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Fmr. VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R/Trump Voter) on Trump Deal to Give US Government 10% Share of Intel: “Isn’t government ownership of the means of production one of the basic [tenets] of socialism?”

By
lowkell
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0

Yes, former VA Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R/Trump voter) is correct: wanting the government to own the means or production is “one of the basic tenants [sic] of socialism,” and Trump is very much practicing that. Also note that since Trump was sworn in, he’s violated a bunch more conservative core beliefs, such as:

  • Trump’s imposed massive tariffs, which are of course a *tax* on American consumers. I remember back when there were actually people who fought for their conservative principles, such as Grover Norquist, who used to say stuff like: “‘Tariffs are taxes,’ said the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. ‘They’re taxes on American consumers and producers who use imported products. We need to get those tariffs down as quickly as we can.’” So what ever happened to rock-ribbed conservatives like Grover Norquist, now that Trump is cranking up those “taxes on American consumers and producers who use imported products?” Mostly crickets…
  • Trump’s trampled on the entire concept of local governance being best, “states’ rights,” etc. Putting troops in cities because he feels like it, and without the consent of those who live there?  Threatening governors and other local/state officials if they don’t knuckle under to his demands on whatever topic, from “DEI” to fuel economy standards to “sanctuary cities” to…you name it, basically. The thing is, even if you agree with Trump on any or all of those issues, on their merits, if you’re actually a conservative who opposes a big, tyrannical federal government that tramples on localities and states, then you should oppose all of this stuff – strongly – on principle. But again…crickets.
  • Trump’s violated Republican/conservative values towards immigration that go back decades, certainly to Ronald “Shining City on a Hill” Reagan, as well as to George W. Bush, who supported comprehensive immigration reform. The main thing is that Trump violates the conservative idea that immigration is a major economic positive for America – as Reagan said, undocumented immigrants “are actually doing work our own people won’t do”; we should preserve “our tradition of accepting foreigners to our shores”; and “Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands”‘; etc.
  • Trump’s violated conservative reverence (at least professed) for the rule of law and the constitution. On that front, there are too many examples to mention, but obviously Trump has no respect for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of and FROM religion, rule of law, checks and balances, division of powers, etc, etc.

So that’s just a really short list, but obviously this could go on all day. The main point is that Trump violates all sorts of American values, as well as values which conservatives *claimed* – vociferously, in many cases – for decades to support. And yet we hear almost no Republicans speaking out against this. Counterfactual: imagine if a *Democratic* president had done ANY of the things listed above? Republicans would be going APESHIT, would have started impeachment proceedings months ago, and probably would have voted for conviction by now. But with Trump, it’s like…whatever, or even “isn’t he amazing?” Which means that either those professed conservative values were always just lip service bullsh**, or that in the end, the desire for power – and the fear of Trump’s retribution (or retribution from his cult-like “base”) – “trumps” (pun intended) all else.

With that, see here or below for the view of a FORMER (that’s crucial in this context) Republican office holder and politician…namely Bill Bolling, who actually appears to have voted for Trump three times (in 2016, 2020 and 2024). Which just sort of boggles the mind, especially when you recall that one of the main reasons Bolling cited for his Trump vote was the dangers of SOCIALISM (!!!!) under Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Except that’s exactly what we appear to be getting now, with Trump – who Bolling voted for three times – and what we would NOT be getting with a President Harris. Crazy.

Do we really want the federal government to own all or even a portion of private companies?

Isn’t government ownership of the means of production one of the basic tenants of socialism?

If we’re really committed to capitalism and a free market system, is this a good idea?

I realize the government once owned a large portion of General Motors, but that was because the government gave them $50 billion to bail them out of bankruptcy in 2009.

BTW, Bernie Sanders supports this, while Rand Paul opposes it. That should make your head spin.

