Many of you know that CB and I both live in Virginia. For years now, I’ve taken so much pride in the Virginia Democratic Party, the party which gave us two good governors-turned-senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. I laughed when our last Republican governor, Bob McDonnell, was indicted on corruption charges while in office. I thought that McDonnell’s poor leadership and his tacky grifting would mean that Democrats would hold the VA governorship for two decades. In 2017, I happily voted straight Dem in the state elections, and I did my part to elect Ralph Northam as governor, Justin Fairfax as Lt. Governor and Mark Herring as Attorney General. I can’t 100% remember, but I think I even donated to g–damn Northam.
Well, it’s all shambles now. Last Friday, the stories came out about Northam posing for her medical school yearbook in blackface… or maybe he was the one in the KKK robes. He apologized, and then he denied that he was either person in the photo. Then he admitted that he had done blackface before, to look like Michael Jackson. People were like “just resign, dude” because we had Justin Fairfax waiting in the wings.
The problem? Over the weekend, a woman came forward and said that Fairfax had sexually assaulted her and that he had been trying to cover up her story for several years. Fairfax denies everything, and now the story is still developing, because it’s not just about an alleged sexual assault, it’s about whether there was a cover up on the story, and whether certain media outlets helped bury that story.
So the next in line in the governor’s succession: the attorney general. Mark Herring has been around VA politics forever. He’s a known quantity, a steady hand, etc. Except it turns out that he was doing blackface in the ‘80s too. He tried to come out in front of it yesterday before any photos came out.
No one knows if any of these guys are going to resign, or if none of them will. I truly find blackface offensive and I’m not trying to create a hierarchy of “offense,” but my biggest concern is with Fairfax and whether he sexually assaulted a woman and then used his connections and the power of intimidation to cover it up. The blackface issues with Herring and Northam are terrible and racist, of course. But are they utterly disqualifying for public office? God, I don’t know.
Also, I absolutely hate to admit this, but… Trump might be right on this?? If Herring, Northam and Fairfax were Republicans, I would feel so differently about all of this.
Democrats at the top are killing the Great State of Virginia. If the three failing pols were Republicans, far stronger action would be taken. Virginia will come back HOME Republican) in 2020!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2019
Photos courtesy of Getty.
I also live in Virginia and while I’m an independent, the Trump era has pushed me over the edge and I refuse to even consider voting for a Republican. So I voted for Ralph Northam in the last election.
I think he needs to resign. The Lt. Governor and the AG also need to resign. I understand that people make mistakes and have to live with the regret that comes with them. But some mistakes are worse than others and I believe that dressing in blackface and s*xually assaulting a woman disqualifies you from holding public office. I felt the same way about Brent Kavanaugh. This isn’t a partisan issue. This is an issue of right and wrong. They need to resign. And if that means we end up with a Republican governor, well, so be it.
Maybe, finally, the state of Virginia can elect some women to these positions and we can move past this kind of racist, good ol’ boy BS.
::steps down from soapbox::
Thanks for this post, I needed to vent this morning.
This is who I want to hear from: his constituency.
Northam and Herring needed to be up front about this during the campaign. They needed to own their own deeds, tell voters what work they have done to make themselves better people and let the voters decide if they were sincere. Apologizing after the fact and coming out to get ahead of a story tells me they have not done the work to be better people and were not sincere in their message to their voters. Voters got duped and they have every right to call for their resignations.
As for Fairfax, this is a very credible allegation that needs a public hearing.The same standard apply on both sides of the aisle.
I’m not going to speak for Virginians or POC but I feel like Northam could have maybe, possibly saved himself if that presser hadn’t been the unmitigated disaster that it was. But he changed his story, he backtracked, and he was incredibly awkward (dude almost MOONWALKED FFS).
If he had been open, honest, and showed genuine remorse *MAYBE* people would have forgiven him.
Yes, the presser was a disaster. To me, the very idea that he would consider moon walking for even a nano second suggests he doesn’t understand that blackface and klan images cause real pain and hurt to the people he is supposed to be serving.
Completely agree, Megan. The trust isn’t there and if he doesn’t have the trust of his constituency, he can’t be an effective leader.
