“It is incredibly hypocritical to call for Governor Northam’s resignation while at the same time spend all of his donations,” said RPV Chairman Jack Wilson.
GOP’s Billion Dollar Tax Reform Package Passed By VA General Assembly
Both bills were approved as “emergency” legislation, meaning their provisions will become effective as soon as they are signed by the governor.
The FBI Cannot Investigate Justin Fairfax Allegations. Does the Former Prosecutor Know This?
Justin Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, called for an FBI investigation, despite a lack of jurisdiction. Democratic strategists said it’s a red herring, implying Fairfax is deflecting from accusations of sexual assault, and continuing to allege that fellow Democrats leaked the initial allegation against him.
MARCHI: The Future is Now for GOP End to Gerrymandering
It’s not just good politics; it’s good government.
Despite Resignation Calls, Democrats Aren’t Refusing Campaign Cash from Northam, Fairfax, Herring
Democrats remain silent on whether they are willing to benefit from the $1.8 million cash on hand reported by PACs associated with Governor Northam, Lt. Governor Fairfax, and Attorney General Herring.
Gaslighting Governor Northam Blames ‘White Privilege’ For Racist Photos
As embattled Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) attempts to rehabilitate his image in the week and a half since his extraordinary racial controversy began, he continues to show the Commonwealth and the nation at-large that he can no longer effectively govern. During an interview with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning” that aired Monday, not only did Northam call African slaves brought to colonial Virginia “indentured servants,” but now chalks up his racist photos to “white privilege.”
The fallout comes after a photo was released depicting Northam dressed either in blackface or in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood in his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook. Shortly after the photo went viral, Northam confirmed that it was him depicted in the photo, but would not say which one he was dressed as – a man in blackface, or a man wearing KKK robes.
That night, he published a video statement explaining his remorse.
“I am deeply sorry. I cannot change the decisions I made, nor can I undo the harm my behavior caused then and today. But, I accept responsibility for my past actions, and I am ready to do the hard work of regaining your trust,” he said.
However, at a very odd press conference the following day, he walked back his admission, claiming that he was not in the photo, but then told a tale of when he did appear in blackface at a 1984 dance contest in San Antonio, Texas, dressed as Michael Jackson. Northam said he had “shoe polish” on his “cheeks” as a part of the costume.
“I have always liked Michael Jackson,” he said, noting that he did win the contest. He added that he “learned to do the moonwalk.”
The governor, after being asked by a reporter if he could still moonwalk, then grinned and looked to his right and left to find room to attempt to show off his dance. His wife, Pam, then said to him “inappropriate circumstances” as he was surrounded by a crowd of stunned reporters.
Dodging widespread calls for his resignation, protests in front of the Executive Mansion in Richmond, and even disappearing from the public eye for a few days, he then began his “I’m sorry” tour to explain his actions and announce that he will take on the responsibility of racial reconciliator for the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2022.
During the interview, King asked Northam, “what have you learned that you didn’t know before.”
“Well, several things, starting with I was born in white privilege and that has implications to it and it is much different the way a white person such as myself is treated in this country,” he said.
“Did you not know that you were born into white privilege?” King asked, interrupting the governor.
“I knew I was, Ms. King, but I didn’t realize, really, the powerful implications of that,” Northam explained. “And again, talking to a lot of friends, that has come crystally clear to me this week. I’ve also learned why the use of blackface is so offensive. And yes, I knew it in the past, but reality has really set in.”
When asked whether or not he knew appearing in blackface was offensive in the past, Northam said that he believes “we’re all on a learning curve.”
“Certainly, Ms. King, I am not the same person now at age 59 that I was back in my early 20s,” he added. “This is a week that has been very eye-opening to me.”
Therefore, Governor Northam did not know it was offensive to don blackface. Not only did he not know it was offensive in 1984, but he apparently did not know it is still offensive in 2019.
It is quite tough to actually analyze the entire situation that has embroiled Virginia’s governor. When it comes to “crisis communications 101,” Northam has written the complete annotated anthology of what not to say and what not to do.
To recap: he admitted to appearing in a racist photo, did not say if he was either dressed as a cartoonish blackface character or in the uniform of a white supremacy group, he then recanted saying that was not him in the photo, he changed his story, he told reporters he won a dance contest dressed in blackface as Michael Jackson, he almost moonwalked in front of national reporters, his wife told him not to moonwalk, he showed off his historical ineptness, and then chalked this all up to white privilege.
