Northam story: An effective right-wing hit job

[Nancy Waterman]

Governor Northam has a long history of being on the progressive and non-racist side of every issue. There is no trace of anything racist in any policy, action, or words anywhere, other than what looks to be a yearbook photo that has nothing to do with him and the Michael Jackson costume story.

As for the MJ costume, it was done because he admired MJ and as a part of a costume. Was it offensive, yes, but was it meant to be offensive, no. Did he realize years later that it had been offensive, yes, and he has apologized sincerely. Call him naive and a product of white privilege if you must, but some perspective and context would be useful here.

I think this knee-jerk reaction of furious outrage has become a case of Democrats eating their own. I think we are succumbing to a right-wing hit job of a successful Democratic Governor, and we are displacing our real outrage, which should focus on the GOP and Trump and their plethora of racist words, policies and history. Our rage and demands for resignation should take aim at the real perpetrators of racism in our time: the current president and the GOP complicit in his policies, as well as his jack-booted cyber thugs who are his enforcers.

[Smilo]

1. Thank you

common sense and thoughtful reasoning.

Sadly Dems can be our own worst enemies, especially when spurred on by republicans.

[brush]

81. Not exactly. This repug hit job is a dollar late and dollar short.

They missed it during the campaign and now come up with it when there's a Dem Lt. Gov.

Incompetence and bad timing does not an effective hit job make.

It's a tough lesson for Northam who will eventually step down, but it's a cautionary tale for today's youth. Think long and hard about blackface stunts and decide against them. The Covington Catholic blackface kids will regret their decisions 30 years from now.

[agingdem]

101. Permanent Record...

when I was a kid the big threat was some sort of Permanent Record that followed us around..today it's called social media...no such thing as youthful indiscretion...

[Dr Hobbitstein]

2. I was unaware Michael Jackson wore a straw hat,

plaid bowtie and plaid pants.



But I see the story has changed, yet again...

[guillaumeb]

6. Exactly.

First, he admitted to doing it, and expressed remorse.
Now, he was never there.

By next week, he may never have been at VMI at all.

[Merlot]

14. Or plaid golf pants. Or a blazer.

So now the story is it's a MJ costume?

ok, the stupidity shown in this 35 year old picture is getting drowned out by the current stupidity of trying to disown his actions.

When I first heard of this, before I saw the picture, I was willing to wait and see, check out his voting record, etc. But he's handled it so stupidly that he's now damaging the democratic party.

Oh, and then I saw the picture.

[BannonsLiver]

47. He appears to be trying to copy his look from the "Say say" video

Probably nobody under 40 remembers this single and video Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney did in 1984. That is the look Northam (who should resign) is going for.

[Amishman]

83. Given the other costume in the picture I don't remotely believe that

There is no way I believe the MJ story when the other photo in the picture is a fucking KKK outfit.

Bullshit, he needs to go and stay gone for good. His lies and weasel behavior damn him every bit as much as that godawful costume

[whopis01]

122. The guy portraying Paul McCartney really missed the mark then. n/t

[EffieBlack]

18. Or glasses

And his skin wasn't the shade of black shoe polish.

Actually, hardly any black people are even close to being that dark.

[NewJeffCT]

22. That's what I think sometimes, too

aren't most people listed as "black" more different shades of brown or tan? Heck, aren't most humans just a variation of brown, even 'white" people are really just a very light brown/tan color.

[brush]

82. So spot on.

[EffieBlack]

86. if he were really trying to impersonate Michael Jackson, he'd have just put on dark makeup

If he put on black shoe polish, he wasn't impersonating Michael. He was doing a minstrel show.

[Vinnie From Indy]

3. I would prefer that Dems wait a week or so before stampeding to a conclusion and a...

sentencing.

[DBoon]

28. We won't

and right wing rat fuckers know that

[EffieBlack]

4. Other than the racist stuff he did, he's never done anything racist.

Gotcha.