Ralph Northam will never resign. He apologized because he got caught in blackface, however, the next day he was informed that the constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia only allows impeachment for deeds done while in office. He can’t be impeached for something he did thirty years ago. If he had any sense of decency he would leave, but he won’t. This is a shame because I believe that he is the biggest dumba** in the state.
Virginia here as well. I voted for a three and I donated to Herring. I think Northam has to go as he has lied (& almost moonwalked) I believe that Herring’s apology was heartfelt and he has been a great servant of the Commonwealth. I am waffling on whether I feel he should go as he took responsibility yet he did condemn Northam knowing he had this in his past. He was 19 and it was a skit for a party but still awful. The sad party is he has been a great advocate for the African American population of VA. He had argued before the Supreme Court in favor of restoring voting rights to felons. As for Fairfax I truly don’t know. What I do know is that these men are being held to a higher standard than the president and that seems wrong.
As for the 4th in line in VA. He is a straight up Klansmen. Such a mess
Since this post I read Dr. Tyson’s statement. Fairfax needs to go & I’m shocked to hear she told Rep. Bobby Scott last year (want to see gerrymanding at its worst check out his district) & he didn’t do anything to help her
And the Republican state Senate majority leader just got outed for being one of the editors of a disturbingly racist VMI yearbook from 1968 (the same year they began admitting black students). Looks like no one is going anywhere, I’m afraid.
I don’t feel the same. I try to imagine how I would feel if I were black, and I have concluded I would be so hurt and betrayed I might very well refuse to vote again, or at least the next cycle. So we may lose VA even in the presidential election, and ain’t nobody to blame but ourselves.
Now, as far as Fairfax goes, I believe the victim, and he has to go. He has to go.
For me, this is confirmation of my gut feeling that we need a racially inclusive, all woman ticket in 2020.
I am so fed up with men. Good gawd I am so fed up with men.
Remember when people used to worry about women in power getting their periods?
Sigh.
But yeah, literally exactly what I said to my bro and BF last night: this is one of many reaons why we need more women (especially WoC) in politics.
VA is a state where streets and schools are named after confederate generals. Civil war monuments are all over the state. It was the capital of the confederacy for heaven’s sake. Race is a huge damn deal in VA and it is amazing to me that Northam can be so clueless.
Where I come from, putting on blackface in the 1980s would have been unthinkable, but putting on klan robes would have gotten you arrested. Klan robes were never an acceptable costume. What the hell was going on at that medical school that someone (possibly Northam) thought that was ok?
IIRC that is not the first time that school has had issues. I heard they shut the yearbook down in 2013 because of confederate flag shit. So yeah, it seems like it’s deeply-baked into the culture out there. Sad.
As a medical school, they should know the yearbook was a symptom of a much larger disease.
Joy Behar appeared in blackface as a ‘beautiful African woman.’ Think she will be fired from The View? I doubt it.
Yes, wearing black face is disqualifying from political office.
+1000. You cannot hold political office! Step down all of you! If you don’t then I can only conclude that the Democrats also condone and support sexual assault/violence and racism. If that is the case then I think we need a BPGTOW party and to hell with both dems and Republicans!
It should disqualify you from fashion as well, looking at you Gucci and Prada.
Not Prada!!
yeah these guys need to go – but Trump is being such a hypocrite with that tweet (shocker), I mean he literally forced Kavanaugh onto the SC, and he supported Arpaio’s political run, not to mention the many many others with openly racist and misogynist views and actions that he openly supports…
I know, right? How dare he say Republicans would be facing “stronger action.” First of all, what is stronger than the calls for resignation for these Dems? And secondly, we all know how few repercussions most deplorable Republicans are facing, including Trump himself. He can sit the f%^k down.
Monday’s Pod Save America had a great discussion about Northam and the hypocrisy of the GOP. Northam needs to go, as you said, and we have to just let the hypocrisy go, as hard as it is.
also, Trump has been accused of sexual assault by so many women! and yet, he is still President, with his stupid anus mouth – so much hypocrisy from the Republicans.
actions should have consequences – for everyone, not just your political opponents dear Trumpsters
I don’t know, Esmom..I actually tweeted at Tommy Vietor (lol dork that I am) because I disagreed with what he said. He essentially said that he’s tired of people pointing out the hypocrisy of the GOP and that we’re supposed to be the better party. He said it doesn’t matter what they do because they won’t change but we must always hold ourselves to a higher standard.
