VA Dem: I Know Rural America — I Watched The Waltons, Opie, Dukes of Hazzard
“And when I think about why we’re here … I’m not just here for Theo, I’m not just here for Arnold or Willis. I’m here for Opie, John Boy, Blossom, Topanga.”
Before I began following politics closely, I had a lot more respect for elected officials. I assumed one had to be exceptional to earn a seat in office. But the more I watch — seeing everything from cluelessness and indifference to outright cynicism and corruption — that respect has steadily eroded.
Exhibit A: In the clip below, Virginia State Sen. Lamont Bagby, a Democrat, beclowned himself during a floor debate. The remarks came after Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled on Wednesday that the state’s redistricting referendum unconstitutional. [The measure would produce a 10–1 Democratic split in the House delegation. The judge also blocked certification of the results and refused to pause the ruling during the appeal.]
Bagby told colleagues he “knows a little bit about rural America” because he grew up watching programs like The Waltons, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Speaking slowly for maximum oratorical impact, he said:
And listen, I almost took issue with the other side saying that we don’t understand. But I grew up watching The Waltons. I grew up with Opie [Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show]. I even watched The Dukes of Hazzard. I think I know a little bit about rural America.
And when I think about why we’re here … I’m not just here for Theo [Huxtable from The Cosby Show], I’m not just here for Arnold or Willis [characters on Diff’rent Strokes]. I’m here for Opie, John Boy, Blossom, Topanga.
NEW: During a floor debate on gerrymandering, Virginia State Senator Lamont Bagby (D) says he knows a little bit about rural America because he watched Dukes of Hazzard. pic.twitter.com/b3BtbLn4V1
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) April 23, 2026
I watched Dynasty in the 1980s — does that make me an authority on how the ultra-wealthy actually live?
Although Bagby’s remarks drew some laughter from fellow lawmakers, his argument fell flat with the public, who were quick to deride the state senator on social media:
— Cat on A Leash (@CatonALeash1) April 23, 2026
— ((( charlottesville 🫧 ))) (@CvilleBubble) April 23, 2026
— Pedro Tapir (@PedroTapir) April 23, 2026
I know a little about how Democrats operate because I watched House of Cards.
— Nick Freitas (@NickJFreitas) April 23, 2026
One Virginia voter got right to the heart of the matter:
Democrats act as if they expect us to thank them for oppressing our votes. They are telling millions of Virginians living in the purple areas voting against their boondoggle that our voices are irrelevant. That we don’t matter. And, are celebrating it.
That’s the antithesis of… pic.twitter.com/uxfJuM9Yw4
— 🇺🇸🍊🧡southerngalpal 🧡🍊🇺🇸 (@belleofva) April 23, 2026
In the end, the problem isn’t just one ill-considered remark or one awkward attempt at relatability. It’s the mindset behind it — the belief that surface-level familiarity can substitute for lived experience, and that voters are too stupid to notice the difference. People in rural communities don’t need to be explained to through decades-old television shows; they expect to be listened to, taken seriously, and represented honestly. When that gap becomes obvious, moments like this stop being amusing and start feeling revealing.
If anything, this episode underscores why public trust for elected officials continues to slip. Respect is earned through competence, humility, and a genuine understanding of the people they serve. When lawmakers lean on caricatures instead of substance, they shouldn’t be surprised when the public responds with ridicule and contempt.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
Politicians should be made to take IQ tests and civics test annually.
And that attitude is why they’re not used most anywhere.
(Think about it.)
Waltons, Opie & Barney Fife, Dukes of Hazard . . .
We now return you to our regularly scheduled program of Living Life for Real,
The charges of white privilege and systemic racism that are tearing the country apart float free of reality. Two known facts, long since documented beyond reasonable doubt, need to be brought into the open and incorporated into the way we think about public policy: American whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians have different violent crime rates and different means and distributions of cognitive ability. The allegations of racism in policing, college admissions, segregation in housing, and hiring and promotions in the workplace ignore the ways in which the problems that prompt the allegations of systemic racism are driven by these two realities.
What good can come of bringing them into the open? America’s most precious ideal is what used to be known as the American Creed: People are not to be judged by where they came from, what social class they come from, or by race, color, or creed. They must be judged as individuals. The prevailing Progressive ideology repudiates that ideal, demanding instead that the state should judge people by their race, social origins, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
We on the center left and center right who are the American Creed’s natural defenders have painted ourselves into a corner. We have been unwilling to say openly that different groups have significant group differences. Since we have not been willing to say that, we have been left defenseless against the claims that racism is to blame. What else could it be? We have been afraid to answer. We must. Facing Reality is a step in that direction.