ODU Poll of Hampton Roads: Spanberger +21 pts. Over Earle-Sears (48%-27%); In 2021, McAuliffe Won This Area by 9 pts. Over Youngkin

By
lowkell
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0

As Sam Shirazi says, this poll by Old Dominion University has “Field dates [that] are [a] few weeks old and includes those who don’t plan to vote.” But, Shirazi points out, it’s “still consistent with Dem edge in Virginia this year.” Also note, “Hampton Roads is Dem leaning area although more swingy.” So, with that, here are the top-line results/takeaways, with my comments in parantheses/green after each bullet point:

  • “A survey of Hampton Roads residents suggests Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger is well positioned to win the governor’s race in Virginia this November.” (That’s consistent with the vast majority of public polling so far this election cycle, and also consistent with the fact that Virginia almost ALWAYS goes opposite for governor of the party in the White House. Having said that, we should NOT assume we’ve got this in the bag or get complacent in any way, and we should NOT underestimate the Republicans…including their willingness to run an ugly, falsehood-laden, fear mongering, demagogic campaign aimed at revving up their base big time, as happened in 2021.)
  • “In the governor’s race, nearly 48% of respondents said they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate, Abigail Spanberger, with less than 27% showing preference for the Republican candidate, Winsome Earle-Sears…The last time Virginia elected a governor, Republican Glenn Younkin won statewide by a narrow margin, winning 50.6 percent of the vote versus 48.6 percent of the vote won by Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Within the seven Hampton Roads cities, Youngkin won 45.7 percent of the two-party vote, while McAuliffe won 54.3 percent.” (So Spanberger at 48% in 2025 compared to McAuliffe at 42% in 2021; and Earle-Sears at 27% in 2025 compared to Youngkin at 45.7% in 2021. That latter number is very, very bad for Earle-Sears…18+ points lower than Youngkin in Hampton Roads, while Spanberger is 6 points higher than McAuliffe. Yikes.).
  • “As opposed to most years, this edition of the survey was conducted entirely online, with a total of 718 web-based surveys completed between July 7 and July 24.” (I’m not a big fan of polls taken over such a long period of time, or of polls done entirely online, but that doesn’t per se mean it’s not valid. As for just releasing it on August 19, despite the poll being in the field from July 7 to July 24, the problem is that if things have changed significantly since then, this won’t pick any of that up. Having said that, there’s no particular reason to think that things have chnaged dramatically since July 24, as Trump remains highly unpopular in Virginia, Spanberger and Earle-Sears haven’t been on the air in a big way yet, nobody’s committed a major “gaffe” or anything, etc.  So…maybe these results are still valid?)
  • “Affiliation with the Democratic and Republican parties jumped from 26 to 37% and 20 to 24%, respectively.” (I’m not sure what to make of this, but it seems unlikely that there would have been such big changes in just one year, but maybe it’s the result of Trump being in the White House? Or it could be a bad sample or some other problem with the poll?)
  • “The survey’s results also suggest approval ratings for President Donald Trump and Governor Glenn Youngkin could play a role in this year’s gubernatorial election. Both Republicans received less than 50% job approval, but Youngkin fared much better with 47.6% versus only 33.4% for Trump.” (Youngkin at 47.6%-51.3% isn’t great at all, but Trump at 33.4%-65.7% is just beyond horrendous. It’s going to be hard for Sears/Reid/Miyares to win in that environment.
