Harris calls on Northam to resign over KKK, blackface yearbook photo

[oberliner]

Source: The Hill

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) called on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to resign after he acknowledged appearing in a picture showing a man wearing blackface and another dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe.

Harris, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, urged Northam to step down "so the public can heal and move forward together."

“Leaders are called to a higher standard, and the stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government,” Harris wrote on Twitter.

Read more: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/428154-harris-calls-on-northam-to-resign

[a kennedy]

1. and so it begins.........

is this worse then what Al Franken did??? Sex or racial???

[appalachiablue]

2. WAPO: Northam's apology, more on controversy, what could come next.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gov-northams-medical-school-yearbook-page-shows-men-in-blackface-kkk-robe/2019/02/01/517a43ee-265f-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html?utm_term=.c03f9b8857f0

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/02/gov-ralph-northams-political-career-is-suddenly-shaky-heres-what-could-happen-next/?utm_term=.bff55de1b5e3

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016225564

[oberliner]

6. What are your thoughts? Do you think she should resign?

[FarPoint]

23. Well...there is no rush to act on this...

I prefer to process this issue as adults...it was in 1984...Let's see if this has legs. We just can not be self destructive....

[oberliner]

35. Things seem to be moving pretty quickly

I feel like he will resign today.

[FarPoint]

43. I think you are correct... .

I regret we can't process this.. knee jerk reactions are not always the best option. Hate we are setting this up as our standard....Just likeAl Franken.

[kimbutgar]

3. No then Virginia will then get a repuke governor this will be repuke power grab

Why wasn’t this out in out when he ran the first time? The disclosure is highly suspious. Repukes never quit. Why should Northam?

[Jose Garcia]

4. The Lt. Governor is a Democrat

[kimbutgar]

5. Ok now I feel a little better.

Thanks

[LisaL]

7. But Lt. Governor will be replaced by a Republican, should he become Governor.

[OnDoutside]

27. And the effect of that ?

[George II]

10. A black Democrat.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

26. Should ask Kamala.

[Desert grandma]

8. I am sick of Democrats beating up on other Dems

For things they did while they were obviously young and partying or joking around. If Harris continues this, I will NOT vote for her unless she is the only alternative to the orange buffoon. You know, most people have done things in their younger years that they are not proud of. I am tired of Democrats trying to use an incident like this against another Democrat to gain political advantage. I will not vote for Gillibrand for the same reason. Republicans, obviously don't do this. It would not surprise me in the least if some Republican didn't leak this to the press. Repeat of Franken fiasco. Republicans know that we destroy our own, while they ignore and life goes on. That's why we have a Cavanaugh in the Court and a misogynist in the White House.

[Jose Garcia]

9. So, if Cavanaugh were a Democrat, you would have dismissed

the accusations against him?

[Desert grandma]

11. Yes.

I think we need to judge people by their present actions and not by behavior over 35 years ago. We have all done things in our youth that we regret. I did not dislike Cavanaugh for this action as a boy. I disliked him because of his views on a woman's right to choose and was concerned he would overturn Roe v Wade.

[greatbaldeagle]

18. So based on your logic you are going to not judge OJ Simpson in 10 years

It will have been 35 years ago 10 years from now. I'm sure you'll judge him based on his present actions in 10 years, right? Is there a specific number of years that have to pass before you can no longer be judged by a transgression? Does this vary depending on the transgression? Clearly attempted rape is one of these transgressions in which judgement must cease after a certain period of time, at least based on your not judging Cavanaugh. What about actual rape? Do we not judge Bill Cosby now or is it too soon?

[Fresh_Start]

40. Its ridiculous to compare murder to wearing a costume nt

nt

[greatbaldeagle]

41. I was referring to the comment about Cavanaugh (attempted rape)

Re-read my post and try again.

