With Northam Picture, Obscure Publication Plays Big Role in Virginia Politics

I did not support Governor Northam in the last election. However, when Governor Northam ran for office, the majority of Virginians elected him because of his political positions. At least, I hope that's why he was elected: it would be very concerning if he was elected because they thought he was a manifestation of some sinless deity. If we start electing 'gods' to political office we are sunk. So this business of going through the entire life of an individual looking for something - anything - that can be used against them is a travesty. Children and young adults often make poor choices. So to use such poor choices to make judgements against a mature individual who has not repeated those poor choices over many years is not right. In fact, it's juvenile. If you want to oppose Governor Northam, then talk about his policies and the direction he wants to take the State of Virginia - there is plenty to talk about there. Have an adult conversation about ideas and concepts. If one really has to reach back 35 years to find something to criticize, the adult attitude should be that they (those that criticize) are devoid of any real ideas to talk about. I don't think that is the case. I think there is plenty to talk about but it will take more effort than simply pouring through old school albums. This goes for any candidate of any persuasion running for any office. Can we please grow up? Just a little?

Congratulations republicans! The publication of the old photo by a GOP site after pro-abortion comments by the governor foreshadows what will happen in the next elections. Republicans are head-and-shoulders above the dems in scandal-mongering and distortions. Whoever appears on the political horizon will get loads of accusations, riling potential voters. And s/he will lose, while the republicans will have the last laugh.

The Seattle P.I. (online only) ran another article today that gets to the background of this hate propaganda tool by the hard right. One doctor who went to school with Governor Northam said he had first-hand knowledge of yearbook entries being changed without the subject's knowledge. It also says most graduates don't even read it - it's published in the fall after they graduate and they're busy moving on with their lives. It's worth a read. This was over 35 years ago. They were young men with little life experience - their social consciences grew as they got out into the world. Some people change when they grow up. This was all a hard-right racist propaganda tool to try to discredit a democratic governor - and the lieutenant governor - so the republican speaker could take over. WE THE PEOPLE must be fully aware of this kind of propaganda and call it out immediately - especially OUR media. https://www.seattlepi.com/news/education/article/Racist-yearbook-photo-went-unnoticed-by-busy-med-13591054.php

The source, which has a reputation for right wing extremism, lies, conspiracy theories, and the like, is indeed part of the story. This is a politically motivated Trump Republican maneuver. Everything they report must be verified according to the standards of the Constitutional fact-based free press, i.e., the NY Times, the Washington Post, etc. Dr. Ford was credible. Mr. Fritsch and Mr. Howley are not. They are genuinely deplorable. My assumption was that the yearbook pages would have been easy to verify, and that they had already been verified by the NY Times. Tactically, the Democrats have no choice but to ask Mr. Northam to resign. As for Mr. Fairfax, we must wait. The Post almost certainly did do a proper investigation. The Democratic party must conduct its own public, transparent investigation. For one thing, there is a clear racist aspect to the Big League Politics charge of sexual assault.

For those who are unfamiliar with the alt-right lexicon, this is called "owning the libs." Step 1: Find the kind of scandal which will inflame the delicate sensibilities of PC culture. Step 2: Sit back and watch the liberals tear each other apart. Step 3: Retake the seat which the liberals so generously opened up for a Republican. There is nothing surprising about this playbook. It's been a staple of far-right activism since at least the Clinton years. The only surprise is that Democrats still fall for it.

The more interesting dynamic is that this has also exposed the Washington Post and put it on the defensive, as it knew of the allegations against Fairfax some time ago. It's excuse was that they could not corroborate them, which is news to many people, low that bar is (one seems to only need to get a lawyer to establish credibility). It also begs the question of how hard WaPost actually tried to work the story. Trump only needs to be right once out of a thousand times about media bias and lack of credibility for it to be true. They've handed him another gift here. That may be more damaging than the harm these scandals have done to the VA Democratic party.

It should be clear and convincing to those of us who have control over the House but not the Senate and Presidency that we are being played. Frankly, I am disappointed by the leaders of the Democratic Party, the crop of Presidential candidates and social liberals to look beyond the allegations and directly at the source of these allegations. It should not be surprising that both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are being smeared. There are bad and dishonest elements that started this and they would like no better than grab political control over the State of Virginia in anyway possible. Shame on those that stepped forward so quickly to denounce the Governor and will likely do so with the Lieutenant Governor. Let's not do dumb things.

