Bobby Scott Calls Out Republicans Attacking McAuliffe's Restoration of Voting Rights

As Virginia's population becomes more urban - with urban areas being much more liberal than the hinterland regions - the Republican Party of Virginia has done all it can to block the restoration of voting rights for felons who have done their time and paid their fines.  In the vast majority of states the restoration of voting rights happens automatically.  Not so in Virginia.  Why?  Because convicted felons in Virginia are disproportionately members of racial minorities - minorities that tend to vote liberal/Democrat.  Indeed, Virginia Republicans even opposed former Governor Bob McDonnell's effort to restore voting rights - one of McDonnell's few progressive acts - because even a small increase in minority voters might tip some districts from the GOP column to that of Democrats.  This GOP concern is heighten by the reality that the population of the urban cities and counties of Northern Virginia, greater Richmond, and Hampton Roads now exceeds that of the rest of Virginia combined.  It was no surprise, therefore, that the Virginia GOP went ballistic over Governor McAuliffe's executive order that restore voting rights to thousands and thousands of former felons, many of who are now productive members of society and good citizens.  As the Virginian Pilot reports, Congressman Bobby Scott - who is my representative and who the husband and I know - blasted the bigotry of Virginia Republicans.  Here are story excerpts:

U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott struck hard Wednesday at Republicans who accused Gov. Terry McAuliffe of trying to help the Democrats win the presidency when he issued an executive order last week restoring voting and other civil rights to 206,000 felons.

State Republican leaders have said McAuliffe’s executive order last week that allows felons who have served their sentences and probation to vote, run for office or serve on juries was a way to register more voters for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the November presidential election. They also objected to his restoring rights to those who committed violent crimes.

Scott, an attorney and civil liberties expert, argues the governor is correcting a suppression effort that goes back 115 years.

“The right to vote is a right. It’s not a privilege. You have Republicans who at every opportunity are trying to deny people the right to vote,” he said in a conference call with reporters.

He noted Virginia’s ban on felons voting originated in the early 1900s as part of a package of new state laws designed to suppress blacks. Those restrictions, including the now-banned literacy tests and poll taxes, at the time had forced the removal of 85 percent of black voters from the rolls.

McAuliffe’s order could return to the voting rolls as much as 20 percent of the state’s black population that have felony convictions, Scott said.

“If there is such an advantage to Democrats, it means the Republicans were enjoying a huge advantage all these years because they could deny 20 percent of the African American population the right to vote,” the Newport News Democrat said.

Virginia remains one of four states that strip voting rights from felons for life after their convictions. Before McAuliffe’s action, felons could get the right restored only by individually applying to the governor. Governors, both Republicans and Democrats, have restored rights to thousands in recent decades.

The mindset behind Massive Resistance in the 1960's is a live and well in some factions in Virginia, especially the Republican Party of Virginia which has become increasingly racists and homophobic since I resigned from the party many years ago.  I should note, however, that the growing racism and religious extremism directly corresponds with the rise of the Christofascists in the Virginia GOP. 

Federal Judges Change Gerymandered Virginia Congressional Districts

Change in Districts - watch the boundaries shift

As noted in prior posts, I once lived in the 2nd Virginia Congressional District until Republicans gerrymandered Virginia's congressional districts to lump blacks - and in my case white liberal neighborhoods - into a few districts in order to protect incumbent Republicans.  Thus, I suddenly found myself in the 3rd District rather than the 2nd District.  Now, after federal lawsuits were filed challenging the GOP's grotesque district boundaries, a panel of federal court judges has redrawn the boundaries for the 3rd congressional district and those surrounding it, all of which are held by Republicans.  Will it change results in congressional races this November?  There's no guarantee, but if the Republicans win, their margins may be diminished. The district map above changes to show the new, compact and much more contiguous districts. Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot: 

A federal court ordered a congressional redistricting Thursday that reassigned millions of voters and changed the racial and political makeup of districts served by Reps. Bobby Scott and Randy Forbes.

