Virginia AG Mark Herring's Self-Inflicted Wounds

Yours truly and Herring in happier days
at a fundraiser in our home.

Last month's "black face" circus here in Virginia gave Virginians a good look at which of their elected officials made hasty - and in my view unwarranted - decisions and rushed to judgment as well as which ones had major problems with being hypocrites. Leading the pack in hypocrisy and poor judgment was Attorney General Mark Herring (although Mark Warner, Tim Kaine and Congressman Bobby Scott were right along side Herring in poor judgment).  Herring quickly called for Governor Northam's resignation over a photo that turned out not to be of Northam even as he knew himself that there were photos of himself in black face floating around - something many think caused Herring to eventually confess of his own perceived black face indiscretion. 

Now, with Northam still in office with the support of 58% of black Virginians (as opposed to black elected officials and anti-white black activists) and a plurality of white Virginians, Herring finds himself in a huge mess. Seeking to run for governor in 2021, Herring has managed to piss off a significant portions of the base he will need to run for governor.  In addition, he and his chicken little fellow Democrats have divided the Democrat Party of Virginia as the party moves towards the critical 2019 General Assembly elections. An article in the Virginian Pilot describes Herring failing attempt to justify his calls for Northam's resignation.  Whether Herring can regain those support of those he has alienated, including my husband and myself, remains to be seen.  He has certainly opened the door for some other candidate to challenge him for the 2021 gubernatorial nomination.  Here are excerpts from the Pilot article and  Herrings, in my view, disingenuous explanation: 

Attorney General Mark Herring on Monday said he demanded Gov. Ralph's Northam's resignation last month not because the governor had worn blackface decades earlier, but because Northam flip-flopped on the subject in a way that undermined his ability to lead.

Breaking a month of silence since acknowledging that he, too, had dressed in blackface as a young man, Herring took pains to differentiate his situation from Northam's. Both Herring and Northam are Democrats.

The attorney general said that after Northam's revelations, he "agonized" about whether to disclose that he dressed in blackface for a party as a 19-year-old student at the University of Virginia. He said ultimately decided to do so on his own, dismissing the idea that his hand was forced by questions from the media.

"Sure, we had gotten some press inquires, but this was something I needed to bring forward," he said.

Herring, who announced in December his intention to run for governor in 2021, declined to say whether he will still run. "That's the last thing I'm thinking about right now," Herring said. "What I am focused on is what has happened in Virginia over the last month and what I can do to repair the damage."

Herring's critics have called him a hypocrite for calling on Northam to step down despite his own blackface episode. Several times during the 36-minute interview on WAMU's Kojo Nnamdi Show, Herring contended that in his view, Northam needed to leave office not because of the blackface, but because of his shifting account of it.

While many state and national Democrats immediately called on Northam to resign, Herring stopped just short of that in a statement issued late on the night of Feb. 1.

But the next day, after Northam's turnabout during his news conference, Herring called on Northam to step down and expressed his support for the man who would succeed him, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, also a Democrat.

"It is no longer possible for Governor Northam to lead our Commonwealth and it is time for him to step down," Herring's statement said. "I have spoken with Lieutenant Governor Fairfax and assured him that, should he ascend to the governorship, he will have my complete support and commitment to ensuring his success and the success of our Commonwealth."

Days later, Fairfax was swept up in a scandal of his own, as two women accused him of sexually assault dating from 2000 and 2004 - charges that Fairfax has vigorously denied.
Around 11 a.,m. on Feb. 6, Herring met with members of Virginia's Legislative Black Caucus to admit that he darkened his skin to dress as rapper Kurtis Blow for a college party.

Hours earlier, an Associated Press reporter informed Herring spokesman Michael Kelly that someone had given him a detailed description of a photo of Herring in blackface, pressing Kelly for a response.

A little after 11:30 a.m., after Black Caucus members left their briefing from Herring, Kelly issued Herring's statement about his use of blackface.

The accusations against Fairfax are "different but a very difficult situation," Herring said. The women who say they were sexually assaulted by the lieutenant governor "deserve to be heard, they deserve respect," he said.

"What needs to happen is some type of impartial situation so we can get to the facts," he said. "In the current situation, it's hard to see how that takes place. It's an excruciating situation to be in."

