OPINION:
Today, Virginia voters who bother to vote will take gerrymandering to a new and dangerous level.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a liberal wolf in moderate clothing, has led a campaign to redraw the state’s congressional districts so that all but one will guarantee Democratic representation in Congress.
An anti-gerrymandering ad by Virginians for Fair Maps featured an artificial-intelligence-generated video of a smiling Ms. Spanberger lighting a match and pouring gasoline (at more than $4 a gallon?) onto a barn, claiming she wants to “burn Virginia’s democracy to the ground.”
The ad criticizes the governor for supporting the referendum, which would allow the Democratic majority in the General Assembly to redraw congressional maps immediately.
It is a shameless power grab.
Former President Barack Obama is among the big-name Democrats who have either recorded TV ads in support of the referendum or appeared in person to campaign for it. House Speaker Mike Johnson, former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and other high-profile Republicans have done the same for the no side.
President Trump can be blamed for starting the process.
Last year, he urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give them more seats. In doing so, he triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting in other states, including California, which already has a large Democratic majority in Congress.
Florida lawmakers will meet April 28 to vote on whether to redistrict more of that state. Florida already has a numerical advantage of 20 Republicans to eight Democrats in House seats.
The Washington Post reports, “The vast majority of the nearly $100 million raised to sway Virginia’s redistricting battle, mostly on the Democratic side, consists of untraceable dark money.” Cardinal News reports: “More than $79 million has been spent on Virginia’s ‘yes’ and ‘no’ redistricting referendum campaigns since February; roughly $76 million of that is from ‘dark money’ groups that don’t have to disclose their donors.”
This won’t be investigated because Democrats have a large majority in the House of Delegates, and they (or their agendas) are beneficiaries of that dark money.
Democratic strategist James Carville has revealed the Democrats’ goal should they win the majority in Congress and the 2028 presidential election. Appearing on Al Hunt’s podcast, Mr. Carville said: “If the Democrats win the presidency and both houses of Congress, I think on Day 1, they should make Puerto Rico [and] D.C. a state, and they should expand the Supreme Court to 13. F—- it. Eat our dust.”
If they think Mr. Trump acts like a dictator, then what would Mr. Carville’s goal look like?
It’s all a sham, and voters are being played. Past elections repeat the same promises and attacks, but little happens, except the debt grows, as do the taxes in most Democratic-led states.
Then there is the growing number of sex scandals.
One hears so much talk about “power,” but if real power lies with politicians, then things should have changed for the better long ago.
Six days before the election, a George Mason University poll found that 53% of respondents planned to vote yes on the gerrymandering measure, while 44% planned to vote no.
The poll also suggests strong voter engagement. Roughly 60% of registered voters are expected to participate in the Tuesday election.
Regardless of the outcome in Virginia and other states that have tried it, the courts should disallow such blatant gerrymandering as unconstitutional. Redistricting is supposed to take place every 10 years (it’s in the Constitution), not in between elections to favor one party or the other.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
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