[Sinistrous]

10. "racist stuff"

Such as?

[Dr Hobbitstein]

15. Dressing in blackface. nt

[Empowerer]

26. Ok. But other than that.

[Iggo]

50. Thank you!!!

I needed that.

[brush]

85. There's a reason his nickname at VMI was "Coonman".

It's a tough lesson for Northam who will eventually step down, but we can't afford to be the party of hypocrisy by railing against trump and King and other racist repugs while allowing it in our party.

He made a bad decision years ago and now it's come back to haunt him. It's sad but he's got to face the music. As a party we have to be consistent and stand for something.

it's a cautionary tale for today's youth though. Think long and hard about blackface stunts and decide against them. The Covington Catholic blackface kids will regret their decisions 30 years from now.

[elias7]

108. Do we have an explanation for this?

I’ve never heard the term, and don’t know what the reference is - is it because of derogatory behavior towards blacks or a reverence of blacks or an unusual resemblance or affinity to a certain class of small mammal?

[brush]

123. Seriously? There is no mystery about the term coon. It's a racial slur.

Who doesn't knotw this?

[Caliman73]

124. "coon" is a fairly widely known racial epithet.

Whites in the South used to call MLK Jr. Martin Luther "Coon" Junior. It has NEVER been a term of endearment or reverence or respect for Black people.

[jrthin]

35. Equally as disturbing as the photos is the fact that

a medical school would allow those photos in a year book. These photos were sanctioned by a medical school. And who is the doctor in the blackface or kkk uniform? How do you treat and minister to the health of people of color when you have disdain for them?

[USALiberal]

43. Good point, no one ever changes their beliefs!! nt

[Atticus]

131. Just a comment to applaud and admire your tenacity. Thank you. nt

[manor321]

5. Bullshit! His press conference was a fucking disaster! He considered moonwalking!

Stop trying to force African Americans to be represented by this fucking asshole.

We don't need people who voted for Bush in 2004 at age 44.

He needs to go. NOW!

[Polybius]

20. Exactly

I can possibly forgive him for voting for Bush in 2000 (as he ran against "nation building" and didn't appear too damaging), but after seeing the disaster that he became and voting for him again in 2004? No thanks!

[Dem2theMax]

61. +1

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. One of the biggest lies about racism is that well-intentioned or "admiring" racism is somehow not as

Last edited Sun Feb 3, 2019, 01:43 PM - Edit history (1)

bad or is softer than “malicious” or “hateful” racism. He LOVES Michael Jackson! He can still moonwalk! How is that hurtful?

Unfortunately this attitude perpetuates racism, and excusing it erases black people’s experiences. Imagine the grinding toll a thousand tiny admiring well-intentioned loving blackfaces and racist nicknames and jocular “ironic” use of the n-word *from people who consider themselves your allies* must take.

I encourage you to read MLK’s Letter From Birmingham Jail and think upon it.

[cyclonefence]

8. If you are not a person of color

you do not get to determine whether a reaction to racism is knee jerk, whether furious outrage is justifiable, and most of all whether blackface is offensive.

And all the important stuff aside, this is a guy who didn't apologize until he was caught. Where's the outrage over that?

[Jarqui]

9. This claim: "There is no trace of anything racist in any policy, action, or words anywhere"

is blatantly not accurate

You conveniently skipped his nickname "Coonman" in his VA Military yearbook that he did not adequately explain yesterday. You cannot blame that on the Right Wing - they did not give him that nickname.

There is more to his history on racism and this is just what I quickly gathered yesterday:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=11765247

there is probably more

The Right Wing has nothing to hit with if he had not been mixed up with this stuff. Let's not whitewash that like you are trying to do with misdirection.

Yesterday, he had a second crack at explaining this and fell woefully short. Many feel he lied.

As a result, the national and state Democratic leaders have unanimously called for "Coonman" to resign.

[exboyfil]

16. I have an answer for that

He liked to hunt raccoons and was quite successful at it.

