As Everyone Knows, Trump-- Like The Mafia-- Is An Enemy Of Law And Order... But Why Did The Republican Party Go Down That Path With Him?

 

The box on the right is the official one. The box on the left was put up by the Republican Party to steal your ballot and burn it. Be careful of Republicans; they hate democracy

No one has been arrested in the Republican scheme to steal ballots and burn them by setting up phony drop-off boxes around California. It seems to have begun in Fresno County in an attempt for the local Republican Party to steal ballots from Hispanic voters, although the coordinated Republican fraud has been detected in Los Angeles and in Orange County where it may be part of an effort by sleazy Republican congressional candidate Michelle Steel, who Kevin McCarthy's Congressional Leadership Fund SuperPAC has supported with $1,980,734 so far this cycle. This is just the kind of felony McCarthy-- an ethics-free Trump stalwart-- would get behind. It appears that Jordan Tygh, a regional field director for the California Republican Party and part of the Steel campaign, is the designated fall guy for the GOP higher-ups. Steel has not been disqualified, let alone arrested, for her decision to steal ballots.

Republicans are freaking out as they stare at the dimensions of the tsunami headed their way. Yesterday, Wall Street Journal reporters Danny Dougherty and Chad Day looked at the early voting data that helps explain the GOP freakout. "Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia," the wrote, "have already received more early ballots than they did in the 2016 presidential election. Several other states have topped 2016 numbers for mail ballots returned, even as in-person early voting is opening up in much of the country. So far, 8.2 million people have voted by mail in the general election and 835,000 headed to polling places early to cast ballots, according to figures from 35 states and the District of Columbia compiled by the Associated Press. For comparison, more than 58 million early ballots were cast in 2016... North Carolina, another presidential battleground and host to a competitive Senate race, received more mail-in votes by September than it saw for all of the 2016 general election... In both North Carolina and Florida, registered Democrats have cast more ballots than registered Republicans so far. In North Carolina, independent voters have also cast more early ballots than registered Republicans.

Presumably, it was just rogue elements in the Trump coalition and not officials of the Republican Party who are behind the thwarted plot to kidnap Democratic governors. Yes, governors (plural)-- not just Gretchen Whitmer. Washington Post reporters Kayla Ruble and Devlin Barrett wrote that according to sworn FBI testimony, the same right-wing terrorists in Ohio who plotted to kidnap the Michigan governor, also talked about kidnapping Virginia Governor Ralph Northam.

Trump continually smeared and attacked both governors in a way than any violent, low-IQ follower of his might believe he was being called on by the president total action against them to "liberate" their states.

Northam spokeswoman Alena Yarmosky said the FBI “alerted key members of the Governor’s security team throughout the course of their investigation,” but to keep tight control of information about such a sensitive matter, neither the governor nor other members of his staff were told.

“At no time was the Governor or his family in imminent danger,” said Yarmosky, adding that extra security measures “have been in place for Governor Northam and his family for quite some time, and they will remain.”

The spokeswoman also faulted Trump for fueling anger.

“Here’s the reality: President Trump called upon his supporters to ‘LIBERATE VIRGINIA’ in April-- just like Michigan. In fact, the President regularly encourages violence against those who disagree with him. The rhetoric coming out of this White House has serious and potentially deadly consequences. It must stop,” said Yarmosky.

Tuesday’s hearing is to determine if some of those charged in the alleged Whitmer plot can be released on bond. Separately, seven others are charged by state authorities in Michigan with providing support to terrorist acts.

Don Don-- Criminals hate regulations

Trask, the FBI agent, described in great detail how federal agents became concerned about the accused, particularly after a June meeting in Dublin, Ohio, where self-styled militia members from four or five states gathered to discuss possible plans.

It was at that meeting, Trask said, that the notion of grabbing governors was raised, specifically mentioning the governors of Virginia and Michigan. One of the suspects, Adam Fox, then returned to Michigan and began recruiting possible accomplices for such a kidnapping, Trask said.

Fox and others conducted surveillance on the governor’s lakeside vacation home, Trask said, and at one point Fox told the others that he wanted to abduct the governor, take her away from the home by boat, and then “leave her out in the boat” so others would have to come rescue her, according to testimony at the hearing. Another option discussed was to take Whitmer to a secret location where they would put her “on trial,” Trask said, possibly in Wisconsin.

...Trask also detailed the ways in which the half-dozen suspects repeatedly discussed plans to attack law enforcement. At one point, a member of the group mentioned the possibility of attacking Michigan State Police buildings.

At another point, one of the defendants, Brandon Caserta, became irate that he had been pulled over and ticketed for driving without insurance.

“An injustice just happened to me,” Caserta messaged the other suspects, according to evidence introduced at the hearing, and he wrote he could find out where the two police officers lived and “tap them,” which the FBI agent said was slang for killing them.

Even as the FBI closed in on the group, the defendants became increasingly concerned they might be under investigation by federal agents. At one point, the accused collaborators scanned each other’s bodies for radio signals, to see if anyone was wearing a recording device, the agent said. While the scans turned up nothing, the group’s alleged plot was infiltrated by two informants and two undercover agents, Trask said, and the FBI secretly recorded more than 100 hours of the suspects’ conversations.

All Good Stuff Except Rand Paul Wants To Prevent Lynching From Being A Hate Crime Because He Can Get Away With It

I missed "The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed" when it debuted a month after Señor Trumpanzee was sworn in. Composed by Joel Thompson, it featured a guest appearance by the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club. It was meant to honor the lives of Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Kenneth Chamberlain, Amadou Diallo, and John Crawford.

