What The Hell Kind Of Parties Do They Have in Virginia? UPDATED
Y’all, seriously.
Virginia sank deeper into political turmoil Wednesday when another top Democrat — Attorney General Mark Herring — admitted putting on blackface in the 1980s, when he was a college student.
With Gov. Ralph Northam’s career in peril over a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook, Herring issued a statement saying he wore brown makeup and a wig in 1980 to look like a rapper during a party as a 19-year-old at the University of Virginia.
These events were in the 80’s. They full-well knew better.
They both need to step down and let there be a special election.
Okay, now it’s the Lt. Governor. He has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman. However, this alone is all the proof I need that he’s gotta go —
If he did indeed say that, he can join his racist buddies.
I went to college in the mid-70’s in VA. if anyone had shown up at a party/dance/poker game in blackface, they’d have been unceremoniously drop-kicked out the door, if not tarred/feathered/ridden out of town on a rail. but then, this is UVA we’re talking about, they tend to have a lot of unreconstructed white supremacists there, that most other schools in VA don’t.
1On the Stephanie Miller show this morning, Chris LaVoie said that he grew up in Virginia in the 80s and that most yearbooks had at least one picture of somebody in blackface. That’s Virginia–which is why he caught the first thing smokin’ outta there as soon as he could, being Gay and all.
You won’t be surprised to learn that it was an alt-right outfit that exposed Northam’s picture and was also the place where Fairfax’s accuser went to.
If Northam, Fairfax, and now Herring all resign, the new Governor will be–wait for it–a REPUBLICAN! Who knew?
At this point, I hope none of them resign. Unless there is a second accuser of Fairfax’s behavior, I’m inclined to give him a pass, too–particularly since it seems she never told anybody about at the time or later; until, that is, he was running for Lt. Gov. in 2017.
2Look at it this way. In all the time that Northam has been a doctor, has he ever evidenced any racism? I always had the idea that the was too damn busy doing doctoring to bother with such stuff. This is how he has “invested” his life. Not like Roy Moore who just could not give up stalking females, especially the younger the better. Old Roy was well known from day one for this tendency as the mall cops will testify. As for Fairfax, this is the first I have ever head of such a charge. And as for the “lucky” Republican, just how clean is his past?
3Thought KY’s Kim Davis was the last living Dixiecrat who hadn’t made the switch to the snacilbupeR. Although Northam doesn’t quite count, he switched from snacilbupeR to “D” in 2006 in the mid reverse Dubya flow of “I didn’t do that” pols and voters. Herring? Dunno. However, in addition to the obvious better vetting of candidates, post Dotard45 we need to be extra wary of candidates who become Democratic solely because they know being snacilbupeR is a losing proposition. Not talking DINOs, but full in the skin snacilbupeR opportunistically running as Democrats.
4Oscar Arias, the Costa Rican former President with a Nobel Peace Prize, has just been accused of sexual assault in the past. Who’s next– Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela? Bishop Tutu? The Dalai Lama? Is there ANY male in public life who has kept it in his shorts and his hands to himself, according to everybody?
5If the Democrats in Virginia engaged in this much semiconscious racist and sexist offenses back in the day, continuing into the present day, I shudder to think what a little background digging will reveal of the activities of their ethically semi-comatose Republican cohorts?
6I am torn. Their behavior is awful – and those are the Dems. Repugs tend to be much, much worse. On Fairfax, I smell a set-up by RWers.
7What does one expect from an unreconstructed thuglicrat who admitted to voting for the twit twice.
Trash then and trash now.
Look to those on the national stage who supported this thuglican wannabe over a true progressive and politically chop them off at the knees.
Introduce resolution at DNC and associated campaign committees banning any support, recognition, access to mailing lists etc for those who supported him over his progressive oppenent and start to actively recruit and finance primary challenges against them with DNC money NOW.
8Wellllll, I did not go to the ‘correct’ parties in HS (Richmond, VA area) or college (am a Hokie btw) ’cause I never saw anyone in blackface at any. Plenty of handsy stuff, assaults even (not that many women bothered to report. The university not giving a crap and all.) While I despise racism, misogony, ignorance in general………I hope we can get to a point that we can overlook an incident or 2 of youthful ignorance and look at whether the person went on to live a more enlightened and useful life (too many rethugs can’t show any such change in behavior). Idiocy while in a professional curriculum? That might never pass a smell test. I’m glad EVMS is reviewing their yr book content.
9When I woke up the morning after Northam’s yearbook was exposed, I was firmly on the side of his staying in office. By the time I went to bed that night, I was firmly convinced he should resign.
Then I heard about Fairfax and had a panic attack.
Now, it’s Herring, too? (an aspiring gov candidate, which means he was probably trying to “get ahead” of this…)
All three?!?!??!
I’m back in the don’t resign camp!
10Cheryl #7,
You said, “On Fairfax, I smell a set-up by RWers”.
I thought that, too after I read it.
