Three separate simultaneous scandals engulfing Democrats holding the top statewide positions in Virginia’s government is not only throwing a crucial state into chaos, but it is challenging national Democrats to choose between their stated values on women and race and their most cynical political calculations.
Let me make a paltry attempt to summarize for those just tuning in. Last week, Gov. Ralph Northam was forced to apologize for a photo on his medical school yearbook page featuring two people, one in a KKK costume and the other in blackface. At the time, he seemed expendable, because the next person in line was Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a young African-American who would seem to be a perfect choice to heal the state in the wake of the scandal. But it turned out that a woman, who we now know to be accomplished college professor Vanessa Tyson, accused Fairfax of sexually assaulting her at the 2004 Democratic Convention. As much of a disaster as this was, it seemed the worst-case scenario was that Democrats had a fallback plan in the next person in line of succession — Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. But it turns out that Herring wore blackface.
So, what do Democrats do now?
When Fairfax seemed like a great backup plan, a chorus of Democrats including leading 2020 presidential contenders called on Northam to resign. Having staked out that position, it’s hard to argue that Herring should be elevated to the governorship despite having a blackface scandal of his own.
As for Fairfax, there’s a situation in which somebody is accusing him of sexual assault, who is identifying a specific time and place when she claimed it happened. He acknowledges a sexual encounter took place when she said it did but insists it was purely consensual. While it’s impossible to determine for sure what went on in the hotel room 15 years ago, it’s difficult to see an argument for how the modern Democratic Party can justify giving the benefit of the doubt to Fairfax after the arguments they made last fall during the confirmation hearings of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to believe accusers. Furthermore, Tyson identifies herself as a “proud Democrat” in an emotionally gut-wrenching letter describing the encounter, printed on the stationary of her law firm, which happens to be the same firm that represented Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford. In it, she accuses Fairfax of perpetrating a “smear campaign” against her. How do the Democrats ignore her and rally to Fairfax’s defense?
On the other hand, if Democrats force all three statewide officials out of office, it likely means a Republican will assume the governorship. Not only would the Republican then be in charge during the 2020 presidential election year, but in 2021, when the results from the Census come back and Virginia joins other states in drawing up congressional districts.
In the Bill Clinton era, Democrats showed that a lot of their values when it came to the treatment of women could be subordinated to short-term political interests. But we were led to believe that was a different time.
In the wake of the #MeToo era, Democrats pushed Al Franken from the Senate after numerous claims (supported by photos) that he groped women. This wasn’t really much of a test, however, because Minnesota had a Democratic governor in place to choose his replacement.
After the initial Northam controversy, there was a certain pride among Democrats as they abandoned him and signaled they were willing to police their own. But that wasn’t a true test either, given that they knew a Democrat could take his place.
Now, there’s a much more serious test. Handing over power of an important state during a crucial time to Republicans is a significant political cost to pay for the sake of ideological consistency.
However, during the Trump era, Democrats have promoted themselves as representing the demographically changing America that believes women and has no tolerance for racism of any kind. Giving a pass to any one of the three Democrats in Virginia will, for years to come, undermine any demands they make for one Republican or another to step down.
One of the ways that Trump was able to muddy the waters during the 2016 presidential election given his record with women was to point to Bill Clinton’s behavior and elevate women who accused him of rape. If Democrats don’t put their feet down in Virginia, not only does it risk demoralizing their base, it will also become the shield that future Republicans will use to fend off future attacks of racism or sexism.
Now, as a conservative, any advice I give is not going to be taken as a good faith opinion. At the risk of being dismissed, however, I think there’s an argument to be made for Democrats abandoning all three politicians and sacrificing the state. In hindsight, an increasing number of liberals have argued that Clinton should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky scandal after all. As dramatic as the consequences of handing over control of an important state to the other party would be, the willingness to do so would also send a powerful signal going into 2020 that they mean what they say when it comes to women and race.