Just joking.

[Squinch]

11. Nope.

[elleng]

12. No doubt that was the intention, a hit job.

And has surely taken the wind out of any crap trump has done in last couple of days.

Fortunately for Dems there's a good lieutenant governor in VA. Sorry about Northam's career.

[shanti]

46. Has the Lt. Gov been vetted?

I have a feeling the R's are really going for HIM. And after they take him out? There is a R wating in the wings to take his place.

[Clash City Rocker]

57. The Lt. Governor would choose a new Lt. Governor, who would be his successor

It’s funny how many people want to pardon the white governor for his racism, but automatically assume his black successor would be found guilty of something, with no evidence at all.

[Empowerer]

65. Good point

And if the black governor WERE to be found to have done something wrong, I have a feeling he'd get nothing close to the defenses and support on this board we see accorded Northam.

[drray23]

104. Not in virginia.

The virginia Senate controlled by the GOP will choose a new Ltd governor when Justin Fairfax gets elevated to governor.

[Celerity]

121. the RW bastards are already going after Fairfax as well

https://www.ibtimes.com/justin-fairfax-denies-sexual-assault-allegations-ralph-northam-succession-looms-2759427

[njhoneybadger]

13. Nobody admits being in a photo like that if they weren't

His story is absurd.

[guillaumeb]

17. So far, Northam has presented 2 versions of what he claims is the truth.

Which version is the operative one?

Is it a knee jerk reaction when the photo in question shows a man in black face standing with a man in a KKK uniform?

[kimbutgar]

19. I agree 100% with your statement.

This is a right wing hit job and the Democrats again fell for it.

[Iggo]

45. 100% ?

He posed smiling in blackface next to a guy in a klan outfit.

That was all him.

The republicans ran with it. But so what?

If the picture's a fake, then yeah, I fell for it.

But since it's real, there's nothing to fall for.

[cyclonefence]

21. Suppose you were a woman locked in a box

in a guy's backyard, and he came out and raped you and beat you up whenever he felt like it. Nobody knew, or if they did, they figured you liked it since you stayed there. After 25 years he let you out. You went to the police, but because he was an important elected official with a really progressive record, nobody believed you. Thirty-five years later, somebody found photos of him raping you and turned the guy in. Because he was a prominent citizen, he had a news conference where he said he was really sorry, that he was a changed man, and please don't make him leave his job as chairman of the school board.

His friends supported him--he was a good man, they said, who had done many good things for the citizens--he'd even sponsored a shelter for abused women! He did apologize, after all, and it was 35 years ago. What's a guy got to do to get a break? The statute of limitations had expired, so it's as if there never was anything illegal. And there are lots of guys who beat up and rape women, and don't even apologize for it.

All the men in town voted to keep him on in his official position. All the women said hell no. The men told them that it was a long time ago, and it wasn't that bad, after all, since he hadn't killed her--and he did apologize. It was, the men said, part of the culture back then for men to mistreat women; it was just the way it was. Why were they making such a big deal over something that, after all, didn't really hurt anybody?

[delisen]

44. I did not know he was a violent criminal. Can you send a link?

[treestar]

23. If he had been a Repub, he would have no problem.

Has any repub ever had to resign for comparable reasons, such as having been found out to have marched in a feminist parade or said something that could be taken as asserting the nonexistence of God? Probably not. Kim Davis should have been demanded to resign for adultery and multiple marriage and the Dotard demanded to not run the second he started.

[Empowerer]

25. We should harbor racists because the Republicans do?

Where to start with this?

Never mind, I have a feeling my effort would be wasted.

[treestar]

27. Where did I say that?

I was talking about a totally different thing. You have to assume the worst of anything. Repubs don't do it is all I sad, or they would not have let the Dotard run.

[Drunken Irishman]

38. I mean, just last week the Florida Sec. of State, a Republican, resigned for this very reason.

www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/us/michael-ertel-blackface-halloween-florida.amp.html

[treestar]

118. Good to know

For once they were consistent. Republicans rarely are.

