{"id":2594541,"date":"2026-04-24T08:07:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blatantly-dishonest-language-on-virginia-ballots-fits-long-pattern-of-democrat-word-abuse\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T08:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:11:21","slug":"blatantly-dishonest-language-on-virginia-ballots-fits-long-pattern-of-democrat-word-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blatantly-dishonest-language-on-virginia-ballots-fits-long-pattern-of-democrat-word-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Blatantly Dishonest Language&#8217; On Va. Ballots Fits Long Pattern"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fblatantly-dishonest-language-on-virginia-ballots-fits-long-pattern-of-democrat-word-abuse%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2594541&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece argues that Virginia\u2019s 2026 ballot referendum on temporary redistricting was a deliberately misleading effort by Democrats to reshape congressional maps in their favor under the cover of restoring \u201cfairness.\u201d it frames this as part of a long-standing pattern of language manipulation used in politics to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">influence public opinion<\/a> and outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>Key points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The referendum proposed that the General Assembly temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in upcoming elections, with standard redistricting resuming after the 2030 census. the author contends the ballot language was crafted to appear fair while effectively enabling a partisan gerrymander that could give Democrats a large representation edge.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >article invokes famous figures<\/a> and theories about language and power (Philip K. Dick, George Orwell\u2019s Newspeak, and Saul Alinsky\u2019s rules for Radicals) to argue that controlling the meaning of words is a central political tool.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; It reports that Virginia Republicans claimed the ballot language misled voters, and notes that a judge (Judge Jack Hurley) ruled the Democrats\u2019 referendum \u201cflagrantly misleading\u201d and illegal in several respects, including how the amendment was described.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece highlights contrasting reactions: Democrats claimed the result protected democracy by ending gerrymandering, while Republicans argued that the language cost them votes and that the referendum would distort representation.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A prominent section, labeled The Power of Manipulation, provides a critical glossary in which the author redefines several contemporary political terms (e.g., Antiracism, equity, Inclusion, Critical Theory, Climate Change, Social Justice) to portray them as tools for advancing leftist or discriminatory outcomes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-end-of-chevron-deference-could-hurt-biden-title-ix-overhaul-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"How end of Chevron deference could hurt Biden Title IX overhaul - Washington Examiner\">article includes quotes<\/a> and snippets from political figures and media figures, illustrating the ongoing debate over how language shapes political perception, and it ends with a note about matt Kittle, the author and senior elections correspondent for The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>the piece portrays the Virginia referendum as a case study in how wording can be used to influence democracy,arguing that the left\u2019s language and messaging were designed to secure partisan power under the guise of fairness.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Philip K. Dick understood the power of words like few others. The American science fiction novelist once <a href=\"https:\/\/scollurio.medium.com\/5-profound-philip-k-dick-quotes-598efe87f349\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">opined<\/a>,&nbsp; &ldquo;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.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Just ask the Virginia Democrats, who won a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/23\/national-republicans-dodge-questions-about-va-ground-game-as-locals-allege-none-of-them-spent-any-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">redistricting referendum<\/a> this week with language that would make George Orwell&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/newspeak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Newspeak<\/a> crowd proud. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>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, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gRUP5yEm1WE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rules for Radicals<\/a><em>.<\/em> Alinsky advised, &ldquo;He who controls the language controls the masses.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That brings us to the leftists who now control Virginia government, including the commonwealth&rsquo;s artificial moderate governor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/opinion\/is-anyone-still-calling-her-a-moderate-861367cf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Abigail Spanberger.<\/a> 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&rsquo;s especially so after Spanberger and the left&rsquo;s patron saint, <a href=\"https:\/\/redistrictingaction.org\/who-we-are\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barack Obama,<\/a> have spent their political careers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/20\/nx-s1-5790809\/virginia-redistricting-election-trump-gerrymandering\">declaring <\/a>gerrymandering &ldquo;detrimental to our democracy.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is good news for Virginia and the country. Gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy and it weakens the individual voices that form our electorates. Opposing gerrymandering should be a bipartisan priority. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/yNj1karxHk\">https:\/\/t.co\/yNj1karxHk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Abigail Spanberger (@SpanbergerForVA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpanbergerForVA\/status\/1140706643921002497?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-rig-virginia-vote-with-misleading-ballot-language-equating-gerrymandering-push-to-fairness\/\" title=\"Dems Rig Virginia Vote With Misleading ...\">standard redistricting process resumes<\/a> for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?&rdquo; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elections.virginia.gov\/media\/electionadministration\/electionlaw\/4-21-2026-Special-Election-Explanation--Text.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">referendum question<\/a> read.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Wow. Of course we need to restore fairness in elections. I hate unfairness, and I certainly won&rsquo;t stand for it in our elections. I was livid when liberals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/118\/meeting\/house\/116804\/witnesses\/HHRG-118-HA00-Wstate-HemingwayM-20240207-U1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rigged<\/a> the 2020 election to make an unpopular, doddering old fool president. That sure seemed unfair to me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What? Oh, restoring &ldquo;fairness&rdquo; &mdash; to the Democratic Party, at least &mdash; actually means rewriting Virginia&rsquo;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?&nbsp;Well, that isn&rsquo;t fair. But the ballot language sure <em>sounds<\/em> fair.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;It was Really Orwellian &rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>It seems a lot of Virginians didn&rsquo;t get the fine print.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I know we are disappointed by tonight&rsquo;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,&rdquo; Virginia GOP Chairman Jeff Ryer <a href=\"https:\/\/virginia.gop\/chairman-jeff-ryer-statement-on-results-of-gerrymandering-referendum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> following Tuesday&rsquo;s amendment referendum.