by Sen. Richard H. Stuart
There is a phrase many of us Virginians still hold dear—the “Virginia Way.”
It evokes a respect for local control, moderation, fairness and a degree of institutional humility and civility stemming from the oldest continuously meeting legislature in the New World—the idea that we don’t remake the rules mid-game for partisan advantage, that our democratic processes are grounded in our Commonwealth’s soil and citizens, not commandeered by external actors.
But right now, that tradition is under existential threat in Richmond by the majority party who are casting aside the “Virginia Way” and lining up with national power brokers to hijack Virginia’s Constitution.
Nearly 40 days since voters began casting ballots for their next governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and delegates, Virginia Democrats, who hold a one seat majority in both chambers, called for a surprise special session reportedly to circumvent the constitutionally-mandated independent redistricting commission established by voters in 2020, and hand map-drawing power back to their party for explicitly partisan gain.
Not only should the timing raise alarm bells, but the clear disregard for the will of 2.7 million voters (66% of voters) who in 2020, approved a Constitutional Amendment placing redistricting in the hands of a bipartisan Redistricting Commission should give even the most partisan among us heartburn.
A commission that passed the Virginia Senate 38-2.
Who’s pulling the purse-strings? The National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), chaired by Eric Holder, reportedly contributed $150,000 each to the Virginia House Democrat Caucus and to the campaign of Abigail Spanberger after the special session announcement.
Virginia’s integrity sold out for a mere $300,000?
What this reveals is no small thing. The effort to erode the “Virginia Way” is led by and through New York Democrats Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and through their broader national party apparatus. The efforts to re-engineer our map so the machine wins more seats. This is not grassroots. This is not local autonomy.
This is the national party, with deep pockets and a national agenda, reaching down into Virginia’s process.
Here’s the cynicism: Virginia voters in 2020 overwhelmingly approved an amendment creating an independent redistricting commission because they wanted exactly the opposite of what is now being proposed. The idea was to take map-drawing out of pure partisan hands. And yet, here we are, about to kick off a special session aimed at dismantling or bypassing that reform all under the guise of “fairness” while clearly eyeing additional Congressional seats for one party.
That is the betrayal of the “Virginia Way.” It is the surrender to the national party’s playbook. When Virginia’s legislature starts acting as a regional arm of the national democratic machine, rather than a body accountable first and foremost to Virginians, we lose something precious.
Virginia is not a suburb of New York. The Commonwealth wasn’t founded to serve as a backdrop for national party politics and its political identity should not be defined by Washington. The “Virginia Way” stood for the idea that our democracy is rooted in our communities, our traditions and our willingness to act honestly.
If this special session, backed by national money and national ambitions, succeeds in rewriting the rules of representation for partisan advantage, then Virginia will have sold out its own way, and the national party will have won a contest of influence, at our expense as Virginians.
That should concern every Virginian, regardless of party.
Sen. Richard H. Stuart represents District 25 in the Virginia Senate. District 25 includes the counties of Caroline, Essex, King George, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland and portions of King & Queen and Spotsylvania.