Herring and other Democrats should have kept their mouths shut and calmly and careful waited for all of the facts and information to come out and tested the mood of their constituents (what a novel concept) instead of acting like a bunch of lemmings played by far right GOP operatives.  Personally, I believe ALL of them need to cooperate in a reconciliation effort, but given the egos of some involved, seeing them admit they acted hastily and foolishly may be too much to hope for.  Meanwhile, my own representatives in the General Assembly - both of whom are members of the Legislative Black Caucus - have permanently lost my vote. Historically, they have shown no interest in my concerns or views and I only hear from them in the run up to elections when they ask for money.  At the national level, I also know that would be presidential candidates Castro, Warren and Harris will never win my support based on their hasty and ill-considered insertion of themselves into Virginia issues (this is Warren's second time doing this to the harm of the party).

The husband and I will be seeing Mark Warner on Sunday - I suspect it will be an interesting conversation and one that Warner will not like. 

Virginia First Lady's "Cotton Situation" Deliberately Misrepresented?

In a prior post, I took a Washington Post story to task for its apparent aim at creating sensation and fanning racial strife in Virginia.  The articles author, a former food editor, seemed to hear only what she wanted from what transpired with an obvious goal of harming the reputation of Pam Northam, First Lady of Virginia. In my view, it is part of a larger effort by some in Virginia's black community, the Legislative Black Caucus and some in the leadership of the Virginia Democrat Party (and, yes, I can name names) to drive Ralph Northam from office through any means so that they can install Justin Fairfax as the state's second black governor.  Now, as the Virginian Pilot is reporting, other legislative pages and their parents are disputing the claims of a state employee and her daughter who seem to be part of this plot to stir racial discord and disparage the governor and his wife.  Shame on the Washington Post - which is now being sued over its similarly botched reporting of the Covington Catholic students - and other news outlets that never bothered to get the full story.  Here highlights from the Pilot:

Virginia first lady Pam Northam did not focus on black students as she handed out raw cotton during several back-to-back presentations on slavery at the Executive Mansion, several participants and their parents said in interviews Friday.

"Nobody was singled out," said state Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, whose teenage son took a tour of the mansion with others serving as pages in  Virginia Genaral Assemnly.

Petersen was reacting to allegations made this week by a state employee whose daughter was in the page program. She alleged in a letter that Northam singled out three black students in a group of about 20 as she handed out cotton bolls and talked about imagining slavery.

In all, 10 pages gave their accounts to The Washington Post, either directly or through their parents, most of whom did not permit their 13- and 14-year-olds to be interviewed because of their age. In four of those cases, the pages were in the same tour group as Walker's daughter. The other six visited the kitchen with different groups on the same day.

In all 10 cases, the pages or their parents insisted that the first lady - a former science teacher - conducted their tours with sensitivity and with no special focus on the black pages.

"She didn't pick out anything or anybody," said Celina Harris, 13, of Chesapeake, a page who was in a different tour group from Walker's daughter.

Celina, who is African-American, said Northam passed around raw cotton bolls and tobacco leaves for the whole tour group to touch. In the case of her tour - one of perhaps four Northam led for pages that day - the first lady handed the cotton to a white page.

"When it came to the cotton part, she handed it to the nearest page and passed it around the room to everybody, and explained that the slaves had to pick cotton, and it was difficult for them because it was sharp," Celina said. "She asked us to feel around the cotton. It wasn't normal cotton balls that we use today. It was hard and prickly. . . . It was interesting. I didn't see any problem with it at all. I don't think learning about our history should be counted as offensive in any way. And it's not like she purposely looked at me while talking about it, or any of the other black pages in the room."

Resisting calls to resign over the blackface controversy, Gov. Northam has pledged to focus on racial reconciliation in his remaining three years in office. But the criticism over the first lady's presentation about the house's slave history - something she has long highlighted - shows what a minefield that territory can be.

"Traditionally, you'd give a tour of the mansion and say, 'Look at this beautiful upholstery.' And now they try to give a full historical tour, 'This was built by slaves,' " Petersen said. "It's kind of like damned if you do, damned if you don't. If you try and incorporate alternative voices, suddenly you're triggering someone. As opposed to if you're breezing through like Better Homes and Gardens and you're being oblivious or privileged."

Sen. William Stanley, Jr., R-Franklin, said that his daughter was in the tour with Walker's and that no one was targeted.