  • “Earle-Sears does seem to be struggling to re-assemble Trump’s support coalition in Virginia. Among respondents who said they voted for Trump in 2024, Earle-Sears wins the support of 78.1%, with 9.7% indicating they would vote for Spanberger. Among respondents who said they voted for Harris in 2024, Spanberger wins 84.1%, with 4.7 % voting for Earle-Sears. Thus, Earle-Sears is performing worse among Trump voters than Spanberger is performing among Harris voters. Complicating the challenge for Earle- Sears is that Trump himself is struggling to retain approval among a portion of those who voted for him – according to the survey, 12.5% of Trump voters now disapprove or strongly disapprove of the job Trump is doing as President.” (This really gets at why Trump and Republicans feel the need to try to suppress the vote, massively gerrymander US House districts in their favor, etc,. in order to try and rig the 2026 midterm elections. Also, again, it’s going to be VERY hard for Sears/Reid/Miyares to win in this environment.)
  • “Trump job approval / disapproval strongly predicts gubernatorial election vote-choice among survey respondents. Among respondents who strongly approve of Trump, almost all are already planning to vote for Earle-Sears (85% for Earle-Sears, 2% for Spanberger). Respondents who approve of Trump mostly are planning to vote for Earle-Sears as well (55% for Earle-Sears, 13% for Spanberger), with the large portion not planning to vote for either candidate this could be a potential resource for Earle-Sears. But there are also risks for Earle-Sears of being too closely associated with Trump. Because 16% of those who disapprove of Trump say they would vote for Earle-Sears, closer connection with Trump could weaken Earle-Sears’ level of support among a key voting group. Closer support from Trump (who has lost Virginia in each of his three presidential runs) could cut into Earle-Sears ability to win support from those who disapprove of and/or haven’t voted for Trump.” (So…does Earle-Sears invite Trump to campaign for her, potentially revving up the core Trump “base” but also potentially alienating the vast majority of voters who disapprove of Trump? Tough call for Earle-Sears. Oh, by the way, these results help explain why Earle-Sears wants to make this election anything BUT a referendum on Trump, thus her obsessive focus on transgender kids’ use of bathrooms and locker rooms, etc.
  • “Overall, Earle-Sears seems to suffer from disapproval of Youngkin without benefitting equally from approval. Among respondents who strongly approved of Youngkin, 82 percent indicated that they would vote for Earle-Sears (and 12 percent indicated that they would vote for Spanberger), and among those who approved (but not strongly) of Youngkin, only 40 percent indicated that they would vote for Earle-Sears (compared with 30 percent who indicated they would vote for Spanberger). Thus, many respondents who think well of Youngkin do not plan to vote for his lieutenant governor in her quest to ascend to the governor’s office. Despite the loose connection between approval of Youngkin and support for Earle-Sears, there was a tight connection between disapproval of Youngkin and a plan to not vote for Earle-Sears. Only eight percent of those who disapproved of Youngkin planned to vote for Earle-Sears, and less than one percent of those who strongly disapproved of Youngkin indicated that they planned to vote for Earle-Sears. Thus, Earle-Sears could gain substantially from stronger support among residents who approve of Youngkin.” (Again, challenging/not great for Earle-Sears, and raises the question of how tightly she wants to tie herself to Youngkin in this campaign  – e.g., will she talk about the “Youngkin-Sears administration” or have Youngkin at many events with her?)
  • For House of Delegates, “Slightly more than 50 percent of respondents indicated that they planned to vote for the Democratic candidate, while about one quarter of respondents indicated that they would vote for the Republican candidate. Thus, Republicans polling is slightly worse in the House of Delegates contests than in the Gubernatorial contest…The last time Republicans won control of the House of Delegates (in 2021) the party’s candidates won 45.8 percent of the House of Delegates vote in the 7 cities included in the Life in Hampton Roads Survey, while Democrats won 53.7 percent of the vote. Thus, Republicans appear to be polling far behind the margins they would need to prevail…Overall, while either party could prevail in the contest for control of the House of Delegates in November, the results of the survey appear to give the edge to the Democrats in the Hampton Roads region.” (Again, not good news for Virginia Republicans…particularly in Hampton Roads districts like HD89 – Democrat Karen Carnegie vs. Republican Mike Lamonea.)

