Not a Single Virginia Republican – Including Those From “Blue” or “Purple” Districts – Has Signed House “Discharge Petition” on Fixing DACA, Protecting DREAMers

According to this new post at Think Progress, “Congress could take action at any time and rescue the [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – DACA] beneficiaries from limbo.” Currently, the article ads, “[w]ith 218 signatures required, just 14 more signatures are needed to force a vote.”

So who’s standing in the way for a fix to DACA and protection for hundreds of thousands of “young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as kids were given temporary work authorization and deportation relief,” but are now threatened thanks to…yeah, the bigoted buffoon now besmirching the White House? Here in Virginia, the answer is clear: every Republican member of our Congressional delegation.

Here’s a link to the U.S. House of Representatives “discharge petition” to force Lyin’ Ryan and Company to act on a DACA fix. Note who’s signed the petition from Virginia?

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08)
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11)
Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA04)
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA03)

And note who is NOT on the petition? Here they are, with the percentage Ralph Northam won in their districts last year.

Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA10); Northam won 55.6%
Rep. Scott Taylor (R-VA02): Northam won 51.4%
Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA07): Northam won 47.6%
Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA05): Northam won 45.1%
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA01): Northam won 44.6%
Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA06): Northam won 38.5%
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA09): Northam won 31.2%

As you can see, Comstock (VA-10) and Taylor (VA-02) both (mis)represent districts that went for Ralph Northam. Also worth noting is that VA-10 went for Hillary Clinton by 10 points over Donald Trump, while Trump won VA-02 by just 3 points. So arguably, VA-10 is a “blue” district at this point, while VA-02 is a “purple”/”swing” district. One could also make the argument that VA-07 is a “purple”/”swing” district, and possibly VA-05 and VA-01 as well. But regardless, the bottom line is that not a single Virginia Republican, whether in a “red,” “purple” or “blue” district, has signed the discharge petition on fixing DACA and protecting DREAMers from Trump’s viciousness.

It’s also worth pointing out that this isn’t a controversial issue among the American public in the least bit.  To the contrary, “The vast majority of Americans — 86% — support keeping DACA in place for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.” Let’s repeat that: nearly 9 in 10 Americans SUPPORT keeping DACA protections in place. Which means that Barbara Comstock, Scott Taylor, etc. are out of step with around 9 out of 10 voters in their districts on this important issue.

Perhaps most galling of all is Comstock, who – as the ThinkProgress article points out – “is a member of the Tuesday Group, a caucus of House Republicans who consider themselves more moderate, and represents a Northern Virginia district in the suburbs of Washington, DC.” Fortunately, come November, VA-10 voters have the opportunity to make sure Comstock will no longer be a member of the “Tuesday Group” – or any other group in the House of Representatives, as they hopefully put an end to her not-at-all-illustrious political career.