But since the 1960s, the U.S. government has metastasized beyond its District of Columbia center to occupy neighboring Maryland — practically the whole state — and Northern Virginia. Big government benefits all those congressional staffers, bureaucrats, lobbyists and others. So, they vote for big government — and for big-government candidates like McAuliffe. The bigger government gets, the more money and power they get.

Federal workers now make twice what the average American worker makes — and they want to keep it that way by electing candidates like McAuliffe. The suburbs of D.C., including Northern Virgina, include the wealthiest counties in America. According to Forbes, the richest county in America is Loudon County, Va., a D.C. suburb:

“Median Household Income: $119,525. The D.C. suburb has developed into a beltway high tech center, allowing it to feed at the trough of government contracting. The population has nearly doubled since 2001, to over 325,000.”

The second richest county is Falls Church, another D.C. suburb:

“Median Household Income: $117,481. Like Loudon County, this independent city of 13,200 over 2.2 square miles is loving life in suburban Washington.”

Even Silicon Valley isn’t as rich as these counties. The Northern Virginia counties are living high off the hog on your tax money, and want to keep it that way.

Given that, it’s surprising Republican candidate Ken Cucinelli got as many votes as he did, garnering 45 percent to McAuliffe’s 48 percent. Cucinelli’s campaign finally gained traction in the last week as he relentlessly attacked Obamacare.

But it still wasn’t enough. The D.C. elites said, “We love Obamacare! It means more government, and more government means higher salaries and lobbyist fees for us! Go McAuliffe!”

The rest of the state said, “We hate Obamacare. It means higher rates for us, with the money going to the D.C. elites in Northern Virginia.”

Metastasizing

Under both Republican President Bush and Democratic President Obama, the federal government has grown from about 18 percent of the U.S. economy (under Bill Clinton, during the time of a Republican Congress) to 24 percent today. That’s a 33 percent increase in just 12 years, with all that money flowing through the D.C. area, including Northern Virginia, and a large percentage of it sticking there.

Add in state and local government burdens, about 20 percent in California, and government devours 44 percent of our economy. But it can’t last. When the parasite gets too big, it either is expelled from the host, or the host dies, taking the parasite with it.

Already, the federal deficit — which bloats the salaries of all those Northern Virginia McAuliffe voters — continues at more than $600 billion, “down” from the $1 trillion-plus of Obama’s first four years. The federal deficit is $17 trillion and counting. And the unfunded liabilities — including mammoth pensions for all those federal workers who voted for McAuliffe — amounts to an incredible $222 trillion and counting.

McAuliffe’s victory is not a victory for more big government, but a bell tolling its demise.