The Left is breaking conventions. And it isn’t looking good for freedom loving people.
And now this wacko Democrat governor put a ridiculous measure on the table that changes everything.
A GOVERNOR WHO WON’T SAY NO
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger ran as a moderate. That was the pitch in 2025 — a former CIA officer and pragmatic Democrat who wouldn’t lurch left. But a new interview is giving Republicans fresh ammunition, after Spanberger declined to rule out extending the state’s sales tax to gym memberships, dog grooming, streaming subscriptions, and a range of other services currently exempt from taxation.
Asked directly about the possibility during a local ABC affiliate interview, Spanberger kept every option on the table. “I think every idea, as long as it’s reasonable and makes some amount of sense, should be discussed,” she said. “I think there are worthy conversations to be had about what revenue generation looks like into the future as our economy changes in so many ways.”
To translate: nothing is off the table. In a state where cost of living is a top-tier voter concern and inflation has already squeezed household budgets for years, a governor declining to rule out taxing your Netflix account and your dog’s grooming appointment is not a nothing statement. It’s a signal — and Republican opponents heard it loud and clear.
THE CONTEXT: A BUDGET CRUNCH AND A LEGISLATIVE WISH LIST
The backdrop to Spanberger’s comments is a Virginia General Assembly session that produced a batch of service-tax expansion bills — covering storage facilities, dry cleaning, vehicle repair, website design, digital subscriptions, counseling, and data storage, among others. The bills were introduced during the tenure of Spanberger’s predecessor, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and never made it to a floor vote before the session ended March 14. But their existence gave Spanberger an opening to float the concept of broadening Virginia’s revenue base without explicitly endorsing any specific proposal.
President Trump weighed in on Truth Social with characteristic directness: “So sad! She is adding so many taxes: a food and beverage tax, digital services tax, utilities tax and more. People are leaving that would never have even thought of doing so! This went from a thriving and powerful place to a commonwealth run by a person who has no concept of low taxes and economic strength.”
Spanberger pushed back, calling Trump’s characterization of her record “sort of ludicrous.” And in fairness, the only tax increase she has signed into law so far is a minimum wage hike scheduled to reach $15 an hour by 2028. None of the broader service-tax bills have crossed her desk. “Whether I would ever sign a bill is wholly dependent on what is actually in the bill and how it is outlined,” she said.
THE PROBLEM WITH “SHOULD BE DISCUSSED”
The defense, however, misses the political point. Voters don’t parse the difference between a governor who has signed a tax and a governor who has declined to rule one out. When a chief executive tells an interviewer that taxes on streaming services and gym memberships “should be discussed,” that’s a position — and it’s one that provides opponents with a clean, easily understood line of attack heading into an already competitive political environment.
Spanberger also offered a framing device for the streaming question that, while analytically coherent, lands awkwardly with voters. “You used to buy a DVD; there used to be sales tax. Streaming is different,” she said. “So, I recognize there’s value in having these conversations.” True enough as an economic observation. But in the current political climate — where everyday Americans feel squeezed from every direction — “there’s value in having conversations about taxing your Netflix” is not a winning message. It’s precisely the kind of technocratic tax-expansion logic that hands Republicans a straightforward closing argument: Democrats will always find a way to reach deeper into your wallet, and Virginia’s new governor just told you so herself.