I disagree that we shouldn’t point out the hypocrisy, loudly and often. I think NOT pointing it out is tacit acceptance. It’s saying that we are fine with the fact that the opposing party embraces racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, and the like. That’s not ok and we have a moral obligation to stand firm in condemning immorality by BOTH parties. It’s not whataboutism because we aren’t applying different standards to the Dems, we are simply saying that what’s not ok for us should not be ok for them either.
JMO.
ETA: OriginalLaLa – ITA
Kitten, Ha, did he reply? I’m guessing no based on what I’ve observed, lol. (I did once get a reply for Ronan Farrow on IG, though, and I was giddy all day.)
I hear what you’re saying. I also don’t mind when the deplorables are called out for their hypocrisy. But I liked how they framed the difference between Dems and Republicans in this context. I actually almost sent it to my son’s government teacher from last semester because I feel like it’s something young voters would find compelling and easy to understand.
Yes, his tweet is so wrong. If it was a repub NO action would be taken. As we’ve seen time and time again. Repub politicians HAVE been accused of racist actions and sexual assault. Including the president! And nothing has been done about it. So don’t come at me with the whole “if this was a republican…” bullshit. Because if they were republicans, they’d close ranks until the next story came along, and they’d all finish out their terms.
I disagree. If Ralph Northam identified as a Republican the mansion would be on fire. Last I checked there were a handful of demonstrators on the street but if this were a GOP disaster the shouters would be brought over in buses. All I can hear are excuses.
If all three resign (which I think they should) who becomes Governor?
A republican I believe, which puts VA in very dangerous territory for 2020. I am not exaggerating when I say that these 3 people could actually end up being responsible for 4 more years of Trump.
They all need to go, I do not want to be misunderstood. But understand, we are going to pay a huge price for this, and we do not yet know just how large the bill is going to be. Consequences. Very bad consequences.
Oh god I know. VA governorship is HUGE. God what a mess.
Darla, I don’t think you are exaggerating. VA is a must win for Democrats. The saddest part of the story is Republicans control the house by one seat. The winner of a tied house race was literally picked from a bowl.
Right now, the best case is for Northam to resign and Fairfax to appoint a new lieutenant governor before he resigns. It’s such a sh*tshow.
I feel sick to my stomach guys. I also started thinking that, considering white supremacy is our original sin, that all other sins followed from right? The genocide of the native americans, slavery, etc. Then this must be part of our karmic price. We somehow allowed the deformed, depraved child of all the bad in american history, trump, to become president. (I honestly have another way of saying this but it is really gross and I will save it for off board). Maybe we are not getting out of this so easy.
A Republican is next in line.
More news the fourth in line who is the Republican Speaker of the house was editor of VMI’s yearbook, with more than one picture of cadets in blackface and racially derogatory comments were in the yearbook he edited too. Unlike Northam’s yearbook the editor did have a say and picked these pictures. This guy is pretty old though as he was editor in 1968. Not sure who is next after him.
Honestly, in VA the Governor cannot run again (consecutively at least) and the Lt. Governor and AG have to run again for office in 2 years, maybe they should just stay and play it out. Cause you will change the intention of the electorate if we keep going. This is a key point which made Kavanaugh such a big deal and seems to be totally forgotten by the media. The supreme court is a lifetime appointment never voted on by the people. I think as a society we are going to come up with some rules with this kind of thing, because if people don’t think someone is going to go all out dirty I suggest they read about all the dirty dealings with the Republicans and Humphrey and Watergate. My suggestion is let it play out at the ballot box, unless it happened while the person is in office or they actually end up being convicted. In the Lt. Governor’s case I know we want to believe all victims, and under normal circumstances I would say yes, but when it comes to politics I just feel like the Democrats with the no-tolerance to anything have left the door wide open for some crazy ass things. I’m still baffled how this didn’t come out before the election.
Virginia you are still not Florida, you’d have to have this happen for 20 years to be them. They still can’t get a ballot which is clear and not skewed toward the Republican yet.
