Hi, y’all. Welcome back to The Opposition. The mission of this newsletter is to chronicle the Democratic party’s path back to power and report on the voters, leaders, and candidates who are shaping that strategy. A lot of the time, that means I have to ask uncomfortable questions that push you all—and myself—to think outside our bubbles. It can be heavy stuff, especially when the stakes for the country are so high and it feels like there’s little room for error. But every now and then I come across a story that makes me laugh and reminds me that we can have some fun along the way. Today’s edition is one of those stories. You can get a taste below, although the whole hilarious thing is for Bulwark+ members. I hope you’ll consider becoming a member yourself—which you can do today at 20 percent of the regular price:
(Composite by Hannah Yoest / Photos: GettyImages / Shutterstock)
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS SPENT much of the last year trying to rival the GOP’s online dominance. Donors have sunk millions of dollars into new projects aimed at building networks of left-leaning content creators; members of Congress have tried to perfect the art of the direct-to-camera video (with varying degrees of success); Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are among the many Democrats who have started their own Substacks; and party leaders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom have added “podcast host” to their resumes.
The conventional wisdom has been that this is all part of a generational shift, one sparked by young politicians like Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two charismatic thirtysomething New Yorkers whose aura-farming skills are self-evident. But in recent weeks, it’s been an octogenarian Democrat with no national footprint who has been making some of the biggest waves online: Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas.
As the Democratic party has raced to keep up with Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting scheme, the 82-year-old Lucas, president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, has played a leading role in state Democratic lawmakers’ efforts to pass a new map—one that favors their party ten to one, which would be a significant shift from the current breakdown of six Democrats to five Republicans.¹ And Lucas has been making her case on X, shitposting about other Democratic-controlled states that have dragged their feet on redistricting and talking trash about her GOP opponents.
Throughout the redistricting fight, she’s made memes of herself as Thanos collecting the Infinity Stones (or, in this case, congressional districts). She’s trolled her Republican rivals, as with this meme making fun of GOP Rep. Rob Wittman for reportedly complaining in private about the redistricting effort (Wittman will likely lose his seat if the new map is approved). Although the Dark Brandon meme felt cringe by the end of the Biden administration, the beaming redlaser eyes somehow work for Lucas. She’s shown remarkable fluency in internet slang—from “cuck” to “OOMF”—especially for someone who was born before D-Day.
Last week, Lucas made national news for hitting back at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz after he complained about Virginia Democrats’ proposed new map, posting: “You all started it and we fucking finished it.” It’s that willingness to punch back that has earned her praise from national party figures, including Ocasio-Cortez and Pennsylvania Rep.
