Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis coined the phrase “laboratories of democracy” to describe how individual states could act as test cases for different policies and ideas. Judging by its recent track record, Virginia aspires to be the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

In November, voters of the Commonwealth elected Governor Abigail Spanberger – a so-called “Blue Dog Democrat” who used to serve in the CIA and railed against socialism and calls to “defund the police” after the Democrats underperformed in the 2020 elections. Virginia Democrats also retained control of the state’s Senate and House. Since then, Spanberger and her colleagues in Richmond have pushed through a controversial redistricting map which would hugely disadvantage Republicans – and could be struck down by the state Supreme Court.

If that wasn’t contentious enough, Virginia Democrats are now thinking up creative ways to punch the middle class. A bill under consideration in the state legislature involves increasing taxes on gym memberships, counseling, streaming services, data storage and dry cleaning. Because nothing says, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” like charging a premium to citizens who want to avoid being fat and crazy.

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