George Barker’s Class Act
By Greg L | 14 June 2011 | 39th VA Senate | 7 Comments
When Sen. George Barker has town hall meetings where he is asked to explain why he drew such ridiculous and undemocratic district lines, his staff apparently tries to block anyone attending that meeting from filming his remarks. Perhaps constituents should show up in greater numbers, ask even more pointed questions, and all bring video cameras. Trying to hide from constituents like this is just reprehensible.
Barker has a town hall meeting scheduled with Delegate Rich Anderson on June 25th at the McCoart Building. I’d love to see a few hundred voters show up armed with maps of the senate districts that George Barker drew and ask him pointed questions about why Barker wanted to disenfranchise them in specific ways. Someone in Gainesville who is now in the 28th District could ask why Barker drew them into a district that includes Westmoreland County and connects to their house via a 400 foot wide corridor. Someone in Manassas could ask why their community is split apart so they can share a district with Dale City, but not their neighbors across the street. And someone out in Woodbridge can demand answers to why Barker drew their district in such a way that it takes boat travel to navigate it.
Barker will try to assert that his plan is no worse than the plan that House Republicans drew up. That’s hogwash. Not a single house district requires that you own a boat to navigate the district, and not one is as bizarrely shaped as the 31st district. George Barker’s district lines break up communities of interest, they make a joke of compactness, and they clearly aim to prevent communities from being in control of their own destinies.
Don’t let George Barker push you around and try to silence you while he contorts your legislative districts into another demonstration of how Democrats care nothing for actual democracy.
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I can understand why Barker wants to bar cameras. After all, he used a viciously-edited and misleading clip filmed at a Committee of 100 debate against Jay O’Brien four years ago. Probably doesn’t want his own sleazy tactics used against him.
A good question would be to ask why any voter in the Prince William portion of his district should vote for Barker, given that he spit us up among five districts, when — by population — we were entitled to two complete districts?
We were “entitled two complete districts” James?
I think the lines are a travesty for PWC as well but I would not say we were entitled two full districts.
Barker is unbelievably disingenuous in everything he says and does.
At the Town Hall meeting held at the McCoart building earlier this year, he told me it’s “no big deal” he’s a Democrat, and it “makes no difference” to the people of PWC.
Uh, sorry, George. In the words of Joe Biden, it’s a “BFD”, and yes, your policies and voting record, which follows the far-left wing of the Democratic party line, DOES make a difference and SHOULD matter to the people of PWC.
The people at the Eastern end of the county need to get out there and make sure voters understand what a train wreck Barker is for their district and the economic health of VA.
Barker is also in the pocket of the Teacher’s Unions, and has been trying to block parents in VA from any type of school choice, including trying to take away the right to obtain some state funding for an accredited online learning program, which has become so popular, the VEA now finds it threatening and has sicced the Dems to make sure that this avenue to parents is CLOSED.
Shame on you George …. except, you have no shame.
How stupid can that guy in the plaid shirt be? There’s already a visual of Barker speaking and the cameraman is continuing to get legible audio while the guy is standing in front of the camera. What good does it do at that point (but make you look like an idiot) to act like a child and keep moving around in front of the camera?
OK, Anon, perhaps “entitled” was too strong. However, respect for traditional jurisdictional boundaries and communities of interest suggest that Barker’s plan to carve up PWC like a Thanksgiving turkey should have been an nonstarter ab initio.
The guy in the plaid shirt is a legislative assistant in the General Assembly. Your tax dollars at work.