Republicans want to declare former Rep. Barbara Comstock persona non grata
Some Virginia Republicans want to boot former Rep. Barbara Comstock from the ranks of the Virginia GOP.
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The idea was the topic of conversation at a breakfast among Republicans in Oakton earlier this month, and one proponent said the idea could be raised at the next meeting of the Republican Party of Virginia’s central committee.
The ire at Ms. Comstock comes after she endorsed Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat, over Republican Bert Mizusawa.
Ms. Comstock served in the state’s General Assembly before winning her congressional seat in Northern Virginia, which she held for two terms, losing in the anti-Trump backlash in 2018 — even though she’s been a harsh critic of President Trump.
She urged his impeachment in 2021, and in Mr. Trump’s new term she has signed on to letters opposing Mr. Trump’s decisions and some key nominations, including that of Kash Patel to head the FBI.
Neither Ms. Comstock nor a spokesperson from the state party responded to requests for comment.
State party rules state that anyone who supports a candidate opposing a Republican “shall not be qualified for participation in party actions” for four years.
In 2019, the Chesterfield County Republican Committee voted to expel then-state Sen. Amanda Chase after she supported an independent candidate for sheriff.
Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory displays anti-MAGA art
Kevin McGunnigle and his wife were strolling through Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory Art Center earlier this month when they were shocked to be confronted by an artist’s creations insulting assassinated conservative Charlie Kirk and praising Luigi Mangione, who is on trial in New York for the slaying of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The artist, M. Alexander Gray, works in woodblock prints.
His anti-Kirk piece reads “Charlie Kirk was a piece of s—-.”
He also has a piece showing a masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with a sign taped on his back that reads “Trump’s little bitch boy.”
“I was offended,” Mr. McGunnigle told “Seen, Heard & Whispered.” “This to me crosses the line.”
He said he wasn’t alone in finding it beyond tolerated expression, as a mother and daughter also passing by the display agreed it was “horrific.”
He expressed his displeasure to the city government, which operates the artist enclave, renting out space in the former weapons manufacturing plant on the shore of the Potomac River.
Mr. McGunnigle said he didn’t get a response from the city.
A spokesperson from the Torpedo Factory, as well as from the city, did not respond to a request for comment from “Seen, Heard & Whispered.”
Mr. Gray, the artist, said he often gets compliments about his work.
“Art is one of the few methods of resistance available to ordinary people who have no political power or influence,” he told “Seen, Heard & Whispered” in an email.
He says Mr. Mangione is a modern-day John Brown, inspired to strike back against “legally-sanctioned injustice,” and described ICE as “a far-right paramilitary masquerading as a government agency.”
“Artwork like mine is about defiance in a world where non-stop capitulation to Trumpism seems to be the norm, even from powerful people who have the means and resources to resist, but choose not to,” Mr. Gray said.
Is Trump Derangement Syndrome a real psychological disorder?
Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist, says Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, and should be recognized as a formal mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome really started about 10 years ago,” Dr. Lieberman said. “Since then it has become deadly serious, literally deadly serious because we can attribute some of the assassination attempts to Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
She had a meeting with the CEO of the APA on Wednesday to make her case.
Dr. Lieberman describes TDS as far deeper than simply disliking the president. It’s when people project their own past experiences onto the president, blaming him for what has happened to them.
It can lead to behavior changes, such as refusing to socialize with friends or family. At its worst, the doctor said, it has spawned multiple assassination attempts against Mr. Trump.
She said if TDS became an official diagnosis, more people would get treated and be able to live more fulfilling lives.
She got backing from a new survey that found 38% of people have had reactions that would qualify as TDS, and 70% said they have witnessed TDS-related anger or stress in someone they know.
In the survey, 41% said they have seen people stop socializing with friends or family over support for Mr. Trump. Shockingly, 22% said they have seen threats or aggressive behavior tied to negative feelings about the president.
The TechnoMetrica/TIPP Poll was conducted Oct. 16-19 among 1,250 registered voters.
• Seen, Heard & Whispered is a weekly column taking you inside the conversations happening in Washington’s power corridors, the moves being made and the whispers that explain what’s really going on in the nation’s capital. Email tips to whispered@washingtontimes.com. Click here to receive this in your inbox every Friday morning.
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