Questioning Virginians’ sanity for his own mistakes? If gaslighting needed a clear definition – here it is.
Furthermore, the question that has still yet to be fully answered is why Northam admitted to being the photo in the first place. In another part of the interview, he said he did it out of “shock” when seeing the photo, but that answer leaves a lot to be desired.
As well, his nickname while a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the early 1980s was “Coonman,” a racial epithet. Why would he be called that unless it had a meaning?
Why wasn’t he asked about that in the CBS interview?
What is truly unbelievable, rather, what is truly fiction-turned-fact, is that literally every person in his own party is calling for him to resign, which is actually quite a conservative statement. There is most likely not one current elected Democratic office holder who has said he should stay in office.
To give a bit of perspective on that, let’s be honest here.
One can find a Democrat to support anything: Venezuela’s Maduro, Syria’s Assad, boycotting In-N-Out Burger, taxing cow farts, infanticide, blaming plastic straws for climate change, removing troops from Guam because the island will “tip over,” anything. But, there is not one Democrat supporting him on this.
Every day governor Northam remains in office is another day the Commonwealth of Virginia continues to be a punchline for skits on “Saturday Night Live,” a comedic comparison to the political process, and an erosion of the “Virginia Way.”
He needs to leave, immediately.
Fairfax Scandal Deepens As Staffers Resign, Accusers Look To Testify
Although Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax (D) presided over the Virginia State Senate during Monday’s session on Bank Street in Richmond, the effects of his scandal have deepened as four of his aides have resigned amid the sexual assault controversy. Currently, Fairfax is battling back against two accusers, one who said he sexually assaulted her in 2004, and one who said he raped her while in college in 2000.
Dr. Vanessa Tyson, a Scripps College professor, has alleged that Fairfax sexually assaulted her at the 2004 Boston Democratic National Convention. In her statement published by the New York Times, Dr. Tyson said she came forward after the news of Fairfax’s likely elevation to the top political position in Virginia as the governor is embroiled in racial controversy, because it “flooded” her with “painful memories, bringing back feelings of grief, shame, and anger that stemmed from an incident with Mr. Fairfax.”
Meredith Wilson, a student at Duke University in 2000, while Fairfax also attended the North Carolina college, came forth last week with allegations that she was raped by Fairfax in a “premeditated and aggressive” fashion.
Fairfax has called the accusations “false and unsubstantiated,” a “totally fabricated story,” and “demonstrably false.” The lieutenant governor has also accused staffers of embattled Governor Ralph Northam (D) for leaking the sexual assault allegations and engaging in a “vicious and coordinated smear campaign” to derail his pathway to the governor’s office.
In a raucous press conference in the crowded capitol rotunda, Fairfax reiterated “how important it is for us to listen to women,” but an NBC News reporter caught Fairfax saying “f*** that b****” as he tried to discredit Dr. Tyson during a private meeting last Monday night.
In a recent press release from Nancy Erika Smith, Watson’s attorney with New Jersey-based Smith Mullin, P.C., comments rang out against Fairfax as she claims that he wishes to quash the allegations and defame his accusers in “secret” meetings.
“After Dr. Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson reported that Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax raped them, Fairfax said he wanted ‘due process’. Impeachment hearings would have provided just that. It turns out that Mr. Fairfax does not want due process; he wants to assault the character of his victims in secret, not in public, and certainly not under oath,” she said.
Smith stated that Watson and Dr. Tyson are asking for a hearing to testify to the alleged crimes Fairfax committed, expressing that they “reject a secret and delayed proceeding.”
Regardless, Virginia’s second in command is resisting widespread pressure from nearly all elected leaders, both Democrat and Republican, to step down from his post.
As the scandal continues to garner the national spotlight, two of Fairfax’s three government aides, policy director Adele McClure and scheduling director Julia Billingsley have left his staff, as well as employees from his political action committee, executive director Dave Mills of We Rise Together and fundraiser Courtney McCargo.
PAC communications director Lauren Burke and chief of staff Larry Roberts, however, still remain in their posts.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Mills, interestingly, is the husband of State Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond) who is now being considered as a serious contender to replace Fairfax as lieutenant governor should he resign or be removed from office.