Obviously, it is very much needed once again. While you listen (above), keep in mind that a trio of Fox News polls released yesterday show Trump losing must-win Ohio, Wisconsin and Arizona. That follows Fox News polls showing Trump losing Florida and Michigan. And today's North Carolina poll.

You might also take comfort in knowing that a conservative Virginia governor, Ralph Northam (D), announced today that the state will remove "an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond’s prominent Monument Avenue. Overcome with emotion, Norfolk Del. Jay Jones said the massive statue "is a symbol for so many people, black and otherwise of a time gone by of hate and oppression and being made to feel less."

One step forward... Kentucky racist pig Rand Paul was exposed as the senator blocking an anti-lynching bill that would make lynching a hate crime.

National Journal's Zach Cohen reported that "The fact that Congress is still struggling to respond to the past atrocities of lynching black people highlights how difficult it will be for Washington to deal with misuse of police force and outrage over police officers killing unarmed black Americans. Everyone seems to agree lynching is terrible and must be condemned and outlawed, but not specifically on how to do it." Umm... but not everybody. All Paul's arguments are baseless; he just wants to kill the bill to please his KKK supporters back home.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam Owes Eric Stamps An Endorsement Announcement

Eric Stamps-- too progressive for the governor?

Ralph Northam was probably the most conservative, Republican-friendly Democrat in the Virginia state Senate when he served between 2007 and 2013, at which time he was elected lieutenant governor. He admits that before being elected to the Senate he had voted for George W. Bush twice. Almost immediately after he was elected to the Senate, he came within minutes-- literally-- of switching to the GOP and flipping control of the chamber. He stayed in the party after the Democrats assured them they wouldn't try to pass any progressive legislation. He's always managed to be judged the lesser of two evil in all his electoral contests. Great way to select our leaders!

On Friday, Northam, now governor, was down in Danville, where there is a hot legislative race going on between an old boy, right-wing GOP incumbent, Danny Marshall, and Democratic challenger Eric Stamps who is far more progressive than, not only Marshall but also Northam. The governor was down there to make an economic development announcement and he tacitly endorsed the Republican: "I want to recognize two of my friends. I've been in Richmond for almost 10 years and I’ve had some great friends and great relationships. And you have two very fine Delegates and senators. Delegate Danny Marshall, thank you so much for being here this morning. Thank you for your leadership. He’s there for the right reasons. He does great work for Virginia and his constituents. And Frank Ruff, Frank and I go back a number of years in the senate and you don’t find any better."

The woman running for Ruff's seat is an African American sort of middle-of-the-road Democrat, Virginia Smith, and although unhappy with what Northam said, she isn't talking about it publicly. Stamps has been-- bigly. He's the Blue America-endorsed candidate for that seat and I spoke with him over the weekend. He reminded me that Marshall has voted against common sense gun reform, against women’s rights, against the Equal Rights Amendment, against environmental reforms, against maternity leave, against worker’s rights and that he opposes raising the minimum wage and backs taking away healthcare from working families. The 2020 legislative thermometer on the right will allow you to contribute to Eric Stamps' campaign for the election one week from tomorrow. (And no, it isn't too late. Eric needs this money for his get out the vote team and it can make a real difference on election day.)

Anyway, Eric was offended that the Democratic governor of the state come down to his district (HD-14) and played kissy-kissy with his conservative Republican opponent who works against the interests of working families in the area. Eric complained to Northam's office, which claimed the governor was just being friendly and that, of course, he hopes all Democrats win, never even mentioning Eric by name. Northam should immediately endorse Eric Stamps-- by name-- and if he really wanted to be a mensch, he'd do a radio ad for Eric on some of the local stations. It could undo some of the damage he's already done.

When It Comes To Political Melodrama, Virginia Doesn’t Disappoint

Five States have Legislative elections in 2019: Virginia, New Jersey, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana. All are important; however, only Virginia stands a reasonable shot to flip their Legislature’s majority from R to D, giving the Dems the right to the  redraw the state's congressional and state legislative boundaries and prevent another GOP gerrymander. Just remember the attendant, associated institutional power, for possibly the next 20 years.

Big Deal-- Big Drama.

Republicans have an acute recognition of this fact. They very nearly shattered the Democratic base coalition with their dirty tricks op-- on the first day of Black History Month-- the "February Flim-Flam," which included: accusations of a "racist past," against Governor Ralph Northam, evidenced by racially inflammatory Medical School yearbook photos; followed by: allegations of sexual assault and rape against Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax around 36 hours later; followed by: Attorney General Mark Herring’s necessary disclosure of college-age racial insensitivity, again after an additional approximately 36 hours.

The first week of February was filled with a toxic stew of racial angst and sexual strife. Start the op on Feb. 1st, deny the Virginia Black population even one day of celebrating their heroic Virginia history and heritage; peel off women of all races with hideous accusations of sexual impropriety-- by the only Black Statewide Elected Official-- deny the Dems their 3 top statewide fundraisers; start an internecine squabble amongst a historically loosely bonded cohort of Dem base voters... BINGO!!!

If you’re the GOP, sit back and get some popcorn. Nice job; well done.

BUT, nobody resigned, despite heavy pressure. The coalition is still squabbling, but it’s holding together. Apparently, the law firm tasked with investigating the Northam Medical School "photo," has identified the two subjects, and determined that neither is Ralph Northam... a fly in the ointment, oh my!

