On Saturday as the News Blender reported a photo surfaced showing a man in blackface and a man dressed in a KKK outfit. The photo which appeared in the 1984 Eastern Virginia Medical School Yearbook was alleged to show Democrat Governor Ralph Northam painted with blackface.
Saturday Northam who originally apologized for the photo stating at the time, “I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” told reporters that after further investigation he believes that he was not one of the people in the photo.
The photo itself led to top Democrats in the state of Virginia to call for Northam to step down handing the Governorship over to his Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax.
Shortly after the calls came for Northam to resign, new allegations surfaced, this time pointed at the Lt. Governor.
The allegation as the Washington Post reports is a sexual assault allegation that according to the Post, they had investigated in 2017, shortly after Fairfax won the election for Lt. Governor.
The woman, Vanessa Tyson, who was not named by the Washington Post, told them at the time that it was during 2004, when she met Fairfax, that consensual kissing led to non-consensual oral sex.
The Post explains they could not find any corroborating evidence to support the woman’s allegations, nor Fairfax’s denial, claiming at the time and again today, that the whole encounter was consensual.
The article notes that the paper also did not find, “significant red flags and inconsistencies within the allegations.”
In response to the sexual assault allegations against Fairfax, the Virginia Democrats issued a statement via Twitter.
It’s worth noting that with their calls for the Governor to step aside, the Virginia Democrats fully supported Fairfax.
In the latest twist to surface Virginia States Attorney General Mark Herring (D) issued a statement via Twitter discussing his own experience with wearing blackface. He says it was in 1980, he was 19 when, he and a group of friends decided to attend a costume party, dressing as rappers they were fans of.
He writes in part, “This was a onetime occurrence and I accept full responsibility for my conduct,” adding, “that conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others. It was really a minimization of both people of color, and a minimization of a horrific history I knew well even then.”
CNN reported that Tyson, Fairfax’s accuser has now issued a statement: “What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault. Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch. Only then did I realize that he had unbuckled his belt, unzipped his pants, and taken out his penis. He then forced his penis into my mouth.”
According to Phillip Bump with The Washington Post, if in the rare event, all three men were to resign, Virginia’s Constitution is clear on who would be the next Governor of Virginia.
Bump explains, “Fourth-in-line to the governorship is the Speaker of the House of Delegates, Kirk Cox (R).” Bump goes onto explain there is no fifth in line.
For what it’s worth: If Cox becomes the Governor, he will only be such, because of tie breaker that was cast in 2017, when a district in Virginia was too close to call, with one vote separating the the Democrat Shelly Simonds and the Republican incumbent Del. David Yancey. A panel of Judges decided that one vote was for Yancey, which tied the race, leaving Virginia to pick a name out of bowl. Yancey won the draw, leaving Republican’s the majority of the House, thus making Cox the speaker. For more on the rare drawing @ The Washington Post.
For what it’s worth part two: From what I can determine based on many different articles both the photo of the Governor and the allegations against Fairfax, seem to have been originally reported by the online publication Big League Politics who in their about section explains they are neither left nor right, but instead the theme, “on Big League Politics form a new American political identity, one that emphasizes economic nationalism and bipartisan patriotism. America is a country with its own values and interests. The establishment will always try to rig the system in favor of globalism in the markets and U.S.-led wars overseas. We seek to forge a new path, bringing together conservatives, progressives, libertarians, independents and all those who believe that America should be put First.”
