Post 49
It seems like a decade ago that the scandals involving Virginia's top elected officials created a media firestorm. First there was the photo of a person dressed up in a KKK outfit and a person wearing blackface on Governor Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook page. Then you had Attorney General Mark Herring admitting that he had worn blackface in college. Then there's the rape allegations scandal involving Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. Of the three gentlemen embroiled in scandal, the Fairfax scandal is clearly more serious than the scandals of Governor Northam and AG Herring. Don't get me wrong, wearing blackface poking fun at black people in a mean spirited way is not a good thing. But come on, let's be for real here. It appears that the incidents where Northam and Herring wore blackface were at least three decades ago when they were young and apparently dumb and stupid. Both men have since apologized. From what I can tell, all of their actions contemporaneously as elected officials have no evidence of racism or any discrimination towards blacks. As per usual, you have Democrat and Republican elected officials immediately calling for Northam and Herring to resign for clearly political reasons. However, a recent poll I saw showed that the majority of blacks in Virginia felt that Northam and Herring should not be forced to resign because of their scandals. To me this is a reasonable position because in situations like these, I nearly always fall back to my default position: Was it a long time ago and were there apologies by the parties guilty of the offending behavior? Did the offending behavior violate the law or someone's civil rights? Is there recent conduct to suggest any racism or discrimination, and are there contemporaneous allegations that the person guilty of stupid behavior such as this violated someone's civil rights based on their membership in a protected class? If the answer to each question is no, I don't think they should have to resign for inappropriate conduct from so long ago where no crime occurred and no one's civil rights were violated. I'm going to be blunt here. This is all about politics on the part of politicians, and the media's exploitation of race in order to boost their ratings. Can anyone honestly say they are offended by Northam and Herring racially insensitive conduct over three decades ago. Well, as a black person, I can't.
I find it shocking and hypocritical and downright silly that prominent Democrats like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senator Kamala Harris called for Governor Northam to resign over a photo from over three decades ago. Yet, they refuse to respond to complaint letters I sent them detailing racism and discrimination I suffered at the hands of San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and other San Jose city officials, and the criminal cover-up by officials with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and the US District Court during the litigation of two lawsuits I filed against the City of San Jose. The conduct of San Jose city officials and the federal courts is far more egregious than the racially insensitive photo of Governor Northam from decades ago. The takeaway I get from Speaker Pelosi and Senator Harris' inaction to my letters is that today it is okay to violate a black person's rights in the same manner as the KKK and then commit crimes in order to cover it up; but it is a really bad thing if you wore a KKK costume or blackface to a party over three decades ago even though you committed no crime and violated no one's right. How ridiculous is that reasoning? Furthermore, there is a long history of members of the Democratic party being former members of the KKK. One of the most prominent is the late Senator Robert Byrd, the longest serving member of Congress in our nation's history. When Senator Byrd died, he was recognized by the NAACP for the long list of civil rights legislation and other causes he supported that benefited blacks/African Americans. Who is it to say Northam or Herring cannot be another Senator Byrd. Because Democrats have been quick to paint Republicans and President Trump as racists for any perceived slight towards blacks and other minorities, they are now stuck with having to call for Governor Northam and AG Herring to resign for their actions that clearly does not rise to the level of impeachable offenses.
As to the rape allegations against Lieutenant Governor Fairfax, these are very serious issues. The accusers should be heard and treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Their allegations should be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. However, this does not mean that they deserve to be believed as some Democrats have demanded. The Lieutenant Governor is entitled to the due process requirement of innocent until proven guilty. Just as the accusers, Fairfax is also entitled to be heard and to have an impartial investigation into the allegations against him. Until an investigation that has turned up evidence to corroborate the rape allegations against him, I see no need for him to resign any more than I see the need for Northam and Herring to resign. If the allegations against Fairfax are found to be true, not only should he be removed from office, he should be punished to the fullest extent allowed by law. Democrats find themselves in a tough spot again based on their impulses calling for men to be removed from office or fired because of uncorroborated sexual misconduct allegations. Democrats would be wise to learn that due process and standing up for the rights of women to be free from sexual assault and harassment are not incompatible.
Democrats have set the standard very low for when men should be fired or removed from office based on sexual misconduct allegations; and when a person should be fired or removed from office based on racially insensitive conduct, even though it is decades old and the offender has apologized profusely. The dangerous and unethical game of identity politics that Democrats have been playing for years has now come back to bite them in the rear with the scandals involving Northam, Fairfax and Herring. The Democrats are reaping what they sowed.
