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VA School Board Severely Harassed and Discriminated Against Principal After Fighting Against ‘Anti-Racism’ Training
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Denver Riggleman Blasts Congressional Resolution Condemning Anti-Semitism As Not Going Far Enough
Even though this is the second time Congress has voted to condemn anti-Semitism as a rebuke of Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s (MN-5) “wrong and hurtful” comments against Israel, she was not named in the recent resolution, neither was she named in the first.
Former Gov. McAuliffe Quiets Calls For Resignations In Virginia’s Executive Branch
As all three political leaders of Virginia’s Democrat-led executive branch have dealt with racial and sexual scandals over the past two weeks, it seems that not only Attorney General Mark Herring (D), but also Governor Ralph Northam (D) may get off scot-free for appearing in racist photos. After a week of rapprochement of protests in front of the Executive Mansion in downtown Richmond and universal calls from his own party for his resignation, former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) is also backing down his charge for Northam to leave office.
McAuliffe, a presumed 2020 Democratic presidential contender, appeared on CBS‘s “Face the Nation” to speak about the controversies in the Commonwealth, meanwhile peddling his new book “Beyond Charlottesville: Taking a Stand Against White Nationalism,” which is about how “Virginia and the country continue to deal with racism.”
While hitting off the segment with his new book, McAuliffe did not say a word about resignations, seemingly accepting Northam’s extraordinarily vague plan to redeem his image and his governorship with a “focus on race and equity.”
“I think he’s made a decision he’s going to stay in,” McAuliffe said of Northam, who was his own lieutenant governor while he was in charge of the Commonwealth until January 2018. McAuliffe added, “but the way that Ralph survives and brings Virginia back together, he’s got to lean in on these very important issues.”
Nevertheless, as Northam launches his “listening tour” throughout the Commonwealth to learn more about “race, history, and white privilege,” and other obvious things he apparently never knew, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax (D) is also dealing with a deepening sexual assault scandal that has his staffers jumping ship and his part-time law firm employer suspending him.
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 days later 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 Northam for leaking the sexual assault allegations and engaging in a “vicious and coordinated smear campaign” to derail his pathway to the governor’s office.
When news of the second sexual assault allegation broke, McAuliffe wasted no time in calling for Fairfax’s “immediate” resignation on Twitter.
“The allegations against Justin Fairfax are serious and credible. It is clear to me that he can no longer effectively serve the people of Virginia as Lieutenant Governor. I call for his immediate resignation,” he said.
However, McAuliffe is now quieting his own requests and demanding an investigation into the allegations.
Commenting on the situation, McAuliffe said, “Very serious allegations have been made. They need to be investigated…So we will go through that process.”
Showing a willingness to investigate the alleged crimes, Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) has said any inquiry must be bipartisan and “very deliberate.” However, House Democrats have blocked any probe by the General Assembly from moving forward, scuttling last week’s impeachment push by Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington).
Regardless, McAuliffe’s remarks on Sunday suggest that Democratic leaders are coming around to accepting the scandalous status quo in Richmond. It could be that the party faithful have realized that a Republican would be in line for the governorship if all three in the executive branch resigned, or that, considering they came out and denounced Northam, Fairfax, and Herring, they feel they can remain in a position of moral high ground on issues of race, gender, and social justice.
Despite the situation looking more and more like a political double standard, Virginia’s top-three elected Democrats may end up holding on to their positions for the time being. Whether any of the three can go on to win higher offices still remains to be seen.
The other lurking question facing Virginia Democrats is whether the tainted triumvirate hurts the party as it looks to take control of both houses of the General Assembly in November’s elections, following its 15-seat gain in the House of Delegates in 2017. With a one-member majority in both the House and Senate, the longer the scandals roll on, the more dissatisfied the Democratic base could become, losing excitement at the ballot box.
The Objective Of Northam’s ‘Listening Tour’ Is Anyone’s Guess
Considering he’s not listening to calls for his resignation, what’s the reason for the tour?
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.
Controversy Continues As Ralph Northam Calls Slaves Brought To Virginia Colony ‘Indentured Servants’
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) shows off his historical ineptness during his first interview since his racial controversy began.
Dixie Drama Continues: Virginia AG Mark Herring Appeared In ‘Blackface’ Racist Photo
As the entirety of Virginia’s executive branch is now roiled in scandal, will the Democratic Party denounce what are seen now as widespread signs of racism with their leaders?
When Will Governor Ralph Northam’s Cabinet Call For His Resignation?
As the racial controversy surrounding Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) continues, the question must be asked: When will his Cabinet join political leaders from both sides of the aisle in calling for his resignation?
During a press conference Saturday afternoon, Northam fought back against calls from nearly every elected official in the Commonwealth – both Democrat and Republican – in demanding for his resignation, letting Virginia move forward from a disgusting chapter in its history.
Photos were released on Friday depicting the governor dressed either in “blackface” or in a Ku Klux Klan uniform in his 1984 medical college yearbook, and of a yearbook Northam appeared in while at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the early 1980s that included multiple nicknames, one of which was “Coonman,” a racial epithet.
Shortly after the first photo went viral, Governor Northam confirmed that it was him dressed as such, but would not say which one. However, he then recanted, claiming that he was not one of the two men that appeared in racist garb.
At the seemingly-cartoonish press conference, Northam stood by his apology to Virginians, but told a story about an instance in 1984 when he did appear in blackface at a “dance contest” in San Antonio, Texas, dressed as pop star Michael Jackson. He said he had “shoe polish” on his “cheeks” as a part of the costume.
“I have always liked Michael Jackson. I won the contest,” he said to a crowd of reporters, adding that he “learned to do the moonwalk.” When asked by one in the room if he could still moonwalk, he cracked a smile and looked for room to his left, alluding to wanting to try and demonstrate his rug-cutting ability in front of dozens of reporters and government officials. However, his wife, Pam, then said “inappropriate circumstances,” causing the governor to back off performing the iconic dance move.
On Sunday night during the Super Bowl, Governor Northam met with key staff members for an unscheduled meeting, apparently considering his next move. Protests continue to mount outside the Executive Mansion in downtown Richmond with hundreds calling for him to step down.
As for the future of Governor Northam’s term, which ends in January 2022, he said during the press conference, “If we get to the point where we feel that we’re not effective, that we’re not efficient, not only for our caucuses, but the Commonwealth of Virginia, then we will revisit this and make decisions.”
It has become evident that his position as the political leader of the Commonwealth is now ineffective. The governorship has become tarnished by Northam’s refusal to step down. All the while, Virginia still has business to do, and cannot continue to be marred by the racial controversy Northam ushered into the spotlight.
Nevertheless, will members of Northam’s Cabinet join lawmakers and elected officials across the Commonwealth and the United Stated in calling for his resignation?
His Cabinet is listed as the following: Chief of Staff Clark Mercer, Deputy Chief of Staff Suzette Denslow, Commonwealth Secretary Kelly Thomasson, Administration Secretary Keyanna Conner, Agriculture Secretary Bettina Ring, Commerce Secretary Brian Ball, Education Secretary Atif Qarni, Finance Secretary Aubrey Layne, Health and Human Resources Secretary Daniel Carey, Natural Resources Secretary Matthew Strickler, Homeland Security Secretary Brian Moran, Transportation Secretary Shannon Valentine, Veterans and Defense Secretary Carlos Hopkins, Workforce Advisor Megan Healy, and Counsel to the Governor Rita Davis.
Angry Rhetoric Won’t Cure Racism
It’s time we make an intentional effort to recognize racism in our own backyards and stand up and address it.