As we’ve discussed extensively, Virginia Democrats rammed through a gerrymandering scheme last month, very narrowly surviving a statewide referendum to alter the state’s constitution. They barely won the snap election, despite an overwhelming spending advantage — including from the national Democratic Party and various dark money groups — that bombarded voters with propaganda in favor of the measure.
They sold their power grab as “restoring fairness,” despite their aim of repealing some of the fairest congressional maps in the United States and replacing them with new district lines that experts regard as among the least representative and most unfair in the country. They were expecting an easy win. Instead, they got a nailbiter. And now Virginia Democrats’ cortisol levels are reportedly spiking again, as the state Supreme Court is set to rule on whether the entire enterprise was even legal in the first place.
Recommended Stories
Republicans have argued from the outset that the whole referendum process was conducted comprehensively illegally. If one wants to call a sudden election to change a state constitution, one is obligated to follow every single rule, statute, and constitutional imperative to the letter. Democrats failed to do so, on every level, critics allege. Their dodgy manipulations violated legislative rules, state law, and the Virginia Constitution, opponents have argued — a trifecta of lawlessness.
Former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who is deeply involved in this legal battle, has stated repeatedly that several “tea leaves” emerging from Richmond suggest the court is preparing to invalidate the referendum. This belief has been buttressed by what transpired during oral arguments on April 27, as well as several other indicators from the justices — both before and after the April 21 election date. For now, observers on all sides are holding their breath, with up to four seats in the U.S. House at stake. As everyone waits, Cuccinelli and conservatives’ optimism is rising. If you’re curious about some of the specific reasons why, read this and this.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are reportedly growing increasingly anxious, descending into internal sniping and finger-pointing. A party strategist revealed on his podcast this week that his well-placed sources are reporting an angry rift between Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s camp and the Democratic legislative leadership: “What I was told yesterday is that they now think it’s less than 50% that the court will let the certification go through,” Dan Turrentine said, adding, “The Governor’s staff is now snipping at the Senate [Majority Leader] and House Speaker that they warned them last fall this would not pass legal review.”
That last bit may be the most interesting and important nugget in all of this. It should surprise no one that GOP lawyers would argue that Democrats have acted unlawfully in this gambit, even if their legal arguments to that effect are robust. More notable is that Spanberger’s own team allegedly agreed all along, admonishing their fellow Democrats as far back as the fall that their rushed and shoddy constitutional amendment process wouldn’t pass legal muster.
If this is accurate (and the detail is being relayed by a well-connected Democrat), worry-wracked Democratic “precriminations” have already included “told you so” finger-pointing over the unlawful saga. This would suggest that Spanberger — who said on the campaign trail that she wasn’t going to redistrict Virginia as governor, then pulled a 180-degree bait-and-switch reversal — was bullied into this power play by the leftists who evidently control her.
Her aides supposedly even told those bullies that their machinations risked being thrown out. Unbowed, they charged ahead anyway, and Spanberger crumbled. She shifted from opposing redistricting on the trail to establishing the referendum in the very first bill she signed in her new position. She endorsed and campaigned for the pro-gerrymandering effort, no doubt watching with alarm as her approval rating steadily lost altitude, sinking to historic lows along the way. Rather than focusing on “affordability,” per her election rhetoric, her first big swing was for a dishonest gerrymandering scheme that her advisers reportedly warned wasn’t even legal. And now, the bullies and the bullied are said to be bickering and gnawing their fingernails as they await the high court’s verdict.
Having squandered a great deal of political capital, phony “moderate” Abigail Spanberger is now not ruling out a slew of tax increases, on products and services ranging from gym memberships to dog grooming to online subscriptions and streaming services. Nothing screams “affordability” like new tax hikes on everyday expenses, you see.
Legislative leaders in Richmond appear dead set on squeezing Virginians for more tax revenue, publicly defying their own party’s governor in the process. They seem to have learned that she can be bent to their will — even on behalf of a scheme her own team apparently assessed as likely illegal. This is already a black eye for all involved; we’ll see soon enough if Virginia’s Supreme Court completes the humiliation, on behalf of the rule of law.
