Are We On Our Way to Extinction?

Several years ago, then Delegate (and VSSA member) Bill Janis was the guest speaker at the VSSA Annual Meeting.  He laid out for those in attendance a picture of what Virginia was becoming based on demographics.  It wasn't a pretty picture.  Basically, the rural power base that ruled the General Assembly for decades was giving way to more urban/suburban influences.  He predicted that if the GOP (Janis is a Republican) and gun owners did not wake up to the changing face of Virginia, we were doomed for a string of defeats.  This was before the 2006 election which saw a Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate  from Virginia for the first time since 1994, and before the 2008 Election where a Democrat won Virginia for the first time since 1964.

So when I read this post by Sebastian over on Shall Not Be Questioned, it reminded me of Janis' comments.

We are not facing the anti-gun crowd, save Bloomberg. We’ re facing the left-wing of the Democratic Party, and they mean to destroy us. They are betting this trend is real, that the country will be increasingly urban, left of center, and more in favor of gun control. They are betting the farm that we’re on our way to extinction. Are we?

Folks, this isn't fearmongering.  The trend is real.  Just as Janis predicted almost 10 years ago, the power of the rural legislator in Virgnia is now a thing of the past.  That means we have to broaden our appeal to people living in the suburbs and cities, many of whom have moved here from places like the northeast as Virginia's tax and business climate has enticed large corporations like Altria to move here.  Otherwise, we may well be on our way to extinction.