Where does that leave all of the breathless "concern trollers" and "virtue signalers" who have been baying for "accountability and resignation?" Don’t know, don’t care.

In the face of this sturm und drang, some Virginia. Dems have remained focused and on task, and need only recruit 14 more House candidates and 4 more state Senate candidates in order to go, "Full Boat"-- 140 for 140-- contesting every race, (100 House and 40 in the Senate ), leaving the Virginia Republican Party zero (0) "freebies" for 2019-- no "walkovers," no "nolo contenderes." If Virginia Dems accomplish this "full ballot mission" by the candidate filing deadline, June 11th, the band should start warming up, Turn Off the Lights.



Democrats only need to flip one state Senate seat, and two seats in the House of Delegates to effectively take over the majority; any more than that is pure gravy. That is if they can hold onto all their gains from 2017.

Democrats don’t have a monopoly on drama in Virginia. In fact, the Virginia Republicans are the reigning rulers of reprobates; it’s not even close. The most recent drama involves Jerry Falwell, Jr. and his wife, and their... very interesting exploits, "ministering" to the needs of young folk... in the, um... hospitality industry-- which subsequently required some "legal consultation" from then-Trump lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen-- very alarming, very salacious and sordid stuff. There may be a lot of campaign contributions being returned or contributed to charity.



Falwell, Jr. has supported politicians throughout Virginia over the years; some are even graduates or patrons of his college, Liberty University. One such candidate is D.J. Jordan, running in Prince William County’s HD 31. Jordan is the GOP’s choice to unseat freshman Delegate Elizabeth Guzmán, who defeated a long-term Republican incumbent in 2017 to become the first Latina to serve in the history of the Virginia Legislature-- and we’re talking about 1600s "House of Burgesses" history. That’s historic. So far, Blue America has endorsed four Virginia legislative candidates, one being Elizabeth Guzmán. That thermometer on the right is for candidates running for state legislatures and we'd appreciate it if you tapped on it and considered contributing to Elizabeth and any of the other candidates on the list.

That win by a Latina over one of their own stalwarts would seem to be too much for the Virginia GOP to abide; so they recruited a Black male, Liberty University grad; dressed him in Blue, placed him against a Blue background, built him a nice website that conveniently neglects to identify his political party, filled his campaign account with large dollar offerings, and sent him out to preach about "infanticide and family values."

Good stuff! Except for Jerry Falwell’s "Pool Boy" buffoonery. D.J. Jordan is going to have some explaining to do; not only a stealth Republican, but, a Liberty University grad to boot; INCONVENIENT!!! We’ll see how it shakes out for him.

Washington Post reported that Falwell Jr. was blaming a "conspiracy" of Republican Party establishment leaders for the leak of Trump's now infamous 2005 "grab-'em-by-the-pussy" video. "We're all sinners," he said in defense of Trump, who had helped him get rid of the pictures that supposedly show him with a male penis-- presumably the pool boy's-- in his mouth. There is also a felching shot that Michael Cohen hasn't discarded and has hidden away. Falwell's fellow charlatan-cum-grifter, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family and now host of the show Family Talk also stood by his Trumpanzee endorsement.

Don't forget, back in 2016, a few weeks before election day, the

Falwell, who is president of the nation's largest Christian university, provided one of Trump's first key endorsements from an evangelical leader. Trump's candidacy, however, has divided evangelicals, who have no formal leadership. Some evangelical leaders continued to back Trump after the video leak, while a prominent theologian pulled back his support Sunday and other leaders continued to condemn the nominee.

...In comments made to WABC Radio in New York City, Falwell said he thinks the leak was part of a conspiracy by GOP establishment leaders.

"I think this whole videotape thing was planned, I think it was timed, I think it might have even been a conspiracy among the establishment Republicans who've known about it for weeks and who tried to time it to do the maximum damage to Donald Trump," Falwell told reporter Rita Cosby on her podcast after Sunday night's debate.

Prince William County is rapidly becoming a Democratic stronghold, much like it’s neighbor to the North; Fairfax County. In 2014, the district went for Gillespie (R) over Warner (D), narrowly, in the U.S. Senate race. But it's been all blue since then. In 2016, Hillary beat Trump in the district, 51-44%. The following year Democrats swept-- Herring (D) beat Adams for AG, 56-44%; Fairfax beat Vogel for Lt. Governor, 56-44% and Northam beat Gillespie 56-43% for Governor. Last year, voters in HD-31 gave Kaine (D) a fat 59-39% win over Trumpist reactionary Corey Stewart. And of course-- sweetest of all-- was that Elizabeth Guzmán ousted GOP incumbent Scott Lingamfelter 15,466 (54.1%) to 12,658 (44.2%).

And, by the way, other sleazy, corrupted politicians will have to answer for their Falwell associations as this story evolves... and they won’t all be Virginians, will they?

Pericles, from Act I, Scene I-- Pericles, Prince of Tyre by William Shakespeare:

Great king,
Few love to hear the sins they love to act;
'Twould braid yourself too near for me to tell it.
Who has a book of all that monarchs do,
He's more secure to keep it shut than shown:
For vice repeated is like the wandering wind.
Blows dust in other's eyes, to spread itself;
And yet the end of all is bought thus dear,
The breath is gone, and the sore eyes see clear:
To stop the air would hurt them. The blind mole casts
Copp'd hills towards heaven, to tell the earth is throng'd
By man's oppression; and the poor worm doth die for't.
Kings are earth's gods; in vice their law's
their will;
And if Jove stray, who dares say Jove doth ill?
It is enough you know; and it is fit,
What being more known grows worse, to smother it.
All love the womb that their first being bred,
Then give my tongue like leave to love my head.

