Virginia – -(AmmoLand.com)- First let me congratulate some pro-gun candidates on their midterm election wins:
- Congressman-elect Denver Riggleman handily beat his opponent to win Congressional House District 5. Leslie Cockburn, who was running on a robust gun-control platform, refused to return her Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) Candidate Survey. Riggleman returned a “pro-gun” survey to VCDL.
- Congressman-elect Ben Cline crushed his opponent, Jennifer Lynn Lewis, to win Congressional House District 6. Ben Cline headed the Militia, Police, and Public Safety committee this year and helped VCDL stop the plethora of gun-control bills that were introduced. He will be missed at the General Assembly next year.
- Delegate-elect Joe McNamara demolished his opponent, E. Carter Turner in the Virginia House of Delegates District 8. Joe McNamara returned a perfect VCDL survey, while Carter Turner refused to return his survey.
- Congressman Rob Wittman trounced Vangie A. Williams to retain his seat.
- Congressman Morgan Griffith effortlessly beat Anthony Flaccavnto to retain his seat.
And we must say goodbye to some of our friends:
- Congressman Dave Brat, who was my representative, lost a hard-fought battle as his opponent, Abigale Spanberger, squeaked out a win. Dave Bratt is a class act and great to work with. I hope he runs for office again.
- Congressman Scott Taylor lost in a very close race to Elaine Luria.
- Corey Stewart lost to Senator Tim Kaine.
If Trump Had To Lose Either The House Or The Senate, Which Would I Have Chosen?
The House, hands down.
With a larger majority of Republicans in the Senate, Trump can continue the all-important task of filling federal judicial vacancies without a significant fight over each one. I hope that the President can fill a lot of seats in the Federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, as well. The Court has made some bad rulings recently that rival California’s 9th Circuit. There is a real need to get some better judges in place.
And don’t forget that there are TWO Supreme Court justices over the age of 80 that could well need to be replaced in the next year or two as well. One of those is Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is no friend of the Second Amendment.
One more observation on this. It has been the rule that the midterms after a newly elected president go badly for the president’s party. Barack Obama LOST SIXTY-THREE House seats and SIX Senate seats! Bill Clinton LOST FIFTY-FOUR House seats and NINE Senate seats. And THEY had an adoring press.
Trump has been under unrelenting, vicious attacks by most of the press, yet he is going to GAIN at least two seats in the Senate and will lose only between thirty and forty seats in the House. That’s pretty impressive.
Politics in America is a pendulum that swings back-and-forth slowly, and that’s why all of us must remain engaged. Nothing ever stays the same and nothing should be taken for granted.
How Do We Stand Legislatively At The Federal Level?
The Republicans losing the House will probably mean not much headway on National Reciprocity or the Hearing Protection Act. Sadly, the Republicans characteristically didn’t take full advantage of the control of both bodies and the presidency to do something good for gun owners. Their leadership squandered some key opportunities.
That said, the gun controllers are not in a great position either. Any gun control bill from the House would require all the Democrats and probably at least 3 Republicans in the Senate to join them. AND even if that happened, the bill would face a likely veto from President Trump.
That does not mean we shouldn’t worry about gun-control bills. Any gun-control bills that look like a severe threat will require that we contact our federal legislators. VCDL will keep you apprised of such a situation.
How Do We Stand Legislatively At The State Level?
There will be two special elections to fill the seats vacated by Ben Cline in the Virginia House and Jennifer Wexton in the Virginia Senate. It’s unlikely that either seat will change parties, so the Republican’s should maintain their razor-thin margins in both the House and Senate. That said, those of you in either district should show up to cast their vote when the time comes. We will advise as things move forward.
Was The Election A Referendum On Gun Control, As Michael Bloomberg Claims
I was asked that very question by a reporter earlier today. I told him that guns didn’t seem to be much of an issue in the mid-terms. Nationally, with a few exceptions, the Democrats focused on health care. In Virginia, gun-rights candidates did well overall, most winning by decent margins.
I also pointed out that Justice Kavanaugh was feared by the Democrats because he understood and appreciated the Second Amendment. With a few exceptions, every Democrat Senator who voted against Kavanaugh in a red-leaning state lost their reelection. West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin held his seat because, in the end, he broke with his party and voted to confirm Kavanaugh.
The Fight Continues. Virginia Citizens Defense League Lobby Day Is Monday, January 21st, 2019.
About Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL):
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
For more information, visit www.vcdl.org.
Virginia appears to be a LOST state. Having had its demographics changed by illegal and legal immigration, it is a now BLUE state. Without getting our abysmal immigration system under control, NOT likely in the next two years, other states will follow….It appears that ‘criminal’ theft is now ongoing, to change several of the elections that should NEVER have been close enough to warrant such an attempt! Those states better get some highly qualified people in there to stand behind EVERY one of those re-counting those votes….