Federal judges in Richmond ordered state officials to use the new boundaries for this fall’s congressional elections.

While the changes were ordered in time for eligible candidates to file to run, the judges' order could be stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear opposition arguments from lawyers for the state's eight Republican members of Congress.

Unless the high court halts the order, the 3rd District, represented by Scott, will lose its black majority, shrinking from 56 percent black to 45 percent. At the same time, the white majority in Forbes' 4th District shrinks from 63 percent to 51 percent, giving black voters more clout.

The 3rd, which currently stretches from Newport News to Richmond, will become more centralized in Hampton Roads. It will take in all or part the cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News and Isle of Wight County. Scott lives in Newport News.

The 4th District continues to represent Chesapeake, Forbes' hometown, but loses part of Suffolk and Isle of Wight County. The cities of Richmond and Petersburg - both with significant black populations - had been part of Scott's district but will move to Forbes' district.

The 2nd's population remains concentrated in Virginia Beach but the district's territory has been expanded to include the Williamsburg, York County, part of James City County and nearby communities. It also loses a chunk of its Newport News precincts.

I suspect that Randy Forbes is not trilled that he might actually have to strive to represent all voters in his district and not just the Christofascists and white supremacists.

Supreme Court Reasserts Voting Rights Act

Gerrymandered Virginia 3rd District - note how parts are not even contiguous

When the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder invalidated Section 5 of the Civil Rights Act of 1965, many racists conservatives joyfully hoped that the Court was on a track to destroying the Act entirely.  Now, in a ruling Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, the Court seemingly sent a message that it is not ready to open the doors to a return of Jim Crow era gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisement. And here in Virginia, the ruling may be very meaningful in the challenge to the GOP gerrymandered 3rcd Congressional District which was carefully draw to loan minority voters into one district and favor Republicans in the surrounding districts.  Here are highlights from Politico:

The Supreme Court stopped just short of ruling Alabama’s redistricting plan unconstitutional on Wednesday, but it sent a clear message to lawmakers across the country that the Voting Rights Act can’t be used to justify maps that predominately group voters together based on their race.

In a 5-4 ruling, the high court sided with black lawmakers and Democrats in Alabama in throwing out a lower court’s decision that upheld the GOP-drawn state legislative map. This was the court’s second high-stakes decision in two years dealing with the Voting Rights Act and will likely have an effect on redistricting legal battles in states like Virginia and North Carolina.

The case was brought by African-American lawmakers in Alabama who argued that the Republican-controlled Legislature packed thousands of black voters into existing majority-black state legislative districts to secure a GOP-advantage in the other districts.

[T]he ruling simply called the lower court’s decision “legally erroneous” and sent the case back to it without ruling whether Alabama’s redistricting plan is unconstitutional.

“The appeals focus upon the appellants’ claims that new district boundaries create ‘racial gerrymanders’ in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause,” Justice Stephen Breyer wrote in the majority opinion. “We find that the District Court applied incorrect legal standards in evaluating the claims.”

Justice Anthony Kennedy was the swing vote on the case and joined the court’s four liberal justices to make up the majority.

But while Breyer only remanded the case backed to the lower court for further consideration, he strongly suggested that some of the districts should be deemed unconstitutional. “That Alabama expressly adopted and applied a policy of prioritizing mechanical racial targets above all other districting criteria (save one-person, one-vote) provides evidence that race motivated the drawing of particular lines in multiple districts in the State,” he wrote.

For partisan advantage, Republicans have historically tried to “pack” minorities into districts, while Democrats have attempted to “crack” majority-minority districts in the redistricting process to spread minorities into more districts to boost Democratic candidates, even at the expense of providing safer seats for minority candidates.

States lawmakers — of both parties — will now have to employ a much more nuanced way of using race in the redistricting process, said Justin Levitt, another redistricting expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who also worked as the Democratic National Committee’s National Voter Protection counsel in 2008.