One more little tiny thing. Is the biggest political scandal of the year being hushed up because the media doesn't like asserting that a white conservative man of stature-- Falwell, Jr.-- is a sex maniac who bought the services for a 21 year old pool boy? Almost $5 million dollars of Church money-- spent on buying a gay "hotel" (whore house). This is an amazing story! You've got to watch this whole video:

Virginia Is For Lovers, Part II

Part I can be found here and I don't want to repeat anything. Instead, I want to start with a few Sunday thoughts from Rev. William Barber's Washington Post OpEd:

If Northam, or any politician who has worn blackface, used the n-word or voted for the agenda of white supremacy, wants to repent, the first question they must ask is “How are the people who have been harmed by my actions asking to change the policies and practices of our society?” In political life, this means committing to expand voting rights, stand with immigrant neighbors, and provide health care and living wages for all people. In Virginia, it means stopping the environmental racism of the pipeline and natural gas compressor station Dominion Energy intends to build in Union Hill, a neighborhood founded by emancipated slaves and other free African Americans.

Scapegoating politicians who are caught in the act of interpersonal racism will not address the fundamental issue of systemic racism. We have to talk about policy. But we also have to talk about trust and power. If white people in political leadership are truly repentant, they will listen to black and other marginalized people in our society. They will confess that they have sinned and demonstrate their willingness to listen and learn by following and supporting the leadership of others. To confess past mistakes while continuing to insist that you are still best suited to lead because of your experience is itself a subtle form of white supremacy.

At the same time, we cannot allow political enemies of Virginia’s governor to call for his resignation over a photo when they continue themselves to vote for the policies of white supremacy. If anyone wants to call for the governor’s resignation, they should also call for the resignation of anyone who has supported racist voter suppression or policies that have a disparate impact on communities of color.

While we must name and resist white supremacy, we can also recall that we are never alone in this work. During the 19th century, there were anti-racist abolitionists-- black and white-- who worked to subvert and transform a system that considered some people chattel. In the new dawn of Reconstruction, black and white men worked together in statehouses across the South to reimagine democracy. During the 20th century’s movements for labor unions, women’s suffrage, and civil, human and environmental rights, fusion coalitions of black, white, brown, Native and Asian worked together to pursue a more perfect union that both acknowledges our original sin and holds on to the hope that we might yet live up to the better angels of our nature. Whenever we ask what repentance means, we don’t have to start from scratch. We have a long tradition to draw on, full of examples of what true repentance must look like.

In his 20s and 30s, Democrat Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia was a recruiter for the Ku Klux Klan, serving as the exalted cyclops of his local chapter. He continued to support the Klan into the 1940s, but Byrd later said joining the Klan was his greatest mistake. He demonstrated what repentance can look like by working with colleagues in Congress to extend the Voting Rights Act in 2006 and backing Barack Obama as his party’s candidate for president in 2008. “Senator Byrd and I stood together on many issues,” wrote Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who nearly died fighting for voting rights in Selma, Alabama In our present moral crisis, we must remember that real repentance is possible-- and it looks like working together to build the multiethnic democracy we’ve never yet been.

Virginia has been looking bluer and bluer. The state went for Nixon twice and then voted for Gerald Fiord, Reagan twice, George H.W. Bush twice, Dole, George W. Bush twice... Hopeless? In 2008, Obama beat McCain 52.6 to 46.3 and then went on to beat Romney. Even Hillary won the state (albeit with a plurality). 4 of the last 5 governors of the state were conservative Democrats (Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam). And since John Warner retired in 2008, Virginia has had 2 Democratic senators. Despite severe gerrymandering, the state's delegation to Congress has went from 8 Republicans and 3 Democrats in the 113th and 114th Congresses to 4 Republicans and 7 Democrats in the 116th. The Republicans hoped the change the dynamic by starting a coordinated series of scandals beginning with Gov. Ralph Northam's yearbook picture in blackface.

Now, as Politico pointed out yesterday, Republican strategists and activists are abuzz about their chances this November, when the party’s slim control of both state legislative chambers are in jeopardy in Virginia’s off-year elections. Republicans have a two-seat majority in the Senate, which has flipped back and forth between the parties four times during the past decade. Four Republican seats had been considered vulnerable this fall, compared to just two Democratic seats. In the House, Democrats made massive gains in 2017 and nearly took control. They were favored to make more gains in the House, where Republicans hold a three-seat majority with one vacancy."

“The entire executive branch of Virginia is apprised of Democrats and all of them are embroiled in their own respective scandals at this point so yes, that has obviously done damage to them,” Republican House Majority Leader Todd Gilbert said. Still, he added, “The damage this has done to Virginia is a much larger issue than these secondary political implications.”

Even if they hang on, the three top leaders won’t be of much help to down-ballot Democrats. Normally they would be among the most powerful Democratic surrogates to appear at campaign rallies or raise money.

After this week, Republicans said they expect to recruit more formidable candidates, while Democrats wonder who they’ll have to run for statewide races in in 2021, the next time the seats are up. Fairfax and Herring had both been expected to run for governor.