[tarheelsunc]

113. Just look at the pic of McCONnell in front of the rebel flag. eom

[Caliman73]

128. Your statement appears to be accurate. Why did you make it?

I am wondering why you made that statement because it is a fairly common and widely held belief among Democrats/Progressives/Liberals or whatever label we put on ourselves, that Republicans often engage in hypocrisy of calling out problems and advocating themselves as protectors of some diffuse idea of "family values" or other moral principle when they regularly excuse their leaders who transgress social norms.

So, why are you point that out?

[treestar]

139. I don't know, it is a discussion board

but it is interesting that we don't see them catching any of their own violating their own standards and making them resign for it. If they really believed their family values stuff, why let the Orange Adulterer be their nominee for the highest office? If they were like us, they would not have nominated him.

[Caliman73]

140. Yes, but we know this. We have known it for a long time...

It is like saying, "Well the enemy is torturing our soldiers so..." So what? Republicans are hypocrites. They lie about their values. They value power over any other thing it seems. They cheat to win. They support known racists, abusers of women, and general assholes because they vote for policies that favor the wealthiest among us. They do all those things.

The question I am trying to get you to answer is .... So what? What does that have to do with what Democratic Party members do? What does it matter that they are scum and cheat?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

24. "Governor Northam has a long history of being on the progressive and non-racist side of every issue"

He was a Republican until 2007.

[Renew Deal]

29. Voted for Bush Jr. twice

[DemocratSinceBirth]

32. His presence is hurting the party. What he did was hurtful to African American people.

Everything else is commentary.

[Empowerer]

67. Yet, everyone is supposed to circle the wagons around this guy most people on DU

hadn't given a thought to until now.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

72. He is a very selfish man. His refusal to go is only compounding the original bad act.

[doompatrol39]

33. Exactly.....

...and he was chosen over a solidly progressive Democratic candidate in the primary.

Boy good thing we dodged that bullet, huh?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

39. It's almost as if he was a GOP sleeper agent.

[shanti]

48. Really...

I did not know that.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

49. THIS

Prior to entering politics, Northam voted for Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, a fact that opponents raised in later Democratic primaries.[21][22] Northam says that he was apolitical at the time and regretted those votes,[22] saying: "Politically, there was no question, I was underinformed."[13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Northam

[Mabel]

30. That one action was so bad that how can a POC trust him

to be a good represenative for minority interests? As a white woman I don't trust him to represent anyone who isn't one of his own demographics. I'm sure he's not the devil and there are worse people out there BUT he simply isn't leadership material for the Democratic Party.

[madaboutharry]

31. No.

Blackface is always wrong. It is always racist. It is always degrading.

The messenger of this information is not relevant. The very act of putting shoe polish on one's face is a racist act.

End of story. He must resign.

[wryter2000]

34. I have plenty of outrage to go around

I can hate Trump and see that a Dem also needs to go because of racism. The fact that Trump has skated so far does not mean I have to put up with racism elsewhere.

[ibegurpard]

36. He apologized for a photo he'd apparently never seen

And then walked back that apology in a disastrous press conference... so there are other photos out there?
There are times you have to fight. And there are other times fights are unwinnable. Any chance Northam had of winning flew out the window when he acknowledged and apologized for the photo on Friday. Every single prominent Democrst and party official agrees.
You need to let this one go.

[crazycatlady]

78. He claimed he did not see the yearbook

Before thinking about running, this should be part of the self-opposition research. Go to the school's library and look at a copy of the yearbook.

(If any DUers are running for office, I recommend you do this for yourself).

[njhoneybadger]

79. That is the bottom line.

[Vogon_Glory]

37. Thanks for saying this

Too many Democrats and progressives are willing to let right-Wing disinformation artists lead them around by their noses.