Interesting that no investigative journalists have looked into every current Southern white male office holder to see if any of them have connections to the KKK, more recent and at actual meetings. Not in yearbook photos done for 'laughs,' despicable as that laughter was, but out of far-more-despicable conviction. And nobody remembers what happened to a very ancient Senator Byrd, when his early career KKK affiliation was revealed? I do. Making distinctions between what behavior from many years ago is still culpable today, and what is not, is difficult but necessary. And how people respond _today_, can help resolve that question. Brett Kavanaugh was on one side, both by the nature of the charge - a serious crime of violence - and by his whining and bullying response at the revelations. The Virginia Democrats? There are some differences.

Governor Northam is getting forced out of office for a racially insensitive picture from 35 years in his past ... the Inquisitors are free to play hardball with Northam, because his Lt. Governor, Justin Fairfax is a rising star, a black guy, a trade up. Nobody would have called for Northam to resign if his Fairfax was a republican. No racial offense is THAT bad. In an ironic twist it turns out Fairfax is accused of sexual assault. What to do? During the Kavanaugh hearing we were told to give women the benefit of the doubt in a he said she said situation. Believe the woman. Meanwhile, we learn that the WaPo initially buried the story for lack of supporting evidence. I’d like to get Brett Kavanaugh’s take on that. Let the equivocation begin! How do the Democrats choose between a white male in black face, and a black male sexual predator? This is why we need more women in politics. In a consistent, intellectually honest world, they would both be drummed out, but we all know that will never happen. This is better than a Louis C.K. at a comedy club.

Now all of a sudden, we'll take a pause to examine the source. The source is not the story, the racist Democrat is and he needs to go. The Lt Governor's accuser deserves her voice to be heard and not be sidelined.

The comment at the very end of this string includes this information, which seems to warrant investigation: "There is a photo being passed around on social media in Virginia of a group of 5 young men, allegedly from his [Northam's] med school during this time. They are posing in front of a car, 3 are white and 2 are African Americans. Ralph Northam is in the photo. One of the white young men appears to be wearing the same plaid pants and belt as worn by the blackface young man in the photo at issue. Also, he has bushy hair that looks similar in shape to the one in the blackface photo. He could have been the blackface guy. And, the KKK guy appears to be shorter than the blackface guy. However, in the car photo of the 5 young men, Northam is taller than the blackface guy. "

“As the vilest writer hath his readers, so the greatest liar hath his believers: and it often happens, that if a lie be believed only for an hour, it hath done its work.” Johnathan Swift 1710

Social Media muckraking is back. Don't be fooled. Franken was brought down my this kind of smear, which somehow Roger Stone accurately announced was coming before the butt-grabbing right-wing radio hostess called out Franken in a much-belated claim against the Senator. Here it is again. Let's unseat a Governor and Lt. Governor with a bunch of dredged up muck. Another well-known Minnesota liberal was hit with false allegations last year, just weeks before the election. Keith Ellison ended up winning the state's AG race, but only because the smear campaign ultimately was proven false by court records of his divorce being made public. That's how far it had to go. Pathetic. Where is the due process that made America great? Democrats made a big mistake with Sen. Franken, the most effective Democrat in Congress at the time. Leave the mob mentality at the Trump rallies. Don't let this kind of often outdated, baseless and irrelevant manufactured outrages spawn in social media corrode the Democratic Party. Remained reasoned, put things into context, and choose the path of due process. Better yet, before getting excited about some "news," know that you can usually recognize muckraking by its source.

Careful NYT, Big League credits RVA Dirt for running the story First. RVA dirt confirms this. RVA Dirt is a left wing feminist blog. http://rvadirt.com/about-us/

In these days of dark money flooding into politics to fund dirty methods to push forward their agenda, and Russian hackers and front groups invading our political discourse, one must take a skeptical eye and proceed with caution before reacting and giving air time and issuing demands. Have we learned nothing in the last two years about vulnerable we all are to misinformation?

Thank you, finally some one is digging into the suspicious players and actions behind this story. Even if it turns out the photograph does include Northam, it still has been a mob-rush to convict, engineered by social media, Breitbart style. Is it possible Northam, a teen in a racist state and school culture, evolved and grew from his experience to become a Democrat—whereas his former classmates did not? More than enquiring minds await the real facts.

The mob (made up mostly of individuals who are guilty of the very same they are attacking, in most cases) has a voracious appetite that will get its pound, whether it be Republican or Democrat. Just remember, liberals, you're the one who fueled the mob, then let it off its chain with your identity and gender politics.

