A pair of loose-lipped Democratic lawmakers in Virginia were captured on a hot mic last week blasting parental rights. The legislators described family concerns over their children’s education as “garbage,” “stupid,” and “crap.”
The recordings were made at a meet-and-greet Friday at Christopher Newport University. State Sen. Monty Mason (D) and state Del. Shelly Simonds (D) tore into GOP colleagues over S.B. 1515, which would require pornography websites to verify users are at least 18 years old.
🚨Democrat Virginia state legislators were caught on a hot mic dismissing genuine concerns over children’s education as “parental crap.”
Why are some people so hostile to parental rights? pic.twitter.com/hxK72nOuaQ
— Nicki Neily (@nickineily) April 27, 2023
The two did not stop there. They harshly criticized Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s amendment to the bill to further protect children online.
Parental permission would be required for kids to establish social media accounts and to use sites that collect user data. S.B. 1515 passed through the legislature but the amendment did not survive.
Mason can be heard on the recording slamming Youngkin for supporting “that online parental garbage pornography bill.” He further blasted the additional steps proposed for online purchases as “stupid.”
In a different recording, Mason is heard criticizing the governor’s statement that “Senate Democrats are playing politics with children’s lives.” While the GOP controls the House of Delegates, the Senate is still under a Democratic majority.
Mason added, “I mean, it’s just all a part of this parental crap that they’re selling.” Simonds then interjected that it is important that Democrats hang on to the Senate majority.
She explained, “This is why we have to keep the Senate…because the House is in the hands of the Republicans, and they can push through all kinds of stupid things. We rely on the Senate to kill it all.”
Youngkin senior advisor Dave Rexrode responded later to the recordings by noting that state Democrats have consistently claimed that parents do not count.
He added that Virginia Democrats are falling in line behind American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten in competing over who is the most extreme.
It was less than a year and a half ago when Youngkin rattled the political landscape with his unexpected victory over Democratic incumbent Gov. Terry McAuliffe. The chatty Democrats would do well to remember that it was parental issues that played a large role in his upset win.