[Polly Hennessey]

41. Yes.

Right-Wingers know this. They are actively looking for anything that will bring down Progressives. We fall for it every time. We are so proud of ourselves because we know how to spell. What we don’t know is how to play their game and win. Wonder who the next fall guy (person) will be. I know they are working on Harris and Warren.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

51. If Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren or any Democrat

If Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren or any Democrat has a racist past they are unworthy of our support but I'm confident they don't have a racist past.

[USALiberal]

88. You think any other dems in congress have ever said a racist or homophobe comment? Ever?? Nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

91. Context and degree is everything.

If a candidate has a photo of himself or herself in blackface or a Klan outfit they better get out in front of it

[EffieBlack]

95. Exactly

This wasn't a comment. This was a full-blown, pre-planned presentation. And given his "is it me or is it not me?" back and forth, it's clear that this wasn't an isolated incident.

[USALiberal]

96. Answer my question. nt

[DemocratSinceBirth]

98. What part of degree and context don't you understand?

[Iggo]

40. Michael Jackson? Where?

[octoberlib]

42. I'll defer to the Virginia Black Caucus and the Black community.

They feel uncomfortable and Northam has made it worse by the way he's handled it.

[spanone]

52. Steve King is STILL in congress...

fuck the gop

[Empowerer]

70. What does Steve King have to do with this.

[dhol82]

102. Steve King - congressman from Iowa

Unrepentant white nationalist.

[Empowerer]

103. I know who he is.

What does Steve King have to do with this?

[dhol82]

117. Um, current and long time white supremacist is still in Congress

Why has he not been ridden out of town yet?
Where is the universal hysteria?
His sin is not from the 80’s, it is today.

[Caliman73]

129. He hasn't been "ridden out of town" yet because those who support him are also racist.

Plain and simple. Many people from our side have called for his resignation. He received a censure. The problem and the difference is that Democrats do not get to decide whether he resigns or gets booted when the election comes. King is a Republican, and while not always the case, the likelihood of Republicans asking their people to step down is way less likely than Democrats because Republicans seem to value power over anything else while Democrats value service and want to actually model the values that we claim to support.

[AncientGeezer]

53. What explains his votes for GWB?

[randr]

54. This is how social media can influence everyone

and an example of how vulnerable we are to possible right wing propaganda.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-tip-from-a-concerned-citizen-helps-a-reporter-land-the-scoop-of-a-lifetime/2019/02/03/e30762ea-2765-11e9-ad53-824486280311_story.html

[bahrbearian]

55. I demand that Robert Byrd be removed for the Democratic Party, because he was a real racist.

When he was youger. We should start there.

[Caliman73]

130. Apples to Oranges

Byrd was a member of the Democratic Party when it was well known and established that the Democratic Party had a coalition of members from the South that voted with Democrats on Labor issues and economic issues while holding segregationist and racist views. Byrd was definitely a racist. He filibustered the Civil Rights Acts and voted against them. When the Southern Democrats left the party, he stayed however and he grew from the angry racist man he was, to be a champion of civil rights.

The development of Robert Byrd was gradual and PUBLIC. He did not hide his past he did not say, "It was me, oh I mean it wasn't me". He owned his views and said he changed, and he did change, in front of our eyes.

People can and do change. Northram got caught in an act that is racist. He likely forgot about it which says a lot about White Privilege OR he was hoping nothing would ever surface. When it did, he expected a simple apology to work and became flustered when it didn't and imploded.

We should do our best to understand the differences and nuance in human behavior.

[EffieBlack]

133. And when his KKK past came out, he didn't say, "Whoo boy. My bad. Sorry. All's forgiven, right?"

It took years of him going out of his way to earn atonement.

Northam is at the very, very beginning of that journey and hasn't even taken the first step. He doesn't get to insist on a pass just because he's been exposed. And no one should compare him to Robert Byrd because the only thing they have in common at this point is that they're both white Southern males with racist histories. One worked his way past his. One can work his way past his but he has to start.

