Virginia doesn't even technically have any so-called "sanctuary cities" to ban in the first place. In fact, at the first gubernatorial debate, Ed Gillespie admitted Virginia doesn’t have “sanctuary cities.” But that didn’t stop the Republican gubernatorial nominee from grabbing the white supremacist baton from failed Virginia candidate Corey Stewart to release one of the most racist ads in recent political memory. Daily Kos Elections:
Gillespie's new spot essentially equates "dangerous illegal immigrants"—itself a racist anti-Latino trope—with MS-13, a dangerous and violent street gang that actually heavily targets undocumented Latinos. The ad further equates Democrat Ralph Northam's vote against prohibiting "sanctuary cities" with "increasing the threat of MS-13." It uses photos of imprisoned MS-13 members and flashes the gang's "Kill, Rape, Control" motto across the screen in a positively Willie Horton-esque attempt to stoke racially charged fears among Virginia voters.
Who knew that Iowa’s Steve King was suddenly in the ad-making business in Virginia? Aside from being racist bullshit, the vigilant eyes at ThinkProgress note the ad is chock full of lies. Not only was the photo of the scary brown men stolen from an El Salvador newspaper, they’re not even MS-13 gang members, but Barrio 18 gang members who were photographed inside an El Salvador prison in 2012. Wow, that Gillespie sure works fast to get rid of the “bad hombres.”
As America’s Voice’s Virginia state director Julio Lainez and Daily Kos’s Carolyn Fiddler have noted, so-called sanctuary cities aren’t even a major issue for Virginia voters, but Gillespie is trumping up on the racist attacks because “Gillespie is terrified.” He barely squeaked out a win over Confederate fanatic Stewart, and despite distancing himself from Donald Trump in the past, he’s now embracing both:
After weeks of resisting calls to take a more extreme position and after calling for “discussion” about keeping Civil War monuments but placing them in “proper historical context,” Gillespie is now reaching out to his supporters with an explicit pro-Confederate monument plea that no longer calls for conversation but rather opposition to any efforts to remove them.
Feed Ed’s fear! Donate $3 to Ralph Northam’s campaign today.
Another reason for Gillespie’s doubling-down is that immigrant communities in the state are not only thriving, they’re empowering themselves and registering voters door to door. Hillary Clinton won the state by five points in 2016, and Lainez notes that Democratic enthusiasm dwarfed that of Republicans during the primary this year, with Democrats bringing more than 540,000 voters to the polls.
But with many voters still undecided, it’s a race where every single vote will count—and Gillespie and other Virginia Republicans know it. It’s why he wants Virginia voters to be scared of so-called sanctuary cities that don’t even exist there in the first place, and why he wants voters to be scared of brown men who are already locked up in another country. But, it also feels like he wants Virginians to be scared of brown people in general.
And, it’s a tactic embraced by the whole party—just last month, Virginia Republicans also sent out another hit racist piece on a Democratic candidate who would be the first Latina elected to the Virginia House.
“Ed Gillespie clearly believes that his route to victory rests in demonizing young Latino men and the immigrant community as a whole,” said Luis Aguilar, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient and CASA in Action member. “He may believe it is an effective campaign tactic, but the people I speak with are furious with the abject racism of Ed Gillespie’s campaign and plan to deliver that message on election day.”