Every right-minded Virginian should demand the immediate resignation of Governor Northam, whose racist past removes any respect for the man. Furthermore, his Saturday con-man performance renders him un-trustworthy. At the very least, he must apologize to Ed Gillespie for tarring the Republican as a “white supremacist” in the 2017 election. I assume you know the governor had a very bad news week. How else can one describe his public comments about infanticide and blackface masquerade?
The evidence is overwhelming. In 2017, Northam refused to condemn a “horrific” video ad that implied Republican Gillespie was a white supremacist. Last week, he coldly described how late-term abortions were performed. He admitted Friday to his “horrific” 1984 yearbook photo of two beer-holding men in black face and KKK clothing. He confessed Saturday to entering a dance contest in black face. Whether con man or world’s dumbest drunk, his judgement is horrific.
I remember the anti-Gillespie video ad that staged a Muslim child’s nightmare: non-white children are pursued down suburban streets by a white man in a truck with Confederate flag and Gillespie stickers. The obvious meta-message to non-whites was Gillespie was a genocidal white supremacist. Northam did not condemn the ad but distanced himself by claiming the Latino Victory Project had made an “in-kind donation.” It is no surprise that Gillespie won only 18 percent of the non-white vote.
When Democrat delegate Kathy Tran proposed a (since withdrawn) bill to legalize third-trimester abortions (determined by a single doctor and performed in a non-licensed hospital), Northam defended the bill in a curious, matter-of-fact admission of infanticide. “I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered [and] kept comfortable. A discussion would ensue between the physicians and mother. I think this was [mustn’t be] blown out of proportion.” It is one thing to support a woman’s right to choose, but Northam just admitted that aborting an “infant” is the taking of a life.
Governor Northam has now flip-flopped on the racist yearbook photo. On Friday, he admitted to his 1984 EVMS yearbook: “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as a I did in this photo…in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive.” On Saturday, Northam suggested he had “jumped the gun” on Friday because the KKK-blackface photo and “beer” quote was mistakenly put on his yearbook page – before admitting to wearing “some shoe polish on my face” to impersonate Michael Jackson. I am calling BS on the governor.
A sitting governor cannot claim he wasn’t “quite sure” what his VMI nickname (Coonman) meant or that he had not seen his personal med-school yearbook page until Friday. Who believes the “horrific” KKK-blackface photo was mistakenly put on his personal yearbook page or that he innocently applied blackface to emulate Michael Jackson in a dance contest? I am a Republican and have never-ever thought whites in blackface or KKK gear is OK because it is just being funny.
That is the cultural issue here: making fun of non-whites IS white supremacy. It was racist when Northam and his VMI buddies thought Coonman was a funny nickname. It was condescending when he and his wife thought impersonating Michael Jackson in blackface was rib-tickling. The governor has even admitted the KKK-blackface photo was unbecoming of an army officer, doctor, gentlemen and governor. Above all, he never-ever acted to correct the slanderous mistake on his personal yearbook page…from which he does remember the redneck photo with his self-built car.
Not to be lost this week is the political issue of so-called liberals smearing conservative opponents as white supremacists – especially when the “liberal” is the real closet white supremacist. Even though Republican Gillespie immediately condemned the white nationalists in Charlottesville, Northam still sent out a mailer tying Trump and Gillespie to the neo-Nazis and Klansmen. Yet, Northam now defends evidence of his racist past by referencing his own denunciation of Charlottesville. The stench of hypocrisy is vast!
Governor Northam’s press conference Saturday was pathetic and has not silenced calls for his resignation from fellow Democrats. On Sunday, the Congressional Black Caucus insisted he resign on NBC News. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner (D-VA) released a joint statement that insisted Northam resign. Hard to say what the governor will do, but he has lost the moral high ground forever – – and Democrats without virtue are almost always exposed as power-hungry bunglers. Just ask Hillary Clinton or Al Franken.