For Your Consideration
Mike Lowry
During the 19th and early 20th century, the Democrats that controlled the politics of the state of Virginia enacted legislation to suppress Black voting and civil rights.
In 1900, the Democrats passed laws requiring schools, transportation and public facilities to be segregated based on race.
They went farther in creating the 1902 Virginia Constitution that further restricted voting by the same individuals and added a poll tax of $1.50 to vote. (In 1902, $1.50 would buy what nearly $60 buys today — talk about the impact of inflation!)
In 1924, the Democrats voted to banned interracial marriage.
Then as now, the political power centers were near Richmond and Northern Virginia, and they sought by legislation to control and restrict the power of other areas of the state as well as those who thought differently than those in power.
It would not be until Jan. 23, 1964, that the federal government would act and pass the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on Jan. 23, 1964, to prohibit the use of poll taxes as a condition for voting in federal election.
Today, the Democrats now are targeting those citizens living in rural areas outside of the Beltway, Richmond and the coastal areas with the gerrymandered plan voted on last week. The map is so blatantly one-sided that most of the rural parts of the state are merged with larger populated parts in the chosen areas.
The purpose is strictly to ensure Democrat control of the state’s politics as it used to be in Virginia. The law clearly violates the state constitution, making the supreme law of the state nothing more than a suggestion document that can be ignored.
The ballot referred to the measure as a “fairness” issue — it is hardly that if you live outside of the chosen areas or are an independent, Libertarian, Republican or member of one of the smaller political parties. This is clearly a Democrat power grab.
The vote called it a temporary break from the state constitution —apparently four years is defined as “temporary” by the Democrats in power.
The election, at the time of this writing, is in the hands of the state Supreme Court who will debate the legality of the calling for the election, the misleading wording of the ballot description, and other factors.
Some had called for the Virginia Supreme Court to rule on the issue prior to holding an election but the court in its questionable decision said they would take the matter up after the election. If the measure was defeated, no need for a court decision was perhaps their logic.
Or perhaps, the court did not want to seem to be partisan, but the court is supposed to be nonpartisan and base their decision on the law as it is written in the Virginia Constitution.
So the Virginia taxpayers had to pay for the cost of the election. Just here in Rockbridge the cost for printing, manning voting precincts, publication costs, etc., was quite high.
The purpose of this election, according to Democrats, was to respond to the proposed gerrymandering in Texas. Why is what other states do something Virginia has to deal with? Like the so-called gerrymandering in Texas is somehow different than the gerrymandering done in other states? Neighboring Maryland is a classic example of gerrymandering that is also found in many Democrat-controlled states as well the gerrymandering in some Republican controlled states.
The justification was not really that Texas was doing it, but President Trump encouraged them to do so. Nearly all ads calling for voters to vote yes referred to it as a Trump power grab but Trump is not allowed to run for president again. He is limited to two terms by the U.S. Constitution but Democrats seem to have forgotten this - or really do believe he has the power of a king?
Virginians earlier said we are above the partisan politics and created a bipartisan commission to draw the election district lines and put it in the state constitution. The wording in the state constitution is very straightforward and is to be the law of the land - apparently unless Trump suggests Texas do something?
Unless the Virginia Supreme Court follows the law as spelled out in the constitution, Virginia will go back to the bad old days of oneparty rule. Yesterday, it was discrimination based on race; today it appears it is discrimination against rural area residents and non-extreme Democrat, Republican and independent voters?
I guess we have to wait to see how the Supreme Court rules? Virginia was praised as an example for other states to follow in drawing election district lines. Will Virginia continue to be praised for its farsighted constitutional mandate for a nonpartisan commission to draw the election lines or be considered no better than other badly gerrymandered states?