His removal from office via the introduction of articles of impeachment weakened yesterday following Delegate Partick Hope (D-Arlington) announcing on Twitter late last week, “On Monday, I will be introducing articles of impeachment for Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax if he has not resigned before then.”
After Delegate Hope said he sent draft language for articles of impeachment to his colleagues, he received an “enormous amount of sincere and thoughtful feedback which has led to additional conversations that need to take place before anything is filed.”
Although Fairfax continues to call for an FBI investigation into the sexual assault allegations, it is unclear why he is proceeding that route. As a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, he must know that the FBI has no jurisdiction in the matter because the alleged incidents are neither federal crimes, nor is the investigation within the agency’s extent of background checks for certain federal officials.
A spokesperson for Fairfax has also relayed that the lieutenant governor has voiced skepticism about a legislative investigation, stating that he “believes that an inherently political process is not the most likely path for learning the truth.”
With the job of lieutenant governor being a part-time position, Fairfax’s joined San Franciso-based law firm Morrison & Foerster in early 2018. Following the scandal, however, the firm placed him on paid leave.
“We take the allegations against Justin very seriously. As a firm, we believe that it is important to seriously listen to any allegation of sexual assault or harassment, and to treat all persons making such allegations with respect and sensitivity,” the firm’s Chairman Larren Nashelsky said.
Fairfax’s growing sexual scandal is just one-third of the situation surrounding the Commonwealth’s Democrat-led executive branch.
Governor Northam reportedly appeared in a photo in his 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) yearbook either in blackface or in Ku Klux Klan robes. He first confirmed that he was in the photo – not saying which one – then backpedaled the day following at a very odd press conference, which included an attempt to “moonwalk” in front of reporters and his wife, Pam, telling him “inappropriate circumstances.”
Attorney General Mark Herring (D) admitted to wearing blackface to look like black rapper Kurtis Blow at a party at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in 1980. His admission came just days after he previously called for Northam’s resignation for also appearing in racist photos.
RPV Accosts Democrats For Giving AG Herring Hypocritical ‘Hall Pass’
“What is the difference between Governor Northam’s blackface and AG Herring’s?” RPV Chairman Jack Wilson asks.
Justin Fairfax Suspended From Law Firm As Sexual Assault Allegations Investigated
Surrounded by sex scandals, Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax (D) has now been placed on leave by his law firm as the company looks into allegations of sexual assault. As his ability to effectively govern wanes as the national spotlight is placed on the Commonwealth, Fairfax has lost nearly all of his support within the Democratic Party.
Two accusations surfaced last week:
Dr. Vanessa Tyson, a Scripps College professor, has alleged that Fairfax sexually assaulted her at the 2004 Boston Democratic National Convention.
Meredith Wilson, a student at Duke University in 2000, while Fairfax also attended the North Carolina college, came forth last week with allegations that she was raped by Fairfax in a “premeditated and aggressive” fashion.
In the days following the first allegation, Fairfax has called the accusations “false and unsubstantiated,” a “totally fabricated story,” and “demonstrably false.”
Resisting widespread calls for his resignation, the lieutenant governor has tried to discredit his accusers, also vowing to remain in office as both Governor Ralph Northam (D) and Attorney General Mark Herring (D) are embroiled in racial controversy.
Nevertheless, Fairfax’s part-time employer, San Francisco-based Morrison & Foerster, has stated that it has retained outside attorneys to investigate the allegations against Virginia’s second in command, according to a report from The Hill.
“We take the allegations against Justin very seriously. As a firm, we believe that it is important to seriously listen to any allegation of sexual assault or harassment, and to treat all persons making such allegations with respect and sensitivity,” the firm’s Chairman Larren Nashelsky said.
Fairfax joined the firm in early 2018.
This past weekend, the Democratic Party of Virginia, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, and most party officials said the lieutenant governor should step down from office, with many saying that he should deal with the growing situation as a “private citizen.” On Saturday, Fairfax explained that he would be asking the FBI to investigate the allegations.
Late last week, a Northern Virginia Democrat in the House of Delegates began threatening impeachment if Fairfax did not resign by Monday. However, Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) relayed on Twitter that after he sent draft language for articles of impeachment to his colleagues, he received an “enormous amount of sincere and thoughtful feedback which has led to additional conversations that need to take place before anything is filed.”
Congressional Democrats Block Bill Outlawing Infanticide
Democratic lawmakers, both state and federal, remain committed to supporting infanticide.