[ChubbyStar]

12. Jesus I am laughing my ass off

So funny

[Honeycombe8]

47. Not the same thing. Northam is a democratically elected Gov in a STATE.

Kavanaugh was up for a NATIONAL Justice position, for confirmation by a few men. Not elected. National concern.

I believe this is up to Virginia. They have the right to elect whoever they want, or oust whoever they want.

[greatbaldeagle]

15. Young and partying or joking around? Really?

Last edited Sat Feb 2, 2019, 12:11 AM - Edit history (1)

There is no excuse for a grown man (med school graduate at the time) believing that painting himself black and standing next to someone in a Klan outfit was just good old fashioned everyday partying and joking around. Sure, joke about people being lynched solely on the basis of the pigmentation they were provided to protect their bodies from the extreme exposure to the sun that exists in the climate in which their bodies were designed to live. In case you didn't know, dark skin has a natural SPF of 13 compared to about a 3 for light skin. It literally is a physiological advantage that has been hijacked and turned into something negative. Why is this even something to joke about? Can you just answer that simple question for me? A lot of white people seem to really love this joke, even in 2019 and then they are SURPRISED that people are offended by it. Are we living on the same planet? It is not OK. It NEVER was. It never will be. Stop it. Why are so many white people obsessed with dark skin? It's just skin. Get over it.

Imagine being one of his black patients a few months or years after that photo was taken? Do you think someone who thought that was a joke was then going to give the SAME level of care to a black patient that he would a white patient? Umm...no.

Let's try this. Imagine seeing black men in photos dressed as Nat Turner and laughing while pointing guns and knives at other black men dressed in white face. Do you think people would say "oh they were young and partying and joking around"? Would you want one of these black men to be your Governor 35 years later where he now has to represent the same group of people that he thought didn't even deserve to breathe air at some point earlier in his ADULTHOOD?

Is being a racist that fun? What's next? Are we going to start seeing images of white people wearing the Star of David while standing next to someone wearing a swastika and Hitler mustache? Oh how funny that is. Hahaha. It's so funny just partying and joking around about genocide. This is evil, sick, and barbaric. It has to end. There are millions of other ways to have fun other than being a racist.

[Desert grandma]

16. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

In this case, only the voters of Virginia should make that call, IMO.

[greatbaldeagle]

17. You didn't answer my question.

Last edited Sat Feb 2, 2019, 12:09 AM - Edit history (1)

Why is dressing in black face so funny? Apparently it is if so many white people keep doing it. I don't get it? Why is dressing in black face standing next to someone dressed as a Klansman so funny? Still waiting on that answer...

[Desert grandma]

20. I do not think it is funny

But apparently all those guys at the party thought so. What I think is really not the issue here. What the voters of Virginia think is the only thing that really matters.

[Honeycombe8]

48. I was born and raised in the deep south. You misunderstand in part.

You seem to think that dressing up inappropriately in something that would offend black people means he would treat black people differently. It doesn't quite work that way, across the board. Maybe it would mean that, maybe not. It depends on the person.

25 is pretty young. Just a year or two after frat status. Prince Harry dressed up as a Nazi for a costume party and rec'd flack about it. He married a woman of color, so it's safe to say that he was not prejudiced or racist. Sometimes people make a bad decision when trying to be funny and totally misstep. Most comedians end up doing that.

Northam hasn't provided a good enough explanation, IMO. This sort of dress-up was not the norm in the 80s. But I don't know him to know if it's possible that he was racist at the time. If I had seen that in the 80s, I can't say what I would have thought about it; it's hard for me to go back in time and try to remember my head at the time. I think I would have thought it was stupid, offensive, disrespectful. But I'm not sure I would have thought that automatically meant the guy was racist; like I said, it depends on the person.

Northam has not done anything politically to suggest he's racist, I've read. If that's true, this was a one-time joke thing that was way out of line.

