smart. I like that. You know, I keep that soundbite around. So when I can't sleep at night, I just hit the button and it says,
Don Scott
You're very smart.
Michael Pope
Okay. All right. Fact check. Probably not true. But I suppose the jury is still out. Don Scott, thanks for coming on Pod Virginia.
Don Scott
Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to finally be here. I've listened to one or two shows and come to find out you really are jackleg.
Michael Pope
I appreciate you saying that, Mr. Leader. All right, so it's great to see you in person. Thanks for coming out to ALX community. So, I want to start with abortion rights. They are at risk; they are on the ballot. If Republicans gain control of the House and the Senate, they'll send legislation to the governor restricting abortion rights in Virginia. So I want to play some audio. For you, Mr. Leader of the Republican Speaker of the House Todd Gilbert, when he appeared on WRV, this is what he told John Reed on Richmond's Morning News. They're
Todd Gilbert
They're hitting on one note, which is abortion everywhere and trying to make us out to be something we are not and that we have very publicly pushed back on the reasonable position we have taken.
Michael Pope
All right, so the Speaker says Republicans have a reasonable position banning abortion after 15 weeks for most women, limiting it for others. He says that's a reasonable position. What do you say?
Don Scott
He must not have talked to my wife because it's reasonable for her. Many of the women that we speak to every day, they have some gall. Roe v. Wade was the law of 50 years, with no problems nothing wrong. And now that the Supreme Court has decided to overturn it, they want to bring the extreme reproductive health care issues and positions to Virginia. And I think Virginia is doing fine; we believe and trust women. And so if we do that, we will allow them to continue to make these decisions and make them between a woman and her doctor, and not Todd Gilbert or any other politician in the Republican Party in Virginia.
Lauren Burke
Do you think there's any risk out there of overplaying the abortion issue at all? I mean, I have heard a lot of candidates say on the doors that they have heard that, but what do you think?
Don Scott
Well, I'm actually going on some doors with members. And what I've heard is that that is a number one motivating factor for a lot of women. I had a Republican Woman telling me the other day, listen, I don't agree with you on some stuff. But on this one, I don't want any politicians trying to legislate what I do with my own body. And I think that resonates with everybody, but I need you to understand all of these issues are intertwined. It's not just abortion. We're talking about education. We're talking about gun violence prevention; we're talking about making sure that we have an economy that works for everybody. We are talking about taking away freedoms, abortion of which is just one. Just this week, the governor admitted that they purged more people off the voter rolls than they originally admitted. So, can we even trust them? We know they're doing everything they can to try to buy an election. So, I think it's important that abortion is just one of the avenues that they use to try to take away freedoms, and I think we need to take that into account. We don't even have children with the freedom to go to school, and I worry about being shot. Parents don't have the freedom to know that they send their children to school and that they will come back safely. Republicans tried to repeal all about gun violence legislation. What just happened in Maine could have happened in Virginia. We have red flag laws here that could have prevented that. So, I know a lot of people have focused only on abortion. But abortion is one of the main cogs in a whole theme of atrocities that the Republican Party wants to bring down upon the Commonwealth of Virginia. I
Lauren Burke
I thought it was interesting that speaker Gilbert appeared on the John Reed show that the first question asked was about defunding police. This is obviously the message that the Republicans want to remind voters of: they're leaning hard on crime. Here's what Todd Gilbert said on the John Reed Show.
Todd Gilbert
They're running on one thing and one thing only, and they're trying very hard not to talk about the crime rate and how they impacted that and how it all relates back to this movement that started out with defunding the police.
Lauren Burke
So what do you think, leader Scott? Do you want to defund the police?
Don Scott
Hell no, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. And for him to continue to repeat, it is amazing. And that just tells me that they are out of touch with voters. They're clueless. They continue to say the same things that they've always said tried to scare the bejesus out of voters, and it doesn't work. At the end of the day, voters won't save communities. And what's amazing to me is the hypocrisy that he can say this: he has a whole crime spree going on in his own caucus, Matt Farris. We'll go to court on January 16th or 17th for winning over a woman in his truck and beating her up. That's what the allegation is. He's facing felony charges in circuit court. Tom Garrett, the guy, was coming back. His wife said that he tried to strangle her while her infant child slept next to her. And then he tried to put them out of the bid. This is stuff that you cannot make up. But the governor hadn't had the answer for it. They come to Democrats every time somebody cuts a toenail; let's say his answer for this behavior of some Democrat. They have actual members right now going to court for felony charges. Nobody's asked to say a word; they have actually a member who is basically a shoo-in who has been accused by his wife of strangling her. I know people do crazy stuff in divorce as I'm an attorney, I know that. But jeez, can somebody address their concern for women in this issue? You know, today is one of the last days of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And he hadn't said a word about that. So, for them to be talking about crime is kind of ridiculous. I mean, the governor spent a boatload of money, millions of dollars sent to do performative work in Texas, send folks down National Guard. And guess what? They found not one dose of fentanyl, not one peel. So I mean, we got to stop this performative stuff that they say, to try to scare the bejesus, they have no vision for the future. We want an economy that works for everybody. We want kids to be safe from gun violence. We want a first-class education for everybody. And we want to make sure that we protect our voting rights freedom and our reproductive health care freedom. They want to just get if you look at every commercial, they don't scare the bejesus out everybody, they don't stand for anything. They have no agenda.
