Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) may actually weather the storm.
Bolstered by the explosion of other scandals in his home state and, thanks to President Donald Trump, a new standard in what constitutes a career-ending political crisis, Northam has been hunkering down in his foxhole with consultants and allies alike to make a game plan.
According to a Friday Politico report, that plan does not include resigning.
Northam has hired IR+Media, a Washington PR firm run mostly by African Americans, to help with spin. He has been meeting with pastors and sympathetic Republicans, trying to soften his image and gin up support. He has also checked in with Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring, two top Democrats also fighting their own scandals.
Northam’s case has also been strengthened by the political reality in Virginia leadership. Should he resign, the governorship would fall to Fairfax who has been credibly accused of sexual assault. If Fairfax opts out, the baton would fall to Herring, who — like Northam — has blackface photo baggage. Should Herring quit to avoid accusations of hypocrisy (as well as racism), the state would fall into Republican hands, led by Speaker of the House of Delegates Kirk Cox.
If the voters of Virginia are okay with this, so am I.
Now then, where’s our next outrage du jour?
As I’ve told colleagues, Northam should say the following and see what happens:
“I will resign directly after Donald Trump resigns for racism displayed while currently in office as president”
GOOD.
In the era of the pussy-grabber and serial wife cheater being OK to occupy the White House - the blackface thing from 30-40 years ago is a joke anyway. It would be like catching somebody stealing a candy bar and forcing him to resign while there is a bank robber in the White House.
I attended a lecture last night by Peggy Wallace Kennedy, daughter of George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama. After he was shot, he came to realize how wrong his racism was and went to a black church to beg for forgiveness. Not only did they forgive him, they worked with him to undo some of what he had done. The generosity of their forgiveness is humbling. A different time.
It would be better to say that in the reality of Virginia, they would be happy to get rid of him if they could find someone that is not tainted one way or another. We really need to put an statute of limitations on this kinds of things.