Democrats control all three statewide offices in Virginia’s government. By their own rules, all three men occupying those positions should resign immediately.
Ralph Northam in the 1980s, as an adult, smeared on blackface at least once. His medical school yearbook page also includes a picture of a Klansman posing with someone in blackface. One or the other man may be Northam, although he denies it.
When this came to light, Democratic officials nationwide called on Northam to resign. It was nearly unanimous. For some, the yearbook photo was the trigger. For others, it was the bizarre press conference in which Northam admitted wearing blackface on a separate occasion to play Michael Jackson at a party.
This was 35 years ago, and Northam has apologized. But forgiveness is not part of today’s progressive moralism, certainly not forgiveness when it comes to offenses by members of a privileged group against members of a less privileged group.
The Democrats’ clear rule is that if you wore blackface three decades ago, even if you apologize for it and have no more recent record of racism or gross racial insensitivity, you can’t hold statewide office.
This is relevant because the third man in line for governor of Virginia is Attorney General Mark Herring. Herring, as white Virginia Democrats tend to do, donned blackface in the early 1980s. Herring also wore a wig and “dressed like rappers.” This was caught on camera.
There is no argument that requires Northam to resign but allows Herring to stay in office. There is certainly no way, by Democratic rules, that Herring could be allowed to ascend to the governorship.
Why are we talking about the attorney general ascending to the governorship? Because by the Democrats’ rules, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who is next in line to the governorship, must also resign.
Fairfax has been accused of sexual assault. Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics in California, says Fairfax forced her to perform oral sex on him at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Fairfax denies this, claiming the whole encounter was consensual. “She was very interested in me,” he explained.
But during the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Democrats made the rules clear. If a woman accuses a powerful man of sexual assault, that accusation should be believed until proven false. In a he-said-she-said case, the powerful man has a motivation to lie, and the accuser does not, or so the theory goes. Therefore, one ought to believe the accuser.
This may sound a little a lacking in due process, but Democrats increasingly act as though their ends invariably justify their methods. They explain that due process is for a court of law. In the court of public opinion, and in determining someone’s fitness for a position of public trust, there is no presumption of innocence or right to face one’s accuser.
So, under Democrats’ rules, Fairfax must resign, too.
If Northam, Fairfax, and Herring follow their party’s rules, they will all quit. It’s not really debatable.
This would hand the governorship over to Kirk Cox, the Republican speaker of the House of Delegates. State Senate President Pro Tempore Steve Newman, R-Va., would become acting lieutenant governor, and the Republican-controlled legislature would pick a replacement for Herring as attorney general.
Democrats have found themselves in a much tougher position than they were in last weekend.
It was painless on Friday and Saturday for them to insist Northam step down. It would have elevated liberal Democrat Fairfax to the governorship, where he would have had an advantage in 2021, running for reelection as an incumbent. (Northam is term-limited.) Calling on Northam to resign over the weekend was a net political gain for Democrats.
But now enforcing their own rules, with zero tolerance, zero forgiveness, and no due process, would cost Democrats dearly. It would give Republicans control of the state government in a year when the government will redraw congressional and state legislative districts.
We have no doubt the Democrats discomfort will prompt them to rethink their cruel, ridiculous, and illiberal rules about evidence and due process. If it does, we will welcome it, so long as the change of heart lasts.
But there is not much reason to expect that.
Hypocrisy generally finds a way.
