Virginians split on governor's fate amid blackface scandal, poll shows

[Eugene]

Source: Washington Post

By Peter Jamison and Scott Clement February 9 at 6:02 PM

Virginians are deadlocked over whether Gov. Ralph Northam (D) should step down after the emergence of a photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page depicting people in blackface and Ku Klux Klan robes, with African Americans saying by a wide margin he should remain in office despite the offensive image, according to a Washington Post-Schar School poll.

The poll, conducted Wednesday through Friday, finds residents split over Northam’s fate, with 47 percent wanting him to step down and 47 percent saying he should stay on. Northam counts higher support among black residents — who say he should remain in office by a margin of 58 percent to 37 percent — than among whites, who are more evenly divided.

On the scandals buffeting the state’s other top elected officials, the poll by The Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University finds that about a third of Virginians think Attorney General Mark Herring (D) should resign after he admitted wearing blackface at a party when he was an undergraduate at the University of Virginia. A 60 percent majority say he should stay in office.

Most remain undecided about a woman’s allegation that Lt. Gov Justin Fairfax (D) sexually assaulted her in 2004, with 65 percent saying they didn’t know enough to judge Fairfax’s denial of the accusation. Respondents were not asked about a second sexual assault accusation against Fairfax by a Maryland woman on Friday, after the poll began.

-snip-


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginians-split-on-governors-fate-amid-blackface-scandal-poll-shows/2019/02/09/93002e84-2bc1-11e9-b011-d8500644dc98_story.html

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[Sneederbunk]

1. How dare Virginians decide this.

[underpants]

3. Virginia dares

I don't know if that's what you were going for. Virginia Dare was the first English child born in the New World.

Of course the Spanish had been here some time but we don't talk about that.

[Igel]

6. And the Basques probably before them.

But they don't talk about that.

[underpants]

9. Good point.

Of course we only talk about the east coast too.

Grew up very near Jamestown, it's funny how the two qualifiers "permanent English" are repeated so much we just skip over them and we are conditioned to believe they were first.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Yeah, the Spanish had been here for a hundred years or so, but ...

... the indigenous people had been here eight or ten thousand years. That was before the invading Anglo-Saxon hordes killed them or pushed them out of the good lands.

[Honeycombe8]

12. LOL. (at least, I think you're being sarcastic) I agree. It's for VA to decide.

Those are state elected officials. It's for that state to decide.

[Sneederbunk]

15. Thank you. At least someone got my intent.

[Honeycombe8]

21. That's because you didn't use the "sarcasm" emoji, and people do think the way you said.

So some would think you were being serious.

Some people just don't get it...this is governed by state law, state elections. It's not a matter for Kathryn Harris or Brown or any politician in another state to dictate.

The Dem Party can kick out people from its party, but not from their elected posts. Northam has said if the Dem Party doesn't want him, he'll consider staying on as an Independent. He's a governor of a state. He doesn't answer to the current candidates running for President.

[ewagner]

2. How about this for a model to follow now and in the future

If an accusation is made, the official who is charged should place him/her self on "unpaid administrative leave" until an investigation by a neutral law enforcement agency into the allegation is made. If no charges are filed, then the official returns to work. If charges are filed he can either resign or wait until the court case is complete and remain on administrative leave until the verdict.

Here, we have preserved the dignity of the accuser; we have given the accused due process and we have stood firmly for our principles.

What do you think?

[pazzyanne]

7. I like this suggestion

and would support legislation to that effect!

[Honeycombe8]

14. Do you live in Virginia? nt

[pazzyanne]

17. Sorry, no. But this would not be a bad bill for the USA. period.

[Honeycombe8]

19. It's unconstitutional for the fed govt to dictate state election laws....

This is a state matter, governed by the individual state laws.

[pazzyanne]

20. It is still a good idea!

[Honeycombe8]

22. That's relative. It's a good idea for some states, but not for others.

Every situation is different. Every state is different. There is no one solution.

And besides governorships, there are Senate positions, House of Representative positions, thousands of other state positions, both elected and appointed, judgeships.

[pazzyanne]

23. Here is my 75 year old response - Whatever!

[ewagner]

24. I'm not proposing legislation...

I'm proposing that as a party this is a coherent stance to take as these situations arise.


This is taking place in the political arena at the moment and this is a political suggestion.

[pazzyanne]

25. I totally agree and support your suggestion as having merit.

My "whatever" response was not to you and your idea, but to another poster. Sorry that you thought it was to your sane and sensible plan.

[ewagner]

26. Thanks...

I've been in local government since about 1975 and have confronted situations like this before...

The goal is to protect dignity while seeking justice....it's not easy and tends to piss off people on both sides.

[pazzyanne]

28. In light of what is happening in the current political arena...

… I think that a good look at possible "rules" for the response to allegations, especially anonymous allegations, needs some discussion.

[LisaL]

31. How is it a good idea?

All one would have to do to get rid of a politician (at least for a while) is to make an accusation. And in Northam's case, he isn't accused of a crime, so what exactly is law enforcement is supposed to investigate? They don't go around investigating 35 year old photos in yearbooks.

[ewagner]

33. I'm specifically addressing the Lt. Gov...

He's the only person accused of a criminal activity and my suggestion applies only to elected officials accused of criminal activity.

As it stands now...ANY accusation brings demands for resignation without any competent law-enforcement/legal entity vouching for the accuracy of such claims....

As I also pointed out...it's not a recommendation for a new law, but a policy or recommendation for a process the party could adopt to provide a framework for handling situations such as these in the future.

[Honeycombe8]

13. Other states have nothing to do with Virginia. Or California. Or New York, etc.

Each state decides matters concerning its own elected officials. Virginia can handle its own affairs. Each state may decide such things differently from other states, and no two situations are identical.

[LisaL]

30. Law enforcement agencies investigate crimes, not 35 year old photos

in yearbooks.

[Cold War Spook]

32. No no no no no.

First, this person did not commit a crime. Second, this person did not commit a crime. It is up to the voters to decide, not politicians. Now in a case where an accuser says that he raped her, still if he is placed on unpaid administrative he is not allowed to do what the voters want him to do. Have an investigation of both people.

[kstewart33]

4. That seals it.

IMHO, with support from the black community as reflected in this poll, Northam stays in the job. If Fairfax resigns, I'm hoping he appoints Jennifer McClellan, a black member of the VA Senate, with an impressive record.

[underpants]

5. Thanks for posting this

I just got the news pop up but I'm out of free Post for the month.

Pretty evenly split but not big numbers by an classification.

+/- 4.5. A little loose.

[rpannier]

10. A bit off topic, but I remember a poll from years ago

Fox poll (of course)
Had a +/- of 15%
Wish I could remember what the poll was about, but I wasn't paying attention until I heard the margin of error

[underpants]

11. Well all know Foxworld is purposed to plant seeds

They don't report on anything they direct attention.

[LuvNewcastle]

8. From the looks of those numbers, I'm estimating that

most of the people who don't support Northam now never voted for him in the first place. Looks like it's the will of the people for him to be there.

[Tom Rinaldo]

16. African Americans oppose him resigning by over 20%

That catches my attention. Instructive.

[dalton99a]

27. "Black residents say he should remain in office by a margin of 58 percent to 37 percent"

This is highly significant

[yardwork]

29. Republicans calling for him to step down are hypocrites.

[maxrandb]

34. Ask the Virginia voters

if they'd like to have all three Dems they elected to statewide office replaced by Retrumplicans and see what the percentages are