However, please know that I am not excusing their offensive, rascist behavior. It was reprehensible and appalling. I believe that people can do stupid sh!t when they are young. Britain’s Prince Harry went to a costume party dressed as a Nazi. Big mistake.
Some are smart enough to realize the gravity of their behavior and never repeat it. Then there are the repeat offenders like George Wallace.
11I’m still torn as far as resignations. As a college student late 70’s early 80’s I would not have been concerned @ anyone choosing to wear blackface as a costume. Had no idea about the history or the implications for black people back then. I know better now!! So do many others. Some folks surely deserve to have more recent records of public service taken into account. But how to choose who deserves such consideration………?
12I’ve changed my mind more than once on this. Right now I do not want to see ANYONE resign until more is known about where all this stuff is coming from. It just smells to high heaven. It has the feel of something orchestrated and organized. Wanna bet some of it originates from a GRU troll farm? Somebody is testing for 2020.
13Rhea, I turn on the news every day thinking, “Please, not Fred Rogers.”
14Current state of Virginia politics:
– Gov under siege
– Lt Gov under siege
– AG about to be under siege
– 4th in line, GOP House Speaker, holds his seat under district lines already struck down
– GOP only has majority b/c they won tie-breaking lot draw
If you are looking for the Simpsons reference to sum up the Virginia mess, it’s “Homer at the Bat,” when every ringer except Daryl Strawberry is undone by some random misfortune. It’s either that or Sideshow Bob surrounded by rakes.
I think David Fahrenthold May be right, “When this is over, there’s a small chance that Virginia will have run out of politicians and reverted back to Queen Elizabeth.”
15“I think David Fahrenthold May be right, “When this is over, there’s a small chance that Virginia will have run out of politicians and reverted back to Queen Elizabeth.”
we did host the current one for our 400th anniversary, so she at least knows where we are.
Sarah O, I apparently also didn’t attend the right parties in HS (Woodbridge, VA), because I never saw anyone in blackface either. I knew the background of it, having learned in history classes, taught by nuns in the Catholic Schools I survived. I went to ODU (hey, the lure of the beach!) and, as I noted above, this wasn’t a thing there either, unless the frats were doing it in private.
16When Democrats do this sort of thing, I always ask myself, “How would I feel about this behavior if pRick Scott had done it? Or Marco Rubio? Or Trump?”
So, when Northam’s story came out, I figured he should resign. Then, the day after he issued his apology, when he took it back and went into the denial phase, I was certain of it.
All that said, though — never having lived in Virginia, I believe I’m not in the position to judge that my cousin is — seeing as how he moved there when he was in his twenties — just about 50 years ago.
And he said, when all this began, that Northam shouldn’t resign. That he has been a good governor and has shown himself to be firmly on the right side of race issues, women’s issues, equality of all and all that.
I haven’t yet asked him his views about Fairfax and Herring — I’m a little scared to, truth be told. Even so, I think I need to email him again.
17If Northam and Herring resign, it would move forward the pressure to indict Trump for his many many improprieties. One would think that his lawyers would advise him to shut up. I have no doubt, and much expectation, for the democrats to start digging up some old, youthful,improper behavior by the holier than thou republicans.
18On further reflection, any of Trump’s cult start baying for the kill,
19need to shut up – they are a wellspring of racism themselves. You have the right to dump your hot coffee on any of them who start spouting off.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a26222709/virginia-governor-blackface-attorney-general-lieutenant-governor/
Just gonna leave that here.
20I went to college in MA in the late ’70s, early ’80s.
I’ve never done blackface nor would I have done so at the time because to the best of my knowledge it was seen as being disrespectful towards blacks. I never knew just how bad it really was because *no one explained why it was horrible*. I’m not negating the severity of the insult, but rather commenting on the ignorance of myself and my peers at the time. Ignorance that has since been remediated…
21I grew up in the upper midwest during the 50’s. A big thing was minstrel shows and helzapoppin. The only brown face we ever saw was the porter on the train chugging through town.
22If onlies… If only Ralph had immediately owned up and said something like “Yeah, I was an idiot. I was drunk, (or whatever). It was the’80s, and I’ve spent the rest of my life doing the right things to make up for it. I’m really, really sorry.” I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of that claim.
But flat out lying? You’re done, Ralph. No tired old fork analogies here. At least I hope he convinces the AG to resign so he can appoint his successor. He’ll need one, you know.
23I think they just need to hire some nerds and look at EVERYONE’s damn yearbooks
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tommy-norment-racist-yearbook-blackface-virginia-senator_us_5c5c6fefe4b0d073e7043f0b
24I was in college in early 80s, and South African Apartheid & issues of race were well-known. Unforgivable that anyone would show up in either blackface or a KKK costume.
As @NicaBrian said, if Northam had shown remorse and honesty when the news first came out, perhaps he would have been trusted to stay in office.
While Lyndon Johnson, Hugo Black, and Lincoln clearly exhibited racist tendencies but went on to enact policies in keeping with civil rights (https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/03/us/racist-photo-northam-blake-analysis/index.html), those were earlier times. By the 80s, no forgiveness for such blatant racism.
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