I just don’t understand why anyone thinks it’s appropriate to wear black face. I mean, is it that hard to find a character to ‘dress up’ as that doesn’t require referencing a really hateful practice in American history? Or is it that these people are ignorant to the history of black face? I know in Europe people don’t really fully ‘get’ the problem with sinterklaas – but surely at least Americans ought to know better? (Also Euro friends, if you don’t get it – buy a book)
It’s willful ignorance Clare. Most people are walking around with a super computer in their pocket. It’s just excuse after excuse.
I am probably going to be bashed for saying this, but it’s true. I grew up in a very conservative and Republican Midwest town and had no idea the meaning of blackface until Whoopi Goldberg was dating Ted Danson and he showed up in blackface at the Friar’s Club. I think that was in 1993, and I was in my early 30’s. I have never dressed in blackface and I felt stupid that I was ignorant on the subject.
Thanks for sharing that phillygal – a part of me wants to believe that surely so many people can’t be straight up dickbags – at least of them are just…ignorant?
I get it. I grew up in LIBERAL CALIFORNIA and didn’t realize the issue with blackface until the Whoopie/Danson thing too. Then again, it’s not something that’s commonly done around here, so my exposure consisted of re-runs of Different Strokes where Kimberly Drummond put on dark makeup to resemble a black girl since the guy she was dating was a racist. THAT was my exposure to blackface growing up…again…not depicted as an offensive thing, in that moment, IN THAT SCENE, in the TV show so…hence my surprise at the controversy with the Whoopie/Danson moment.
Times change. We evolve. We learn. As an adult I know it’s wrong. Had you asked me as a kid or pre-teen, I wouldn’t have known there was anything wrong with it. It’s not something that’s talked about, at least not back when I was growing up.
They all need to resign and Fairfax needs to write a check.
Stacy Abrams for President!
I find that I am less uncomfortable with what they did in the 80’s as a disqualifier (because I was alive in the 80’s and at what point do we acknowledge that people grow up and change) than with their inability to handle a simple crisis management situation as grown men.
This is just like the Kavanaugh situation. Own what you did. Apologize. Say you’ve evolved over the course of 35 years as everyone has. As for grace to be judged by the entirety of your life and not a moment in time when your judgement obviously failed you. If these men would do that – all would be forgiven because absolutely everyone has made a mistake. Unfortunately, they try to justify or deflect or obfuscate and just make it worst. Northam should never have apologized if he wasn’t in the photo.
Now, the AG is another matter altogether. If he has used his position over the years to silence this woman, that’s as big a problem as Trump paying off Stormy Daniels. I live in Indiana and we have a similar situation (though not assault to this extent) with our AG. Here, he happens to be a black Republican (It’s Indiana, after all) and he has just been a nightmare, refusing to resign, and actually attacking the (multiple) accusers.
I agree that these guys are only making things worse with their “management” of these crises but disagree about blackface possibly not being a disqualifier. I was a teen in the 80s and no one I knew would think to wear blackface. And to those who say the south is “different,” I’m sure plenty of southerners in the 80s knew blackface was wrong, too. Not to mention Northam wasn’t even a teen, he was a med student! In a school with an apparently racist, toxic culture.
That sucks about your AG. So many bad apples.
@SarahLee thank you!! I was also alive in the 80’s and am grateful I have grown up and changed. We made mistakes. We have to be allowed to grow up. I dressed as Pocahontas in the 70’s as a Hallowe’en costume. At the time, I thought my costume was super-cool. Now I have learnt just how very wrong it was. At the time, I didn’t know better. So we need to do better in our schools. We also need to understand people grow up. I was assaulted as a teenager, but did not understand it was assault until years later. The 31 year old man who seduced a 17 year old girl should have known better even if I didn’t. So the sexual assault that’s been hidden needs must come to light, because our menfolk need to learn, once and for all, what CONSENT means, what it sounds like, and what it looks like.
It’s not the AG who’s been accused of sexual assault, it’s the Lieutenant Governor. The AG is the only one who’s tried to take ownership of his transgressions with a somewhat sincere apology, but he still needs to resign as soon as an appropriate line of succession has been figured out. Blackface is unacceptable, and people knew it was unacceptable in the 1980s — I remember that time period too.
I am white and grew up in the South during the 70’s amd early 80’s. I lived in a small mostly white town and went to a mostly white school. Amd i would have NEVER dressed in black face or as a KKK. I was appalled by the KKK, they made me sick!