I've never heard of Big League Politics, but I wonder if attacking the source is the right way to cover this story. Newsflash--the Governor appears to be a racist. Medical school yearbook, blackface, college yearbook. Newsflash--the Lt. Governor may be a predator. Those are the stories. Let's not take our eye off the ball just because the stories were broken by people we don't like.

The governor was toast with the late term abortion interview. You don’t necessarily need the big MSM news cartels anymore to ruin people.

I have seen this as the GOP's opening volley in the 2020 campaign since it came out. They don't practice journalism at all. They are propagandists and that is all they are. This isn't much different than Wiki leaks using real docs to create propaganda stories. "Ethno state types"!? too pc to say White Nationalists? What exactly is he protecting here with that silly avoision? Who is he that he has to protect a relationship with these lying muckrakers? Clearly a republican but who???? Fact- That photo is awful and Northam has to go. I have to wonder that it has remained secret for so long. Did his alleged med school classmates get a different education than he did? Were they OK with the picture only as long as he adhered to their personal morality? You can have an opinion about abortion being wrong but you cannot refute the reality of medical situations in which Northam indicated life and death decisions have to be made. The GOP's game is evolving to get better. This situation is so enmeshed with rich topics that deserve addressing none of which call for focus on them directly except this convenient anonymous tipster......

Isn't it more important that the disgusting yearbook photo was found and brought into the light than by who did it? The Democrats should be overjoyed that a racist bigot has been outed and the opportunity to have him replaced before his bigotry had time to influence Virginia law. But somehow they're not happy that it was a member of the right wing media outlets. Why does that matter? It certainly doesn't change the fact that the picture is real and that the Governor of Virginia is a bigoted racist who must go. Perhaps it would have been more palatable had a left wing media outlet gotten to the picture first. The obvious outrage and demand that Northam resign would ring just as loud from them; correct? So this is really nothing more than a story of hurt feelings and dented egos that found its way into the pages of the NYT. What is really laughable is the attempt to make Big League Politics out as a cloak and dagger organization who's sole mission is to destroy anything slightly liberal and everything Democratic. Though you've got to give them points for surfacing that damning picture. The Democrats have their own legions of sub rosa operatives: American Bridge, Factivists, American Democracy Legal Fund and Priorities USA, being just a few of them, so let's not pretend that dirty operatives work exclusively for the right wing media. It's time now for the Democrats to walk the talk and escort Governor Northam off stage left.

OK, there you have it. Our PC culture on the left is eating us alive. EVERYONE has a skeleton or two in the closet. And the right is going to spend all day, every day digging out dirt. I have no solutions to offer.

"Obscure right wing website". I wonder how the Times feels about it. It obviously wants to make the messenger the issue, not the message.

What goes around, comes around.

It's about time the New York Times printed the truth. Every single media outlet should follow suit. Next time, boys and girls of the media, before you go off on some junior high gossip rampage check the source. Governor Northam should not step down and it is unforgivable that the media gave this false propaganda so much air time and print space. Shame on you all.

Two points regarding this -- Back in the 60's - when I was a teenager - I saw an article in a magazine geared towards my demographic - and was amazed by something printed in the article -- I ran breathlessly to my step-father - pointed to the page - and said in amazement -- "Have you seen this?!?!" -- My step-father glanced at it and then waved it away dismissively -- "But-but -- it says so RIGHT HERE!" - I insisted -- My step-father then said something to me which - while it took a while to sink in - became a life-long lesson -- "Don't believe everything you read" - What ? -- "Just because it's printed in a magazine, doesn't mean it's true. - Don't believe everything you read" -- A mantra I've learned to live by -- Secondly - In last Sunday paper - the comic section had that day's edition of the comic "Pearls Before Swine" - Panel 1 - "Once upon a time, there was a faraway place where people only got the news they wanted" - Depicting two tv sets - one saying the sky is blue - the other saying it's red - Panel 2 - "They divided everyone. Even families" - Showing a family unable to sit and have dinner together -- Panel 3 - "Then one day, the Great Bunny O' Wisdom descended from the sky with a shocking revelation: - 'Media outlets make huge profits by only catering to their viewers. This helps only them'" - Showing a cartoon bunny speaking to the masses -- https://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/pearlsbeforeswine/s-2170899 Don't believe everything you read ...

Not why the Washington Post spiked the story?