"Candidate recruitment for the GOP is being made a lot easier thanks to the events of the last two weeks,” said John March, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Virginia, referring to the scandals and Northam’s controversial comments about late-term abortions.

Some Democrats dispute the consequences, saying the focus will quickly turn back to Trump and national politics.

“Six months from now, everything is going to be in the rearview mirror and the focus on D.C.,” state Sen. Scott Surovell said.

Other Democrats lamented they had only hurt themselves by acting so quickly on Northam, who said he was in his yearbook photo then reversed course, but did admit to donning blackface on another occasion.

Bleak? Yes. But deadly? Perhaps not. First of all, the sanctimonious Republicans have their own problem. Their Senate majority leader, Tommy Norment-- who already has a very strong general election opponent in progressive Democrat Herb Jones, has been exposed as an arch hypocrite. Norment, who was screaming for Notham's head, turns out to be the former managing editor of a college yearbook that contains ugly racial and ethnic slurs and, of course, images of people in blackface. And the news got worse for Virginia Republicans. "Students in a college course Norment taught at the William & Mary say that he routinely made racially insensitive and transphobic comments, forced students of color to defend Confederate iconography, and even defended the university’s defunct Brafferton Indian School that educated Native American kids-- often without their family’s consent-- in the 1700s."

Last week Dahleen Glanton, an African-American reporter for the Chicago Tribune wrote two OpEds on the Virginia scandals, If Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam resigns over racist photo, who wins? on Monday and As of today, let’s forgive everyone who has ever appeared in blackface. But anyone who does it tomorrow will get no mercy. on Friday. First, she identified the problem as political, "little to do with African-Americans... If there ever was a case that pointed out both parties’ shallow interest in pushing forward an agenda addressing racial equality, it is this made-up angst over a picture that appeared 35 years ago in a medical school yearbook in Virginia. Virginia, of all places. Everyone knows the racist history of that state. It is where much of the Civil War was fought. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, for Christ’s sake... Is it really so shocking that someone who grew up on a farm in a county with such strong ties to slavery might have put black shoe polish on his face at one time or another?"

Northam says he didn’t realize the harm he’d done by dancing in blackface until he had a conversation about it later with a person of color.

“He let me know why this was offensive,” Northam said at a news conference Saturday. “I apologized to him, and I will never do it again.”

This is what a conversation on race looks like. Someone does something racially insensitive. He discusses it with someone he has hurt and he comes away understanding why this seemingly innocent act is so painful to others.

These are the kinds of interpersonal discussions that can move our nation forward, not the angry, hate-filled rhetoric Trump has encouraged Americans to spew onto each other.

I will not pretend to speak for every African-American, but for many of us, there is simply no outrage over that blackface photograph on Northam’s yearbook page. Of course, it’s racist and offensive. But many of us who live in blackface every day aren’t shocked to learn that a white politician has racist skeletons in his closet. What many African-Americans care about is what Northam has done for them lately.

Apparently, black people in Virginia thought he would be their best ally when 87 percent of them turned out to vote him into office in 2017.

He agreed with them that Confederate monuments have no right in public spaces. Since taking office, he has worked to expand Medicaid to serve the poor. He has helped restore voting rights to felons, politically empowering more black men.

The African-Americans in Virginia have a right to feel betrayed by a friend. But the question they and black people across the country should be asking themselves is: What purpose would Northam’s resignation serve?

As our country engages in a bitter dispute over race, African-Americans have to figure out what we want the end game to be. If it is to enlighten white people about issues of race and help them to understand what it is like to walk in our shoes, then we must allow second chances.

While each case is different, we must consider whether to hold someone hostage as a racist for life because of a mistake made before they became aware. We must decide if it is in our best interest to have someone who has worked to make amends over the years standing with us against those who refuse to accept change... [O]n the larger, more important, issue of racial reconciliation, Northam’s resignation would achieve nothing.

Republicans, on the other hand, would get to rejoice that a racist was unveiled in the Democratic Party. They could point to Northam whenever someone brings up Rep. Steve King’s defense of white nationalists or Florida’s former secretary of state, Michael Ertel, who was forced to resign last month after a picture of him in blackface as a Hurricane Katrina survivor surfaced.

For Democrats, the reward is more calculating. By declaring zero tolerance for a racist act that occurred three decades ago, they’d get to throw African-Americans a small token of appreciation for years of loyalty. That will come in handy when they’re out on the campaign trail in Virginia fighting to keep this important swing state blue.

Trump, though, would get the greatest reward of all. A president known for stoking racial fear and ignoring the truth gets to call a Democrat a liar on Twitter.

After a game of golf with Tiger Woods on Saturday, Trump tweeted that Northam’s denial of being in the blackface photo after first apologizing for it is “unforgivable.”

What’s unforgivable, Mr. President, is how people like you use racism as a political pawn.

The second column she wrote that "racism is bipartisan. It’s not Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. It has permeated red states as well as blue states. It has always been part of this country’s moral fabric. It is rooted as deeply in America’s political history as the Founding Fathers, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Racism is part of the foundation on which our country was built. Blackface is a symbol of that racism, whether intended or not. It is merely a symptom of the larger, more complicated issue. Focusing on blackface alone is like pulling one rotten tooth when the whole mouth is decayed. Why would African-Americans still struggling to overcome the devastation of slavery, Jim Crow laws and systemic social and economic injustices spend a minute worrying that a politician, trusted or not, once wore blackface?... The way I see it, there is only one way out of this mess. As of today, black people have to forgive every white person who has ever worn blackface. But if anyone does it tomorrow, we’re coming after you."

