WaPo: Northam says he wants to focus rest of his term on racial equity

[femmedem]

Va. Gov. Ralph Northam says he wants to focus rest of his term on racial equity

"RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam, in his first interview since a racist photo from his medical school yearbook came to light a week ago, promised to pursue racial reconciliation as he defended his vow to stay in office despite widespread calls for his resignation.

Northam (D), 59, said he wants to spend the remaining three years of his term trying to ensure that black Virginians have the same opportunities as whites.

Northam seemed chastened and subdued as he described a week of grappling with what “white privilege” means, with the reality of African American history, and with the personal failing of growing up after desegregation and the civil rights era while somehow not realizing that blackface is offensive."

Snip

"Looking ahead, Northam said he has asked his Cabinet secretaries to come up with specific proposals to begin addressing issues of inequality, such as expanding access to health care, housing and transportation, and to begin reporting suggestions on Monday."

Quite a bit more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gov-ralph-northam-says-he-wants-to-focus-rest-of-his-term-on-racial-equity/2019/02/09/2a739b20-2c76-11e9-984d-9b8fba003e81_story.html?utm_term=.95f5c04f6638

I think he is learning and will end up being a better governor. I feel better about this having read that a strong majority of black Virginia residents support him finishing his term.

[guillaumeb]

1. Robert Byrd was in a similar situation,

and he changed.

Recommended.

[suffragette]

3. If his actions match his intentions, this could be a powerful turnaround.

[guillaumeb]

6. And I know that change is possible for all of us. eom

[femmedem]

10. On a related note, Cory Booker spoke today about having to learn about lgbtq issues.

He said that as a young man, he worked a crisis hot line and took a lot of calls from members of the lgbtq community, which he hadn't understood well. He said a supervisor gave him the space to ask stupid questions in private. Because of that experience, he has a lot of empathy for people who are learning to overcome their own ignorance.

[suffragette]

12. This is true.

[femmedem]

7. Yes. And any GOP rat-f**cking may backfire, leading to more equitable policies. n/t

[suffragette]

13. How ironic that this could lead to substantive and positive change.

[dalton99a]

16. +1

[femmedem]

8. I believe he sincerely wants to redeem himself, and that his past action was born of ignorance

rather than of hate.

I don't imagine he has much time for reflection and study as governor. It's already more than a full time job. This won't be easy, but I'm optimistic that he's up to it. And I'd also like to think he won't be the only person learning from this.

[guillaumeb]

9. You could be correct on both issues.

But he will also need the support of Virginia Democrats to do anything.

He could turn out to be a witness for healing and change.

[dsc]

17. Byrd only changed whom he hated

his treatment of LGBT people was horrific.

[JI7]

19. not Northam. he supports lgbt and it's one of the reasons the right wing

wanted to bring him down in addition to his support for women's rights.

[dsc]

20. that is a fair point

I honestly felt Northam had to go, especially after that horrible press conference, but if black Virginians support his staying that gives me great pause. There is a poll in the Post that says they support his staying pretty heavily, while one conducted by Civiqs (Kos's outfit) says they don't. For me it matters a great deal what black voters in VA think in this regard.

[Phoenix61]

2. Sounds like the best outcome to a really

bad situation. Sometimes it takes a cosmic 2x4 to get your attention.

[femmedem]

4. Yes, especially when you think of yourself as one of the good guys. n/t

[Phoenix61]

14. I don't think of myself as a good or bad guy

I know what their options are and as bad as he is, he's not the worst choice. More importantly, I'm not in Virginia and it really should be left up to them so my opinion is actually worth less than nothing.

[femmedem]

18. I didn't mean you! Sorry, that was confusing on my part.

I meant that Northam probably thought of himself as one of the good guys on racial issues up until the yearbook photo came out.

[Afromania]

5. yup, figured that's exactly what would happen.

For the love of god whoever his stupid ass picks for the new LT Gov better not be a rapist or anything else. My suggestion is to go with the nearest woman of color. He'd simultaneously be choosing somebody that isn't a rapist(hopefully), unable to have done blackface/racist nonsense and he'd get a nice little head start on his pandering to black folk. All the boxes checked and black girl magic can go ahead and help get that state in check, win win win.

[shanny]

11. Good for him. Make it so.

[Caliman73]

15. I think that if he would have stayed silent for a day or so, and come out with this...

There would not have been the firestorm. There is always room for redemption. Northam made the problem worse with his initial response, which as he said, was about White Privilege. I hope that he can repair the damage to the trust lost with constituents.