Democrats in Virginia are accusing state Republicans of taking advantage of a prominent civil rights leader’s trip to Washington for the presidential inauguration to pull a “dirty trick” in order to take control of the state Senate in the 2015 elections. The state Senate is split 20-20 between Republicans and Democrats. On Monday, while state Sen. Henry Marsh (D) — a 79-year-old civil rights veteran — was reportedly in Washington to attend President Obama’s second inaugural, GOP senators forced through a mid-term redistricting plan that Democrats say will make it easier for Republicans to gain a majority. With Marsh’s absence, Senate Republicans in Richmond had one more vote than Senate Democrats and could push the measure through. The new redistricting map revises the districts created under the 2011 map and would take effect before the next state Senate elections in Virginia and would redraw district lines to maximize the number of safe GOP seats.
The move was a surprise to just about everyone, including Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell who has not yet pledged to endorse the new district lines, which must now go through the GOP-controlled House of Delegates and finally across McDonnell’s desk before final approval.
Some of the sparse details from the AP:
After the measure was sprung on unsuspecting Democrats, its sponsor, Republican Sen. John Watkins of Powhatan, defended it as an effort to create another majority black Senate district. What he didn’t say is that it would create even more GOP-dominant districts.
Democrats are outraged.
“It goes against every tradition,” state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D), the party’s 2009 gubernatorial nominee, told TPM Monday. “It was a dirty trick.” Deeds’ office is still going through the new Senate maps pushed through by Republicans. Early reports indicate that Deeds may be among the hardest-hit. Regardless of whether the bill eventually becomes state law, Deeds said the Republican move could damage the fragile comity in the evenly-split chamber. “Everything else we have to do this session is in jeopardy,” he said.
Full Article: Virginia GOP Pulls ‘Dirty Trick’ On Inauguration Day | TPMDC.