Yesterday, in an interview with the Washington Post yesterday, Northam said he will spend the rest of his time in office-- 3 years-- remedying ongoing inequities related to race in his state. "It’s obvious from what happened this week that we still have a lot of work to do. There are still some very deep wounds in Virginia, and especially in the area of equity... There are ongoing inequities to access to things like education, health care, mortgages, capital, entrepreneurship. And so this has been a real, I think, an awakening for Virginia. It has really raised the level of awareness for racial issues in Virginia. And so we’re ready to learn from our mistakes." When will Trump look inward and decide to learn from his mistakes?  Yeah, I know. But what about state Senator Norment?

Are Republicans Playing Democrats For Fools In Virginia? Ratfucking

"He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone."

"Go... And Sin No More."

Last weekend, I felt I had no choice but to say a few words about the Northam thing in Virginia. I hate his kind of conservative Democrat so I was only too happy to remind DWT readers that he's had a long, horrible, conservative career in Virginia politics. For starters, he admits he voted for George W. Bush-- both times. In his own 2013 campaign, Northam said "I don’t consider myself as a liberal... I think the less government, the better" and said he is "very conservative fiscally." He has a record in the state legislature to back it up. He's also been generally anti-immigrant over the course of his career until very recently. Soon after he was first elected to the state Senate in 2007 he announced he was leaving the Democratic caucus and joining the Republicans, which would have thrown control of the Senate to the GOP. He said the reason he was switching was because of his fiscal conservatism. I don't know what the Democrats promised him-- plenty, no doubt-- but they persuaded him to change his mind." So the offensive picture in the yearbook didn't exactly shock my socks off. But I couldn't bring myself to cast the 3,000th stone. All I really wanted to do was remind Democrats howling for his blood that Biden is worse, much worse.

A friend of mine, Dr. Fergie Reid, a prominent African-American civil rights activist from Virginia, called me and was furious about what's happening to Northam. He thinks it's a mistake to demand he resign. He thinks Democrats are dancing to the Republicans' tune and that the Republicans are laughing at them-- or were laughing at them... until they figured out how they stumbled onto a way to get the Democrats to cannibalize themselves and destroy their own party from inside. This morning he dashed off a note about some of the things we talked about and said I can share it here:

"Virginia is for Lovers"-- good sales pitch.

"Virginia has always been, of, by, and for racists"-- hard truth; not such a good sales pitch.

BREAKING NEWS!!!! SHOCKING!!!

Two of Virginia’s favorite sons grew up in racially intolerant Virginia society, and may have engaged in openly racially insensitive displays while they were young adults!! There is Gambling at Rick’s Cafe too.

This dirty trick operation is effective, because like a virus, it uses the replicating machinery of the host to potentiate its lethality. Dems are doing the dirty work for the originators of this operation. Qui Bono-- Who Benefits?

Good question; more folk should be asking and answering this question.

The operation hasn’t quite worked as planned; Northam hasn’t resigned; subsequently, the hit on Fairfax dropped too early; and, after hypocritically calling for Northam’s resignation, Herring inoculated himself by outing his own blackface "issues."

Now, Northam has been given the opportunity to become Virginia’s most transformative, impactful politician; this includes Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and others. Ralph can start the healing discussion about the true history of Virginia; no one is better suited to be this messenger; he is a product of this culture; he was raised on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, the birth place of Slavery in America. His ancestors were Slaveowners.

Ralph grew up in Onancock, Virginia during the 1960s and 70s. He attended VMI a school that remains proud of its Civil War history. He attended Eastern Virginia Medical School-- a school with a long history of racial insensitivity. Eastern Virginia Medical School banned yearbooks in 2013 after students posed in Confederate garb.

Then Ralph went into the Military. He returned to Virginia, voted twice for George W Bush, changed political parties, and was elected to office four times as a Democrat. He is a walking example of the song Amazing Grace.



Virginia has had "cancer" since its founding. Examples of this cancer’s rampant expression and metastasis can be found throughout the state. There are times when "cutting cancer out," is not an option; it’s found its way into too many locations. This is Virginia today; "a state of denial" is not a solution; "Projection" and "Displacement" are not solutions.

Ralph can start the healing process with a frank, open discussion of the "true history of Virginia." It will be ugly, and difficult, and painful. Effective treatment of difficult problems is rarely easy; but, treatment is necessary if improvement is desired. The Dirty Tricktsers probably never envisioned that.

Who remembers Governor and Senator George "Macaca" Allen and all his Confederate memorabilia-- including the Stars and Bars with the noose? You think the Republicans who started the drumbeat for Northam's resignation care one bit that he applied shoe polish to his face? Of course you don't. Otherwise they would be demanding Iowa Nazi Steve King be ousted from Congress. And now what are they going to do about Virginia's state Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment? And nearly every other white Virginia male of a certain age? But... they do seem to have come up with a formula-- a formula of divisiveness that no one knows how to use better than Trump-- that will tear the Democratic Party apart.

UPDATE: Skip Kaltenheuser

Sure, Governor Northam, your handling of the matter while under pressure was ham-handed. But don’t resign, or Democrats will go on to eat their old, and there will be a silent backlash.