So, bottom line: assuming this poll is accurate, and that things haven’t changed significantly since July, it’s good news for Democrats and not-so-good news for Republicans. But again, let’s all “run through the tape” and make sure we take nothing for granted. Plus, of course, you never know what will happen once voters really start tuning in after Labor Day – and god knows what will happen on the national level that might impact these races. So stay tuned…

 

Saturday News: “Trump’s FBI Raid of John Bolton’s Home Looks Like a ‘Five-Alarm Fire'”; “The Retribution Phase of Trump’s Presidency Has Begun”; Hegseth Fires Head of DIA; “Ghislaine’s Audition for Amnesty”; “The Useful Idiots in the Media Abetting Trump’s D.C. Takeover”

By
lowkell
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by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, August 23.

Reactions, Thoughts on Last Night’s Arlington School Board Meeting (at Which Winsome Earle-Sears and Many Others Spoke), the Offensive Sign by a Random Activist at the Rally Before the Meeting, etc.

By
lowkell
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0

See below for some reactions and thoughts from last night’s Arlington County School Board meeting, at which Winsome Earle-Sears (and many others) spoke, and the rally prior to the meeting, at which one activist held up an offensive, ill-conceived, racist (even if the person’s intent, as she said to Fox “News,” was “satire mean to provoke conversation about the absurdity of prejudice”). It’s obviously blown up into a huge, viral story in right-wing media and on Twitter, although we’ll see if really breaks out into the “mainstream media” or not, and whether it lasts more than a few days. With that, here are a few thoughts and reactions.

  • Last night, Abigail Spanberger almost immediately said she “condemns this repulsive display” as “racist, abhorrent and unacceptable.” She followed up this morning with another statement, elaborating that “no matter the intended purpose or tone and no matter how much one might find someone else’s beliefs objectionable, to threaten a return of Jim Crow and segregation to a Black woman is unacceptable.”
  • Arlington County Board member Maureen Coffey also responded almost immediately: “Arlington was the 1st school district in Virginia to desegregate in 1959 This is entirely unacceptable &flies in the face of the work we have done to be an inclusive & welcoming community for all. We do not fight for progress by putting others down, we fight for equality for ALL.”
  • Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) commented this morning: “There is no place for racism in Arlington or anywhere else. This sign is wrong, does not represent the values of our community and I join those condemning it.”
  • Equality Virginia issued a statement a bit earlier this afternoon: “Equality Virginia condemns the anti-Black sign displayed at a rally for trans youth ahead of the Arlington School Board meeting on Thursday, August 21st. The sign invoked segregation-era policy and tactics that are dehumanizing and deeply harmful. Anti-Blackness has no place in our movement, the for LGBTQ+ liberation is intertwined with the fight for Black liberation. We must condemn anti-Blackness in all its forms with the same dedication that we fight against transphobia.”
  • Of course, all of this overshadowed the content of the Arlington School Board meeting, at which the vast majority of speakers expressed their support for transgender students and their opposition to the Trump administration’s threats to slash funding to Arlington public schools if they don’t change their transgender student policies. (see below for video)
  • For her part, Winsome Earle-Sears consciously chose to come to Arlington to speak out, because she feels like raising the “salience” of this issue – which bathrooms and locker rooms transgender students should be using – will help her politically. She also, presumably, believes strongly in what she’s saying, namely that  – in her view: “What is happening in our schools right now is just wrong. It’s dangerous. It’s insane. And it has to stop. There are two sexes, boys and girls. And for generations, we’ve understood this that they deserve their own sports teams, their own locker rooms, their own bathrooms. That’s not discrimination. It is common sense…When girls lose their privacy, when boys are punished for speaking plain truth, when parents aresilenced for simply asking questions, that’s not education. That’s indoctrination.”
