Former President Barack Obama was slammed on social media Tuesday for suggesting the aggressive gerrymander of Virginia’s congressional districts will be good for democracy.
“Congratulations, Virginia!” Obama wrote on X, shortly after voters narrowly approved a redistricting plan expected to give Democrats control of all but one of the state’s 11 congressional districts.
“Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor, but they haven’t done it yet,” the former president continued. “Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.”
Virginia’s congressional delegation currently breaks 6-5 in favor of Democrats, but the new map aims to shift it to a 10-1 split.
Republicans contend that the outlandishly-shaped new districts – which radiate out from the Democrat-stronghold of Northern Virginia – will result in a congressional delegation that is not representative of the state.
“Disenfranchising millions of voters and forcing 45% of Virginians to be represented by 1 congressional district and 55% represented by 10 is now ‘standing up for Democracy,’” former Trump administration official Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X, in response to Obama’s post.
“Is that ‘equity?’” she added. “What a farce.”
Conservative commentator Michael Knowles interpretively paraphrased Obama as saying: “‘Congratulations, Virginia, you just disenfranchised virtually every Republican at the congressional level — democracy!’”
“Every time a democrat says they’re ‘fighting for democracy’ it really means that as soon as they take power again they’ll do everything they can to attack, imprison and permanently silence their opposition,” Turning Point USA contributor Savanah Hernandez argued.
Former college basketball coach Bruce Pearl noted that “President Trump won 46% of the Vote in the State of Virginia” and “before this vote there were 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans representing the people in the house.”
“To ‘restore fairness’ the Dems will now carry the state 10-1,” Pearl wrote in response to Obama. “This is certainly a victory for democrats but how is it fair?”
Jeremy Redfern, the deputy chief of staff for Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, pointed out Obama’s apparent hypocrisy by sharing a 2020 tweet from the 44th president where he expressed staunch opposition to “partisan gerrymandering.”
“Let’s guarantee that every citizen has equal representation in our government. And end partisan gerrymandering, so that all voters have the power to choose their politicians,” read the post from Obama, shared by Redfern.
Meanwhile, former GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin thanked the Virginians who “turned out to vote against this egregious power grab.”
“The race was much closer than the left expected because Virginians know a 10-1 map is not Virginia,” Youngkin wrote on X.
He added, “I urge the Virginia Supreme Court to rule against this unconstitutional process that will disenfranchise millions of Virginians.”
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