Sen. Harris urges Democrat accused of rape to resign
Powerful California Democrats who lined up to oppose Brett Kavanaugh for Supreme Court consideration last year amid decades-old attempted rape allegations and publicly sided with his accuser have been muted in reaction to sexual assault accusations against one of their party’s rising stars.
Late Friday, Sen. Kamala Harris became an exception — calling for Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax to resign because of “corroborated, painful stories of sexual assault and rape.”
The Fairfax and Kavanaugh cases have
obvious parallels. Palo Alto University Professor Christine Blasey Ford said Kavanaugh had tried to rape her when they were teens, which he strongly denied. Two women have now accused Fairfax of sexually assaulting them, one in 2004 and one in 2000, charges that he, too, has strongly denied.
The latest allegations against Fairfax became public late Friday. But high-ranking Democrats had already had two days to consider the assault accusations lodged by Vanessa Tyson, a Scripps College professor and visiting fellow at Stanford University. Several called for investigations and some said Tyson appeared to be credible, but until Harris issued her call late Friday, none was calling for Fairfax to step down.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who led several members of her Democratic caucus in urging Kavanaugh to withdraw as a nominee in September, said the accusations against Fairfax were something for Virginia to sort out.
“It’s sad because they have some very talented leaders there, but they have to have the confidence of the electorate and they have to have the confidence of the legislature that they have to work with,” Pelosi said Thursday. “But, I’ll leave that up to them. I have enough to do here without getting involved in the affairs of Virginia.”
Harris, whose grilling of Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearings helped to boost her national profile, first called for an investigation into the accusations against Fairfax. Late Friday, she became the first major Democratic presidential candidate to call for him to step down after the second woman to accuse Fairfax of sexual assault, Meredith Watson, went public.
“The allegations by Dr. Vanessa Tyson and Meredith Watson are corroborated, painful stories of sexual assault and rape,” Harris tweeted. “It’s clear Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax should resign his office.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the first lawmaker to learn of Blasey Ford’s charges, said Friday: “Professor Tyson should be shown respect.
“I believe Professor Tyson’s allegations are credible,” Feinstein said. “They should be taken seriously and investigated appropriately.”
Both Feinstein and Harris were among Judiciary Committee Democrats who called on President Trump to withdraw Kavanaugh’s nomination or order an FBI investigation after Blasey Ford’s accusation became public.
Fairfax’s future is problematic for national Democrats. At 39, he was considered a possible leader of a state that has trended more Democratic in recent elections. That possibility became far more immediate when Gov. Ralph Northam was engulfed in a scandal over racist photos that were published on his page in a 1980s medical school yearbook.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, a sexual assault survivor who led an effort toughening sexual harassment rules for House members, took a slightly tougher stand against Fairfax than some of her colleagues.
“I do not believe that Lt. Gov. Fairfax should be elevated pending an investigation, which should be done by a reputable third party,” and all of the witnesses should be interviewed, Speier told The Chronicle on Friday.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Dublin Democrat who is considering a White House run, said
“The allegations ... are corroborated, stories assault of and sexual rape. painful It’s clear Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax should resign his office.” Sen. Kamala Harris, in a tweet
Friday that “the central lesson of the #MeToo movement is that victims must be taken seriously, and a credible allegation has been made.”
“Fairfax was duly elected by voters — something that wasn’t a factor in the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing, who was seeking a promotion,” said Swalwell, who also said he supports an investigation. “But if the claims against him are borne out, he should resign.”
A friend of Tyson’s, Menlo College political science Professor Melissa Michelson, said calling for an investigation is “a wishy-washy response” that “sort of gives them political cover.”
“If public opinion turns against her, or if it turns against him, it gives them the leeway to follow the crowd,” Michelson said. She helped to start a GoFundMe campaign to defray any legal expenses Tyson may have. In three days, it has raised more than $21,000.
The Fairfax case is a charged one for national Democrats. Both he and Tyson are African American, and blacks and women “are such important demographics in the Democratic Party,” said Lori Cox Han, author of “Women, Power, and Politics: The Fight for Gender Equality in the United States.”
Democrats tapped into the political power of the #MeToo movement to get more women to vote, said Han, a professor of political science at Chapman University in Orange County.
“Democrats want to be seen as out front on these #MeToo issues,” she said. “But it’s tough because Fairfax was seen as a rising political star. They’re trying to do to right thing but not offend anybody.”
His support may be evaporating, however. In addition to Harris, Democrats in the Virginia House and Senate issued a joint statement late Friday calling on Fairfax to leave office because he can “no longer fulfill his duties to the commonwealth.”
James Taylor, a University of San Francisco professor of political science and expert on African American politics, said that “if Democrats don’t take a principled stand in Virginia, then it undermines their moral authority in 2020 against Donald Trump,” who has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by at least 19 women.
There are other racial politics at play. It must have been especially difficult for Tyson to come forward with allegations against Fairfax because she has to deal “with the specter of bringing down a black man when there is a scarcity of black men in power,” said Taylor, the author of “Black Nationalism in the United States: From Malcolm X to Barack Obama.” Only four African Americans have ever served as state governors.
With all that at play, calling for an investigation “seems like it’s a delaying tactic,” Han said. “Maybe they’re trying to delay to see what (Gov. Ralph) Northam will do. I wouldn’t want to be a strategist for the Democratic Party now.”