Thirty-five years. Is there no statute of limitations on stupidity and insensitivity, on poorly conceived humor? Because if that’s the case, people who’ve done stupid and decide to enter public service might as well just hang themselves now. Forget medical service. Forget serving your country in the Marines or any other risky endeavor. Your service just isn’t wanted. And most of all, forget any ambitions to evolve, to become more aware, to try and square the slate. Any growing awareness and maturity simply isn’t wanted. It’s inconvenient to those who congratulate themselves on growing up with a different background and who pride themselves on their moral superiority, or who’d like to make a political statement by joining the chorus to throw you under the bus. If you did stupid thirty-five years ago, no good deed will go unpunished, not helping felons back into society or expanding Medicaid. Nothing but nothing you do will ever have value again. And so the swirl of opportunistic piranha, including some who surprise me, thickens. You are forever of the lowest caste, forever a political untouchable.

And while we’re following this logic, let’s end parole and any other concept of second chances, because people can never be allowed to be anything but what they once were. If you poorly navigated a stilted environment or culture, like a conservative medical school or military academy, that’s you, forever frozen like a bug in amber.

Meanwhile, those that condemn with a hair trigger, including one who shilled for tobacco companies, (Gillibrand, just for starters), and one who covered up or defended prosecutorial abuses, and gave a pass to bankers who preyed on the poor, (Harris, just for starters)-- talk about harm to minorities-- and in far more recent times, can get a pass.

Oh, and please don’t bring up LBJ. What a shame he was allowed to achieve his civil rights goals. We should have waited until we had someone that skilled who also had a pristine history.

Everyone Is Losing Their Shit Over Northam-- Joe Biden's Going To Be Their Nominee?

Northam now says it wasn't him in the photo. Was it Joe Biden?

Ralph Northam has a long, horrible, conservative career in Virginia politics. For starters, he admits he voted for George W. Bush-- both times. In his own 2013 campaign, Northam said "I don’t consider myself as a liberal... I think the less government, the better" and said he is "very conservative fiscally." He has a record in the state legislature to back it up. He's also been generally anti-immigrant over the course of his career until very recently. Soon after he was first elected to the state Senate in 2007 he announced he was leaving the Democratic caucus and joining the Republicans, which would have thrown control of the Senate to the GOP. He said the reason he was switching was because of his fiscal conservatism. I don't know what the Democrats promised him-- plenty, no doubt-- but they persuaded him to change his mind." So the offensive picture in the yearbook didn't exactly shock my socks off. Soon, even conservative Democrats, like Terry McAuliffe, started calling for Northam to resign at once, all outaged.

It was a photo of Northam in blackface with a KKK goofball on his page in a 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook, although early this morning, Northam says it isn't him in the picture (and he won't resign-- so there). Republicans-- who normally celebrate this kind of thing in their own politicians-- had already been howling for his head... and had been quickly followed by Democrats of every stripe doing likewise. Friday night the Congressional Black Caucus and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus each demanded Northam resign. Kamala Harris jumped in fast and furious: "Leaders are called to a higher standard, and the stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government. The Governor of Virginia should step aside so the public can heal and move forward together." Other presidential candidates did the same. Julian Castro: "It doesn’t matter if he is a Republican or a Democrat. This behavior was racist and unconscionable. Governor Northam should resign." Cory Booker jumped in quickly with a call to resign. So did Elizabeth Warren, Bernie, John Delaney, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who will sooner or later go through the same kind of crucible over her equally horrible xenophobia and anti-Latino bias from when she was catering to a different constituency than the one she's sucking up to today. And then there was Joe Biden:

Sputnik News is an arm of Russian state propaganda, a rival these days with Fox News for pushing out Republican talking points. It isn't a new story that Biden was an anti-integration Democrat, eventually palling around with KKK hero Jesse Helms in the Senate. His past racist agenda was part of why he was the protagonist in out Worst Democraps Who Want To Be President-- Part IV. But here's how Russian/Republican propaganda tells that story and will tell it much louder and more instantly if he-- God forbid-- manages to get the nomination:

Biden, who is considering a 2020 run for the White House, has a record of pushing for measures to end busing, which were originally intended to end racial segregation in US public schools. Newly-discovered comments reveal that Biden was once an outright advocate of school segregation.

Joe Biden, who served as US Vice President for two terms under the nation's first black president, once endorsed school segregation in an early nod to identity politics.

"I think the concept of busing… that we are going to integrate people so that they all have the same access and they learn to grow up with one another and all the rest, is a rejection of the whole movement of black pride," then-Delaware Senator Biden said in an interview with National Public Radio in 1975, discovered by the Washington Examiner in the congressional archives.

Ultimately, he maintained, desegregation would lead to a "totally homogeneous society," something that would prevent black people from embracing their culture.

Biden, who was supporting an anti-busing amendment to a federal law, called desegregation "a rejection of the entire black-awareness concept, where black is beautiful, where black culture should be studied and the cultural awareness of the importance of their own identity, their own individuality."

He said he spent "close to 300 hours" weighing up his anti-busing proposal, during which he questioned his aides whether he was a racist deep inside. "I put in over 100 hours by far, I would say close to 300 hours on just torturing this thing, meeting with leaders, meeting with the people on my staff, calling my staff together, um, uh, and the blacks in my staff together, saying, 'Now, look, this is what I think. Do you think I am? I mean, is there something in me that deep-seated that I don't know?'"