  • With a couple exceptions, the other speakers at the School Board meeting all spoke out strongly in support of transgender students, argued that Arlington County schools are following the law, “reflect the core values that we hold as Arlingtonians – respect, inclusion, kindness,” etc. They also pushed back hard against the “political cudgel” being used by the Trump administration against Arlington County public schools. Check out the video, below.
  • As for the politics of this, clearly Virginia Republicans are looking for an issue on which they can gain some traction, after a rough summer of disunity – and also getting outraised financially and trailing in the polls. So they look at 2021 – when Youngkin used “wedge issues” like “CRT,” transgender kids’ use of school bathrooms, etc. as part of his winning gubernatorial campaign – as a model for 2025. The big difference, of course, is that in 2021, a Democrat (Joe Biden) was in the White House, while this time around a Republican (Donald Trump) is president. And historically, Virginia almost always goes OPPOSITE for governor of whichever party is in the White House. So how much did all the so-called “culture war” stuff help Youngkin in 2021? Hard to say, but in the end, he only won by two points, even with an increasingly unpopular Biden in the White House, and even with almost no record, a huge amount of money, and a pathetically incompetent media – allowing Youngkin to be all things to all people. This time around, Earle-Sears doesn’t (at least not so far) have nearly the money that Youngkin had; plus she’s got much more of a political track record (as a right winger all the way) than Youngkin had; but yes, the media still sucks, as badly or even worse than in 2021, so far mostly normalizing and “sanewashing” the far-right-Republican 2025 ticket.
  • The Spanberger campaign, of course, would like to keep the focus of this election on the economy, inflation, jobs, healthcare, DOGE cuts, federal workers, tariffs, etc. – the things voters care about and which make a big difference to Virginia’s future. And at the moment, it looks like the Spanberger folks will have a LOT more resources to communicate with voters on those things in the fall than Earle-Sears will.
  • But…and it’s a big BUT, Earle-Sears has the *enormous* advantage of Republicans having built, over the past few decades, a *massive* right-wing media/messaging machine, while Democrats almost completely dropped the ball on that front (despite being warned repeatedly not to do so). Which means, of course, that Republicans have the ability to turn just about ANYTHING into a huge “issue” – for instance, “CRT” in 2021, despite the fact that it wasn’t even taught in Virginia public K-12 schools, nor did the vast majority of voters even know about it – while Democrats have minimal capacity to do the same to Republicans. Or, in this case, Republicans/right wingers can take a sign by a random activist, not even sure who the person is (but there’s no indication she’s any sort of Democratic Party or Spanberger campaign official, politician, etc.) and turn it into the messaging, “SEE, THIS IS WHAT ALL DEMOCRATS THINK! THEY ARE ALL HORRIBLE!” And in this environment, no matter how many times or how strongly Democrats like Spanberger denounce the offensive sign or whatever, it kinda doesn’t matter, because the right-wing echo chamber will amplify it regardless, claim (dishonestly, but that doesn’t matter to them) that it represents Spanberger and Democrats in general, etc. Yes, that’s the absurd world we live in…and that Democrats SHOULD HAVE adapted to many years ago, but that most Democrats *still to this day* don’t understand. Maddening.
  • One more point along these same lines: yes, some random activist had an offensive sign, and Democrats have been condemning it – as they should. Meanwhile, though, Donald Trump – a virulent racist, misogynist, homophobe, xenophobe, etc., who has said a GAZILLION offensive, vicious, horrible things over the years – is president of the United States and leader of the Republican Party. And yet almost nothing seems to “stick” to him. As for the 2025 VA GOP ticket, they’re tied to Trump, plus if you look at their past rhetoric and actions, there are tons of outrageous, extreme, bigoted, etc. things…and yet does anybody care about any of that? Would any of that stuff, if tweeted, get even a small fraction of the “eyeballs”/”clicks” as this story of a random, unnamed activist holding up a moronic, offensive, etc. sign at a rally? Of course not. And that’s just a massive failure on the part of Democrats, plus the media of course, which SHOULD – but doesn’t – differentiate for its readers what’s from an official source, a candidate, etc, and what’s from somebody you never heard about.  Ugh.

