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Senate Dems to VA Beach: “When You Smoke Crack, Hold It In…”

Senate Democrats in Richmond took this gentleman’s advice and doubled down [1].  Apparently aware that the lawsuits are coming, the Senate Democrats are trying again… and no, they didn’t get the message.

[2]
...crack is one hell of a drug!

In Senate Plan #3, not much changed.  Just a few highlights, from the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus:

It’s “Redistricting Eve.” Late today, Senate Democrats unveiled the third incarnation of their redistricting plan, sponsored by Senator Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax). The second version, Howell Plan 2 was released late last week It made only one change from Howell Plan 1: placing Republican Senators McWaters and Wagner in the same district (the first version “erroneously” placed Republican Senators Blevins and Wagner in the same District).

Not exactly “new and improved,” Howell Plan 3 is different from previous versions in the following ways:

  • The borders of Districts 1 [J. Miller (D) – Newport News], 3 [Norment (R) – James City], 4 [McDougle (R) – Hanover], 28 [Stuart (R) – Stafford], 38 [Puckett (D) – Russell], and 40 [Wampler (R) – Bristol] have been changed. [Howell Plan 2 only changed the borders of Districts 7 and 14.]
  • The number of split counties has increased by 1, going from 33 to 34.
  • The number of split towns has decreased by 1, going from 19 to 18. [NOTE: This is the primary change in the borders of Districts 38 and 40, and it’s a little interesting. Under Howell Plans 1 and 2, there were more split towns just in Senator Puckett’s District than there were in the entire Watkins-Vogel (Senate Republican) Plan. Under Howell Plan 3, there are as many split towns just in Senator Puckett’s District as there are in the entire Watkins-Vogel Plan. What an improvement!]

Without a program, it can be hard to keep up. Well, to ensure you have the most up-to-date information on how the plans compare, we’ve attached an updated version of our Comparison Guide. And, to ensure you understand where the changes have occurred, we’ve also attached maps of Howell Plan 3.

If a Howell Plan 4 surfaces later, we’ll be sure to provide you updates on that one as well.

You can get your sneak preview of the third installment of the Senator Janet “Because I Said So” Howell’s Gerrymandering Sweepstakes here [3].

The comparison against the Watkins-Vogel plan is available as well [4].

I gotta say… this is getting out of hand and out of control.  Instead of making things better, the Senate Democrats have gone out of their way to make matters worse.  Is it so hard — seriously — for the Senate Democrats to concede that there is no way they will hold on to a majority under any conditions that approximate common sense?

At some point, ethics trump partisanship.  Let’s hope this happens on the Senate Democrats own volition before it comes down to a court gavel… because the court challenges are indeed coming should Howell’s unethical redistricting plan see daylight.