Staff Reports
In the ever-entertaining world of American politics, sometimes the games people play would put a classroom full of seventh graders to shame. Recently, President Trump has thrown down the gauntlet on voter ID requirements ahead of the midterm elections. He claims this is a necessary step because, surprise, surprise, those sneaky Democrats seem to have found themselves a new hobby: cheating in elections. Despite some members of the Senate enthusiastically cheering them on, this bill isn’t exactly flying through Congress at warp speed.
It turns out, however, that even a whopping 71% of self-identified Democrats, according to the Pew Research poll, aren’t opposed to some form of ID verification before marking their ballots. Perhaps it’s a miracle, or maybe everyone just forgot to double-check their party platforms. Yet, this support isn’t enough to push the Senate toward passing a bill that would require voter ID. Even with a helping hand from Republican Senator Susan Collins, who was initially wary of making citizens constantly flash their citizenship badge, they still don’t have the magic number of 60 votes needed.
President Trump, ever the tactician, has hinted that if Congress doesn’t play ball, he might just take matters into his own hands with an executive order. The President is quite convinced that the Supreme Court, in its ultimate wisdom, will see the light and stop Democrats from enjoying a power trip by potentially increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. Ah, the joys of partisan politics where visions of grandeur and court-packing are never in short supply.
On the flip side, Virginia has become a political chessboard with Democrats moving their pieces swiftly to redraw district maps. It seems they’ve taken inspiration from the Weasley family’s expandable bags because they’ve conjured up a plan to shift a state map that could magically turn a 6 to 1 Republican stronghold into a 10 to 1 Democrat dreamland. Republicans might want to polish their strategy playbook, lest they find themselves perpetually outmaneuvered by this redistricting sleight of hand.
All of this gerrymandering hilarity, cloaked in the earnest mission of restoring ‘fairness,’ feels vaguely reminiscent of a classic fairy tale—a particularly Orwellian one perhaps. Apparently, Virginia’s current congressional map is touted as one of the fairest in the nation but please, don’t let that get in the way of a good partisan hustle. The Supreme Court might just need to step in again to referee this spectacle if things continue to spiral. In the meantime, President Trump and his merry band of Republicans might want to brush up on their game strategy, or face getting outsparkled by their Democratic counterparts in America’s never-ending political carnival.