[greatbaldeagle]

55. You are marginalizing what the KKK represents

Would you say the same thing if they were depicting Holocaust Jews and Hitler? The KKK is a terrorist organization that has committed numerous murders of black people for over a century. Their cause was/is terrorizing black people. If it is desirable for you to wear their uniform or stand next to someone doing it while you're in black face then you will be assumed to agree with their ideology. I sure as hell am not going to put my child's well-being in the hands of a pediatrician with his history and simply hope that I'm wrong.

[Honeycombe8]

56. Yes, I would say the same thing. Prince Harry dressed as a Nazi for a costume party.

Young stupid guys do stupid things sometimes, and get it very wrong. I think it's safe to say that Prince Harry is not a bigot. Doing something incredibly stupid one time when you're young...that's different from the Asst AG in Florida, who did it when he was in his mid-thirties and not that long ago, and he doesn't have a record of promoting equality and such.

I'm not marginalizing the KKK at all. I know quite a bit about them. Documentaries, and they are in my area, as well as in another area not far away. KKK members don't show up at costume events wearing what to them is a serious garb (although it's garb of the past, is my understanding).

I can't read his mind, so I don't know what was in his head or heart. Or Prince Harry.

But it's up to Virginians, IMO. Virginia elected him Governor. If they want to oust him, they can. This is not like a U S supreme Court nomination, or even a Senator. This is a state elected position. It's not my call.

[greatbaldeagle]

62. So you agree with Trump. There were fine people on both sides in Charlottesville?

Before you read below, this one line alone destroys your argument: I can't read his mind, so I don't know what was in his head or heart. Or Prince Harry. Bingo! We don't know, so we have to err on the side of caution.

Many of those tiki torch guys were 25 or younger. Were they fine people? All we know is that many of them that were there were simply dressed for the occasion according to you. Perhaps this was just their first time and they went because a friend suggested it. Since simply being a 25 year old grown man and wearing the "garb" can fall under the category of young and stupid, then you agree with Trump.

Meanwhile, you clearly don't care very much about the visceral reaction it gives African Americans and you are ready to excuse it because it doesn't affect you. And it is clearly more important for you to defend the behavior and make excuses for it rather than recognize the effect it has on the victims of the behavior. Sadly, I can accept it not being important to you. Ignoring it is one thing. But you are going out of your way to defend it and make excuses for it. That's where I have to question your motives. Do you have family members or friends who are in the KKK? Did some of them not know how serious the "garb" was and dressed like this for Halloween? Did you?

As for your Prince Harry argument, give me a break. Ted Bundy, who was treated like a commodity by the public, the media, and the judges (how disgraceful is that?), had a girlfriend while he was raping and killing women. He married a woman and had a child with her while he was in custody. He was still a brutal rapist and murderer who raped and killed over 30 young women and at least one 12 year old girl. It is not safe to say he wasn't a rapist and murderer of women just because he had a girlfriend and married a woman. It is not safe to say Prince Harry is not a bigot just because he married a mixed woman. In case you didn't know, she's both white and black. She's not black, unless black is no longer associated with race and is now simply a color. If that's the case, many Indian, Latin American, and Persian people are now black. (side note: Barack Obama was our first mixed President. He's not black either.)

To further the point of associations with black people not being enough, many slave owners had intercourse with their black slaves. You can't get any closer than having intercourse with a person. But how can you be a slave owner and not be a bigot? Sarah Palin had sex with a black basketball player in college. I'm pretty sure she's a bigot.

[Honeycombe8]

64. Oh, stop it.

Stop trying to make what the guy did 35 years ago the same as marching with Nazis and tiki torches. Just stop it.

Prince Harry was a good example, because of course, he married a biracial woman. They are having a biracial child. Going by your logic, Prince Harry would have been judged a bigot and Nazi-sympathizer, the same as someone who marches with Nazis, for wearing a Nazi costume when he was a younger man. And that would have been very wrong, both morally and factually.

It must be nice never to have made a big mistake. What's that feel like?

