Virginia State Senator Henry Marsh, a 79 year old Democrat and veteran of the civil rights movement, received an invitation to Monday's inauguration ceremony. Of course he went even though the Virginia Senate is currently in session.
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With the chamber perfectly divided – 20 Democrats, 20 Republicans – the GOP decided to do the only sensible thing and cram through a redistricting plan while the Democrats were temporarily outnumbered. The Lt. Governor had previously stated he would not cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of the bill if the Senate was evenly divided.
The GOP used to fancy itself the "Party of Ideas", but for the past decade or two it seems like the only ideas they come up with are ways to sidestep whatever checks and balances are in place to protect the process from their fondness for autocratic rule and curious interpretations of the law.
That's how you can tell they represent the public as a whole – or at least a majority of it – as opposed to a shrinking minority of angry white people; their ideas are so good that they can't bring them to a floor vote.
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Like the widespread (and ultimately laughable) efforts at voter suppression in 2012, this kind of Cheat to Retain Power at All Costs strategy looks like the death throes of a party that no longer has any other way to get what it wants.
wetcasements says:
They are disgusting pig people and should be treated as such.
Dr. Mac says:
Yes.. like filthy pig assholes with disgusting hemorrhoids. They reek of filth and pus and flatulence. And giant black cock. Really big, thick black dicks. Oops… I'm sorry, I'm watching 'Hurricane' on TV.
Buckyblue says:
And in a nutshell, why I hate the Republican Party. And if this were an isolated incident that would be one thing, but with gerrymandering and the use of the filibuster just more examples of repugs being the party of hitler rather than the party of Reagan.
Middle Seaman says:
You tell a story within a story. Since Reagan, the Republican Party behaved astonishingly as the Soviet Union's communist Party. Still they enjoy the support of about 50% of the electorate.
Then you have the pathetic Democratic Party. Most of it, on good day, is to the right of the pre-Reagan Republicans. The Nice Senator Henry Marsh has decided that his personal gratification way exceeds the needs of his constituents and went to the movies.
comrade x says:
The collapse of the GOP is going to have one huge negative effect: more and more of the " moderate" Republicans ( i.e. the guys who are slightly to the right of Joe McCarthy but who are not absolutely batshit insane Bachmann style ) are going to jump ship and become Bluedog Democrats.
I see a return of the Democrats as the American conservative party in about 20- 30 years.
c u n d gulag says:
Middle Seaman,
You're right about them becoming more and more like the Soviets – you often become what you fear and hate.
They also fear and hate today's China, too, economically. And that's why they want our workers to be competetive by, you know, having really low wages, and working long hours, with no benefits, like people do in China.
But hey, this country is full of feafrul and hate-filled suckers, rubes, marks, fools, twits, gits, morons, idiots, racists, misogynists, xenophobes, and/or homophobes – and Republicans already start with a base of about 27% who'll never vote for a Democrat, so, all they need is to get a little over 23% of the rest, and they'll be back in power.
But even there, they haven't been as successful as they'd like – and were soundly defeated this year. There, but for gerrymanded districts, goes the other house in our bicameral system. They lost the total votes for House races, yet kept control of it.
And, since they can't win by means fair, they try means foul.
Now, they're trying to use their gerrymanded districts to replace a state's total Electoral College votes, so they don't have to change their beliefs, or come up with new ideas.
Our job, is to make sure that the best they can do, is only get 22% on top of their very base 27% base.
Figs says:
Also noteworthy: the state senate then adjourned in honor of Stonewall Jackson's birthday.
JohnR says:
"I see a return of the Democrats as the American conservative party in about 20- 30 years."
Say what? You haven't been paying attention, have you – the Democrats already are "America's conservative party", and have been since about 1982. "America's reactionary, intransigent and increasingly insane party" since that time has been the NSDAGOP. And now this thread is dead and I lost the argument.
ladiesbane says:
Well yeah, sure, but what the internet needs to explode about right now is that sneering eyeroll the First Lady was disrespectful enough to pull on John Boehner — far worse than gerrymandering, if that's even a word, whateverrrrr! — at least according to the Heirs of Brezhnev / Neo-GOP of my acquaintance.
Hold your heads high, Virginia GOP! I'll be right back with my pitchfork and tumbril, give you a ride to town.
who knows who toes says:
Gulag has the right idea! They are now plotting how to break electoral college votes up via the district a house rep represents. In virginia, pen, michigan… they have made the districts so crazy urban areas have fewer represenatives than the rural areas that seem to embrace ignorance and vote for them. To me it must be said it would be ironic if republicans changed the dumb electoral college system…
sluggo says:
@ Figs
Lee/Jackson day is actually a State Holiday in Virginia. It was a thinly veiled reaction to MLK day.
Sean says:
I say cut their goolies off, then nuke the site from orbit. Only way to be sure.
mothra says:
Saw a car yesterday with the following bumpersticker:
"Communist" (the "O" in Communist was the Obama campaign symbol).
Clearly the person inside was a Republican and and idiot–one could possibly sit her down and explain slowly what a communist is and point out all those things the Republican party does that is very, very similar to the Soviets, but my guess is it would be like teaching a pig to sing.
Da Moose says:
There is a precedent for American fascists to use the government to enrich themselves. Perhaps the greatest irony I've ever or will ever witness: anti-government hacks using the levers of government to enrich themselves at the expense of our national happiness. Will it ever end?:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2013/01/28/130128crat_atlarge_lepore?currentPage=1
Grung_e_Gene says:
They are the Party of Ideas! This was a great Idea! Thieves, crooks, poltroons and liars can learn a great lesson from Republicans in Virginia.
planb247 says:
And, yet, here in Missouri, these nutbags have controlled the entire state legislature for the last TEN years. I lived in NYC part of that time, and now each day gives me another reason to move again to a blue state. They ram this stuff through all the time, like our recently re-gerrymandered districts that forced out Russ Carnahan's seat.
Bernard says:
Party of Ideas, indeed. these Republicans are smart enought to control over half of the States, the House and The Courts, thanks to Reagan, Bush 1 and 2.
we are now seeing the results of these many years of Party loyalty.just like the Soviet Communist Party aparatchiks. Party over Country.
the White folks love it! now the rest of us aren't too pleased. but by the time this is over, there won't be a USA left to run, the USSA, run by one party.
oh wait that's what we have already. Obama Bush
not much difference, other than skin color. Party/Power over Country.
mclaren says:
"…This kind of Cheat to Retain Power at All Costs strategy looks like the death throes of a party that no longer has any other way to get what it wants."
True dat. Unfortunately, a wild animal is at its most dangerous when it's cornered and thrashing through the midst of its death throes.