It’s been a wild ride in Virginia over the past couple of months: First Ralph Northam wiped the floor with Ed Gillespie to take the governorship, and then Democrats took the Republican’s massive 66-34 advantage in the state House of Delegates and reduced it to a 50-49 seat advantage, with one remaining District left to be decided ... by a coin toss. But of course this coin toss is only in play because of the inexplicable decision by a three-judge panel to count a ballot from hell, thereby creating a tie between Republican candidate David Yancey and Democratic candidate Shelly Simonds (who was originally declared the winner by one vote). Simonds is challenging the ruling, which brings us to the latest chapter in this story. And the latest chapter in how much Republicans hate democracy, because here’s the response to that filing from Del. M. Kirkland Cox, Virginia’s top Republican in the House, and who, by the way, will be House speaker if Republicans manage to hang on to their majority:
If the House can't organize, Cox said, the General Assembly won't be able to follow through with the formalities of Northam's Jan. 13 inauguration and outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe's farewell speech because there won't be a joint assembly of the legislature.
"Those things simply cannot happen in their current form if the General Assembly isn't organized," Cox said on a conference call with reporters Friday morning.
Bear in mind, this won’t prevent Northam from taking office, it’s just Cox being a jackass and making a pathetic threat in the face of a perfectly legal challenge to a ballot counting decision. It should also be noted that on this press call, where Cox sobbed about “politically motivated” tactics, Cox was identified as the “speaker-designee.” Again, jackass.
(It should be noted that House District 28 is also still in dispute as 147 voters were disenfranchised after being given ballots for the wrong district. A recount has Republican Bob Thomas defeating Joshua Cole by 73 votes, but Cole, along with the Virginia elections commissioner, are calling for a new election. A U.S. District Court judge has set a hearing on the matter for January 5, 2018. Stay tuned.)