From Facing Reality by Charles Murray (2021).
It’s not intelligence that matters – it’s wisdom. Where is the “WQ” test?
3/4 of Congress would be out of a job.
I’d like to know whether his mommy still ties his shoes for him or did she get him slip-ons to avoid that potential problem.
Velcro.
I wish he had expanded on exactly WHAT he learned about rural whites from watching the Waltons or Dukes of Hazzard.
I certainly know what I’ve learned about urban blacks by watching Live PD and Cops.
It’s always nice to reminded that rest of the USA views the people living in the deep South and rural America through the lens of fictional TV shows playing to the worst stereotypes and that so many of these shows ran for so long to reinforce these stereotypes; Hee Haw, Beverly Hillbillies, Dukes of Hazard….Just more deplorables clinging to their guns and religion out there in ‘Jesus Land and Flyover Country’ who need to stop complaining about the globalist/corporatist cabal shutting down/offshore the mills, the mines, timber, mineral extraction, oil/gas and just learn to code….oh wait AI is now doing quicker/better 1st draft code than humans and may soon start taking white collar jobs ..
Police bodycams are particularly enlightening.
I watched “Good Times’ occasionally way back when but that doesn’t make me know the inner city.
Dyno-mite!
Don’t forget The Jeffersons, Sanford & Son, and What’s Happening!
Why is everyone he listed a child or teenager?
that’s who he identifies with.
Hey, I know black Americans, too — I watched “Boyz n the Hood;” “Juice;” “Menace II Society.” These films taught me everything that I needed to know about Americans “of color.”
Hey he does that list mean he didn’t watch ‘Chico and the Man’ what’s up with that bigotry towards the Hispanics?
What would be appropriate shows for Asians and Jews?
I know homeland and 24 would teach me what I know about muslims, right?
Kung Fu?
Seinfeld?
they’re adults though
I never claimed these shows were ‘appropriate’. My point is basically the opposite that these sorts of shows focused on stereotypes usually portraying them negatively. Pretty sure the TV shows I referenced depicted ‘adults’.
Since you asked …how about Barney Miller as a comedy presentation that had diversity but most often focused on the similarities between the them as Cops? Maybe Hill Street Blues for mostly positive portrayals in a serious drama?
The Nanny for Jews. Nasty mean grasping parents of the Nanny.
Virtually any Woody Allen movie. Bickering Jews with that vile New York City accent. When not bickering, they’re whining or sniveling.
Asians? Virtually any police procedural where the lab techs are all Asians.
“Your DNA analysis touches the surface — my technique reaches the root!”
And I know all I need to know about life in New York City because I used to watch Taxi, Barney Miller, and All in the Family.
Ibbi da!
That’s like saying I know about the inner city because I watched what’s happening and Good Times
I’ll go toe-to-toe with Lamont any day.
I’ve watched the Cosby Kids, The Wire, Hustle & Flow, and Foxy Brown.
Lamont is in serious need of growing up.
I know all about urban black people because I watched Sanford & Son and listened to Michael Jackson. LOL
Hey. Me too!
I understand what it’s like to be black and urban; I watched Good Times, Sanford and Son, and The Jeffersons.
Years ago, a black woman in Chicago was asked if she liked the Cosby Show. She said it was fiction because blacks weren’t allowed to be physicians. I can’t watch “Roots” for fear of my white supremacy coming out. At least Kunta Kinte grew up to flee slavery and travel into space.
Lamont Sanford Bagby certainly lives up to his namesake’s nickname from “Sanford and Son”: Big Dummy. Next up: he learned all of the Spanish he needs from going to Taco Bell and watching old “Zorro” episodes.
I know that as a teenager I started operating on the neighbors after watching Doogie Houser, MD. When I was a kid I started jumping out of trees onto grizzly bears after watching Jim on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.
Little did Bagby know, that watching his speech on the senate floor, was Dr. Richard Kimble acting in the guise of janitor. When will this long nightmare be over? Will Richard Kimble ever find the one-armed man? He looks out into the impenetrable darkness, and wonders what hand fate will deal him next.
The left one — the right one is long gone.