Since nothing has changed with Northam this is a surprising change of heart.
Coming up this weekend the Virginia Democrat party is hosting its virtual state convention. This is an auspicious affair, with numerous speakers and vaunted political names to appear. The party is energized, with anticipation to be felt and the party leaders eager to put on a digital gala that will motivate the voting base.
You can get a sense of their excitement in this announcement for the event.
We're honored to have @GovernorVA speaking at our virtual state convention coming up in just a few days! Be sure to stream it live at https://t.co/vh23t6OPJn this weekend. pic.twitter.com/ReKqsEu270
— Virginia Democrats (@vademocrats) June 18, 2020
This is a slightly curious announcement from the state party. Not that a standing governor who is a Democrat would speak at a party convention, just that THIS particular governor would be speaking. It was just over a year ago that Governor Ralph Northam was under fire over a past with blackface, and other controversies. It was such a precarious time for Northam that basically any member of his party was distancing themselves from him.
Including the Virginia Democratic party as a body.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) June 18, 2020
That is…uncomfortable. So what has changed? At the time that the VA Dems were calling for Northam to step down he had a Blue Wave of opposition in his own party. The list of people condemning him and calling for him to step was impressive.
TERRY MCAULIFFE – “It’s time for Ralph to step down, and for the commonwealth to move forward.’’
US SEN. TIM KAINE – ”“The racist photo from Gov. Northam’s 1984 yearbook is horrible. I hope the governor…now takes the time to listen to those he has hurt and reflect on how to move forward.”
US SEN. MARK WARNER – “Northam must now listen to the people and communities he has hurt, and carefully consider what comes next.”
US REP. DONALD MCEACHIN – “I am so deeply disappointed and dismayed by the horrific picture of Gov. Northam that surfaced today.”
US REP. ELAINE LURIA – ”There is no excuse for this type of photograph then or now. I ask Gov. Northam to resign. This isn’t about politics, this is about what is right and wrong.”
US REP. BOBBY SCOTT – ”The governor must now make the right decision that is best for the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
US REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER – ”The bigotry depicted in this photograph is appalling. The governor must resign and fully acknowledge the painful past these images evoke.”
Then there is the state party, which made no hesitation in telling Northam that he had to go.
Full statement demanding that Governor Northam resign immediately. pic.twitter.com/XEf0H6HvOf
— Virginia Democrats (@vademocrats) February 2, 2019
Now let us consider that we are in a climate today where people are being fired, careers are being rendered, and organizations are coming under fire for the slightest of perceived offenses, none of which approach the level of someone dressing up in blackface and posing in racist photographs, like Ralph Northam has done.
Yet Governor Northam is not being ‘’cancelled’’ — he is being praised as a prominent speaker this weekend. This should stand as just another reason why the outrage and hysteria generated from the Democratss needs to be pushed back against and called out for being nothing more than a political tool.
They are celebrating a racist in a time when innocuous actions are being punished. Let that become their legacy.
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