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats won the maps battle by l<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/23\/virginia-gop-donors-didnt-think-we-could-stop-gerrymandering-until-it-was-too-late\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ess than 3 percentage points.<\/a> There&rsquo;s no doubt the &ldquo;fairness&rdquo; language cost the &ldquo;No&rdquo; side some votes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they pushed back against a&nbsp;President who claims he is &lsquo;entitled&rsquo; to more Republican seats in Congress.<\/p>\n<p>As we watched other states go along with those demands without voter input, Virginians refused to let that stand. We responded the&hellip;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Governor Abigail Spanberger (@GovernorVA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GovernorVA\/status\/2046759603531141441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Matthew Hurtt, chairman of the Arlington County Republican Party, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/23\/national-republicans-dodge-questions-about-va-ground-game-as-locals-allege-none-of-them-spent-any-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> The Federalist this week that he had received several text messages on election day from concerned voters.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They said, &lsquo;I know how to vote in this election, but if I didn&rsquo;t I would have been confused by this referendum language,&rsquo; Hurtt said. &ldquo;It was really Orwellian ballot language.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>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?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tazewell County Circuit Court <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Jack_S._Hurley,_Jr.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Judge Jack Hurley <\/a>doesn&rsquo;t think so. The Virginia jurist didn&rsquo;t take long to rule that the Democrats&rsquo; rush-job referendum was illegal on several counts, including the crafting of a <a href=\"https:\/\/cbn.com\/news\/us\/judge-blocks-va-gerrymandering-plan-calling-ballot-flagrantly-misleading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;flagrantly misleading&rdquo;<\/a> ballot question that &ldquo;did not accurately describe the proposed amendment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s all reminiscent of the big lie dead Nevada Democrat Harry Reid &mdash; at the time alive and Senate Majority Leader &mdash; told about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney lost the 2012 presidential election in no small part due to Reid&rsquo;s false and defamatory allegation that millionaire Romney hadn&rsquo;t paid in taxes in a decade.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Years later, Reid had no regrets.&nbsp;&ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2015\/03\/31\/harry-reids-appalling-defense-of-his-attack-on-mitt-romneys-tax-record\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Romney didn&rsquo;t win, did he?<\/a>&rdquo; the old fiend <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2016\/09\/15\/harry-reid-lied-about-mitt-romneys-taxes-hes-still-not-sorry\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told <\/a>CNN&rsquo;s Dana Bash.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The Power of Manipulation&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<p>Lying is the primary language of the left. Manipulation of the language is the left&rsquo;s time-tested talent.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Here&rsquo;s a little dictionary of some of the &ldquo;flagrantly misleading&rdquo; terms leftists have forced into the lexicon, and a translation of words and phrases that sound nice but in reality are not. It&rsquo;s a little book of identity politics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Antiracism<\/strong> &mdash; Racism&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Equity<\/strong> &mdash; Inequality&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Inclusion<\/strong> &mdash;&nbsp; Exclusion of those the left considers &ldquo;privileged&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Critical Theory<\/strong> &mdash; Shortcut to thinking\/license for Marxism<\/p>\n<p><strong>Critical Race Theory<\/strong> &mdash; Racism on steroids&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affirmative Action <\/strong>&mdash; Discrimination&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>&lsquo;Threat to Democracy&rsquo;<\/strong> &mdash; Threat to Democrat Party power<\/p>\n<p><strong>Climate Change<\/strong> &mdash; Money grab<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Oppressed <\/strong>&mdash; Lazy people\/stupid people\/bitter people<\/p>\n<p><strong>Birthing Person\/Inseminated Person <\/strong>&mdash; Gross and unholy name for mother<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pregnant people<\/strong> &mdash; A term used by idiots who failed biology&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cishet<\/strong>&mdash; A term invented by people who hate heterosexuals to describe heterosexuals&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Progressive <\/strong>&mdash; lunatic&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Democratic Socialis<\/strong>t &mdash; Communist&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Latinx<\/strong> &mdash; Condom-sounding name for Hispanics invented by white liberals and loathed by Hispanics &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/canadian-politician-goes-viral-using-sprawling-lgbt-acronym-critics-compare-wi-fi-password\"><strong>MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ <\/strong><\/a>&mdash; More proof that the gender\/orientation\/race cult has gone way too far<\/p>\n<p><strong>Transgender People<\/strong> &mdash; males or females who have convinced themselves they are the opposite sex and want everyone else to celebrate their gender dysphoria<\/p>\n<p><strong>Two-Spirit People<\/strong> &mdash; Indians suffering from gender dysphoria<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gender-Affirming Care<\/strong> &mdash; Genital mutilation, at times performed on children<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social Justice<\/strong> &mdash; License to riot\/get-out-of-jail free card for favored classes<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/biden-admin-shredded-politicians-referring-illegal-immigrants-newcomers-serious-people\"><strong>Newcomers <\/strong><\/a>&mdash; Highly mockable made-up descriptor for illegal aliens<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You&rsquo;re a fraud and you campaigned against what you did tonight&mdash;only for power.  Virginia is gone. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NvEVhySjmy\">https:\/\/t.co\/NvEVhySjmy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IngrahamAngle\/status\/2046769225402818851?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>As we&rsquo;ve learned, when the left is in power, the power of language becomes more pronounced &mdash; and punitive. As the Virginia Dems&rsquo; gerrymandering campaign illustrates, it&rsquo;s all about control.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      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.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dick warned: words shape reality; Virginia proves it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2594542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-at-1.46.12-AM-1024x574.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[9807,6129,50738,78476,5468],"class_list":["post-2594541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-ballots","tag-language","tag-misinformation-2","tag-pattern-2","tag-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-24-at-1.46.12-AM-1024x574.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2594541"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2594549,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2594541\/revisions\/2594549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2594542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2594541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2594541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2594541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}