I’ve been studying information warfare intensively for the last six years, and feel I’ve developed a bit of a knack for political spin. In this brief editorial I will offer a quick rundown of the kind of messaging that I believe Democrats should be circulating regarding the Youngkin win in Virginia, and a brief explanation of why I believe that kind of messaging would be effective for Democrats. Following is the kind of script that Democrats should be using to respond to the Youngkin win.

“Glenn Youngkin’s win in the Virginia Governor’s race is a mixed blessing for the GOP. Numerous outlets have noted how although Youngkin did accept Trump’s endorsement, he never painted himself as an ardent Trump loyalist. When Trump loyalists held a rally to support Youngkin that included saying the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag that was carried at the January 6th insurrection, Youngkin later responded to that action as “weird and wrong“, and condemned the actions of the January 6th insurrectionists. Youngkin’s win is a mixed blessing for the GOP because it means that in order to win back suburban voters, there has to be a decided shift away from Trumpism, and that ultimately means that the two Republicans that should be most encouraged by Youngkin’s win are Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney. Not surprisingly, Kinzinger, who is currently one of only two Republicans who volunteered to be on the House January 6th committee, recently declared that he’s strongly considering running for President in 2024. People who have made their way in politics by being slavish Trump sycophants won’t be able to thread that needle the way that Youngkin did.

Republicans are being ridiculously over-confident when they try to insist that a victory for Youngkin means Trumpism reigns again. It does not. Although some of Youngkin’s comments about CRT may have come across as racist to Democratic ears, he portrayed more of an old-fashioned, covert, Reagan era style of racism that suburban white voters are comfortable with, and not the blatant pandering to the “very fine people” in the Trump base.

Ultimately what this means is that Trump is now relegated to being a doddering old fool sitting on the sidelines of the GOP and shouting instructions that no one is listening to. The former guy lost bigly and now the GOP belongs to Mitch McConnell once again. Youngkin’s victory is a sign that the era of Trumpism is over in American politics.”

Why is this kind of rhetoric effective? First off: you’re immediately questioning the relevance of Trumpism in the GOP, and suggesting that the only way Republicans have any chance of winning elections is by appealing to voters who soured on Trump and did not vote for him in the 2020 election. You’re pointing out instances of where Youngkin openly rebuked the idea of Trumpism. That kind of language has the potential to stoke internal divisions within the GOP. That’s classic ‘Art of War’ style thinking: an enemy whose troops are divided is less able to focus on an opponent. If you can force your opponent to question who their true leader is, and get them to squabble over who truly has a mandate to lead, then you have a far greater chance of success in battle.

Second: the two people that you’re declaring should be most encouraged by Youngkin’s win are the exact same two people who have openly rebuked Trump and are currently on the committee investigating the events of January 6th. Those are the same two individuals that Trump loyalists in the GOP have launched vicious attacks against. Democrats should make every effort to avoid public debate amongst themselves as to whether Kinzinger and Cheney really are the most likely to benefit from the Youngkin win. Leave debate to the Republicans. There is no benefit to dividing ourselves over their problems.

Third: In the current environment Democrats need to take every opportunity to portray Trump as a doddering old man of dwindling importance, who was ultimately beaten by Mitch McConnell. Again, we’re trying to stoke division between different factions within the GOP. Democrats should not debate among themselves about who is really in charge of the GOP. Leave that up to the Republicans.

Note that nothing that I’ve presented here is fabricated. All of the opinions presented are within the realm of conclusions that a person of normal intelligence and demeanor might arrive at, but by carefully considering the nature of my rhetoric, and applying a few basic principles from Sun-Tzu’s The Art of War, I’ve generated a series of talking points that have the potential to dramatically undermine the GOP victory in Virginia, and stoke divisions within the Republican Party that may seriously compromise their ability to prepare for 2022. It is this art of being a total bastard that the Democratic Party needs to learn very quickly, if they want to have any chance of success in the 2022 mid-terms.