Virginia Senate Rushes Gerrymandering bill through while a Democratic Senator is at the Inauguration

January 21, 2013
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As America watched  President Obama’s second inauguration on Monday — and note that this is also Martin Luther King Day — the Virginia State Senate rushed a bill through which would redistrict the state’s senate seats. Even worse: the vote, 20-19, would have been a tie had Democratic Senator Henry Marsh been present. Marsh, a civil rights leader, was in Washington attending the inauguration.

So, with a civil rights leader attending the inauguration which is on MLK Day, they are rigging the next election. While Obama spoke of making voting easier, not more difficult, the state Senate in Virginia pushed this through.

Senator Henry Marsh

Senator Henry Marsh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think Progress reports:

Had Marsh been present, however, the state’s Lieutenant Governor would likely have broken the tie. The bill was reportedly pushed through in a matter of hours.

According to Virginia politics blogger Ben Tribbett, the move could potentially eliminate at least one Democratic seat, the 25th district, which currently belongs to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Creigh Deeds (D).

This isn’t the first time that Virginia has attempted to redraw district lines conveniently for Republicans. Just last month, the state’s Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli lobbied to have the state exempt from the Voting Rights Act’s redistricting requirements because the state had “outgrown” racism. Largely, redistricting has disenfranchisedDemocratic votes.

The gerrymandering bill now goes to the heavily Republican House of Delegates for a vote, where it will likely face little opposition.

Republicans claim to be soul searching since they were defeated. They’d better keep searching for that soul because this isn’t it.  This can’t be legal. It was curious that as the President left the Capitol, Congressional leaders were all smiles. I wondered if they were late to their ‘secret meeting’ but apparently other tactics were in the works. How much further can the bar be lowered? I thought it was on the damned floor. Just remember this during the next election just like you did during the Presidential election.

 

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  • Anna

    Obviously, none of you live in Virginia, where Northern Virginia liberals dictate the vote for the rest of the state which is conservative. Gerrymandering doesn’t go far enough. What we really need is for Northern Virginia to be annexed out of the Commonwealth.

    • http://comgen.blogspot.com/ ComGen

      I apologize in advance if I misread your comment and/or intent.

      [ Northern ] Virginia appears to be doing overall really well, state stats and regional reviews suggest government is doing good job. Could you elaborate on ” Obviously, none of you live in Virginia, where Northern Virginia liberals dictate the vote for the rest of the state which is conservative. “, which you seem to suggest ” Liberal N-VA politics ” is causing problems for the state. Please note I’m looking at the official hard data stats and general tourism info, I’m aware that living in said area often differs from gov/state reports [ or on paper ]. More-or-less I’m interested in specifics per your opinion/statement.

      Few things I pulled up while researching, nothing listed should be considered counterargument per se–a quick overview of the state/region only, plus I operate [ business ] out of the Fairfax area. I have some insight into how well the Gov works for us [ business ] though I live in North Carolina and Maine.

      ” … Northern Virginia’s dominance as a national and international business center contributes to its reputation as the great economic engine of Virginia. .. Parts of the region have some of the highest incomes in the nation, and the educational attainment rates of the workforce make it one of the most educated regions in the world … Virginia’s economy strong. Unemployment, at 5.5%, Unemployment rate, Arlington, VA 3.1% , Fairfax 5.3% of the labor force [ NC - 9.2% / ME - 7.3% ] … One of the most educated population in the nation. Sixty percent of all adults are college graduates and 25 percent hold advanced degrees. The educational systems are unparalleled, with approximately 90 percent of all high school graduates going on to college. Northern Virginia’s greatest asset is our labor force that is strong and growing daily. With 25 colleges and universities in the Washington area, and 100,000 students .. Northern Virginia has a very favorable tax climate for business, echoed in each local jurisdiction. ” — Src. random Northern Virginia / city / region / state data / travel resources obtained via search and .gov stats

      , http://www.bls.gov/xg_shells/ro3fx9538.htm http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

      – Best regards

  • labman57

    Further evidence that conservatives such as Gov. McDonnell and his GOP cronies in the state legislature are all about religious morality, but clearly they don’t give a rat’s ass about ethical behavior.

    Republicans apparently don’t believe that they can win on an even playing field, hence their increased dependence on gerrymandered redistricting efforts.

    It would be akin to an NFL team declaring that, when playing on their home turf, the opponent’s touchdowns count as 6 points, but their own scores are worth 8 points.
    Now let’s play, and may the better team win.

  • rucb_alum

    Those are some GREAT Americans, right there. True faith in our founding documents and the principle of majority rule on display! Hypocrites!

  • Michael Koch

    We need to start removing these people from office with Ropes…………

  • dawgsrwaybtr

    They searching for a new way to cheat without getting caught.

  • smgess

    My God. These people are not only cheats, they are despicable. And I thought Snyder was bad, after we voted OUT his emrgency manager czars and the lame duck GOP already had a replacement bill just waiting to ram through the MI House. They are after our country, our freedoms, and our entire way of life. They will not rest until every person has guns, every district is theirs, and every job is less than minimum wage.

    • That Guy

      Don’t worry. They’re ‘patriots.’

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