Virginia megathread

[Progressive Pessimist]

I posted my general thought on this in the thread with the poll but I must elaborate further on something, of all things to put in a yearbook...why that image? It's a bit like posting that to Instagram today but worse. It seems to indicate that it meant a lot to him for that to be in there. He had limited space to put photos, quotes, etc. and that's what he chose as one of them? That's the most striking part of this to me. It's one thing for him to have done this without photographic evidence, it would still be offensive but would only be hearsay. But to show it off in your yearbook for hundreds of other classmates to see? I just don't get it...and I'm glad that I don't.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Any chance that VA Republicans attempt to sway him toward switching parties again? It might be his only chance at leverage given that the Democratic consensus points toward demanding his resignation.

If that's what the Virginia GOP thinks it needs to dig themselves out of their hole, they are even more pathetic than I had previously thought.

[Progressive Pessimist]

They’d still be demanding that he resign (and I certainly would), you guys don’t seem to understand that the condemnation of Northam is coming from a genuine place in contrast to the Republican condemnations of Steve King whose racism was apparently fine by the GOP until he used the term “white supremicist.”  Just because the Republican party happily gives Trump a free pass on being a racist, misogynistic bigot who pals around with anti-Semites like Steve Bannon doesn’t mean that no one on the Democratic side talks like a preacher b/c they go to church every Sunday with respect to these sorts of issues.  This thread honestly reads like OP twisting himself in knots and grasping at straws to find some sort of “Democrats are the real hypocrites angle here.”  And speaking of hypocrisy, where was the Virginia Republican Party’s concern about racism when Corey Stewart was nominated for Senate last year?

[Progressive Pessimist]

jesus christ this is such a sh!tshow.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Is all of America really turning into a tv show




Ugh

When has it not been a tv show?

Yeah but we've never really been in such "jump the shark" territory. The proverbial "shark" doesn't even cut it as an analogy anymore. It's more like "jumping the Megalodon," at this point.

[Progressive Pessimist]

My mind has been reduced to gelatin from all this...

[Progressive Pessimist]

Virginia has become the worst state in the union in such short-order. Outstanding.

I still wouldn't go that far. It's an absolute mess and it looks like it will never truly outrun its Confederate past no matter how far and how quickly left it moves. But I will still direct you to my signature.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Just in case my earlier question was mixed, I think Herring did the right thing here, and has the far and away best response of the three.
I do not think it would be fit to him to resign (goes without saying blackface is still awful), nor will he.

I just wonder if he's trying to preempt some more concrete proof of it that could come out. It seems like it can always get worse.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Fairfax needs to go! And then, after he is replaced, Northam needs to go.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Wow, all of this Virginia stuff has completely fallen out of the news for the past 2 days.

This is the norm in the age of Trump, unfortunately.

Northam should consider himself lucky, he may very well get to keep his job even after turning himself into a living punchline. Fairfax...not so much. It's pretty ironic.

[Progressive Pessimist]

https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1099764241261883392

With how deep the hole is that he's digging, you'd think he would have reached China by now.

[Progressive Pessimist]

https://twitter.com/AaronBlake/status/1099764241261883392

With how deep the hole is that he's digging, you'd think he would have reached China by now.

You ripped this quote off from me.

Haha sorry if I did. But I swear that I didn't know that you wrote this before.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I think the issue with the First Lady's history lesson is more based on awkward timing than it is over-sensitivity by the people reacting to it. Had Northam not become known as that Governor who dressed up in blackface (or as a klansman, whichever one he was) this probably wouldn't be as big of a deal.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Virginia GOP offers $1,000 reward for photo of Herring in blackface

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-gop-offers-1000-reward-for-herring-blackface-photo/2019/03/05/93decce4-3f8e-11e9-a0d3-1210e58a94cf_story.html

The Republican Party of Virginia is offering a $1,000 reward for a photograph of Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) in blackface.

The party announced the offer Tuesday, one day after Herring said on a radio interview that he is not sure if any photos were taken when he dressed in blackface for a college party in 1980.

The offer of a reward comes during a state election year in which Virginia Republicans have made it clear that they plan to highlight recent scandals that have embroiled Herring and the state’s other two top Democrats, Gov. Ralph Northam and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.

What's the point of this after Herring himself admitting he wore blackface?

It especially wouldn't matter since Northam ultimately survived his blackface/KKK scandal, in part, thanks to the 24 hour news cycle. The same would definitely be true of Herring who even preempted such a thing coming out.