[Caliman73]

134. Agreed.

Northam should have made a heartfelt apology, met with the Virginia Black Legistlative Caucus to see if he could salvage that relationship, if he could then do what he needed to do, or if not then step away and do the work to rebuild the trust that he shattered.

Instead, we have seen a sense of entitlement about his situation.

[EffieBlack]

137. Apparently, he DID reach out to some of them on Friday, admitted he was in the photo, and apologized

So they were absolutely gobsmacked the next day when he claimed the photo WASN'T of him.

The guy is a trainwreck. He needed to be gone the day before the day before yesterday.

[Caliman73]

138. Privilege makes you do some crazy things...

I do not blame the VBLC for just pulling the plug on him.

[atreides1]

105. That will turn out well!!

If that happens all Democrats lose...but nothing like cutting off your nose to spite your face!!!

[pdsimdars]

58. Perfectly said. What I have been saying too. This has been a fact free feeding frenzy.

Now you have added some facts. THANK YOU. And let's see if the left can get a grip and stop going off on their own. On MSNBC any time you turned it on, any time of the day, all they were talking about was their outrage. It was so stupid. They "knee jerked" brilliant Al Franken out for a photo when he wanted to go through their ethics process, but they didn't want to hear any of that, they didn't want to look into the facts they just ran him out. I wish they'd use all that range and hate directed where it belongs, focused on the ACTUAL p*ssy grabber. This feeding frenzy on your own is just what the Russian trolls are going for. Congratulations to all those so easily duped and triggered. Now, get off your soap boxes or start going after those on the OTHER side.

[bitterross]

59. I think you are correct.

I wrote a post similar to this one. We're too quick to jump on the band wagon and eat our own.

It's coming out now the person who broke the story is a former Brietbart employee and runs a right-wing web site. He won't divulge his source.

Northam says it's not him in the picture. Even if it is him, people do not understand the place and time in which it was taken. As you say, context is important. As I've posted elsewhere, the fact a med school allowed that picture in their yearbook rather than kicking him out of school for it speaks volumes. I says a lot about the context of the time, place and community standards.

BTW, I am just a little younger than Northam and also from the South. If we'd dressed up as MJ in the 80's I'm pretty sure most of us would have darkened our faces too. It would not have been meant to mock him or demean him and it wouldn't have turned a single head.

[No Vested Interest]

60. Let's hear from the editors of the yearbook. Surely they can be located.

Let's ask them and others portrayed in the yearbook if photos were mixed up or just inserted to fill pages.

[lostnfound]

127. Why hasn't that been asked? Nt

[DoctorJoJo]

62. Finally, Some Sanity Emerges! Well said.

[Codeine]

69. Yeah, because basically every Democratic leader

we have, and every major African-American political organization are insane for asking him to step down. . .

People, fucking listen to yourselves.

[Codeine]

63. Deliberately obtuse or willfully naive?

You’re one or the other if you’re going to spread that nonsense.

[doompatrol39]

64. Yes, because clearly......

The right wing gave him the nickname "coonman", put him in black face, put that picture on his yearbook page in 1984 (completely unbeknownst to him I might add), made him be a Republican for most of his life, made him vote for GW Bush twice, made him give a cringeworthy apology where he basically ADMITS that he has done blackface but can't recall whether it was the time in that picture.

They are clearly masters of the long game.



If nothing else, at least this incident has proven once and for all that we have just as many people on our side wiling to forgive reprehensible behavior simply because of the letter after somebody's name, and do anything they can to not accept responsibility for failings on our side.

[Codeine]

66. "They are clearly masters of the long game."

Honestly, if they were THAT good I’d probably give up and join em.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

71. The hardest thing in the world is to judge your friends by the same measure as your enemies.

But if you can't, at least don't demean yourself by engaging in sophistry to defend the aberrant behavior of your friends. If Northam didn't want to be framed he should have never put himself in the picture.

