Virginia megathread

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Hey, I'd trade a Fairfax governorship for endless partisan hypocrisy each time this happens and the end of anyone taking #MeToo as a remotely serious movement. Shame that Al Franken has to be a casualty though, among many other Greats.

But I obviously want Northam to stay and Fairfax out immediately

So THAT'S what this is all about for you, eh?  You (and every other man like you) want to turn back the clock, and to able to once again sexually harass women in real life and for them to keep their pie holes shut for fear of social repercussions, just like it was before the #MeToo movement?  You disgust me as a person.  

Oh, and go ahead and report this post.  It was worth it taking your mask off for all the world to see.    

Well, I'd hardly classify myself as a man and am definitely not attracted to women, but those are the only offensive parts of your posts. I wouldn't think those are infractable since the misgendering is likely unintentional. Does that sufficiently "unmask" me, you judgmental fool?

It's not like a single view I expressed isn't widely held.

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[adrac]

I think Fairfax should resign, preferably after Northam. I was on the fence before, but his response has been atrocious and does not speak to his story's credibility.

So he should get his name on the record book of governors of old Virginia, eh?

No, so he can appoint his successor.

[KaiserDave]

So what scandals does this Herring guy have?

Has to be some anti-LGBT stuff. That would round it up and we've gotten racism, sexism and homophobia.

The next in line is obviously a Republican (Speaker of the House); maybe he has something with xenophobia.

On the contrary, Herring made his name opposing the VA same sex marriage ban.

[brucejoel99]

Anyone else ready to #standwithher?

If the Fairfax allegations ever grow to being even close to as credible as the Kavanaugh allegations were, then sure.

[brucejoel99]

I think Fairfax should resign, preferably after Northam. I was on the fence before, but his response has been atrocious and does not speak to his story's credibility.

So he should get his name on the record book of governors of old Virginia, eh?

No, so he can appoint his successor.

Or just let Herring take over as the line of succession already provides for?

[KaiserDave]

Mark Herring is clearly a 5-D intergalactic multi dimensional chess master, Governor Herring is clearly the only legitimate outcome.

Kidding aside Fairfax is handling this horribly, though I'm skeptical of these allegations so far.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Hey, I'd trade a Fairfax governorship for endless partisan hypocrisy each time this happens and the end of anyone taking #MeToo as a remotely serious movement. Shame that Al Franken has to be a casualty though, among many other Greats.

But I obviously want Northam to stay and Fairfax out immediately

So THAT'S what this is all about for you, eh?  You (and every other man like you) want to turn back the clock, and to able to once again sexually harass women in real life and for them to keep their pie holes shut for fear of social repercussions, just like it was before the #MeToo movement?  You disgust me as a person.  

Oh, and go ahead and report this post.  It was worth it taking your mask off for all the world to see.    

#MeToo is becoming a license to ruin people's lives without proof.

Don't get me wrong; sexual assault is a real problem, and it should be dealt with when it is reported.  But we are moving into the stage of #MeToo where people will feel free to make false claimes to ruin people because they believe that they will get away with it.  When this reaches critical mass (and it will at some point), the backlash will be swift, and will undo at least some of the legitimate progress the movement has made.

Lying isn't just a Guy Thing.  Women DO lie.  Some lie for money.  Some lie for pathology.  Some lie for revenge.  This is not to say that women who report sexual assault should be treated as if they are liars.  The real solution is to create a culture where prompt reporting of sexual assault is considered universally admirable and courageous. That's the real solution; any other solution is a choice between an excessive number of women suffering in silence and an excessive number of men being falsely accused.

[henster]

Why do people think Fairfax will just dutifully fall on the sword in the face of any accusation? Can't imagine him resigning short of him being charged, we all thought Northam was going to go quietly without a fight but look at him now.

[Frodo]

Seeing how much it benefits conservatives and Republicans to see the elected leadership of the Virginia Democratic Party mired in controversy, and to discredit the #MeToo movement which has done so much good for women since it began, it is hard not to feel paranoid of a 'vast right-wing conspiracy'.  And given how ruthless and unscrupulous they have proven themselves to be, I am reluctant to take that possibility off the table. 

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Yeah, I'm sure that the Republicans coldly calculated the number of 1984 EVMS yearbooks in existence, carefully added a racist photo to Ralph Northam's page, convinced a left wing activist for women's studies to make a rape allegation against the most prominent black Democrat in state government and hyponotized Northam and Fairfax into becoming bumbling idiots.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Mark Herring is clearly a 5-D intergalactic multi dimensional chess master, Governor Herring is clearly the only legitimate outcome.

Kidding aside Fairfax is handling this horribly, though I'm skeptical of these allegations so far.

