ElectionsU.S. House of RepresentativesVirginia

Should Comstock Switch to the Democratic Party?

Barbara Comstock

Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, a Republican from Virginia’s 10th District, is no conservative. Despite campaigning on a conservative agenda, Comstock has become quite cozy with the D.C. establishment, taking a page straight out of their elitist book while ignoring her constituents, and even reaching across the aisle to rub elbows with the worst of Virginia’s Democratic contingent in Congress.

Comstock, who recently assumed her second term in Congress, has drawn attention from both parties since her most recent inauguration, beginning with her refusal to show up for a January town hall in Fairfax County. Not only did this energize her left-wing opponents, it infuriated her conservative constituents, who have been left to answer for Comstock’s neglect of the 10th District. Even worse, Comstock’s no-show came after she personally invited her constituents to meet at grocery stores in Lorton and Oakton, where she would answer questions on ‘issues important to you.’

In addition to forgetting about her constituents, it appears Comstock has also forgotten about her supposed conservative principles. After winning re-election in an election cycle full of fury about Obamacare, Comstock remained relatively silent on the issue. Finally, in March, her silence was broken after she joined House Democrats in voting ‘NO’ on the Obamacare repeal. It comes as no surprise, that after her break from conservative principles, Democrats began an early push towards turning the 10th District blue in 2018, knowing that unenthusiastic and frustrated conservatives will be less than enthused for another Comstock term.

As if Comstock’s vote in favor of Obamacare wasn’t bad enough, in recent weeks she has taken yet another leap towards the left. During House debate on the 2017 version of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congresswoman Comstock joined 23 other Republicans and the Democratic Party, voting against the Hartzler Amendment, which would have ended a Pentagon policy of providing gender-reassignment surgeries for transgender service members. With Democrats already swooning over Comstock’s vote against the Hartzler Amendment, she decided to put the icing on the cake, once again joining the Democrats, and 45 other Republicans, in voting against an amendment which would have ended funding towards additional research into the climate change hoax.

With Comstock receiving praise for voting alongside fellow Northern Virginia Congressmen Connelly and Breyer, with Comstock as the Republican nominee in 2018, the Democrats may have nothing to lose. For Democrats, a Comstock victory is good, and a win of their own is even better! With such a weak Republican in office, conservative voters are growing frustrated, and although the 2018 primary season is nearly a year away, one conservative, Shak Hill, is already reported to be running against Comstock. If the American people are going to truly drain the swamp, there is no better place to start than the House of Representatives.