Virginia Republican Goes Full Racist Against Black House Democrat

In the wake of the Virginia Supreme Court’s invalidating the will of the voters in a redistricting battle, Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) got caught agreeing with a right-wing interviewer’s racist remarks about Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

The ink was not even dry on the United States Supreme Court’s ruling that gutted what was left of the Voting Rights Act when former Confederate States such as Alabama and Tennessee immediately began erasing majority black districts. One Alabama Republican even went further by demanding the high court overturn the 14th Amendment.

Not long after that, the Virginia Supreme Court sabotaged a redistricting effort that voters approved earlier this Spring. Outrage over the ruling has been immense since Virginia put the issue to the people, while several red states have excluded voters from the process.

Democrats are appealing the ruling to the United States Supreme Court, which will likely uphold the ruling to help Republicans keep control of Congress. Leading the charge is Rep. Jeffries, the House Minority Leader, who is also a black man.

Needless to say, right-wingers aren’t happy about his involvement. One such right-winger, a radio host, went so far as to utter a phrase that most certainly carries a racist history during an interview with Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.).

“If Hakeem Jeffries wants to be involved in Virginia politics, then I suggest he does what a bunch of New Yorkers are doing,” the radio host said. “Leave New York, move down here to Virginia. Run for office down here – you can represent us. If not, get your cotton-picking hands off of Virginia.”

“That’s right. Ditto – yes, yes to that,” Kiggans replied. At no point did Kiggans challenge the racism in the host’s statement. She just agreed with it.

Kiggans would later claim that she was only agreeing with the host about Jeffries staying out of Virginia politics. But that’s just not good enough. The time to call out this racism was in the moment, and Kiggans failed to do so. It not only makes her look bad, but it also makes Virginia Republicans look bad.

Someone should ask Kiggans what she thinks about Confederate groups in Virginia losing their tax-exempt status. That ought to be an interesting answer.

Featured Image: Wikimedia/Public Domain