The sleepy days of summer are over. The memories of primary signs are behind us. It’s game time for political sign season in the DC area.
Alexandria has become a hot battleground in the ground wars due to city resident and Republican veep nominee JD Vance. The Secret Service closed a park next to Vance’s house late last month, causing a complex chemical reaction in the biome of the city’s Del Ray neighborhood—they tell reporters that they don’t like what Vance stands for, that they don’t want him to get hurt, that they don’t think he has made any effort to be part of the neighborhood, and that they miss the park being open all the time. At least it’s open occasionally now?
Over the weekend, some neighbors helpfully left chalk out by the newly installed Jersey barriers near the park. Guess what happened:
The streets around Vance’s house have become a symphony of blue. One home near his displays a sign promoting the candidacy of his Democratic Ohio Senate colleague, Sherrod Brown. Others boast various flavors of Harris signs, some of which recall Vance’s words about “childless cat ladies.” Many sign-displayers appear to have arranged their signs for maximum viewing angle from Vance’s house. This banner on a nearby fence, for instance:
And then there’s the subtle expression on a Del Ray house pictured at the top of this article. Betsy Whalen tells Washingtonian she had it made by a custom vinyl banners business. “I love that it’s positive, I love that it’s hopeful, and I love that it supports women,” she says. The election, she says, is very important to women’s rights and to “single childless cat ladies, of which I am one.”
Since this is Del Ray, you may be saying to yourself, “Wow, a custom banner is a real escalation. There couldn’t possibly be yarn art popping up near Vance’s house, could there?” Reader, behold:
Meanwhile in typically more genteel Arlington, the county’s GOP says a resident who displayed a Trump sign (a not terribly common sight in the deep-blue jurisdiction) received this letter:
ARLINGTON’S *TOLERANT* LIBERALS: An Arlington Republican — and fairly new resident — displayed a Trump sign on her lawn. An anonymous neighbor sent her this creepy message in the mail.
Thank you to everyone who puts a GOP yard sign in your lawn, flower box, or on your balcony! pic.twitter.com/NBtsFIBdql
— Arlington GOP (@goparlington) September 7, 2024
The recipient of the letter declined an interview request from Washingtonian so, despite us not knowing the full situation, all we can say is that this sure appears to be not very neighborly. Sending someone a letter saying you’re planning to judge them from afar? This is Northern Virginia! People here send tips to Playbook, they don’t send a Jersey Shore Note! The correct Permanent Washington move is to put a sign in your yard that argues with your neighbor’s sign. Or get yourself some big banners. Or fly some kind of flag. It’s only September, for crying out loud.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