So…your thoughts on all of this?

 

Flip and Defend-a-District 2025 Volume 12: Del. Shelly Simonds (HD70), Jessica Anderson (HD71), Rodney Nickens (HD90), Liz Richardson (HD100)

By
Blue Virginia
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0

From Del. Rip Sullivan’s Project Blue Dominion:

New Poll: Virginians Say Housing Costs are the State’s #1 Problem — and Want Bold Action

By
lowkell
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See below for a press release from Freedom Virginia about this recent poll by YouGov– and note that the top issues for Virginians are about housing, inflation, health care, taxes, jobs, immigration, education, etc. – and NOT about most of the stuff Virginia Republicans are obessively focused on.

ICYMI: New Poll: Virginians Say Housing Costs are the State’s #1 Problem — and Want Bold Action

RICHMOND, Va. — A new poll released yesterday by the Commonwealth Housing Coalition finds that Virginia voters see housing costs as the state’s top problem — and they want lawmakers to create bold solutions.

The poll, conducted by YouGov alongside Freedom Virginia and Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), found broad bipartisan support for policies that would make it easier and more affordable to build housing of all types. Respondents ranked housing as their top priority issue — edging out inflation and placing higher than education, healthcare, and jobs. Fully 84% of those surveyed say they want state lawmakers to act in the upcoming 2026 session. 

Other key findings include:

  • The survey asked about ten proposed housing policy reforms and found at least 65% support for each one with fewer than 25% of respondents in opposition.
  • The largest majorities (65-79%) of Virginia voters surveyed said they support policies that would make it easy to build more and smaller types of homes, reduce regulatory requirements on new housing, require local governments to streamline home construction in Virginia, empower faith congregations to build affordable housing on land they own, and support local laws against severe rent hikes.
  • The poll reveals strong support for state-level mandates, with respondents preferring state action over local efforts by a 2-to-1 margin.
  • Concerns over housing costs were not limited to urban or suburban areas, with more than half of rural Virginians describing housing costs as a “major problem.”
  • Overall, 73% of Virginians surveyed agreed that the state lacks enough homes people can afford to rent or buy.

“Regular people are demanding big, bold actions from state candidates to build more homes and make housing more affordable,” said Ryan O’Toole, co-executive director at Freedom Virginia,  one of the organizations in the Commonwealth Housing Coalition that commissioned the study. “This survey makes clear that voters will stand behind legislators who champion making our economy more just, so hardworking people can afford to live where they want.”

“These results make clear that Virginians want state lawmakers to lower housing costs,” said Laura Dobbs, Director of Policy for Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia (HOME of VA), another organization in the coalition. “Virginia voters are ready to support lawmakers who champion policies that make housing more affordable and accessible. If legislators stand up for housing solutions, they can count on having constituents behind them.”

The poll emphasizes that decisive action to rein in costs is what Virginia voters want most, and it finds bipartisan majorities in support of innovative solutions, including:

  • allowing homes to be built on smaller lots;
  • empowering faith congregations to build affordable housing on land they own;
  • fighting price gouging on rent by limiting rent increases year-to-year;
  • and permitting backyard homes (also known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs) by-right.

YouGov conducted the poll for the Commonwealth Housing Coalition between July 11-29, 2025, among a sample of 1,309 Virginia voters. The survey was conducted online. Results have a margin of error ±3.3 percentage points. Read the poll memo at this link.

Friday News: “Famine declared in Gaza City as Israel vows to open ‘gates of hell'”; “Judge bars Florida from bringing more detainees to ‘Alligator Alcatraz’”; “John Roberts and the death of rule of law in America”; SCOTUS’ “incomprehensible gobbledygook”

By
lowkell
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0

by Lowell

Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, August 22. Oh, and thought for the day: one stupid, offensive protestor/sign does NOT represent the entire Democratic Party, the Spanberger campaign, etc, and implying otherwise – as Republicans are doing – is WILDLY dishonest. Which, of course, is what they do and who they are…

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) Blasts Trump’s Refusal To Enforce D.C. Gun Laws

By
Blue Virginia
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0

From Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08):

Beyer Blasts Trump’s Refusal To Enforce D.C. Gun Laws

August 21, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) today issued the following statement after U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host recently appointed by President Trump to serve as the top federal prosecutor for Washington D.C., announced that she would not enforce gun laws which make carrying rifles or shotguns in the nation’s capital a felony:

“What better evidence could you ask for that Trump doesn’t care about preventing crime in D.C. than an outright refusal to enforce gun laws? This is exactly the behavior we should expect from a president who put criminals back on the street after January 6th, including some who carried firearms there illegally.” said Beyer. “Trump and Jeanine Pirro are making it clear that the point of their unwanted and unjustified occupation of the nation’s capital has nothing whatsoever to do with public safety or crime prevention. Worse, they are putting Washingtonians at risk by signaling that carrying dangerous, illegal weapons here will be accepted by a government that pardons criminal activity carried out in Trump’s name. This is disgusting and unacceptable.”