[Codeine]

74. I just don't get the desperate lengths

they’re willing to go to in order to excuse or obfuscate this shit. “It wasn’t considered racist then!” Motherfucker, that shit was considered racist by the fucking 1940s!

[DemocratSinceBirth]

76. You were here during the Larry Craig brouhaha

There were posters here defending his peeking into private bathroom stalls and pleading guilty to it under the guise of protecting GLBTQ rights. I defer to no one in my defense of individual rights but what an abjectly stupid conflation of two separate issues. And he was a Republican.

It got down to how big is the gap between the toilet stall and door. Common sense informs one it is big enough to peek in.

[doompatrol39]

90. As I keep pointing out....

....I was a young teenager in 1984 and I knew this shit was offensive and would never in a million years have participated in anything blackface related, let alone put it in my yearbook picture. Someone in their mid 20's goddamned well knew it was too. Especially someone who was a Republican at the time (and remained so until 2007).

[DemocratSinceBirth]

68. Could be.

Everybody knows that some miscreant Republicans stole Doc Brown's DeLorean and went back to 1984 and forced him at gunpoint to wear blackface.

[crazycatlady]

75. Yes but

Part of running for office involves self (or staff) opposition research. Aka you discover the skeletons in your closet before the other side does. This is where his campaign and staff failed.

Yearbooks are not hard to obtain. If you don't have a copy (the excuse Northam used), then go to the school's library (or a public library-- the one in my hometown has yearbooks dating back to the 50s for my high school).

I really hope this is a lesson for future candidates.

[DBoon]

77. The we should vet our candidates better

Do thorough background checks, and be prepared for the inevitable right wing hit job

I'm very tired of Democrats getting punked by right wing rat fuckers. This has been going on since Nixon.

The moment this was leaked, a well prepared contingency plan should be executed.

[0rganism]

80. +1 completely agree

this amounts to a massive opposition-research failure on the part of Ed Gillespie and Gov. Northam's own campaign (which is supposed to go after him like a competent opponent would). hard fail. huge miss. i have to wonder if they were paid off to ignore this juicy tidbit -- seems like the kind of play Stone would like.

[EffieBlack]

89. My thought on this

Northam's campaign was aware of it but Northam and his senior team (which, I understand, was pretty racially monolithic) thought it better not to shake the hornet's nest and figured that, if it came up, he could just apologize and move on.

The Republicans were also aware of it and thought it showed that Northam might be more sympathetic to them than appeared and it was better to hold on to the evidence and use it if he turned out not to be as sympathetic as they predicted.

I don't think anyone paid them off or that the GOP masterminded this. This kind of tone deafness on a racial issue is not unusual or surprising.

[0rganism]

92. seems like Northam's campaign would have figured out a better response plan

i don't know, maybe they did, and he forgot what it was since moving into the governorship. still seems like a huge miss from this distance.

[EffieBlack]

94. True

But I think their failure to do so shows just how far he is from redemption for his behavior. i really believe they didn't think it was a big deal.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

93. That's actually part of the purpose of primaries

Let the fellow party members dig up the dirt before the opposition party does.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

84. I'm very conflicted about this but

I do remember a democratic senator from West Virginia who was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, Robert Byrd. He eventually renounced racism and segregation and opposed the Iraq war. Should we forgive but never forget?

[EffieBlack]

87. He was elected 60 years ago.

We're talking about now. Sen. Byrd is irrelevant to this discussion.

[USALiberal]

97. OK, How many years is the cutoff? 40? 45? nt

[EffieBlack]

99. I don't know

But I do know that talking about a Senator who came along in a very different time and has been dead for nearly 10 years is a red herring.

But nice try.

[pnwmom]

111. The times were very different in the 40's than in the 80's. Virginians in the 80's

had lived through the civil rights movement and should have known better.

[Charlotte Little]

100. Late to this party

But you must be kidding.