This stinks to high heaven. I've been reluctant to take sides because there are too many unknowns - now that we know where the accusation came from, I am even more inclined to believe that the "revelation" needs more investigation. Can the editors of the yearbook be found to confirm or deny the Governor's claim that he is not one of the figures in the picture? Is it not possible to compare the pictures on that page of the yearbook with other pictures of the Governor during that some time period to see if there is a resemblance? And really, conservative right wing - you're OK pinning a Democratic leader with accusations of what may or may not have happened when he was a youth, but Kavanaugh's youthful "indiscretions" were off limits? And kudos to the folks from Breitbart - just when we thought you couldn't go any lower, you pull this one out of your hat. Perfect way to take the spotlight off the insanity of Trump. Temporarily.

it is RIDICULOUS to disqualify someone for a racial slur he has made as a student, IF that is the ONLY misstep.

From this story, "Mainstream Republican operatives said Big League Politics, and similar sites, are friendly places for candidates and campaigns to leak damaging research about political opponents without their fingerprints showing and without the kind of independent scrubbing done in the mainstream press." Patrick Howley and Noel Fritsch appear to be unscrupulous and dirty so-called journalists. Question remains as to the identity of whoever leaked to "Big League Politics" the allegations against Northam and Fairfax.

This smells a bit too stinky at I'm not buying it without irrefutable proof.

The timing of this photo is curious. Why did it not appear when Northam was running for governor? After all, it's been out there since 1984. The racial implications are appalling, but I also find his comment about beer troubling. Don't want my doctor bragging about how much beer he drinks.

The Democrats just found out how inconvenient it is when their “people” fail to live up to impossible expectations. But hey at least the blackface that the Governor of Virginia is wearing is possibly covering up any Covington-like smirk...

Claims of sexual assault against a Conservative appointee to the SC- "GET THE PITCHFORKS! BELIEVE ALL WOMEN" Claims of sexual assault against any Democrat- "Oh we can't substantiate this, it's probably not true" And then you wonder why President Trump beats you over the head with the "Fake News" label. Do your jobs. Be objective.

These clowns and their fellow-travellers certainly have a long history of trying to pass fantasies off as realities, and selectively editing or just inventing facts so that they fit. I mean, “Alex Jones is my Cronkheit?” What a swine. But we also know that Northam handled this incredibly badly, and that the Jackson-in-blackface thing was truly stupid. And we know that between these swine and the hue-and-cry, it becomes impossible to tell what the truth is. Or more precisely, it becomes impossible to base your idea of “truth,” on the old fantasy of 100% certainty. We’ll just have to get used to the reality, which is that the best we get is, “Yeah, unless you got some kind of real disproof, I’m gonna believe that.” Sorry, but that is what truth always was. It’s the chaos types, the right-wing anarchists, the foreign governments, that like us flopping around about all this.

In the age of ‘gotcha politics’ I can imagine the researcher who found the blackface picture of running into his master’s office and saying, ‘Look what I found. I want a bonus.’ As another promising career goes into the trash heap of history. This is more than muck raking, this is digging around in the cesspool of Ben Franklin stuff. I find it difficult that our Quisling president has done all he has done and in doing it has extinished our ‘shining light on the hill’, and all these silly behaviors from decades ago will condemn a person to virtual death. What ever happened to saying, ‘I’m sorry, really sorry, incredibly sorry and I’ve learned since my childhood.’ And then we all move on to something that matters.

Who can forget the daily images of the truck driver chasing after minority children that was played numerous times during the governor's race in Virginia between Ralph Northam and Ed Gillespie? The truck driver behind the wheel was supposedly Mr. Gillespie. The Latino Victory Fund, a progressive organization, was responsible for putting together this commercial that falsely portrayed Mr. Gillespie, the Republican, as a racist. Not one liberal or Democrat condemned this ad and even Mr. Northam remained silent. There was not one ounce of evidence towards racist tendencies on the part of Ed Gillespie. There was no outcry of the misrepresentation of a highly qualified candidate. Mr. Gillespie would have probably won the governorship if not for this fraudulent ad. The irony is that the racist was really Ralph Northam. We can thank the organization, Big League Politics, for shedding light on the true culprit in this race. Mr. Gillespie has been vindicated and I think he has a future in political life once again. I hope he does run. This would be such sweet revenge to his critics. As they say, the truth will set you free. In this case this aptly applies to Ed Gillespie. Mr. Northam's political career is finished. He has only himself to blame.

I need some clarification- “unsubstantiated accusations that he sexually assaulted a woman he met at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.” How is this dismissed so readily in NYT and other media outlets, and how is it different from the demands that we accept all other #metoo accusations? Weren’t the accusations by Christine Blasey Ford unsubstantiated as well? What supports the double standard here?

This article should have been on Page 1 of the TImes.