Michael Pope
You know, if you look at crime rates, they actually have gone down very significantly since the early 1990s. If you look at violent crime, it's gone down about 40%. If you look at property crime, it's gone down about 60%. If you look at the murder rates gone down 20%. That's the long-term Picture since the early 90s; there was a slight uptick during the pandemic coalition. And you're at a bit of a disadvantage here because voter polling consistently shows that voters trust Republicans on this issue; what do you make of that?
Don Scott
I think voters want to be safe. Voters want responsible, accountable crime prevention programs. And I think we can continue to do that. And I think both Republicans and Democrats over the last couple of years that I've been in office have done a good job balancing each other to get to a point where we are seeing crime go down and things be a little safer. Now, of course, Youngkin wants it both ways. He wants to take credit for the positive and blame us for the negative like he showed up the other day for the Dominion wind energy project. He had nothing to do with passing the clean energy legislation. As a matter of fact, he's trying to take us back, but he'll take credit for the good stuff and blame us for the bad stuff. And I wish he would just be honest and just say thank you for all of the great things that we've done. And we can move on.
Michael Pope
All right, Mr. Leader, let's talk about extremism. So Democrats are running on basically two things this year: abortion rights and Republican extremism. But if you talk to Republicans, they'll say you're the extremists and the Democrats. Here's Republican Speaker, Todd Gilbert.
Todd Gilbert
There are all kinds of extremist thoughts that has infected the other party, and nobody really talks about it. They can try ways to make us seem extreme when we're out here talking about gas prices and crime in their street and in their communities and how their kids are going to, you know, catch up from the pandemic. That's what we want to talk about.
Michael Pope
Gas prices, that's what they want to talk about. So get ready for a general assembly session where you get all that proposed legislation on gas prices. Don Scott, why don't you want to talk about gas prices?
Don Scott
You know, they were talking about gas prices, and they were way up. And then, when inflation came down, they ran and scared like mice; we hadn't heard anything from him, and they were almost rooting for America to do better. And now we're doing better. They don't want to give credit. He wants to take credit for the positive economy in Virginia. Well, guess who did that? That's partly because we have a national environment of great policies. And our Congress that did that, we had Inflation Reduction Act, we had a Chips Act, we had a lot of things that came and poured money into Virginia, especially because we depend so much on the federal government and military, I'm a former veteran. So I understand that when the federal government comes through, or it's great for Virginia, and when the federal government can hurt, it can hurt Virginia, in the seat of Republican extremism and chaos in Congress. We know that that will hurt Virginia, and I wish that the governor would spend more time talking to his chaos caucus up in the Republican caucus up there in DC to prevent them from hurting everyday Virginians. And I was gonna say this about Todd Gilbert, I mean, the Speaker, I love to speak, he's very funny guy because he says some ridiculous stuff. If you think about what he just said, they have thought about them. We're all in this together. When he talks about how they were trying to fix their communities, he doesn't know that we're all one. We're all together. We may be opposing parties, but we're trying to help all Virginians. And he continues to talk about we versus them if he got us all on the same page, which is what we want to do. And we can get more things done. And to hear him say stuff like that, at the same time, where he literally has people who were at the January 6th rally, maybe that's the definition of extremism. Maybe it's the definition of extremism, but you have a candidate like Higgins and Loudon, who literally said the election was rigged and Trump won. Maybe he should be talking to his own caucus about what extremism looks like.
Lauren Burke
Mr. Little, can you comment a little bit about the problems that we've had with kids catching up after the pandemic? Obviously, there's been a lot of data showing that educational lag was problematic. Can you comment on that?
Don Scott
I honestly believe COVID really set us back, and I want to really have folks think about what happened; we lost a million people to death. All right, our country hadn't dealt with the mental health issues that have come from seeing so much death in such a short period of time. And so I think our kids are being impacted by that as well. You couple that with the teacher shortage, we have. We've put some money in the budget cycle to help deal with learning loss to help deal with new teachers to help them get their teaching license quicker, provisional license. Still, the issue is we just don't have the people. We have a talent pipeline issue that we're going to have to solve, and I think it's because we need to be doing more to attract people to the teaching profession. And I think when you do your first act as governor, you create a teacher tip line that might not be a good way to recruit teachers into the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Michael Pope
On the topic of private detective agencies giving oppo research to the Associated Press leader, what do you make of House District 91 in Chesapeake, where we've got Democratic incumbent Cliff Hayes? He had a Republican opponent who dropped out, and now he's got someone else on the ballot; the House Republican caucus gave the Associated Press a report from a private eye. So, Don Scott, what do you make of Maltese Falcon politics.
