Crises deepen for Virginia’s 3 top Dems
By any measure, the scandals enveloping Virginia’s three top Democratic leaders — a toxic stew of racially offensive imagery and an allegation of sexual assault — are potent enough to potentially end any politician’s career.
Yet, Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and Attorney General Mark Herring have managed over the past week to exacerbate their crises in ways that have astonished political professionals.
The governor, at a news conference Saturday where he denined appearing in a racist yearbook photo — acknowledged that he put on blackface to compete in a 1984 dance contest. In the same conference, prompted by a reporter’s question, Northam appeared willing to perform a
rendition of Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.
For Fairfax, the worst moments may have been Tuesday, when he challenged the credibility of a woman who had accused him of a 2004 sexual assault. He also insinuated both Northam and Richmond’s Democratic mayor, Levar Stoney, may
have leaked the allegation.
Herring’s misstep was to demand Northam’s resignation on Saturday, only to acknowledge four days later — after his name was floated as a possible successor to the governor — that he himself wore blackface, dressed up as rapper Kurtis Blow while in college.
“Any one of these could be a case study for future analyses of how not to handle a political crisis,” said Mark Rozell, a George Mason public policy professor.
The trio’s handling of respective imbroglios has triggered rounds of second-guessing from Richmond to the U.S. Capitol.
“The mistake is everyone panicked,” said a former elected official from Virginia, who asked not to be identified because of the topics. “The best thing is take a deep breath and wait until the facts come in. That’s the lesson here. Otherwise your message is confused. It’s politics 101 and each one failed.”
Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Va., said Northam’s management of the crisis — saying he was in a photograph of two people in blackface and a KKK hood, only to deny the claim 24 hours later — suggests “that he does not have the capacity to lead or heal us.”