A right-wing publication is in full meltdown mode after Virginia’s Democratic governor signed a bill stripping Confederate heritage organizations of their state tax exemptions, calling it an act of war against Southern identity and a harbinger of leftist tyranny.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed the legislation this week, yanking tax exemptions for several Confederate groups, including the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She also signed a separate bill ending the production of specialty license plates bearing the likeness of Robert E. Lee.
The Federalist responded with barely contained fury.
“Spanberger is sending an unequivocal message — it’s open season on those who would honor American history and the heritage of their ancestors. And the full force of the state will be used to quash them,” wrote Hayden Daniel, a staff editor at the outlet.
He uncorked a dire warning for conservatives.
“The left cannot settle for merely snuffing out the fire of America’s heritage; they will ultimately seek to snuff out the people who continue to tend the flame. And in states like Virginia, they have the full power of the bureaucratic state at their disposal,” wrote Daniel.
The piece framed the removal of the tax exemptions as an act of political persecution against organizations it described as largely devoted to civic work, like helping homeless shelters and food banks.
State Delegate Alex Askew, who sponsored the bill and has pushed for it for years, called Spanberger’s signature “a proud moment and an important step forward for Virginia.”
The legislation is part of a broader Democratic-led effort in Virginia to shed the state’s legacy as the former capital of the Confederacy, a yearslong project that has included the removal of Confederate monuments from public spaces.
Critics of Confederate heritage organizations argue the groups have long romanticized the Confederacy and glossed over the central role of slavery in the Civil War, while benefiting from taxpayer-funded advantages unavailable to other civic groups.
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