Don Scott
It's hilarious. It's amazing that they wouldn't even waste money on that. It used to be that people try to win elections, and they actually win in the hope people vote, but in this case, I guess they are spending a lot of time and energy. I thought the spirit of Virginia meant something different. But I guess the spirit of Virginia means doing whatever you can to undermine your political opponents and destroy them if you can because this looks like a Youngkin tactic. It is really sad. Maybe he used to do this in corporate America.
Lauren Burke
And, of course, we have to ask you about Susanna Gibson, another admitted by the Washington Post, interestingly enough, an oppo dump by the Republicans that went to the post and into the paper. Everybody has been buzzing about this race, which is HD 57; what say you Leader Scott.
Don Scott
I think nothing has changed regarding our need to address the needs of the Commonwealth to make sure that we do everything we can to get the majority to keep the Republicans from gaining full control. We know what that means. That's the best answer. I'm gonna give you all on that. And if you try anything else, I'm gonna call you Jackleg again.
Michael Pope
I'm about to try something else, Mr. Leader. I want you to respond to what Speaker Gilbert had to say when they asked him about this Susanna Gibson race on WRVA, so this is Speaker Gilbert.
Todd Gilbert
We are very much letting the people of Henrico County judge that one for themselves. And by all accounts, they are going to judge it correctly, and not in terms of whatever her life choices may be. But in terms of her judgment.
Michael Pope
Perhaps we could question the judgment of denying Medicaid coverage to low-income people. Or perhaps we could consider the judgment of people who lead predatory lenders to charge 300% API. Maybe we could question the judgment of candidates who voted against Virginia's Red Flag Law. But instead, we're talking about the judgment of a candidate involved in a sex scandal with her husband, Don Scott; what do you say about Susanna Gibson's judgment?
Don Scott
I mean, maybe we can talk about the judgment and the callousness of people who would force poor women to bring children into birth who have severe fetal abnormalities. That is what they all voted for in the last budget. And we had to take it out, and they all folded like cheap suits. So we know one thing about these folks: they are so hypocritical; this is the person he didn't say a word about anything. They have a front-runner for president who has been found guilty or liable for sexual assault. And he hadn't said a word. They have a front-runner who says he grabs women by their genitals, and he hadn't said a word, and now he's outraged. It's a little bit pathetic, and it's desperate. And you know what else? Somebody should ask the question. A while ago, they dropped a poll and said it's over. The next thing I know, they send in the mail left and right. Tell them to drop the latest poll because they had dropped that.
Lauren Burke
I want to ask you about one of your members who is being targeted by the Republicans, Rodney Willett. Right though, this is a district that voted for Ralph Northam with 51% of the vote and Terry McAuliffe with 52% of the vote, but Republicans are going on the offensive here, trying to blast delegate will it as being part of the woke mob. Here's speaker Todd Gilbert again, casting shade at Willett for appearing within Reiko Commonwealth's attorney Shannon Taylor.
Todd Gilbert
The prosecutor in Henrico that he's walking around with in those ads. I mean, she used to be thought of as a good by-the-book prosecutor, but she's among the group that's the woke Prosecutors. Now, I think she might have been one of the founders of that.
Michael Pope
Yes, Shannon Taylor was one of the 11 Commonwealth attorneys who founded the Progressive Prosecutors for Justice; Don Scott is Rodney Willett, part of the woke mob.
Don Scott
Oh, you've never heard anything. So this is what this is what these folks are running. This stuff works. I can't believe it. At the end of the day, you know, Rodney Willett is the most straight-laced business Democrat. He's what I would call a pragmatic progressive Democrat, very pragmatic if it can't get done right. Rodney's not doing it. He's a very conservative, pragmatic Democrat or middle-of-the-road. Democrat. Sometimes, I have to want the help. Rodney might be on the right in the middle of the line. And he's the person that keeps everybody from going a little too far sometimes. Right. And he's a good guy. And I would put a $100 bill on his table right now to tell you Rodney's smoker, and I'd ask Todd if you want to take that bet.
Michael Pope
All right. So you've been really generous with your time. I appreciate it. We're going to end the podcast with a lightning round. We'll go through all the most competitive races starting in House District 65 in Fredericksburg, Joshua Cole vs. Lee Peters.
