Oliver Anthony came out of nowhere in 2023 with his hauntingly domestic hit ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’, lamenting the power and control the professional and industrial northern classes have over the rural south. In Virginia’s ongoing battle for congressional redistricting, Anthony’s ballad comes to life.
On April 21, in a special election to amend the Commonwealth’s Constitution, Democrats from wealthy northern Virginia will disenfranchise the poorer south, changing the congressional map from a 6-5 Democratic advantage to a decidedly undemocratic 10-1 delegation domination.
David, who lives in Windsor and works part time in the Williamsburg area on construction, told me he feels powerless.
(Oliver Anthony/Instagram)
“It feels like the Democrats control everything now, and no one is fighting back,” he told me. “All I see is ‘vote yes’ ads on TV.”
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He has a point. Windsor is south of Richmond, and the real power in the Commonwealth is increasingly in the hands of the very rich, very blue Virginia counties north of Richmond, leaving the poorer residents of the southern counties out of luck.
However, some people are fighting back.
As I finished a meal at Craft 41, a nice mid-range restaurant outside Williamsburg, my son gestured toward the parking lot. Over my shoulder I saw someone place a ‘Vote No’ sign in the windshield as if it were a sun blind.
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A couple who appeared to be in their late 70s entered, both wearing American flag sweaters. They sat while I paid our check, and even though my boss wouldn’t be happy about it, I didn’t have the heart to interrupt their delicious meal together by questioning them about politics.
It turns out I didn’t have to, because their message was literally painted on the side of their vehicle, one part of which read:
“Redistricting ignores more than a third of Virginia voters.”
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This scathing quote was also blared: “Gerrymandering is harmful to our democracy,” a quote from none other than the current Democratic governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanburger.
Firing the ignition on my Lancer, I said to my son, “The Virginia GOP has more money than God, and yet those two people have come up with the best political message I’ve seen in this entire race.”
As in last year’s gubernatorial race, the Republican Party of Virginia, and I’ll include the national Republican Party, are flat-footed, ineffective, and worse, more interested in the rich men north of Richmond than in the ordinary people in the south and west of the state.
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Over the past two weeks, the Republican Party and much of the conservative media have focused on NOVA – as Northern Virginia is known – issues, such as taxes on the wealthy or on the services used by the wealthy; it is not a winning strategy.
If Republicans want to win in Virginia late in the game, they need to understand that this is a class war, not a policy battle. It’s the loafers and vests that stick it to the men and women with calluses on their hands and steal their voices.
Part of the problem is that the Virginia GOP leadership is also big fans of loafers and vests, and what they don’t have is an Oliver Anthony who can speak for the forgotten working class, for the farmers, and for the patriots.
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There is also a racist aspect to all of this, because if any political party tried to widely disenfranchise poor black or Hispanic people, the way poor white people are clearly being treated here, it would be a national scandal.
Maybe part of the reason I couldn’t muster the courage to go talk to the older couple at the restaurant was because I think they’re going to lose, and I didn’t like the idea of telling them that.
But at least they’re not going down without a fight, which is more than I can say for the state and national Republican Party yet.
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In his song Oliver Anthony sings;
“Living in the new world with an old soul
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord, know that they all just want to have total control.”
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Well, it’s not just a song anymore, it’s real life. And on April 21, it will steal the voting power of the poor men south of Richmond.
If there is any chance of stopping this, this must be the message, and it must be very loud.
CLICK HERE TO DAVID MARCUS