[greatbaldeagle]

65. No. I won't stop.

You clearly either have a reading comprehension problem or you just want to ignore what I actually said. Since it's pointless to debate you with nuances and logic, I 'll give you another shot with just a simple question. Why is it more important for you to defend the behavior and make excuses for it rather than recognize the effect it has on the victims of the behavior?

[pnwmom]

22. Why are you singling out Harris? Castro, Brown, and Booker have all called for Northam to resign.

So has former Governor McAuliffe. And there will be others.

[Honeycombe8]

49. The same cast of characters who ousted Franken. nt

[pnwmom]

51. You're calling the large MAJORITY of Senators a "cast of characters." 32 signed the letter in a day.

[Honeycombe8]

52. It was a factual statement. The same people who ousted Franken. And no...not at 30-something...

Harris, Booker, and a couple of others.

This is a matter for Virginia. They elected him. They can oust him, if they want. They have the legal right to elect whoever they want, even if they want to elect a racist, misogynist, etc. There's no evidence that Northam is those things, outside of this one thing he did in jest as a young man. But whatever he is, it's up to Virginia.

They'll probably oust him. But if they don't, that's up to them. It's a state matter, IMO. Not like Kavanaugh, or someone who is actively running but not elected yet and leaning on support from the Democratic Party. Once elected, things change.

If Northam had addressed this before, this wouldn't be an issue. I'll have to look through my college & hs yearbook and see if anyone pulled a stunt like that. I don't think so. Once we get past the 60s, everyone knew what was and wasn't offensive and inappropriate for decent people to do, as I recall. (For me, though, it was since a child; for some reason I had an empathy with people who were discriminated against.)

[pnwmom]

53. No, not factual. There were 32 signers on the first day, and McAuliffe isn't even in the Senate. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

57. I have the Franken list. I was referring to the Northam list.

I just noticed that the ones jumping on this bandwagon so quickly, also jumped on the Franken wagon. Just an observation.

[pnwmom]

58. McAuliffe never jumped on the "Franken" list, though 32 Senators did. nt

[Honeycombe8]

59. McAuliffe is new. He wasn't on the list when I posted that. What are you arguing about? nt

[pnwmom]

60. Yes, he was. I posted about him right away, #22. n/t

[Honeycombe8]

61. That was not in the main OP, okay? What ARE you arguing about? What's your problem?

All I did was respond that the ones named in the post are ones who jumped on the Franken bandwagon, and they are. That's a factual statement. There is NOTHING inaccurate about that, and nothing to argue about. Geez, get a grip, lady.

[Izzy Blue]

13. Coming on the heels of this.

Secretary of State Michael Ertel resigns after blackface photos

"Ertel, previously the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, resigned after photos of him posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim in blackface were obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat"

"Ertel, previously the Seminole County Supervisor of Elections, resigned after photos of him posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim in blackface were obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat.

By Elizabeth Koh Jan. 24

Newly appointed Florida Secretary of State Michael Ertel has resigned from office after photos of him posing as a female Hurricane Katrina victim in blackface were obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat, the paper reported online Thursday.

According to the Democrat, the photos were taken in 2005, shortly after Ertel had become supervisor of elections in Seminole County, and depict Ertel in blackface wearing a New Orleans Saints bandanna around his head and a shirt with the words "Katrina Victim" written on it.

Ertel confirmed to the paper he was the man in the photos last week, the Democrat reported. The paper shared the photos with the governor's office Thursday, which had not previously seen the photos.

"There's nothing I can say," Ertel told the paper. He did not respond to a request for comment.

Ertel had testified in front of a legislative committee as late as Thursday morning, but in an email to Gov. Ron DeSantis just before 2 p.m., Ertel submitted his resignation "effective immediately."

https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politic...ce-photos/

[Honeycombe8]

50. Each state should decide how to handle scandals with its govt elected officials.

Florida governor asked Erkel for his resignation. Good for him. (But it was much more recent, and Erkel was in his mid-thirties. Way past the time a person could claim a young man's bad attempt at humor that he didn't realize would be that offensive.)