Don Scott
Josh Cole will win. He's an experienced good candidate. He's a very good candidate and well thought of in our community. Committed to that community and has been working in that community for for years. And so I think he and his family are fully committed to their community and based on what we've seen so far here when he's working hard. He's doing doors like crazy. He's raising god-awful amounts of money. So he's gonna be able to win this race. You know, he's one of the many Black candidates that are doing very well in diverse communities. And I think Josh would do well.
Lauren Burke
Talking about Mr. Leader HD 97 And Virginia Beach, Michael Fagan's vs Republican Karen Greenhalgh.
Don Scott
Well, Karen Greenhalgh is awful. I mean, she is one of these people who ran one of these crisis centers when he came in, and people want to get an abortion. They tried to talk him out of it and tell them all kinds of bad stuff and make them feel bad and lower their self-esteem and all this other crap at the end of the day. Michael Fagan's is a retired Master Sergeant and 20-year Air Force veteran. He loves his country. He's patriotic. He's the right man for that region. He believes in freedom. He believes in protecting voting rights and reproductive health care. He's a great candidate. And I think he's doing very well. And you know what he's doing well because Younkin is spending a lot of money and a lot of time there. And the Spirit of Virginia turns out it's just a lot of green money. That's what the Spirit of Virginia is.
Michael Pope
HD 82 in Petersburg and Dinwiddie, this is where we've got Kimberly Pope Adams vs Kim Taylor.
Don Scott
Kim Taylor, the one in a witness protection program. They won't let her come to any events with Kimberly Pope Adams because Kimberly Pope Adams is an excellent speaker. Kimberly Pope Adams is a person who is invested in that community. She's an accountant and an auditor at Virginia State University, very sharp. She grew up in that community, the daughter of a union worker in a factory there in Dinwiddie; she's a great candidate. Kim Taylor is one of the folks who would vote that life begins at conception. She voted to repeal the red flag laws right now in this time, even at a time when the leading cause of death among our young people is no longer car accidents but gun violence. And these Republicans would vote to repeal red flag laws. So, they would do everything in their power to take us back to gun laws. At a time when they talked about inflation being high, she voted to repeal the minimum wage; who does that? They take us back to $7.25. I mean, you can't make this stuff up. The fact that they're even competitive to me is amazing. With the stuffed in the lingo and stuff that they say, it's amazing to me.
Lauren Burke
Mr. Leader, HD 21 Prince William Joshua Thomas vs John Stirrup,
Don Scott
Joshua Tomas vs John's Stirrup. Mr. I believe in a 100% total ban on abortion. That's his quote: you can't make this stuff up. Like he didn't get the memo that they were supposed to just say in 15 weeks, he let the truth slip up. He said I want 100%, total back there was like, no, no, get your ass back over here and get in this room and shut up. Here's the memo. Read this. 15 weeks, 15 weeks, 15 weeks, 15 weeks. Okay, now get back out there and say that's what they did to him. Poor thing. But Josh Thomas is a Marine Corps veteran. He is an attorney. He's sharp. He's perfect for that district. He is the business guy. He is a believer in freedom, voting rights, and freedom. He put his right hand in the air and swore an oath to protect our Constitution. And so I believe that he's the right man for the job. And I think he'll be he prevail. And if you've seen the data, I bet I've seen you will know that they're scared to death because he's up.
Michael Pope
HD 89 and Chesapeake and Suffolk, where we've got Karen Jenkins vs Baxter Ennis.
Don Scott
Yeah, another one that sent a witness protection program. They won't let him out, come out and play with us, Baxter, and as he's a very extreme guy, an election denier who believes in taking us back on abortion. They talked about 15 weeks, and Florida said 15 weeks, and then they took us to 6 weeks simultaneously. They said we're gonna start with 15 weeks, and then Florida went zoom for 6 weeks, so we don't know what these folks will do. Karen Jenkins is an excellent candidate and Suffolk school board member right now. Very involved in the community very engaged longtime board member. So I think she has a great opportunity to take that race. That's a toss-up race.
Lauren Burke
And lastly, HD 22 and Prince William Travis Nembhard vs Ian Lovejoy.
Don Scott
Ian Lovejoy tried to shut down women's access to reproductive healthcare. That's his record. You got to run on it. And so Travis Nembhard is a great attorney. His wife's a schoolteacher and a public school teacher in that area. Great candidate and a very knowledgeable young man. He got it. It's a great opportunity to pull that off. And so that's a tight race, that's a toss-up race.
Michael Pope
All right, the leader of the House Democrats, potentially the next Speaker of the House, thank you for coming on Pod Virginia. Don Scott.
Don Scott
Thank you very much. It has been very enjoyable. Y'all, edit some of this stuff out.
