Popehat always has a tactful and gracious way with words, which I cosign in this case.
Look: if you wore blackface or a Klan costume when you were 25, nobody’s saying you have to wear sackcloth and ashes forever, or be in a prison camp, or be whipped through the streets.
Just maybe not be the fuckin governor.
A big part of what makes the Democratic Party a party worth belonging to is that it mostly doesn’t put up with this garbage.
Speaking as a born and bred Virginian, a progressive 53yo white male who voted for Gov. Northam, I believe it best for Virginia and the Virginia Democratic Party Mr. Northam step down and allow Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax to serve the remaining threes years – as well as run again for the same seat in three years. Virginia governors can serve one full term only and must wait for another to serve their four years prior to considering running again.
For God’s sake, man, if you’re not going to resign, at least change your political affiliation back to Republican.
This situation is exactly what I mean when I call b*llshit on both-siderism.
Democrats immediately call for Democrat to resign; Republicans take 20 years to strip Nazi Congressman of committee assignments. He remains a Congressman – see the difference people? See how one party acts vis-a-vis the other?
I’m willing to cut Northam, well, not slack exactly, but I think it’s fair to give him a full weekend to come to grips with the fact that his political career is suddenly over.
It’s the gracious “bummer, dude” you offer when you see a guy crash his sandrail into a flaming ditch full of cacti and spiders. Northam put himself there, and he’ll have the rest of forever to think about that, but I don’t really take pleasure in seeing it.
It certainly has opened republican eyes to the evils of racism. They are a woke bunch now on Twitter.
Yeah.
Theft, lying, collusion… let’s be sure to do a lot of investigation and discussion about motive and intent.
Jobs, health care, war, dead school kids… man, those deliberations take time.
I’m not from Virginia and not black, so maybe I’m missing something, but don’t 35 years of experience and work mean more than a nasty, stupid photo? All of the great religions preach of the possibility of redemption, but no one wants to think that maybe the governor should be judged by what he has done for three and a half decades, that maybe he has really changed.
Hugo Black, who became one of the most prominent justices on the Supreme Court, was a member of the KKK as a young man. Should he have been barred from the court, or forced to step down, because of that? No.
Here’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats want him to resign. Republicans would throw him a party and give him a raise or a higher position.
Unbelievable! This was 35 years ago! This would have simply been considered in possible bad taste then. It would not have been a political death sentence. This is simply current politicians pandering to groups claiming to being offended by ancient history. Hopefully Governor Northam will simply answer with a hearty, “Fuck You.”
What did you dress up as for Halloween?
Show some skin? Mocked dead people? OMG, not as a devil?
Everyone should be fired immediately.
And it won’t change a damn mind. If anything, people will just dig in deeper. So discouraging that there are still plenty of young racists slithering around. As for republicans, they’re saying all this crap out loud and getting away with it.
Sigh.
I believe that, in the entire state of Virginia, we can find one man or woman who will work just as tirelessly as Ralph Northam for all of these important causes who wasn’t KKK-curious as a twenty-something. Indeed, I already know of one: Justin Fairfax.
Nobody is saying that Ralph Northam should be unemployable in any capacity, or put out on an ice floe, or thrown in the Potomac. Only that, for this most lofty of positions, out of eight and a half goddamn million people, we can do a fair bit better.
Everybody deserves the opportunity for self-improvement, for gainful employment, for reflection, even if they have terrible sins in their past. Nobody just deserves the opportunity to be governor.
I also voted for Northam. I hate to lose him, but he needs to step aside for the greater good. This is not going to be repaired with an apology. Moreover, if he were a Republican, we Dems would be yelling for his crucifixion. We have to accept that one of our own is being crucified now.
Northam and his advisors did not handle this issue correctly if they were simply hoping it would never become a liability. I suspect the Republicans have had this for a long time and were just waiting for the perfect time to use it against him. With the abortion issue burning on a high flame right now in Virginia, this was their right time.
Hugo Black - Born 1886
Ralph Northam - Born 1957
See any difference?
I repeat.
Everyone list what they wore for Halloween so we can make sure no one is offended by anything.
So, IOKIYAD?
Because you’d be calling for his head it he were a Republican.
Yes – and those same 35 years should mean just as much in this case, but this is politics in America in 2019. Ideally, we would hold a big town hall, televised on tv and the internet, where Northam would address the citizens of Virginia and answer their questions, listen to their concerns. Ideally. However, I know the Republicans and fear the shit they’ll pull in tying up our agenda. If the legislature were fully Democratic, we might have a chance of proving ourselves and weathering whatever GOP turds are thrown our way – but we’re pretty evenly split.
My feelings are based on what’s best for Virginia as a whole and also how whatever decisions we make affect the VA Dem Party. We need to nip this in the bud now.
But we can’t say “Apology accepted?”