"The first lady's intent was to show the horrors of slavery and to make sure everyone felt the pain they felt in some small measure," Stanley said.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said his daughter, also a page, gave a similar account, although she was in a different tour group.

"I have also spoken to witnesses who were present and the *cotton situation* during the Page Governor's Mansion tours did not happen at all the way it's been portrayed in the press," Surovell wrote on Facebook.

Sadly, don't expect the Post and others to retract their false accounts of what transpired. Generating controversy and page views is all that matters. 

Democrats Grapple with Fairfax Assault Accusation

UPDATED: A reader spells out what the GOP is up to in all of this:

Understand and see their end game. Third in line is the Republican President pro tempore of the Senate - Steve Newman.

Mark Herring had best hope they find no skeletons on him.

As noted in the prior post, Virginia Democrats have set the stage where any accusation no matter how old or questionable now has the potential to derail elected officials' political careers.  The tempest over Ralph Northam started by a right wing GOP outfit now has spread to Justin Fairfax. A piece in Big League Politics looks at the accusation here:

Last night after Big League Politics released the bombshell report that Stanford University Fellow and Professor Vanessa Tyson allegedly accused Democrat Virginia Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax sexually assaulted her at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. She did not use his name in the initial release, and Big League Politics did not receive confirmation from Tyson that she wrote the post.

However, this changed late last night when Tyson confirmed to independent Virginia media outlet RVA Dirt that she made the allegations, and enlisted a friend to help spread the story.

Do I believe the story?  Not really given that the Washington Post supposedly looked into it and found it untrue and because I view this all asa coordinated effort to severely harm Democrats in the lead up to the 2019 Virginia elections.  Is it a coincidence that the same outlet , Big League Politics, that first attacked Northam is behind the Fairfax story?  I doubt it.  It's all part of an agenda to set the stage for the Virginia Democrat Party to implode, something it seemingly is working very hard to do.  Right wing Republicans must be ecstatic at the Democrats willingness to tear themselves apart. The problem for Virginia Democrats simply put is that now they have set the stage where no one is safe from such accusations and there is no limit on how far back in time one will be judged. A piece in the Washington Post looks at this second nightmare for Virginia Democrats:

The day after Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) denied allegations of sexual misconduct, Democrats grappled with how to respond without betraying a rising star in their party or abandoning victims in the #MeToo era.

Nearly all Democrats at the state and federal level swiftly called for Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to resign over a racist photo from his 1984 yearbook that became public Friday.

But lawmakers and party officials interviewed took a more circumspect approach to the allegation against Fairfax, which surfaced Monday, just three days later.

Although Democrats at the state and national level have been quick to say women should be believed and that all allegations should be investigated, they say they are resisting a rush to judgment. . . . . Virginia Democrats privately note the accuser in the Fairfax case has not yet offered evidence she says corroborates her claim.

The dilemma shows the trouble they have enforcing a policy of zero tolerance.

“I have so many different things going through my head right now,” said Monique Alcala, chair of the state Democratic Party’s Latino caucus and a Fairfax supporter since he first made a splash in state politics by nearly winning the 2013 Democratic primary for attorney general.

Quentin Kidd, the director of the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University, said Democrats are in a bind. “The silence is deafening from Democrats,” he said. “They may be thinking, ‘We don’t want to throw our lieutenant governor under the bus while we’re also trying to throw our governor out of office.’ Republicans are probably eating all the popcorn they can find right now. It’s quite a show.”

Democrats almost uniformly took their cues from the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus {which lead the attacks on Northam], which Monday evening released a statement saying lawmakers take all allegations of sexual assault or misconduct “with the utmost seriousness.”

“Given the recent allegations regarding Lieutenant Governor Justice Fairfax, the VLBC will continue to assess this developing situation as more details become available,” the statement continued. The state party released a nearly identical statement.

Most Republicans have been content to let Democrats’ problems unfold uninterrupted. “What’s going on with the lieutenant governor?” Del. Steve Landes (R-Augusta) said coyly before adding: “I don’t have any comment, thanks.”

This insane zero tolerance policy - despite its good intentions - will be the death of the Virginia Democrats in the near term.  I predict the GOP will retain control of the General Assembly after November and if the Democrats want someone to blame, they best look in the mirror.