Dude was 25, nicknamed Coonman, admitted to dressing up as Michael Jackson, and proud he won the dancing contest - so much so, he looked almost gleeful to get to moonwalk in front of the cameras yesterday (thank God Pam Northam was there to stop him).

I'm gonna make a bet here. More is about to surface with this man.

As for "eat their own" - that's my constant complaint. But in this instance, nope. Northam owns ALL of this. He could have been open about this years ago. Because no matter what he's done in office to help POC, there is just no getting past the fact that at age 25, he donned blackface and posed willingly next to another student in a KKK robe and hood - AND picked that photo for the yearbook, all while being nicknamed Coonman.

It really is just that awful. He can be forgiven, but he should not be in office.

[mercuryblues]

106. Northam gave the GOP the hammer and said hit me

If he had not put on black face there would have been no "hit job"

[AnnieBW]

107. My Feelings Exactly

I'm not from Virginia, but we live in the DC media market area. Northam seems like a nice guy. I find it awfully coincidental that he makes a statement in support of loosening late-term abortion restrictions (because he's a fucking pediatric oncologist!), and suddenly this 35-year-old yearbook photo pops up. It stinks like a Republican dirty trick.

That being said, I think that he's dead man walking right now.

[MadDAsHell]

109. Yes, we eat our own. It's the bed we've made. And we lie in it regularly.

And if that means that we don't allow even a THOUGHT that is discriminatory, then it's worth it.

[pnwmom]

110. Progressive and non-racist side of every issue?

Less 15 months ago, three weeks before the general election, Northam directed flyers to be distributed that air-brushed out of the photo the face of his black running mate, Justin Fairfax. And Northam did that because the union that was going to be distributing the flyers didn't like Fairfax -- specifically, the position Fairfax took against a planned fracked gas pipeline, unless there was an environmental impact statement first.

In what way was that decision of Northam's progressive and non-racist? Many of the African American leaders in the community thought it was hurtful and took their votes for granted. But with only 3 weeks to go before the election, and not wanting to toss the election to the GOP, they mostly kept quiet.

[Raine]

112. He did it to himself

in the words of Nixon "he gave them a sword". If they were able to use it effectively he only has himself to blame, he supplied them with all they needed to take him down.

[brooklynite]

114. Given the choice between the opinion of an online blogger and every elected Democrat in Virginia...

[LexVegas]

115. You wrote this AFTER that press conference?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

116. We all choose our battles.

Defending blackface and wearing Klan regalia is not a hill I'm prepared to die on.

[treestar]

119. Whether or not he should resign

is not "defending blackface" or "defending" him. At this point, he probably should resign and likely will.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

120. Question

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211770427

[The Truth Is Here]

125. "A long history of being on the progressive and non-racist side of every issue"

That fails the smell test seeing that Northam was a Republican for years before switching parties.

[Baltimike]

126. The recent attack on the Lt. Governor leads me to believe you

I made the mistake of posting the first link in Google when I made this it's own OP without paying attention to it, so I will post another as proof that I am not at all peddling a right wing talking point (For that matter, the whole Northam thing is a right wing talking point) But I digress:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/justin-fairfax-denies-sexual-assault-allegation_us_5c585554e4b00187b5534dd0

[Calista241]

132. The best part is when they asked him if he could do the moonwalk.

and he gets this look on his face like "hell yeah i can still do the moonwalk." Then his wife shut him down.

[Act_of_Reparation]

135. It is very disheartening to see Democrats making excuses for this asshat.

These are the folks Dr. King wrote about in Letter from Birmingham Jail.

[LAS14]

136. I agree with you about the knee-jerk outrage. But I gotta say I'm growing ...

... slowly and deliberately outraged as I watch how he's handling himself now. It was me. It wasn't me. (He didn't know who was on his page in the yearbook????) Give me a break.

And I emphatically disagree with your trying to neutralize the truly egregious racism represented in the photo. MJ, my whatever... It's too bad to link a justified argument against knee jerk outrage over decades long behavior with a pathetic attempt to defend that behavior.