‘Blatantly Dishonest Language’ On Va. Ballots Fits Long Pattern

Philip K. Dick understood the power of words like few others. The American science fiction novelist once opined,  “The basic tool for the manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.”

Just ask the Virginia Democrats, who won a redistricting referendum this week with language that would make George Orwell’s Newspeak crowd proud.  

Of course, Marxists have been manipulating words for a long time. Their spirit guide, 20th-century radical Saul Alinsky, gave the left its marching orders in his 1971 communist manifesto, Rules for Radicals. Alinsky advised, “He who controls the language controls the masses.”

That brings us to the leftists who now control Virginia government, including the commonwealth’s artificial moderate governor, Abigail Spanberger. The language on their ballot question seeking to change the state constitution so Democrats can dominate congressional representation in the Old Dominion is a masterpiece in manipulation. That’s especially so after Spanberger and the left’s patron saint, Barack Obama, have spent their political careers declaring gerrymandering “detrimental to our democracy.” 

“Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?” the referendum question read. 

Wow. Of course we need to restore fairness in elections. I hate unfairness, and I certainly won’t stand for it in our elections. I was livid when liberals rigged the 2020 election to make an unpopular, doddering old fool president. That sure seemed unfair to me. 

What? Oh, restoring “fairness” — to the Democratic Party, at least — actually means rewriting Virginia’s congressional district maps to steal four House seats, likely giving Democrats a 10-1 representation advantage and the inside track to taking back control of the House of Representatives in the midterms? Well, that isn’t fair. But the ballot language sure sounds fair. 

‘It was Really Orwellian ’

It seems a lot of Virginians didn’t get the fine print. 

“I know we are disappointed by tonight’s result. Evidently, a sufficient number of Virginians trusted the blatantly dishonest language the Democrats placed on the ballot to make our Commonwealth the most severely gerrymandered state in the nation,” Virginia GOP Chairman Jeff Ryer said following Tuesday’s amendment referendum.

Democrats won the maps battle by less than 3 percentage points. There’s no doubt the “fairness” language cost the “No” side some votes. 

Matthew Hurtt, chairman of the Arlington County Republican Party, told The Federalist this week that he had received several text messages on election day from concerned voters. 

“They said, ‘I know how to vote in this election, but if I didn’t I would have been confused by this referendum language,’ Hurtt said. “It was really Orwellian ballot language.” 

Exactly. More than that, it was false advertising, which, of course, is the entire premise of politics. But should such misleading nonsense be allowed in ballot questions to change a state constitution? 

Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley doesn’t think so. The Virginia jurist didn’t take long to rule that the Democrats’ rush-job referendum was illegal on several counts, including the crafting of a “flagrantly misleading” ballot question that “did not accurately describe the proposed amendment.”

It’s all reminiscent of the big lie dead Nevada Democrat Harry Reid — at the time alive and Senate Majority Leader — told about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney lost the 2012 presidential election in no small part due to Reid’s false and defamatory allegation that millionaire Romney hadn’t paid in taxes in a decade. 

Years later, Reid had no regrets. “Romney didn’t win, did he?” the old fiend told CNN’s Dana Bash. 

The Power of Manipulation 

Lying is the primary language of the left. Manipulation of the language is the left’s time-tested talent. 

Here’s a little dictionary of some of the “flagrantly misleading” terms leftists have forced into the lexicon, and a translation of words and phrases that sound nice but in reality are not. It’s a little book of identity politics. 

Antiracism — Racism 

Equity — Inequality 

Inclusion —  Exclusion of those the left considers “privileged”

Critical Theory — Shortcut to thinking/license for Marxism

Critical Race Theory — Racism on steroids 

Affirmative Action — Discrimination 

‘Threat to Democracy’ — Threat to Democrat Party power

Climate Change — Money grab

The Oppressed — Lazy people/stupid people/bitter people

Birthing Person/Inseminated Person — Gross and unholy name for mother

Pregnant people — A term used by idiots who failed biology 

Cishet— A term invented by people who hate heterosexuals to describe heterosexuals 

Progressive — lunatic 

Democratic Socialist — Communist 

Latinx — Condom-sounding name for Hispanics invented by white liberals and loathed by Hispanics  

MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ — More proof that the gender/orientation/race cult has gone way too far

Transgender People — males or females who have convinced themselves they are the opposite sex and want everyone else to celebrate their gender dysphoria

Two-Spirit People — Indians suffering from gender dysphoria

Gender-Affirming Care — Genital mutilation, at times performed on children

Social Justice — License to riot/get-out-of-jail free card for favored classes

Newcomers — Highly mockable made-up descriptor for illegal aliens

As we’ve learned, when the left is in power, the power of language becomes more pronounced — and punitive. As the Virginia Dems’ gerrymandering campaign illustrates, it’s all about control. 

Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.