This article is laughable. We get it, you guys need to label all news outlets to the right of Mother Jones as "right-wing". This is a typical liberal media outlet tactic, and liberal outlets are never labeled "left-wing". Nothing new there. What is interesting is the blatant contempt that the writers have for this "right-wing" news outlet. They got the chance to break the story that the liberal media outlets missed because they only look for dirt on Republicans. Usually journalists celebrate each other's scoops. Apparently not when the scoop dares to call out a Democrat. As usual, the liberal media has no introspection on why they missed this story. Instead, they lash out at the "right wing" outlet that beat them to a quite legitimate news story. Get ready for a lot of comments about how news from any non-liberal outlet should be ignored, no matter how important or based in documentary evidence. Partisans want a curated news experience, free from those annoying facts. Fortunately for them, plenty of news outlets have given up on journalism and are instead placating this audience of mindless partisans.

Can someone please find out who took the pictures for the yearbook? The KKK garb is the real problem not the black face . Black face is a dumb stunt KKK is evil and deadly.

Here’s the evidence I said I suspected in my comment yesterday. This is a blatant rightwing smear job from a known conspiracy website. And if the Washington Post couldn’t corroborate the second story and moved on, then we should as well. This is all about stopping Democrats from passing progressive legislation. Any Democrat calling for either to resign is in collusion with Republican sabotage to stop forward Democratic momentum. Neither the governor or the lieutenant governor should resign in light of this new evidence and all efforts should be made by the party to unite its focus on the future instead of the past. It’s time to move on from these Republican-spun distractions to passing progressive legislation. Keep our eyes on the goal and stop this suicidal mob “justice”!

What’s in the rest of the yearbook, and why would a medical school publish such a picture? And what does the school say today? Is anyone on the story?

We better get used to the possibility that most up and coming candidates for public office have a few things in their backgrounds that will shame them. Do we accept that we were all young and foolish years ago, or do we automatically disqualify any one with some dirt from years ago? If we cannot accept the truth and evaluate candidates on their body of work as adults, the ranks of eligible candidates are going to thin remarkably. The press needs to take a deep breath and think about what the 'attack dog' approach to instant revelation is doing to our political establishment.

You left out the part about Fairfax's allies accusing Northam's allies of having something to do with the assault story. This just gets nastier and messier.

The Washington Post had this accusation against Fairfax for a year. Is it possible Fairfax didn't know that? Why blame Northam's people when the most obvious beneficiaries are Republicans and our enemies foreign and domestic? The Republican party was working in league with the Russians at several levels—the Trump Campaign and Administration, the NRA, right-wing media and their white-nationalist country cousins—to develop "scissors" to cut both ways, dividing us and riling up both sides' fringes at the expense of the sort of moderacy that once advanced the cause of freedom and equality at home and abroad. This was once the stuff of conspiracy theories, easy to mentally file under "2016" but this is a broader, more pervasive, more present reality than most people process it as. So how does the "scissor" work? Northam stays, and even if it's proven he's neither man in the photo, a cultural distaste for even blackface homage to Michael Jackson in a dance contest depresses the electorate. Enough fewer race-sensitive black votes and Democrats lose Virginia and more next year. Northam goes, and the right makes hay out of political correctness run amok. The accusation against Fairfax depresses the electorate. Enough fewer race-sensitive white votes and Democrats lose Virginia and more next year. Unless we value our unity, not just as a party but as a nation and a people. We can't give in to those who seek to divide us. We can't fall for these hate peddlers and fear profiteers.

Why has no one come out with a facial recognition software analysis of the problem? It's used everywhere, why not now.? It's him, or it's not. His roommate came out in the Washington Examiner and stated that the photo was not him, and he had no idea who the people were. Were there other people at the party who could be found and interviewed? Some competent reporting could put this whole issue to rest in 24 hours. Enough of the mob reporting, lets get serious.

How convenient. A right wing website smears both Governor and Lt. Governor within a few days. Strange how they are Democrats in a state adjacent to Washington, D.C. At this point I don't know if one can be sure of the veracity of these stories but in an era where accusation equals guilt we have "case closed" in the minds of millions of Americans. Mission Accomplished. The truth-seeking spotlight is off Trump for several news cycles before the Great Leader's SOTU communication.

So all this "scandal" in Virginia was instigated by a conspiracy news site that has a goal of destroying political careers of particularly more liberal politicians. This story should have been killed from the onset, all this "news" has now given them power they should never have. I've wondered if this picture in the yearbook was "doctored" now.