Audio: With 56 Days to Go Until They Lose Their Majority, Panic-Stricken Virginia House Republicans Ratchet Up Hysteria, Fear-Mongering to DEFCON 1

With just 56 days to go until Virginia legislative elections – for every seat in the House of Delegates (currently 51-49 Republican) and State Senate (currently 21-19 Republican) – and predictions that the Republican majorities are quite possibly toast, powerful Virginia House Republican Del. Terry Kilgore was busy this morning on far-right Trumpster radio, ratcheting up the hysteria and fear-mongering to DEFCON 1.  Check out the audio, below, as well as some “highlights” of what was said on the show (and my comments, in italics).

In short, the Virginia Republican message at this point is that if Democrats win on November 5, basically it’s “armaggeddon,” Virginia is toast, we are all DOOOOOOMED. In reality, of course, if Virginia Democrats win on November 5, a lot of things are going to get better in this state, after many years of Republican policies geared towards polluting the environment, enriching the rich, empowering the powerful and restricting personal autonomy. Today, it’s long, long past time to see change for the better in Virginia…by voting Democratic, up and down the ballot, on November 5!

• According to the host – Trump’s 2016 Virginia chair, John Fredericks – “the crazies are at the gate,” and Del. Terry Kilgore agrees.  (Of course that’s not true in any way, but again, Republicans have nothing to offer voters except for negativity and hysteria at this point.)
• According to Del. Terry Kilgore: “If we repeal right-to-work, we’re becoming New York, New Jersey; people are going to leave Virginia, businesses are going to leave Virginia…[Right to Work has] got us to…back to being number one in business…If we repeal right-to-work we’re we’re toast in Virginia as far as recruiting businesses and economic development for the rural areas.”  (This is so ridiculous it’s hard to even express, but if Republicans really want to make the case to voters that so-called “Right-to-Work” laws are the key to Virginia’s economic prosperity, I guess let them waste their time and money?)
• According to the host: “You’ve got a Communist in Manassas who’s gonna end up being a committee chairman. I mean think about this…hash tag Commie Lee of the CCCP. This is a guy who did a Facebook post, and said if I’m reelected, I will join Antifa.” (I’d love to see the supposed Facebook post they’re talking about, if one even exists. Regardless, “Antifa” isn’t even a real organization that you can “join.” So who knows what on earth that’s even supposed to mean.)
• Del. Kilgore added: “They are a terrorist organization…committing acts of violence. Anybody who on either side who creates acts of violence should be treated as such.” (Here we go with the “either side” crap, just like Trump equating actual neo-Nazis with anti-Nazi protestors in Charlottesville. The Trump Republican Party is simply incorrigible.)
• Del. Kilgore praised John Fredericks for his hysteria and fear mongering, claiming that “that message needs to get out…we’ve got to have this wake-up call.” (It’s fascinating to know that Virginia House Republican leadership is in sync with a right-wing radio host, but then again, Trump loves Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, etc., so…)
• According to Del. Kilgore, there’s “no such thing” as bipartisan or non-partisan redistricting, but he’s *sure* that Democrats won’t agree to this imaginary concept. (What? There’s no such thing as bipartisan or non-partisan redistricting? Also, note that Del. Kilgore participated in the last Virginia House of Delegates gerrymander, part of which was struck down by the courts as an illegal “racial packing” scheme. So Kilgore is about the *last* person to talk about this subject. ZERO credibility.)
• Also gotta love the hysteria about Democratic donors and Clean Virginia funders Michael Bills and Sonja Smith. Del. Kilgore basically agreed that what Clean Virginia is doing is a “quid pro quo” (which it isn’t) and added that “if this was on the right, if a right conservative group was saying hey you got to vote this way to get this, can you imagine what the fake news press would be saying about us?” Del. Kilgore claimed, laughably, that the Bills/Smith contributions are “far worse” than Dominion Energy and AEP. (Of course, Kilgore thinks that because…wait for it…Dominion and AEP are powerful corporations that give to REPUBLICANS, while Bills/Smith are individuals who give to Democrats. The horror! The horror!)
• On and on it went, hysterical/nonsensical claim after hysterical/nonsensical claim, all aimed at riling up the right-wing base. For instance, Del. Kilgore falsely claimed that Democrats support “infanticide,” which of course not a single Virginia Democratic elected official or candidate actually supports. (But whatever, who cares about facts when you’re desperately trying to hold on to one of your last bastions of power in Virginia, and are terrified that you’re not going to be able to do it?)