His comments came after in 1974, US District Judge Arthur Garrity ruled that Boston's traditional neighborhood schools fostered de facto racial segregation, which he qualified as unconstitutional. He ordered that African American students be bused to schools in predominantly white neighborhoods and vice versa in a bid to desegregate schools-- a decision that sparked protests among white residents.

Biden is said to have initially supported busing but later backed down, following a backlash from his white constituents. While many white families in 1970's America sidestepped busing by moving to suburban municipalities with independent school districts, a US District Court in Delaware mandated county-wide busing, and strict racial quotas were applied throughout the most populous county in the state.

It is unclear, however, what the reaction of voters will be as Joe Biden is now considering a presidential run in 2020. "I think I'm the most qualified person in the country to be president. The issues that we face as a country today are the issues that have been in my wheelhouse, that I've worked on my whole life," he said in December.

Plenty of commenters were quick to voice their outrage over Biden's comments, contending that he made a case in favour of maintaining racial segregation and is thus a racist.

While some believe that these new revelations may kill Biden's 2020 chances, others maintain that Biden's "black awareness" concept is totally in sync with today's progressive trend of celebrating identity.

"The Left love their identity politics, so don't be surprised if Biden's racial segregation support in the '70s doesn't actually hurt his chances at the White House," wrote columnist Quin Hillyer.

Virginia Tea Leaves

Democrats need more candidates like Randy Bryce-- everywhere

People forget the nature of a tsunami in politics. When the wave builds enough momentum, nothing can stand in its way. Candidates' money doesn't matter; quality of candidates won't matter. Just revulsion. And that's what 2018 is shaping up to be. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday morning shows the biggest margin in the generic match-up in over a decade. If the polling is correct-- and it has been corroborated by virtually every poll this year (including private GOP polls)-- the Republicans won't just lose the 2 dozen seats the Democrats need to win back control of the House, the Republicans could be on the path to lose-- despite years of gerrymandering as many as 50 seats, including Paul Ryan's in Wisconsin.

Enthusiasm for Democrats is minimal but dislike of Republicans in mammoth. Here's the bottom line though:

The Post reported that the 51% to 40% margin for the Democrats is "the biggest spread in a Post-ABC survey since October 2006, just weeks before a midterm in which Democrats won back control of the House and Senate amid deep dissatisfaction with then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq War. Yesterday's poll shows 65% of voters lack confidence in Trump "to make the right decisions for the country's future," which is pretty dismal-- unless you compare it to the lack of confidence voters have for congressional Republicans to make the right decisions-- like 21% who are confident against a whopping 76% who are not confident. Democrats aren't going to exploit this the way they should because just 27% are confident in the congressional Democrats and 70% are not. Again, it's all lesser-of-two evils... but the Pelosi and her DCCC are fine with that. It's all they know and it's how they work-- tragically-- in responding to the election cycle. Imagine an election cycle dominated by relative toxicity of party leaders. Who's most hated by the voters-- Pelosi, Ryan or Señor Trumpanzee?

When asked "Which political party, the Democrats or the Republicans, do you think better represents your own personal values?" 46% said Dems and 37% said Republicans. 10% said neither. This is what stale Democratic congressional leadership has brought the Democrats:

It's worth mentioning that half a dozen Democratic candidates have told me in the last couple of weeks that their own House races would be much easier if Pelosi were to announce her retirement because, as much as voters would like to see the last of Ryan, they are not enthusiastic about Pelosi becoming Speaker again-- an advertising theme the Republicans have every intention of exploiting to the max. Expect to see Democratic challengers distancing themselves from Pelosi like never before. She is absolutely toxic. No candidates want her coming to campaign with them in their districts, although Ryan is experiencing a similar reaction from Republicans-- both vulnerable incumbents and challengers.

In a few hours we'll know how this played out today in Virginia, where Ed Gillespie is running on a Trumpist message, sans Trumpanzee, while the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Ralph Northam, is the epitome of the lesser evil candidate. Polling has largely favored Northam, even though the race tightened up in the last week. Yesterday, though, both Quinnipiac and the Christopher Newport University’s Wason Center for Public Policy released last minute polls that showed Northam back out ahead with comfortable margins. Quinnipiac showed independents breaking for Northam (46-42%) as he pulled away with a 51-42% lead. The Wason polling results were similar: 51-45% for Northam.

Northam’s lead is demographically and regionally broad. He leads among independents by 13 points (51% to 38%) and moderates by 29 points (62% to 33%). He holds significant leads among women, black voters, younger voters, voters with incomes below $50,000, and in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. Gillespie leads among white voters and men, but the candidates are statistically tied among voters 45 and older and voters in Southwest-Southside, two normally reliable Republican segments.

Down-ticket, the Democratic candidates continue to lead their Republican rivals. In the race for lieutenant governor, Democrat Justin Fairfax leads Republican state Sen. Jill Vogel, 50% to 45%. Seeking a second term as attorney general, incumbent Democrat Mark Herring leads John Adams, 49% to 45%.

The entire 100 seat Virginia House of Delegates-- which the GOP holds 66-34-- is up for election. The districts are very gerrymandered against Democrats but Democrats are favored to pick up at least half a dozen seats. Anything more than that would be troubling for the Republicans nationally. There are 17 GOP-held seats that Hillary won and those are the main targets. If the Democrats win 17 seats and take control of the House, Republican nationally will go into a Defcon 1 state of ultimate panic, causing the collapse of Ryan's tax-cuts-for-billionaires bill and at least another dozen congressional retirement announcements. Fingers crossed.