I also grew up watching all the black shows of the 70’s-80’s, The Cosby Show (I know!), Sanford and Son, Roc, 227, What’s Happening, etc. We didn’t think of these as “Black” shows, but just great entertainment.
I really think there was less racism in the middle-class in the US In the 70’s and 80’s than there is now. ANd the fact that these white men wore blackface and celebrated the KKK during those years means they were racists. Maybe not now, but they were hateful back then. It is really inexcusable, they knew better! This once young white girl sure did…
Don’t forget the Jeffersons! Moving on up
Assuming Northam has the power to appoint a new Lieutenant Governor, Fairfax should resign, Northam should appoint a new Lieutenant Governor — preferably a black woman — and then Northam and Herring should resign and let the new Lieutenant Governor get elevated to Governor and finish cleaning up the mess with new appointments to the Lieutenant Governor and AG positions. All 3 should resign, but no need to do it in a way that turns the governorship over the the Republican party, which only holds the legislature due to gerrymandering and a coin toss.
Perfect! Please send that letter to the Governor’s office immediately. Send it to anybody who can talk sense to him.
I’m pretty sure people like Mark Warner and Terry McAuliffe got there way ahead of me. The problem is that people’s egos will get in the way. I do think the accusation against Fairfax is part of why Northam was so unwilling to resign — while it wasn’t public knowledge, I’m sure it will have gotten surfaced internally when the Washington Post was investigating it last year. I suspect that at this point no one will resign, there will be lots of finger-pointing and bad blood, and it will be a clusterf*ck going into the next election cycle. SMH.
This is an amazing idea, but I don’t think we are dealing with men self-aware enough to do what is best for the party and the people. I read that Fairfax in particular called his accuser terrible names just the other day. Northam appears determined to hang on no matter what.
I don’t think this is going to happen, but it is certainly the solution.
I will say I’m unsure whether Northam *can* actually appoint a successor Lieutenant Governor, as the election to that post is entirely separate to the Governor’s election. If the new Lieutenant Governor has to be appointed by the Republican-held legislature, then I think we’re in a situation where exactly no one is going to resign, no matter what comes out.
I heard that about Fairfax. Effin horrible.
Holy shit this is perfect, Can they do this? Never mind just read your comment above. Pleasepleaseplease let this be something they can do.
Like I said to Darla — I’m unsure how the succession law works in VA, it could be that the legislature has to appoint a new lieutenant, in which case the situation is entirely fcked.
Why a black woman? Why not a well qualified person who doesn’t have stupid mess in their past?
It was wrong when Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson did it in the 20s. You’d think these guys would’ve had a clue. I’m grateful I grew up on Army bases, which thanks to Truman’s EO, were integrated-schools, housing, everything around me. Also grateful that my parents who were born in the Deep South in 1919 and 1920 never uttered a negative word about anybody because of race, religion, ethnicity, or any other factor. How do people come to the conclusion that blackface or any other mocking is okay? And to actually preserve the evidence for posterity????
They all should go now,actually they should already be gone since this has been out for over a week.They aren’t helping the Democratic Party by staying,and the party needs no more scandal with 2020 fast approaching.
Serious question,who in their right mind does blackface in the 1980’s,I mean I know people are still learning,and that back then racist behavior was not as harshly looked down on as it is today,but still.If someone did that in the 1960’s in say,Mississippi,it would be equally wrong,that person should be outed and cancelled,but I would understand that racism in much earlier decades was rampant,but the 1980’s?I was raised in a mostly white small midwestern town,there were (and still are racist jerks living there),but in the 80’s and 90’s we were educated by our parents,teachers,religious leaders,etc what racism,bigotry,etc were,why it’s wrong ,and how to deal with it if and when you saw it.Nobody condoned racial words,jokes,or behavior.
So who the hell was stupid enough to do black face when they knew there would be photos,and people who were there,and why would you do that even if you never got caught-it’s just wrong.
Sexual assault just NO-dude,women are speaking out now ,you are going to get found out,sooner or later.
I am defending no one in this mess. As a point to how enlightened the 80s were on race. I graduated high school in 1987 in Oklahoma and I remember school desegregation starting in around 5th grade and continuing the process through middle school, rather than attend a school two miles from my house, I bussed 30 miles to a traditionally black neighborhood for three years until high school.
