by Kerry Dougherty
Gosh, it seems like it was just last month that Virginia Democrats accused Republicans of being too extreme on abortion and used that wedge issue to gain a slight edge in the General Assembly. (The GOP favors a reasonable 15-week limit, preventing the grisly practice of late-term abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother being in danger.)
Now Democrats have shown who the true extremists are. They’ve introduced a constitutional amendment that would guarantee abortion rights, with no restrictions.
Fooled again, Virginia.
After the 2023 elections, Democrats have majorities in both the House and Senate: 51-49 in the House and 21-19 in the Senate. The governor can’t veto a constitutional amendment, so look for all of the abortion enthusiasts in Richmond to merrily support this measure. It needs to pass the General Assembly in two consecutive years and then has to be approved by voters. So this guarantees the Dems will be pimping this issue for the next several years.
Sigh.
They’re just getting started with a slew of bills that they know Gov. Glenn Youngkin WILL veto. The Democrats simply want to get Republican members on the record with “no” votes so they can demagogue the issues in the campaigns.
For instance, with their first bills of the 2024 session – HB1 and SB1 -Democrats want to raise Virginia’s minimum wage – presently at $12 an hour – to $15 by Jan. 1, 2026.
Never mind that when the minimum wage jumps, so do prices. Economics was never the left’s strong suit, as witnessed by the national catastrophe known as “Bidenomics.”
The majority party also wants to ban the most popular rifle in use today: the AR-15, which they call “an assault-style weapon.” There was a time when a number of Virginia Democrats supported the Second Amendment. We’ll soon see how many are left in Richmond with the crop of newly elected far-left lawmakers.
As usual, the Dems can’t resist demonstrating their deep affection for criminals. They’ve signaled that they’ll push for the automatic restoration of voting rights for felons. This may garner some Republican support. It’s not objectionable as long as the felon in question has successfully completed probation and paid all court costs and fines.
If Democrats had their way, criminals would be voting from prison.
This is just the start. Look for a cornucopia of crazy coming out of Richmond in the coming weeks as Democrats mistake their razor-thin majority for a mandate.