Right - I really don't know what to make of these accusations, but Fairfax's response is giving Northam a very good reason to not resign.

[Frodo]

Yeah, I'm sure that the Republicans coldly calculated the number of 1984 EVMS yearbooks in existence, carefully added a racist photo to Ralph Northam's page,

The timing of the release of this story is interesting, no?

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Uncorroborated.  And once again, interesting timing.  

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I agree with you here, though.  I never could have guessed how incompetent they would prove to be in their response to these allegations.  
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And here I was feeling so good after the November 2017 elections.....  

[henster]

Mark Herring is clearly a 5-D intergalactic multi dimensional chess master, Governor Herring is clearly the only legitimate outcome.

Kidding aside Fairfax is handling this horribly, though I'm skeptical of these allegations so far.

Right - I really don't know what to make of these accusations, but Fairfax's response is giving Northam a very good reason to not resign.

Northam needs to go because he can no longer effectively govern he's persona non grata right now. No one wants to work with him or engage him and therefore has no political capitol to enact policy.

[Technocracy Timmy]

Yeah, I'm sure that the Republicans coldly calculated the number of 1984 EVMS yearbooks in existence, carefully added a racist photo to Ralph Northam's page,

The timing of the release of this story is interesting, no?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Uncorroborated.  And once again, interesting timing.  

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I agree with you here, though.  I never could have guessed how incompetent they would prove to be in their response to these allegations.  
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And here I was feeling so good after the November 2017 elections.....  

[Koharu]

I believe her.

I also believe him.

She didn't want it, but was overwhelmed, per the WaPo story. He thought it was consensual, per his statement. She was assaulted, as he didn't make sure she was okay with what they were doing. When switching intimate activities, a quick "is this okay" really isn't that big of a deal and can help so much in these situations, especially considering the nature of oral sex involving a penis.

He was in the wrong, but this is also a situation that is very different from the Kavanaugh situation. He has admitted to being at the hotel with her. He has not lied about his other behavior nor does he show any indication of this being a core part of his personality. I believe he should acknowledge that he unintentionally assaulted her by not verifying her consent and apologize. That still won't right the wrong, but there's nothing he can do to right it.

Kavanaugh was already suspected of lying about other issues. He then very obviously lied about what kind of parties and such that he attended as a young man, even going against his own evidence in his diary. His lies and behavior during the trial reflected a personality not suited to a Supreme Court justice. Fairfax, on the other hand, has friends so are surprised by the allegations (unlike with Kavanaugh, where former classmates were unsurprised) and his behavior elsewhere does not indicate this is an endemic behavior.

If Fairfax begins to behave like Kavanaugh and throws a temper tantrum, then he should resign. However, as it currently stands, I just hope he owns up to what happened and we can use this as a lesson for why consent, even in moments that seem consentual to one party may not be (especially as women have been socialized to stay quiet and just accept that sec may not always be enjoyable, etc.), is so important.

[henster]

And people way overestimate how much voters care about this stuff. Even after Franken allegations a majority of Minnesotans in several polls wanted him to stay. Menendez had court docs alleging he slept with underage prostitutes used against him and he won, Keith Ellison had an ex accuse of battery and won. And not to mention Trump himself, it seems like most voters are just numb to this kind of stuff atp.

[Unbeatable Titan Susan Collins]

If this was a vast right wing conspiracy wouldn't have it have been better to release all this in say October of 2017?

[user12345]

I think one thing this story has taught me is that we need to slow down our reactions. We have become a society that demands things to change instantly without giving time to analyze all the facts. I myself am at fault in being a part of a society that pushes this narrative. If these allegations are true, the Lt. Gov. must resign. But we need to have some time to allow more information to evolve given that we still know so little. The idea that a massive conspiracy is happening right now needs to be thrown aside until evidence is given. Sensationalizing situations like this isn't helpful.

[Badger]

What makes her claim different than Blasey Ford’s?

Neither involved corroboration.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dyk9tPoXQAA64cV?format=jpg&name=small

She's making an allegation against Fairfax when he was an adult.

She knows when and where the alleged assault occurred.

Fairfax admits to spending the night with her.

They're members of the same political party, so this would not be a partisan smear.

There is an accurate record of her trying to contact someone about it by name before magical career elevating event occurred.

Cite?

Uhh, I'm speaking of the fact that she contacted the Washington Post about this more than a year ago as they have confirmed. The first mention of his name was not all of a sudden when Ralph Northam was about to resign allowing Fairfax to ascend. There is no conceivable motive to spread false rumours about a powerless lieutenant governor who was not even considered the obvious 'next in line' to be governor. It would be a bit sketchy if the first mention of his name was yesterday as he was potentially ascending to the governorship and the Democratic Party was trying to determine if the guy in front of him needed to step down on a quick timeline. But yesterday was not the first mention of this by name. We have a record.

