General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Pierce: Ralph Northam Should Resign. But Democrats Better Wise Up. [View all]Salviati
(6,008 posts)Get them on the record repudiating their past ideologies. This "I didn't leave the party, the party left me" line of reasoning is fine for people who want to vote Democratic, but if we're going to accept people as leaders in our party we need them to come out and explain how what they used to believe is wrong, and how they've come to understand that the Democratic party is paving a better path. Having this sort of thing out in the open would preemptively provide a good first step for those who want to, and can, defend themselves against allegations like this. A good preemptive second step is to increase participation in fighting for equity at all levels.
The other thing to do, when we get hit by this, is to immediately start counterpunching. Use this momentum to attack other racist/sexist/bigoted policies and politicians, targets that will do us some good, and then hammer the republican party for their non-functional moral compass when they fail to join in on those fronts. Make it so that every scandal they drum up on one of ours means that we take sights on five of theirs. It's not like there aren't plenty to choose from.