I was active in GOP Fairfax County politics. I heard the same kind of nonsense from the GOPe who ran the county committee. They just didn't understand what was happening to them as the demographics of the county changed. 2004 marked the first time the Dems won the county in 40 years. Since then they have piled up huge margins of votes that neutralize the voting in the rural areas. The foreign-born population of the county is now 33% and increasing. This is the case in most of Northern Virginia.
As both an election officer and poll watcher I have watched the changing demographics play out in the voting booths. For the first time last election, the ballot was in both Spanish and English. The Dems bring in the Hispanic voters by the bus loads along with translators who help them in filling out the ballots. And then there are the liberal white voters who make sure they vote. Blacks make up 20% of the state population. The bottom line is that the Dems now outnumber the Reps in VA.
The conservative message in VA doesn't resonate with the majority of voters any more than it does in CA, no matter how well articulated. Most voters don't vote on the issues but on where they stand in partisan politics. The D means far more than any message. Unless we do something about legal immigration, the Dems will be the permanent majority party. It is just a matter of time and demographics. I compare it to the frog being slowly boiled who only realizes what is happening when it is too late. It may already be too late.