Rep. Beyer represents a Northern Virginia district in the U.S. House that sits across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. He has been a vocal opponent of the Trump Administration’s occupation and police takeover in the nation’s capital, and announced yesterday that he and D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton will soon reintroduce their legislation to require all federal officers to wear body cameras.

Beyer was instrumental in the enactment of 2020 legislation that now requires all federal officers and members of the armed forces, including the National Guard, to visibly display identifying information for each individual as well as their agency or unit when responding to a civil disturbance or constitutionally protected protest action. Beyer is a cosponsor of bills with Rep. Dan Goldman and Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, respectively, to ban ICE from wearing face masks during arrests and to require ICE to wear visible and distinct uniforms at all times of action.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) Visits ICE Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia to Conduct Oversight

By
Blue Virginia
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0

From Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10)’s office:

Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Visits ICE Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia to Conduct Oversight and Introduces WATCH ICE Act to Bring Transparency to Immigration Enforcement and Hold Trump Administration Accountable 

Washington, D.C. –This week, following an oversight visit to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green, Virginia, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam introduced the Watching Arrest and Transfer Criminal Histories in ICE (WATCH ICE) Act. The bill would increase transparency and accountability for ICE by requiring the agency to publicly report on its enforcement actions, including arrests, detentions, and deportations.

This legislation comes in response to data showing that ICE is increasingly targeting non-criminal individuals, families, law-abiding immigrants in courthouses, rather than focusing on violent criminals as pledged by President Trump and his administration. Of those held in the Caroline Detention Facility, 78% of the average daily population have no criminal convictions. The facility is at 80% capacity, the highest recorded in five years.

“My visit to Caroline Detention Facility was to conduct constitutional oversight of the facility. President Trump ran on prioritizing getting violent criminals off our streets, yet what we have seen has been the intimidation of law-abiding immigrants, some of whom have been here legally for decades,” said Congressman Subramanyam. “My WATCH ICE Act will bring accountability and clarity by demanding that ICE report on who exactly they are arresting and deporting.”

“I also want to ensure that we protect the rights and civil liberties of all Americans, which is why I also championed legislation to require ICE agents to wear identification and be unmasked, particularly when apprehending individuals,” Subramanyam said. “Many lawful permanent residents and citizens have reached out to me with deep concerns about these practices, and they deserve to feel safe.”

Despite the Trump administration’s claims of targeting violent non-citizen criminals, the data reveals a starkly different reality. According to federal statistics, less than half of the people held in detention by ICE as recently as June do not have a criminal record. Across the country, arrests of non-criminal individuals have surged. In Virginia, over 2,500 immigrants have been arrested by ICE and partnering local and state law enforcement agencies. However, 60% of those arrests have been of individuals with no prior criminal record.

ICE’s enforcement actions at courthouses across the country, including in Sterling and Manassas in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, are particularly concerning. By arresting individuals attending hearings and following legal requirements, ICE is forcing law-abiding immigrants to make an impossible choice: appear in court at the risk of being detained or deported, or skip their hearings and abandon their legal bid to remain in the United States. These opaque and punitive measures do not enhance public safety; rather, they target immigrants who are following our laws and attempting to achieve legal status “in the right way” merely to inflate this administration’s immigration enforcement numbers and score political points.

The WATCH ICE Act would require ICE to publicly release quarterly reports detailing:

  • The total number of individuals arrested, detained and held in custody, and deported in the previous quarter.
  • The number of those individuals who have a criminal conviction under state or federal law and what kind of threat they may pose.

This reporting will ensure that the agency’s actions are aligned with its stated mission of prioritizing public safety.

Video: Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) Says He Would Have Rather Heard from Alex Acosta and Pam Bondi than Bill Barr in Monday’s Deposition on the Jeffrey Epstein Files

By
lowkell
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0

Recently, Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10) has done a number of media “hits” on the topic of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. This morning, for instance, Rep. Subramanyam was on DC News Now – see below for video and highlights, including Rep. Subramanyam’s thoughts on former Attorney General Bill Barr’s deposition with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Monday.