While the awareness of what should be acceptable is improving (or was until Cheeto Fatf**k) we aren’t as far removed as we would like to think.
I see your point,and acknowledge that we aren’t as removed from racism as we should be,that’s a sad hard truth ,thank you for reminding us that it is something to be conscious of and something that needs to improve until it’s gone.
I know Vanessa Tyson; we went to college together and though I didn’t know her well, we we friendly and our paths crossed quite a bit. She’s also very good friends with other close college friends of mine.
She is brilliant, kind, thoughtful and a total class act. I have no problem believing every word she says about this situation. (Though even when victims aren’t “perfect” I believe women!). My heart breaks for her going through this so publicly, and I chipped in to her legal go fund me.
Ugh. What a mess.
SMDH….this poor woman. Just horrible.
Certainly I’ve seen nothing to impeach her credibility. I feel very sad for her, both that she was assaulted and that her identity was outed without her consent. She was very brave to make a detailed public statement about what happened to her, knowing full well that she will be the target of vitriolic abuse as a result. Our society is still so incredibly misogynist — sometimes it’s hard for me to feel like we’ve progressed at all, even though I can list off evidence that we have. Hatred of women feels like a bottomless well.
I read her statement and it is sickening and I believe her.
If they all three resign, the governorship goes to a republican, who is only in that position because his name was selected out of a bowl. That is why none of them are willing to resign.
Surely a REPUBLICAN would have some nastiness lurking in his background. Just keep on eliminating until Kaiser is the only one left standing. Governor Kaiser.
The republican is a straight up Klansman. Lives in Colonial Heights which has the lovely nickname of Colonial Whites
This is just a bizarre side note but now a policeman on the govenor’s protection team has been linked to white supremist groups. I expect the entire government’s black face pics to drop son 😔
The behavior of all three is not acceptable for ethical leaders. The crisis management teams have responded abysmally. This information should have been vetted and apologized for during their campaigns–letting voters decide the outcomes. Hopefully, someone like VA Sen. Tim Kaine is at the table with them strategizing how to keep Virginia governorship in Democratic hands. We can’t let it go to the GOP.
P.S. Democratic political strategists better get their act together. The GOP has allied with a hostile foreign power to destroy our party (all this VA info was most likely held by GOP forces and then released at optimum time to distract from Trump’s crimes and glut the news cycle). If we’re fighting with each other, we can’t fight Trump. Our candidates don’t have to be perfect, but they do have to release ALL controversial info and apologize for anything unethical, racist, sexist, etc. Wake up, Dem strategists!!
*sighs* * Pinches nose bridge and closes eyes*
Jeez peas!!! WTH is going on??? They all need to resign! And hopefully, something like The Other Katherine posted will happen.
But, let’s not be too optimistic about smart political maneuvering to keep Dems in the top spots in VA. They’re egos will get in the way and they will mess it up–guaranteed.
Just had to post this. It’s perfect-check it out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtjoQnGgNtQ/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=15s984ir1p4k4
This.is.EVERYTHING.
The IG account excellentcoatsonirritatedwomen is fantastic! Take a look, I think you’ll love it.
I am beyond disgusted by this, even more because the stakes are so high. Yes, they should resign, but their actions will result in the suffering of many others. How difficult is it to not be trash, my God.
All 3 gotta go. It’s disgusting that as GROWN MEN they can’t even admit to their wrong doings. I rather a Republican in office than to be known as the New Florida. How awful and shameful. This country is falling apart because of the people who are supposed to hold it together.
There are rotten apples everywhere, especially in politics. This is why any politician acting like they are a moral authority is laughable. How sad is it that we can’t put full faith on ANYONE to lead.
They all need to go. Burn it down. If the state goes Republican because the Dems are dirtbags, i guess thats the price we pay for electing garbage humans. We can’t have 2 different rules of conduct – wrong is wrong.
Please don’t paint all of Virginia with the same brush-I lived in Charlottesville for 7 years and it was a beautiful place to call home. I voted for Northram,Fairfax and Herring and I feel so angry and betrayed I could spit! I just feel so very bad for all the fellow citizens of color who feel so betrayed. I just cannot fathom how this never got discovered by the media as the campaign was so personal. Sigh.