Virginia should decide for itself. They elected Northam. If they want to replace him, they will. It's not up to Harris, Booker, or anyone else who is not a Virginian.

[UniqueUserName]

14. I agree with Senator Harris

Northam was graduating from medical school. He should have known better. I was a white high school senior in southern Alabama. I knew better. That being said, although he should resign, everyone calling for his resignation---INCLUDING the Virginia Republicans---should be calling for Trump's resignation for all of his racist words/actions, or otherwise they should be made to own the title of hypocrites.

[xxqqqzme]

19. She jumped on the

'toss Al Franken under the bus' mob right away too.

[Demonaut]

21. I will vote for a democrat but I hope it's not Harris

[pnwmom]

24. Do you realize Booker, Castro, and Brown have also called on Northam to resign?

I don't know why people are singling her out.

[oberliner]

25. Harris and Castro were the first two - almost immediately

[pnwmom]

28. So what? It all happened on the same day. Maybe some of the others were taking a nap.

Or sticking a wet finger in the wind, checking to see the way the wind blew.

[oberliner]

32. The first ones out seem to get the strongest reaction

[LawnKorn]

29. I give Kamala Harris a thumbs down on this one

It is unfortunate enough that Ralph Northam is going to suffer the slings and arrows for youthful indiscretion, but when Kamala Harris seeks to use this to grab headlines in her bid for the Presidential nomination, we all lose.

What does it say about Democrats when we will disparage our own to achieve political advancement?

[onetexan]

30. Me too. Its Al Franken al over again.

[Codeine]

42. Youthful indiscretion?

Dressing up as a classic hate symbol as a grown-ass man isn’t a youthful indiscretion, for God’s sake.

[Politicub]

45. Ah, yes. The 25 year-old youth.

[delisen]

31. I am already hearing how K Harris is unfit because of her tough on crime stance as prosecutor

[djacq]

33. Gov Northam will have to resign. (Copied from another post)

As an African American and a Virginia Resident, I and my family "was" proud voters for Northam. The African American vote, especially with black women, brought Northam that win.

Doesn't matter if it was 35 years ago. Doesn't matter if he is of good character now. He's a good governor and I'm quite sure Northam is a good man, a good doctor, a good veteran, and NOT a racist.

But that image is there and we all see it. But you also can't dismiss the images of African Americans during Slavery, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow. Watch the 60 Minutes segment on Lynching and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Look at the images of unarmed young men being killed.

Should I tell my two adult black children to dismiss the images of their heritage? So, why should I or any DU member here should easily dismiss images of Northam in either of the two individuals.

I can't take back my vote but Northam can do the right thing and resign.

[oberliner]

34. Seems like that's where this is headed

[Maxheader]

36. Gonna live by the sword....

[INdemo]

37. Kamala that is pure political while

You should be calling for Senate Republicans who
have committed sexual harassment to resign but you let them slide while you want to crucify Northam in order to get Democratic primary votes. Well you won’t get mine

[Politicub]

46. Please provide a source for the senate republicans that Harris let "slip"

Otherwise, you’re just making stuff up.

[Cold War Spook]

38. When a politician did something stupid in the past,

I want to know when did it happen, the age of the person when it happened and if he or she holds a public office, how does he or she act today such as a voting record or just acts. Would someone please let me know if there is a word that replaces using "he or she". it has to be singular.

[dkhbrit]

39. We do ourselves no favors

When we hold our own party to lower standards then our opposition. There were plenty on here willing to have folks be guilty by association when it comes to matters of race (when it’s the other side). Mr Northam does need to go. It may well be a youthful indiscretion but we have demanded more for less from others.

[SharonClark]

44. Good for Harris and all the other elected officials who call for his resignation

[obnoxiousdrunk]

54. Good for her.

[Baclava]

63. Hillary Clinton, "This has gone on too long. There is nothing to debate. He must resign"

https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton