Congratulations my brother and sister Kossacks. We now have the VA state GOP apparatus running scared. But now it’s a decisive time for us to flex our muscles even more.
Let me give you a little backdrop. Virginia is one of only four states or commonwealths that hold state legislative elections in odd numbered years. 2015 was not a year of easy sledding for the GOP in the state. They lost one seat in the House, which took the Super Majority away from them. Also, 90 for 90 was up and running, and registered over 100,000 new voters. add to that a bunch of nosy Parker’s from a group called the Daily Kos got involved, using 90 for 90 and Blue Virginia as springboards to find and advocate for Democratic candidates in the state. The GOP was right to be concerned.
In January of 2016, a freshman Senator by the name of Amanda Chase, who didn’t like the difficulty of her run, and was mickle displeased with the outside interference, especially in fundraising from The Kos, filed SB723. It wasn’t very long or complicated, but it was a doozy;
Campaign finance; contributions from out-of-state sources prohibited. Prohibits any candidate for the General Assembly or his campaign committee from soliciting or accepting a contribution from any person, corporation, campaign committee, political committee, out-of-state political committee, or federal political action committee who resides or whose headquarters is located outside of the Commonwealth. This prohibition applies regardless of whether the entity has registered with the State Board of Elections or operates or does business in the Commonwealth.
Man, talk about a spoilsport! If you can’t have a candy bar, nobody else should be able to get one either? And she freakin’ won! Apparently other Senators were wary of removing the aspect of being able to pick up out of state booty for future runs, and in February the resolution was tabled for consideration in the 2017 cycle.
But here’s the McGuffin. It’s now 2017, and the legislature is back in session. The special elections held earlier this week were an eye opener for the state GOP, as were several in the 2016 national cycle. As a matter of fact, while the Republicans held onto the two seats they were expected to, both Cheryl Turpin and Ryant Washington ran strong races, mainly for one reason. In fact, both of them out raised their GOP opponents for cash for the special elections. Cheryl Turpin even acknowledged that after the Daily Kos got involved, she received personal donations from all 50 states! Gee, do you think that the Senate committee might want to take a more serious look at SB723 this year?
Time to put “Indivisible” to work for us. We need all of the Kos members who live in Virginia to be on a close lookout for any announcement that SB723 has been revived and moved to the floor. If it gets there, constituents need to be on the phone and in their MoC’s office, letting them know that they expect this bill to be defeated. The House members will be particularly sensitive to this, as all 100 seats are up for reelection in November. Fortunately, we have a firewall on this. Due to that one House seat switching in 2015, the GOP lost their Super Majority in the House, and they’re nowhere near one in the Senate, the Democratic Governor can simply veto the bill, and it’s dead. But screw that, let’s give the GOP a good serious taste of what life is going to be like with an engaged electorate, put the fear of God in their minds right now for their chances in November.
There it is. We know that the danger is out there, lurking in the darkness, waiting to pounce. We know what it looks like, and we even know what it’s called. Now it’s up to us to be vigilant and to fight it tooth and nail when it comes up. Let ‘em know we’re watching them, and will hold them accountable.