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John Watkins sneaky move: help or hurt RKBA?

Repeater

Regular Member
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Nov 5, 2007
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Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Did Watkins help us or hurt us? He led an effort to "tweak" Senate Districts, which in theory strengthens Republicans, or does it?

Virginia Republicans push through rewrite of Senate districts
Senate Republicans this afternoon pushed through a surprise rewrite of the 2011 redistricting plan that erases a Democratic seat in western Virginia and creates a sixth majority black district that would be located between Petersburg and Danville.

Democrats were shocked by the move, vowing to oppose the new plan in court.

...

The new Republican map lumps into the same district Republican Emmett W. Hanger Jr., R-Augusta and Democrat R. Creigh Deeds of Bath.

No members would lose their seats and no special elections would be required at this time. The new boundaries, if approved, would take effect in the next Senate election in 2015.

Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, who managed the rewrite on the Senate floor, defended the new map. He said it would bring Virginia in closer compliance with federal civil rights laws that promote the creation of majority-minority districts.
 

Repeater

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Richmond, Virginia, USA
Progressives don't like it at all

Well, the Left are crying foul:

While Dems Distracted by Inauguration, Virginia Senate GOP Stages a Coup

Here's some initial info on the new districts.
All Senate district retain their incumbents except the 25th district which is redrawn as a majority-minority seat in southside. Creigh Deeds, the current 25th Senator is put into the 24th Senate district with Emmett Hanger, a district that now includes all of Augusta,and Bath counties along with Charlottesville and other pieces.

John Edwards, Dave Marsden, George Barker, Chuck Colgan and John Miller, have major changes to their districts- with Marsden becoming more Democratic (almost majority-minority) by running to south Prince William County, while Edwards, Barker, Miller and Colgan take in many more Republican precincts.

Well, with this information, does it help us?
 

Citizen

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Nov 15, 2006
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18,269
Location
Fairfax Co., VA
SNIP Well, with this information, does it help us?

Gimme jes' a second. I've memorized the voting records of every member of the GA, and know the public opinion of every district to within two voters. /sarcasm


Auuuuuuuugh!! C'mon. How the heck should we know? :p:)
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
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Jan 15, 2007
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10,444
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Valhalla
The problem with the party in power re-drawing district boundaries is when they are no longer the party in power.

There are already too many districts that have a mile or so of the center line of some highway connecting Part A with Part B just so something/somebody gets some part of the state/population demographic.

Maybe we ought to base everything on one gun, one vote.

But wait! That would mean Peter Nap would get a bigger say than me! That's just not fair - even if he does hate dog hunters.

stay safe.
 

Tess

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Jun 15, 2006
Messages
3,837
Location
Bryan, TX
Here's what Delegate Scott Surovell had to say:

"Finally, on Inauguration Day, the Republicans in the Virginia Senate passed a surprise new Senate redistricting plan 20-19 redrawing every Senate seat in Virginia after one Senator, a 79 year-old civil rights warrior, was in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the President’s Inauguration, and was not present to vote. It is not clear where this bill is headed, but it changes the Senate representation for about 75% of the people in Lee and Mount Vernon. It was a dirty trick."

Intellectual dishonesty from a man who didn't bother with the people's business yesterday, but instead attended a theatrical re-enactment of Sunday's inauguration.
 
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riverrat10k

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Aug 24, 2008
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Location
on a rock in the james river
News radio this evening reported the Gov. is NOT happy about this. Something along the lines of "this is not how I do business." Seems this is a price to pay to get support on some other initiative.
 

Repeater

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Richmond, Virginia, USA
Saslaw compares Watkins coup to "Pearl Harbor"

Don't think it invokes 'Godwin's Law' but it's close:

Va. Republicans’ redistricting maneuver draws criticism

Say, does this gun-hating Democrat look unhappy to you?

Virginia_Legislature_0ba6a.jpg


Republicans would have to wait for the right opportunity.

It presented itself on Inauguration Day, when Virginia Democrats basked in their second straight presidential win and one in particular traveled to Washington to witness President Obama’s swearing-in: Sen. Henry L. Marsh III (D-Richmond).

With the civil rights lawyer, who decades ago argued school desegregation cases and served as Richmond’s first black mayor, away in the District on Monday, Republicans saw their chance. They took up a bill that had been on the calendar for days, only to be passed over every time, and gave it the legislative equivalent of an extreme makeover.

...

Democrats accused Republicans of trying to “pack and crack” black voting power and of exploiting the absence of a civil rights leader, on the occasion of the second inauguration of the nation’s first black president, to do it. That Monday also happened to be Martin Luther King Day only added to their anger.

“We’ve witnessed a redistricting bill thrust upon us without any notice . . . done under the guise of being good to black folk,” Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) said on the floor Tuesday.

...

Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) compared the move to the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

“I realize the introduction of this particular amendment may be a surprise,” Watkins said as he addressed Senate colleagues.

“World War II was a surprise,” Saslaw shot back.

WWII. "Shot back" -- sounds like violence, doesn't it?

I've heard of "Lock 'n Load" but "Pack and Crack" ?? -- sounds vaguely vulgar.
 

Repeater

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Nov 5, 2007
Messages
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Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
New and Improved?

It would now appear that some of our Senate 'adversaries' would be affected, which would seem like a good thing for RKBA in Virginia:

Republican redraw

Miller, Northam, Colgan, Herring, and Barker would be in Strongly Republican districts.
 
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