They should fill the vacancies with women legislators… and then have Herring step down as well.
Clean sweep.
“We are likely to come out with a statement soon on the Herring case that, I think, we feel that we are generally in the same position – that he reached out to each of us individually, very apologetic,” Kaine told reporters on Capitol Hill after meeting with other members of the delegation, per the Post. “He is in dialogue with the legislative black caucus and African-American leadership in the state, and they have been impressed with his sincerity while they’ve been very disappointed with what happened.”
Good.
Stay tuned for week 2 of black history month.
Are they calling for Fairfax’s resignation? If not, then I don’t see how they get to Herring taking over as Governor. If so, are they comfortable with someone being forced out over allegations where the victim is (so far) unwilling to press charges and there is no corroboration?
I find Dr. Tyson’s statement to be entirely credible, but there is precedent to consider here.
Probably the right move even though I’m not sure Northam should step down. Northam’s backtrack and flirtation with becoming an independent almost disqualified him in my eyes, but his record has been pretty good from what I know. He should have apologized and made amends. Instead, he showed a lack of leadership. Fairfax has also handled the allegations against him horribly, unfortunately. Fairfax should have been contrite even if he felt it was consensual. Of course if the allegations are true, he should be removed. If he actually said “fuck that bitch,” as two people have reported, his political career may be over.
VA Bus: “Rumble, rumble, rumble…(THUD!)…rumble, rumble, rumble…(THUD!)…rumble, rumble, rumble…”
Both Heering and Northam are tainted by blackface. But I think the panicking of Northam may have been a deciding issue with him…because leadership requires people who are averse to panicking.
What if JFK had panicked during the Cuban Missile Crisis?:…And though this is a Foreign Policy example, governors handle tough decisions which require steadiness.
ETA I was looking at some of the legalities Fairfax is facing and I am in limbo because of the juxtaposition of the legal process itself and the need for quick resolution.
Going out on a limb here, but for God’s sake, don’t let a frickn’ republican take over the governorship. Yes, blackface is super bad, but not a crime. Sucks big time but having a republican in office is even worse, don’t ya think?
There’s something fishy here.
If Herring resigned – followed by Fairfax and Northam – wouldn’t they get “Gov. Cynthia Hudson”?
Any reason why the VA delegation didn’t announce they were backing her…?
I, too, was disquieted by the rush to mob justice for Northam. As I’ve pointed out here and elsewhere, all of the great religious traditions preach the possibility of redemption, and he surely seems to have made up for what he did wrong. But I’m afraid that his terrible handling of the situation has put paid to his hopes of being more than a caretaker governor.
In 2 years, an important event will be taking place.
New lines for legislative districts both state level and national will be drawn. And the Governor will have veto power.
It appears that the howling mob here would prefer to have a Republican making that decision. That’s certainly an interesting choice. Since this whole thing is a Republican ratfuck, dependent entirely on the Democratic stupidity about purity, you wonder if there was a plan for the redistricting in the works all along.
Northam’s problem is that he was first and there was a quick verdict. Herring was able to navigate the issue by learning from Northam and did damage control. Northam was in a pickle, but he didn’t handle this well at all. Blackface is detestable and people should apologize and make amends. It is not the end of the world. Black people (I am black and this is only my opinion) understand that a large portion of society has shown prejudice or micro-racism, but we are practical as to how to move forward. Northam backtracked, which might not have hurt him, but certainly didn’t help him. Northam showed very poor judgment.
Fairfax, to me, is toast. I will wait for this to develop, but he has behaved even worse than Northam.
And I’d bet there are quite a number of Republican lawmakers who have blackface in their pasts. Why let these jerks get control when the only difference between them and the Virginia commonwealth executives is: Everybody knows most Republicans are racists.
Good lord. We’re only a week in.
Correction: This report originally stated that Kaine said the delegation would issue a statement supporting backing Herring, based on a Washington Post report. However, Kaine did not say that the statement would be one of support for Herring, and we have updated the story to reflect that.
Hmm. That’s a big correction.
Way to make the GOP argument for Trump that “the ends justify the means”.
(Your Marxist position is duly noted.)
Of course, you’ve missed the obvious fact that both the AG and Deputy AG are Democrats.
So your entire point is moot.
Weak! Sad!
Unlike rape and assault, being a callow youth who does stupid and insensitive things is not, in and of itself, a crime. When straight folk (especially politicians) were in the process of coming to terms with the reality of gays as human beings their opinions and actions were allowed to evolve. The question here should not be whether they did do all those things years ago, but rather have they evolved beyond it in a demonstrable way. If there is clear evidence of change, maybe we should accept the apology and take away a tool for the oppo-RFers to hold over democrats.
Here’s an interesting somewhat OT thing:
Agent provocateur indeed. It always helps to keep in mind that many, not all, but many members of the fourth estate, are in it for the controversy and seek to augment it. Caveat emptor as always. And stay skeptical my friends.
Oh. And KH has real class.