by Ailurophile
As Blue Virginia readers already know, Annette Hyde has tossed her hat in the ring to flip Virginia’s House District 30, currently represented by Trump loyalist Nick Freitas (R). Grassroots PAC VA 7th for Progress is offering $500 in matching funds to support her (click HERE to join in the fun).
Freitas, of course, has just failed to oust Abigail Spanberger from her congressional seat (#VA07; he is pursuing legal options to challenge the result). This is Freitas’s second major defeat: in 2018, he lost a primary contest to Confederate-flag-hugging Corey Stewart (R), who foolishly decided to try to oust Sen. Tim Kaine from his Senate seat. Freitas looked sensible by comparison and so didn’t get enough scrutiny.
But he’s not sensible.
Freitas’s advocacy of the Second Amendment goes far beyond the usual gun rights talk. Freitas regularly encourages anti-state militarism, his rhetoric falling just short of fomenting violence. Freitas speaks openly of wanting to change our culture so that citizens will be ready and willing to take up arms against the government:
“So it’s not just about legislation. It is about fostering a culture that respects our Second Amendment rights and truly understands the reason why it’s there in the first place. Because it’s not there for hunting. It’s not there for gun collecting. It’s there so that people can actually defend themselves and so that they can actually fight back against tyranny, whether that tyranny comes from a criminal organization or…a government. And so get them comfortable with it. Because this is not just a legislative battle, it is a cultural one.” (Nick Freitas, Facebook Town Hall, 5/5/20).
Freitas posted this right around the time that there was a lot of “Boogaloo Bois” activity in Virginia (their unofficial uniform is Hawaiian shirts). Taken together with his scarcely veiled threat of Beto O’Rourke, it’s clear that Freitas is — especially in the current climate — far more dangerous than he at first appears to be.
Freitas’s views on other issues are equally extreme: he has called the ACA a “cancer.” He considers himself to be “100% pro-life,” though he has voted against nearly every bill that would help children; indeed, his was the sole vote in the legislature against requiring insurers to cover autism after age ten. He has also voted against several bills supported by large majorities in both parties to reduce cruelty to animals. Freitas in fact has a notable record of voting along with a tiny minority on bills for which there was a common consensus among members of both parties. Freitas is also notorious for introducing very little legislation and this trend appears to be continuing in the upcoming session that begins in January: With constituents in his district struggling during these tough times, Freitas has proposed no bills. Zero.
Annette Hyde has answered the call for sound and responsive leadership, advocating for:
- single-payer healthcare / universal coverage
- increased funding for public education (and eliminating public funding of private schools)
- free community college for high school students with an average of C or above
- fast, affordable internet for rural Virginia
- job training and job placement programs
- increased protections for workers, including overtime pay, sick pay, and paid family leave
- equal pay and reproductive rights for women
- legalization of marijuana & expungement of criminal records for possession of small amounts
- the development of alternative energy resources and the Virginia Green New Deal
- gun violence prevention, including keeping military grade weapons out of private hands
In 2019, Freitas won the district by under 3700 votes. Since then, Covid-impelled migration from blue strongholds DC and NOVA is under way, Trump has run ever more amok, and Freitas has inextricably tied himself to him. People in #HD30 are suffering more and more every day, and Freitas has ignored them in their time of need, whingeing instead about the results of a race he lost (sound familiar?).
Let’s help Annette Hyde find the voters she needs to give Freitas the boot and flip this district!
CLICK HERE to contribute to VA 7th for Progress’s matching fund drive for Annette Hyde (double your impact!).
If you’d prefer to contribute directly to Annette’s campaign, CLICK HERE.
Want to learn more about Annette?
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