Sorry. Misunderstood.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Seeing how much it benefits conservatives and Republicans to see the elected leadership of the Virginia Democratic Party mired in controversy, and to discredit the #MeToo movement which has done so much good for women since it began, it is hard not to feel paranoid of a 'vast right-wing conspiracy'.  And given how ruthless and unscrupulous they have proven themselves to be, I am reluctant to take that possibility off the table. 

Fairfax didn’t blame the right wing site though he blamed Northam

[henster]

I think one thing this story has taught me is that we need to slow down our reactions. We have become a society that demands things to change instantly without giving time to analyze all the facts. I myself am at fault in being a part of a society that pushes this narrative. If these allegations are true, the Lt. Gov. must resign. But we need to have some time to allow more information to evolve given that we still know so little. The idea that a massive conspiracy is happening right now needs to be thrown aside until evidence is given. Sensationalizing situations like this isn't helpful.

The thing that gets me is that she went to several media outlets a year ago none of them ran with it. If I'm her, really not wanting to see my assaulter rise to prominence further I'd immediately go public. Whether it be a press conference, twitter, video, FB post whatever but she let it go... Now a year later she levies the accusation except in a private Facebook post that she intended to be passed around. And this post has no names only inneundo which implicates her assaulter but doesn't directly name him. The way she's going about this is what's bothering me the most.

[The Mikado]

Is all of America really turning into a tv show




Ugh

It's the left. Politicians always had mistresses. Nobody cared. A dance contest 35 years ago? Who would have thought?

They're ransacking the past and trying to create this "pure" world, that doesn't exist, never did, and never will. Everyone will always have something to hold against them.

Leave them alone and let them do their god damn job. Enough.

No one is attacking Fairfax for "having a mistress," they're questioning whether he physically forced a woman to suck him off. Consent matters...there's a reason people aren't up in arms about Kamala Harris sleeping with a married man 20 years ago: it was a consensual affair.

[BundouYMB]

Is all of America really turning into a tv show




Ugh

It's the left. Politicians always had mistresses. Nobody cared. A dance contest 35 years ago? Who would have thought?

They're ransacking the past and trying to create this "pure" world, that doesn't exist, never did, and never will. Everyone will always have something to hold against them.

Leave them alone and let them do their god damn job. Enough.

No one is attacking Fairfax for "having a mistress," they're questioning whether he physically forced a woman to suck him off. Consent matters...there's a reason people aren't up in arms about Kamala Harris sleeping with a married man 20 years ago: it was a consensual affair.

Kamala Harris didn't sleep with a married man... they were both single at the time. Christ, this isn't even the first time I've seen someone make this mistake. Where did this misunderstanding come from?

[Mister Mets]

Is all of America really turning into a tv show




Ugh

It's the left. Politicians always had mistresses. Nobody cared. A dance contest 35 years ago? Who would have thought?

They're ransacking the past and trying to create this "pure" world, that doesn't exist, never did, and never will. Everyone will always have something to hold against them.

Leave them alone and let them do their god damn job. Enough.

No one is attacking Fairfax for "having a mistress," they're questioning whether he physically forced a woman to suck him off. Consent matters...there's a reason people aren't up in arms about Kamala Harris sleeping with a married man 20 years ago: it was a consensual affair.

Kamala Harris didn't sleep with a married man... they were both single at the time. Christ, this isn't even the first time I've seen someone make this mistake. Where did this misunderstanding come from?

Because Willie Brown was still legally married for the entirety of his relationship with Kamala Harris.

Here's an article a few years after they broke up covering his love life.

http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/20/news/mn-14817

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According to Wikipedia, Brown is still legally married.

[Bojack Horseman]

Is all of America really turning into a tv show




Ugh

It's the left. Politicians always had mistresses. Nobody cared. A dance contest 35 years ago? Who would have thought?

They're ransacking the past and trying to create this "pure" world, that doesn't exist, never did, and never will. Everyone will always have something to hold against them.

Leave them alone and let them do their god damn job. Enough.

No one is attacking Fairfax for "having a mistress," they're questioning whether he physically forced a woman to suck him off. Consent matters...there's a reason people aren't up in arms about Kamala Harris sleeping with a married man 20 years ago: it was a consensual affair.

Kamala Harris didn't sleep with a married man... they were both single at the time. Christ, this isn't even the first time I've seen someone make this mistake. Where did this misunderstanding come from?

Because Willie Brown was technically still married but nobody is including the fact that he and his wife had been separated since the Ford administration.