Virginian here. This is a PR disaster with Northam and Fairfax needs to resign STAT. Honestly, they all need to resign and we should hold a special election this year. I am tired and sick of people who contradict who they represent.
I’m more interested in policy. Some of the most racists people are the same people in the 60’s and 70’s helped advance the civil rights cause. The Kennedy’s? Racist. Johnson? Racist. Abraham Lincoln? Racist.
My question is what are their political stances today and do they harm or hurt the black citizens of Virginia? That’s all I care about.
In my opinion if their voting records and legislative records have proven them to be onboard with policies that are not racist, then I really don’t think they should resign over blackface decades ago.
Racism is not always cut and dry; and there are shit ton of racists politicians who wouldn’t be caught dead in blackface; but it doesn’t mean they are a friend to black folks. On the flip side you have politicians who may engage in casual racism, bigotry, and prejudice but will still fight the good fight. But that’s just me and I don’t live in Virginia.
As someone mentioned earlier my bigger concerns are with the potential cover up over a sexual assault investigation and the fact that grown ass men don’t know how to manage a crisis. Also, why didn’t this come out during the election season?
The real shame with Northam is he does have a great political record for legislation for women, people of color and the disenfranchised. I see the issue and normally and until a few days ago, I would say Northam needs to resign, but the Lt. Governor’s situation is probably worse. The AG is the best, but bad too, and if you let it go to the House speaker you get a guy who in 1968 was the editor of his college yearbook and put in pictures of blackface and racist comments, plus he’s a republican and you know they will just let him have the office, cause he didn’t do anything worse than Trump. That just seems against the will of the voters. Sure they would rather have a Governor and the others who didn’t do these things, but the Democrats are in a spot they have let this go with no due process before, and it might not be the case here but the Republicans play really dirty and if Democrats are just going to cancel people, the big picture on this is bad. I do not know any of the specifics in the Lt. Governor, and someone on here knows the professor, I think she should press charges cause I’m pretty sure she still can. It still does bother me the ones who seem to be getting the most criminal punishment are only the black men. On top of how bad this truly is the optics are terrible too.
And now a top VA state senator has a yearbook picture scandal
I find it highly questionable that there are any Republican or Democratic politicians in the south who went through college in the 70s and 80s who didn’t do black face or something equally offensive.
It wasn’t even a few years ago at this point that a fraternity in some university was exposed for their incredibly racist chant. It was an Ivy League iirc, but if this is a problem today, then I have no doubt in my mind that this was as much of a problem back then as well.
It hurts, but in this case, there needs to be a principled stand. It’s not about Republican or Democrat. It’s about whether we as a society are at a point where we understand how incredibly dehumanizing blackface is to administer consequences for that type of behaviour. It’s about whether we believe survivors–even and especially if it means holding the people we like and support accountable. It’s about whether we understand that racism and sexual assault isn’t exclusive to either party, but that it’s an incredibly mundane fact of life in America. Because as long as we fail to consider those things, then we’re never going to move on to a place where we can have justice for victims, period.
What in the goddamn hell is going on in ‘Murica? It’s like the US has morphed into some gigantic, third-world hell-hole where sexual assault, bigotry, suppression of civil and women’s rights and health care, looting of public coffers, zero scrutiny of politicians’ backgrounds and blatant oligarchy have all become the norm.
I’m Canadian but with a vested interest in what happens south of the border because it affects us all. I’m not saying our system is perfect here, and we have lots of weaselly politicians at the helm but jeebuz, nothing like the US.
Calm down Kaiser! You all haven’t ruined national elections, yet. lol
I may have been able to let the black face go, because it was a long time ago and maybe he is now a more socially educated understanding man. But then he almost moonwalked in the middle of a press conference and he changed the story. Ugh.
Yeah…um…
Was Virginia ever NOT another FL?
I’m not saying that to be rude, I just lived down south for 13 years and… while some cities are nice, highly enjoyable, and extremely entertaining- none of the former confederate states are awesome.
Just sayin’
Like whenever I’m scrolling through my Bing news feed, and come across a wacky headline- I play a little game with myself where I try to guess where it took place before I click on it.
I’m right 9 times out of 10 lol
Indiana is the FL of the Midwest, and the Virginias tend to be Florida The Sequel of the south. I don’t make the rules, folks.
Just call them as I see ’em.