Yesterday afternoon at 2:52 pm, citizen journalist Brandon Jarvis posted this video of “the line on Route 10 for the Chesterfield food bank…currently a double wide line that stretches nearly half of a mile.” It was a striking image of hard times during the COVID-19 pandemic, the disastrous (lack of) response by the Trump administration, and the massive economic hardship that’s ensued for tens of millions of Americans…including in Virginia and in every other state. Basically, this is a stark microcosm of where we’re at, with 52 days until November 3, in #TrumpsAmerica. And it’s not a pretty picture at all.
Anyway, now the video’s “gone viral” – 570k views and increasing FAST! [UPDATE: As of 8:05 pm ET, it’s at 718k views; UPDATE #2: As of 8 am ET Sunday, it’s at 1.2 million views!] – after being retweeted by director Judd Apatow (2.4 million followers), The Lincoln Project (2.2 million followers), etc. Great work by Brandon Jarvis, editor of Virginia Scope, who has posted here at Blue Virginia numerous times as well. Thanks for helping to get this important information and visual imagery out there!
P.S. Note that Chesterfield County makes up around 32% of the population of VA07, which is one of the most competitive House of Representatives districts in the country. In 2008, Chesterfield County went 86k-74k for McCain/Palin over Obama/Biden; in 2012, it went 91k-78k for Romney/Ryan over Obama/Biden; in 2016 it went 85k-81k for Trump/Pence over Clinton/Kaine; in 2017 it went 59k-58k for Ralph Northam (D) over Ed Gillespie (R) for governor; and in 2018 it went 83k-68k for Kaine over Corey Stewart (R) for US Senate and 61k-50k for Abigail Spanberger (D) over Dave Brat (R) for US House. So it's definitely been moving from "red" to "blue" over the past few years...let's hope it continues in 2020! (The matchup in VA07 this time around pits Rep. Spanberger against hard-right Del. Nick Freitas (R). For more on Freitas, see Nick Freitas Praises Trump Administration’s COVID-19 Response While Supporting Efforts to Gut Pre-Existing Condition Protections And Rip Health Care Away During Pandemic; No Masks During Pandemic for Amanda Chase and Nick Freitas at “Packed with FREEDOM” NRA Banquet in Amelia, VA; You Gotta Hear It To Believe It: Nick Freitas Believes ‘COVID is Under Control’; BREAKING: Virginia Republicans Nominate Far-Right Extremist Nick Freitas in VA-7; Audio: Nick Freitas Tries – and Fails Miserably – to Explain How He Failed YET AGAIN to File Campaign Paperwork; etc.)
P.P.S. Also note, Chesterfield County is represented in the Virginia State Senate by far-right extremist, COVID-19 denier and Trumpster Amanda Chase. For more on her, see Audio: Amanda Chase Doubles Down, Claims “There is an all-out attack on folks that are white”; Asks “Why is it we can talk about Black history and people don’t flinch?”; “It’s those who are naive and unprepared that end up raped” and that “The ERA Amendment is nothing more than a ploy by the left to eliminate gender altogether.”