  • “So, you know, having Bill Barr there was not exactly the best person to have there…I’ll say that, you know, he didn’t do anything to make me feel better about the situation. He didn’t do anything to clear the president’s name, certainly. And what he did do, though, is bring up more questions. For instance, I would like to talk to Alex Acosta. Now he’s the former prosecutor who gave Epstein a sweetheart deal in 2007. Which kind of led to, you know, more victims later on. And so I would like to see him come before the committee. And obviously, I’d like to see AG Bondi as well.”
  • “I mean, we were asking the hard questions on the Democratic side and doing a lot of the heavy lifting. I think this Republican majority wants to essentially cover for the president and block and tackle for him. Essentially, the kinds of questions that were being asked were essentially, you know, things that are already in the public record. And, you know, we were asking very direct questions. And I think the difference was very striking to me. And so as this continues, again, you know, they’re trying to subpoena the Clintons. What do the Clintons have to do with the Trump administration’s cover up of this? I don’t know. And so what I would like to see is having AG Bondi come before us. Or the thing that will end all of this is if they just release the unredacted full files – they could have done that yesterday, that was their deadline. Their deadline was yesterday to release them and they didn’t do that. And now they’re saying that they’re going to release a trickle of files. And what I think they’re going to do is release them selectively in a way that makes the president look great. And I think in the end, that’s not what the American people want or deserve.”
  •  “I think they want to select documents to release. They don’t want to release all of the files that they have. They certainly wouldn’t want to release a list that would embarrass the president in any sort of way – or anything that, you know, speaks about the relationship between the president and Jeffrey Epstein or any of the president’s friends or donors and Jeffrey Epstein. And so I think that’s why there’s been this slow trickle. And again, it’s the easiest thing in the world to just say, we’re going to release the files exactly like they promised on the campaign over the last couple years. I mean, I talked to one voter who said one of the reasons they voted for Donald Trump was because the Biden administration was engaged in this cover up. And so either the Trump administration and Donald Trump, they were lying during the campaign and there was no cover up. Or they are the ones covering things up right now. Or, you know, the president’s very involved and mentioned in these files in an embarrassing way, and they don’t want to release them. Either way, it’s not good for the American people. And on the oversight committee, it’s our job to get answers.”
  • “I’ll say this…I’m new to Congress, but even in previous administrations, I support full transparency, whether it’s a Democrat or Republican in office. And so, you know, moving forward, if you’re going to promise people files related to someone who committed terrible crimes as part of an effort to show the American people that no one is above the law, no matter how much money they have, this is the way to do it. But this president, this administration has shown the opposite. They’ve shown that, you know, the president can receive a plane from Qatar, but, you know, everyday people engage in any sort of wrongdoing will be prosecuted by the administration to the fullest if they’re a political opponent…And so I think this administration is sending the opposite message that they campaigned on, which is transparency, and that nobody is above the law.”
  • “I say that the victims deserve a voice in this entire process. If they want to see the files, it’s incumbent upon us to pressure this administration to get the full files and anything else that will bring any semblance of sort of peace for them, because they’ve been through hell, you know, and this has been a terrible situation for them. And I think it was a failing of our criminal justice system that Jeffrey Epstein continued to prey on girls, essentially, over these years. And we did nothing about it. And so we have big reforms that we need to make. And part of this is releasing these files, giving the victims what they asked for is a great step in the right direction. But this administration made that promise. And so far they haven’t kept it.”
  • “I’d like to avoid a shutdown. The best way to avoid a shutdown is to do what we’ve done in previous sessions, which is to come together in a bipartisan way and figure out a way to continue the government. I’d like to see us pass budgets and not have to go six months at a time, CR to CR. But, you know, it looks like this Republican majority is going to do this in a partisan way again. And I think they’re going to need a votes on the Senate Democratic side, because they’re not going to get us bailing them out if they’re going to do a partisan bill that essentially, shuts down the government anyway by cutting very essential people, including a lot of Virginia federal workers that I represent.”

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