“This isn’t a case about Alabama,” Levitt said. “It’s about how officials consider race. Other states have very similar philosophies as Alabama. The court today said, ‘Guess what? They’re wrong.’”

The court’s ruling is a victory for Democrats in Virginia, where a panel of federal judges ruled recently that the Republican-led Legislature’s decision to pack African-American voters into the 3rd Congressional District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, was motivated purely by race — a violation of the 14th Amendment.

Virginia’s Republican members of Congress appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The case has given Democrats a chance to push for new lines that could make at least two districts — the 2nd and 4th, currently represented by GOP Reps. Scott Rigell and Randy Forbes, respectively — more competitive once some of the black population from Scott’s district is moved.

“Similar to Alabama, here in Virginia we have suffered from racial gerrymandering by the GOP designed to dilute the voting power of minority voters,” said Morgan Finkelstein, spokeswoman for the Virginia Democratic Party. “Today’s ruling shows that the legal system — and the country — is paying more and more attention to this troubling issue. We need compact, contiguous districts and remain hopeful that Virginia Republicans will stop stalling and work with us towards achieving equal representation for all Virginians.” 

The husband and I used to be in the 2nd District until the Virginia Republicans redrew the boundaries of the 3rd district to move blacks - and certain liberal voting neighborhoods such as ours - into the 3rd district to provide safer seats to GOP Congressman Rigell and Forbes, both of whom need to be voted out of office in my opinion.

2015 Hampton Roads PrideFest Launch a Huge Success

The husband and I attended the PrideFest 2015 Launch Party this afternoon.  The event was a huge success and it is amazing to see how things have changed and evolved since I was on the Pride Board some years ago.  Not only were pledges secured for a good portion of the funds needed for the event in late June, 2015, but the number of participants was impressive.  Equally noticeable were the number of local and state politicians at the event at a lovely private home in Norfolk near Old Dominion University.  Among the elected officials in attendance were Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam (with whom the husband and I are pictured above), Congressman Bobby Scott, Commissioner of the Revenue Evans Poston of Norfolk, State Senator Lynwood Lewis of northern Norfolk and the Eastern Shore, Mayor William Sessoms of Virginia Beach, and Delegate Scott Taylor of Virginia Beach.

Local readers interested in more information on how to be a sponsor or other ways to participate can go to the Hampton Roads Pride site here.   From my years of activism, getting involved does make a difference for the community as well as individuals.  Get involved!!

Catholic Dioceses to Collide with Virginia GOP Over Immigration Reform

In all candor, today's Republican Party of Virginia is largely comprised of far Christofascists, Tea Party extremists, white supremacists and a few old time Republicans who refuse to face the reality that the GOP has morphed into something ugly.  Not surprisingly, immigration reform is not favored by the Virginia GOP and its anti-immigrant and anti-minority base.  Now, the Virginia GOP is about to collide with the Roman Catholic dioceses in Virginia which are putting on a push for passage of the Senate backed immigration reform bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship.  While the Virginia GOP and the Catholic bishops have been allies in the war on women's' health and gay rights, immigration provides a sharp break in the allied effort.  The Virginian Pilot looks at the Catholic push for immigration reform.  Here are excerpts:

More than a half-million Roman Catholics in Virginia will be asked at Sunday Mass on Sept. 8 to lobby their congressmen to pass immigration changes that give a path to citizenship for people living illegally in the United States.

The campaign is part of a national effort by American Catholic church leaders who say it's time to change U.S. immigration laws to make it easier for low-skilled workers to immigrate here, and to preserve family unity.

"We think there is unprecedented opportunity today to fix a broken immigration system," said Jeff Caruso, executive director of the Virginia Catholic Conference, which handles legislative affairs for Virginia's two bishops. "We look at it through the lens of family. A lot of times deportation polices have the consequences of separating children from their parents."

