Media forget to ask questions about Confederate patch they otherwise found newsworthy

Members of the press wasted no time snapping pictures of the jacket, disseminating the image all over social media.

Who is this supposed Youngkin supporter and Confederate sympathizer who had the good sense to plop himself immediately in front of the cameras? What is his affiliation? What does he even look like? Does he often wear Confederate-themed apparel around Loudoun County, in notoriously deep blue Northern Virginia? This is not exactly rebel yell territory, after all.

Nobody knows! The members of the press who tweeted photos of the jacket have declined to provide any such follow-up information. It appears they didn’t attempt to interview the man. They didn’t even get a photo of his face! All we know is someone attended Youngkin’s final rally wearing a jean jacket bearing a suspiciously crisp-looking Confederate patch. We also know this supposed supporter was considerate enough to stand directly in front of the press pool, giving journalists and producers a perfect shot with perfect lighting. Reporters felt this much was necessary to share with audiences, but nothing else. Not even a quote.

It’s a particularly inexcusable lapse in journalistic standards and judgment, considering the Democratic-aligned Lincoln Project attempted just last week to Reichstag-Fire a Youngkin campaign event.

Oh, also, at the same rally Monday evening in Loudoun, which, again, is not exactly Hazzard County, an unidentified attendee shouted, “Give us a rebel yell, boys! Woooo!”

Guys. This is not convincing.

If you suspect Youngkin’s final campaign stop this week featured obvious plants from either the Virginia Democrats, the campaign of Democratic Virginia candidate Terry McAuliffe, and/or Democratic allies, including the Lincoln Project, you’re probably on to something.

Having lived 13 years in Virginia, first in Warren County, then Fauquier County, then Fairfax County, and then Arlington County, I can tell you right now Loudoun is not the Southern caricature these attendees would have you believe it is.

Second, as noted in the above, Democrats and their allies have already used undercover operatives to paint Youngkin as an extremist.

On Oct. 29, during a campaign stop in the Charlottesville area, a group of khaki-wearing, tiki torch-wielding individuals, including a black man, lined up in front of Youngkin’s campaign bus, chanting “We’re all in for Glenn.”

It was an obvious Democratic political stunt from the get-go, but this didn’t stop the McAuliffe campaign from seizing on the demonstration to accuse Youngkin of being the preferred candidate of white supremacists.

“The Unite the Right rally was one of the darkest days in the Commonwealth’s history,” said McAuliffe spokeswoman Christina Freundlich. “This is who Glenn Youngkin’s supporters are.”

Later, after it became clear the white supremacist gimmick was a terrible miscalculation, sending Democratic officials scrambling to deny their involvement, the Lincoln Project took credit for the tiki torch protesters. But at least one Democratic operative, Lauren Windsor, confessed to coordinating the demonstration (she admitted her involvement only after she had pretended initially to be shocked by the “protest”). One of the faux white supremacists photographed in front of Youngkin’s bus has been identified as an operative who has worked closely with Windsor. The McAuliffe campaign and Virginia Democrats, meanwhile, deny they had any role in the incident, which seems doubtful. The McAuliffe campaign has called on the Lincoln Project to apologize.

All of this is to say: You’re not wrong to be suspicious of the ostentatiously Confederate attendees who miraculously appeared Monday at Youngkin’s final rally.

It also means you are more curious, skeptical, and cautious about confirming facts than the media covering the Republican candidate, which is sad.