The Northam (and Fairfax) Death Watch

[Doctor X]

If you have been under a rock today, the governor of Virginia was found to have appeared in his medical school year book in either black face or in a KKK costume. As one pundit put it, "when your party is trying to find out if you wore black face or a Klan costume, you're having a bad day."

The Republicans, of course, demanded his immediate resignation.

However, THIS JUST IN, the NAACP, and Is My Turn Now Kamala Harris have demanded his resignation.

--J.D.

[WildCat]

[ed]

I snt he propounding an infanticide law?

[Doctor X]

Yeah, the hypocrisy is extraordinary, but not unexpected from those who toss the term "racism" about to smear any who disagree with them.

--J.D.

[corplinx]

Practice what you preach and unperson him twitter.

[Anaxagoras]

Holy fuck.

If he does resign, this guy becomes governor:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fairfax

I see no reason for Democrats to defend Northam.

[Anaxagoras]

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/yearboo ... d=60791140

The Democratic Caucus in both the Virginia House of Representatives and Virginia Senate have called on Northam to resign. Senate Democrats released a statement saying, in part, "It is with heavy hearts that we have respectfully asked him to step down."

Democratic presidential candidates, including California Sen. Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro have called on Northam to step down.

If your own party won't defend you, the writing is on the wall.

I guess they can't force him to resign, but I think he'll resign before long.

[Doctor X]

They could always impeach him. I cannot be arsed to look up the particular rules in the Virginia legislature to see if they control the definition of "you suck" to justify it.

Otherwise he is a pariah that the Dems know the Republicans will enjoy hanging around their neck. Every time a Dem screams "Trump is t3h racists!" the Republicans will pull out this photo.

--J.D.

[Anaxagoras]

Technically what he did isn't a crime, nor was it something he did while in office, so impeachment seems a bit of a stretch.

[Doctor X]

I understand, but I do not know if the Virginia legislature is limited to what they may impeach for.

--J.D.

[corplinx]

In a perfect you would be able to say, "i was young and stupid and the country as well as myself have moved on from that being acceptable as a joke".

But we have to ruin people over it.

So, what's good for the goose...

Talcum X and the twitter mafia are all calling on him to resign.

[Anaxagoras]

Oh, CNN.

[ed]

I think that it is important to understand what this guy is for. The VA abortion law liberalized third trimester abortions. But there is more.

Virginia's Democratic Governor Ralph Northam defended the bill in an interview to radio station WTOP.

The paediatric neurologist said the measure allowed termination "in cases where there may be severe deformities" or when there is a "foetus that's not viable" outside the womb.

"So in this particular example, if a mother's in labour, I can tell you exactly what would happen," he told WTOP's Ask the Governor programme Wednesday.

"The infant would be delivered, the infant would be kept comfortable, the infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47066307

Let me edit his remarks for clarity:

And then a discussion would ensue regarding the murder of the child between the physicians and the mother

People on the right have been hung for far far less. Understand, once a child is born it achieves personhood in every jurisdiction. This fuck is suggesting that that is not the case.

Let me also point out something that no one is talking about, the insurance companies clearly would love this bill. And there, Virginia, is your death panel.

And, just to be absolutely clear, I am in favor of a woman's right to choose. I find it abhorrent but it is not my business and, having gone thru it (not me idiot, my wife) I apprehend that sanctimonious outsiders with no knowledge of the particulars have no vote. This, though, is murder.

[Anaxagoras]

I apprehend that sanctimonious outsiders with no knowledge of the particulars have no vote.

Amen to that.

[ed]

I apprehend that sanctimonious outsiders with no knowledge of the particulars have no vote.

Amen to that.

and that is independent of sex, BTW.

Can I get an Amen to that?

ETA going thru an abortion, if you are a thinking human being is horrible. Really horrible and it does not go away. I am torn 40 years later.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Latest right wing conspiracy theory:

Photo leaked by Democrats angry over his mask coming off about post natal abortions.

[ed]

Latest right wing conspiracy theory:

Photo leaked by Democrats angry over his mask coming off about post natal abortions.

Don't play with language. A "post natal abortion" is murder.

[Abdul Alhazred]

Latest right wing conspiracy theory:

Photo leaked by Democrats angry over his mask coming off about post natal abortions.

Don't play with language. A "post natal abortion" is murder.

Of course it is.

Soon to be legal.

It's not a slippery slope when it's already part of the party platform.

[ed]

Interesting comment from an articla in the NYT

James
VirginiaFeb. 1
Times Pick
Philosophers like Princeton's Peter Singer or bio-ethicists like Francesca Minerva have long held that there is a direct ethical line between elective abortion and infanticide.

The NYT Opinion section hosted an Oxford philosopher named Jeff McMahan for a Facebook live debate on this very topic in 2017. McMahan wrote the following in his 2012 article on infanticide and abortion: "Because there are no intrinsic differences between premature infants and viable fetuses, it is difficult to accept that an abortion performed after the point of viability can be permissible while denying that infanticide can be permissible for a comparably important reason. This and other challenges to the consistency of our intuitions exert pressure on us either to accept the occasional permissibility of infanticide or to reject liberal beliefs about abortion.”

Unfortunately, Michelle Goldberg is so ideologically committed to abortion-on-demand, she refuses to grapple with the ethical implications of her policy position. Many progressive intellectuals are ahead of her on this.

...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/opin ... sContainer

[Skeeve]

Meanwhile back at the OP: WATCH: Democrat Governor Ralph Northam Refuses To Resign After Racist Photo Emerges
Note: The video is at the link.

Amid calls from an increasing number of political figures and organizations to step down, embattled Virginia Democratic Governor Ralph Northam refused to resign in a message he delivered to the public on Friday night as the blowback from his racist KKK and blackface photo continued to gain momentum.

"My fellow Virginians, earlier today I released a statement apologizing for behavior in my past that falls far short of the standard you set for me when you elected me to be your governor," Northam said. "I believe you deserve to hear directly from me."

"I am committed to continuing that fight through the remainder of my term and living up to the expectations you set for me when you elected me to serve," Northam said in a video.
...
In a statement released earlier in the day, Northam apologized for the costume he wore in the photo, which he described as "clearly racist and offensive," but notably did not specify which of the costumes he was wearing. He also did not give any indication that he had plans to step down.