Their lobbying probably will encounter resistance from several of the commonwealth's federal lawmakers, including some in Hampton Roads, who dislike the idea of giving the estimated 11 million people illegally living in the country a special route to legal status.

In addition to priests addressing the issue from the pulpit, Caruso said parishioners throughout the commonwealth will receive a one-page insert in their church bulletins explaining the issue, along with contact information for members of Congress.

Long interested in reforming what they view as a failing system, the bishops and other supporters have stepped up their lobbying since the Senate passed a sweeping immigration overhaul in June. The measure includes a provision to allow millions of people illegally living in the United States to take steps toward citizenship under procedures that can take 13 years, as well as proposals to beef up border security and other changes. Virginia's two U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, voted for it.

Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Virginia Beach, who also opposes the Senate bill, has yet to see a path to citizenship proposal that he would support, said his spokeswoman, Kim Mosser Knapp. Rigell is interested in helping children in the country illegally, she said.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D- Newport News, favors assisting those in the country illegally. Earlier this summer, Scott said giving those 11 million people a path to citizenship - while securing U.S. borders, protecting workers and uniting families - "is critical to any comprehensive immigration reform package."

One can only hope that Virginia's immigrant and Hispanic voters are watching carefully and will realize that they need to turn out in force and vote against the GOP's statewide slate in November in order to send a strong message to the GOP.

Fundraiser for Hampton Mayor Molly Ward

In the Hampton Roads area the City of Hampton has surprisingly shown itself to be among the most welcoming to LGBT owned businesses and LGBT professionals. This reality is in has been in sharp contrast to the City of Norfolk where the city's official policy seems to be to harass and make LGBT businesses and LGBT residents unwelcome. Much of the City of Hampton's progressive approach to the LGBT community and a realization that in the changing economic environment ALL businesses need to be welcome and allowed to flourish traces to Hampton Mayor Molly Ward - who also played a major role in securing the designation of Fort Monroe as a national monument by Barack Obama. In May, Molly Ward - who the Boyfriend and I count as a friend - will be up for re-election in a contested race.

On Sunday, January 22, 2012, from 4:00 to 6:00PM a fundraiser will be held to support Mayor Ward's re-election effort. I invite local readers to attend and support this wonderful straight LGBT ally. If you cannot attend, please support Mayor Ward financially. Details are set out below. Special guests will be Senator Mark Warner and Congressman Bobby Scott. Help keep the City of Hampton headed in the right direction and accepting to all citizens.





Yes, the Boyfriend and I are sponsors and putting our money where our mouths are.

Congressman Bobby Scott Signs Letter to Suspend DADT

Bobby Scott is my representative in Congress and represents a district with a huge military personnel population. It is telling that he believes that President Obama needs to suspend this damaging policy that - contrary to the rants of the Christianists who want gay Americans to be legally inferior at all cost - reduces the readiness of our armed forces and results in the loss of needed personnel. While Scott signed the letter with 76 other members of Congress, Glenn Nye - who received huge support from the LGBT community and this blog - did not and is giving the mealy mouth excuse of wanting to hear from Neanderthal military commanders. Glenn, you disappoint me!! Grow some backbone! Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D- 3rd District, has signed a letter asking President Barack Obama to suspend the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy and allow gay people to serve in the military without penalty. Scott and 76 other legislators this week signed the letter, which argues that the policy does a disservice to the country by forcing out experienced military personnel who are found to be gay or lesbian.

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They asked Obama to direct the military to immediately cease any investigations of service members' sexual orientation and to disregard any third-party claims. They also asked Obama to urge Congress to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law, which went into effect in 1993. The letter was drafted by U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Florida Democrat.

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U.S. Rep. Glenn Nye, D- 2nd District, did not sign the letter. Nye said he wants to hear from military commanders, who are currently reviewing the policy, before he takes a position on the issue.