On Friday, 31 JAN 2020, the House of Delegates in Richmond ignored the vicious intimidation by an armed mob of 22,000 people, many from out of state, who filled the city with their hatred and lawlessness for most of Monday, 20 JAN 2020, and in 90 minutes passed 7 common-sense gun control laws intended to protect the peace and safety of Virginians.

Or so goes the media and PTB (powers-that-be) refrain.

We know differently.

At the same time, as trashed in this commentary, the government of the State of West Virginia made formal their offer to welcome any county or independent city of the Old Dominion to join them in their 150+-year freedom from the domination of the Tidewater: to become a part of West Virginia.

The West Virginians touted their love and respect for liberties: the First and Second Amendments, their dedication to due process, and their hatred and rejection of killing babies (abortion).

The New Republic commentary castigates (mildly, I admit) West Virginia for their self-serving and “divisive” offer, and instead declares that it is time for the 150+-year divorce to be healed: for the reunification of Virginia. They do correctly point out that a possibly-short term political crisis is not necessarily good justification for dismembering Virginia still more.

And the history of Virginia and its perhaps-illegitimate offspring West Virginia is… complicated. A recent editorial explains some of it: it was typically political, with the PTB and DC interfering, and lots of skulduggery – right up to the 2010s. And dating back to pre-Revolutionary times.

I’ve long had my doubts about the legitimacy of the secession of West Virginia from Virginia. Not the rightness of the people to secede – that is a God-given right. No, the shenanigans of Lincoln and company, and the Radical Republicans in Congress. They’ve always smelled bad to me. But I don’t see any reason why MORE secession – more counties, more cities – can’t leave.

Especially now that the Virginia General Assembly has kicked so many people in the teeth. These bills were passed in virtually the same virulent form that the were originally filed as: an “up-yours” attitude that is sure to win friends and influence enemies. (Indeed, one suspects that the Democratic, Tranzi leadership, including that blackface governor, wants to trigger a violent reaction. Especially since they failed to push and get one on the 20th of January.)

West Virginia has no doubt upped the ante. The arrogant Democratic delegates and senators in Richmond aren’t going to give up a single person – a single voter or recipient of federal largess or a single taxpayer – without a fight. It is all about power, and they will come up with any excuse to prevent losing anyone or anything to a “loser” state like West Virginia. No matter what its past political history was (when it was dependably Democratic and KKK-Democrat for life Robert Byrd was all-powerful).

New Republic’s modest suggestion is a nonstarter. Virginia has 8.5 million people – West Virginia just 1.8 million. Former West Virginians would be outvoted (or could be) by more than 4 to 1.

But there is more to consider. After the 2019 elections, Virginia’s House of Delegates is 54-43 Dem, the Senate just 21-19. BUT that was 823,694 Democratic votes, 860,993 Republican votes and 55,187 votes for other candidates. (Of the 140 total seats, Republicans ran unopposed in 12, and Democrats ran unopposed in 43.) Turnout was very low: 3/4 of what had been expected.

In West Virginia, their Senate has 20 Republicans and 14 Democrats; the House of Delegates has 58 Republicans and 41 Democrats, elected in 2018. Just under 600,000 voted, which was just 48% of registered voters. (No information on what turnout was expected, or how the votes were divided.)

It would seem that a political fight in a Reunited Virginia might be closer than the populations make it out to be. Which could mean a close election and therefore perhaps more likely for fraud, intimidation, and outright violence to take place and influence the election. Even the Regressives agree that Bloomberg money and lot of other outside involved figured strongly in the 2019 Virginia elections. Low interest, and low voter turnout and activism clearly played a part as well: 55 out of 140 seats unopposed is a lot.

So what is likely to happen? Lots of hot wind, of course. Lots of money spent, and accusations, and no doubt a fair amount of civil (and not so civil) disobedience of the new laws. Will the 22,000 Virginians who lobbied on the 20th of January (probably representing at least 2 million if not more of the people of the state) remember long enough for 2021 elections to be more closely fought? I think that political memories are often too short.

Or will there be extra-legal action? Will county sheriffs not just refuse to obey and enforce state law, but prevent state agents from doing so? Will someone resort to more than “revolting” by disobeying and squawking? Governor Blackface’s term is up – can he be defeated in 2021? Will a new, possibly Republican legislature reverse these new laws?

At this point, I can’t hazard a guess. But the trends put into motion or accelerated in the present Virginia Crisis will continue, both in the two Virginias and the rest of the Fifty States. Second Amendment Sanctuary cities and counties; threats (or appeals) to secede and join another state; the hardening of partisan positions on guns, abortion, free speech, and more.

(Indeed, an infrequently discussed idea to have Weld County (county seat Greeley) secede from Colorado and join Wyoming has again come to life. Weld County’s 300+ thousand people would increase Wyoming population by more than 50%.)