People need to learn some forgiveness.

It's not a matter for you or I to decide. We have nothing to do with it if we don't live and vote in Virginia. This is a bigger issue than just one Governor. It's about what we stand for as Democrats. We shouldn't excuse things because Republicans do them. We need a much higher standard than that, or we're just like them.

Ask the black voters in Virginia what they think. It's not up to us.

But fuck resigning.

So, no, that doesn't work there.

If Northam resigns, Virginia will still have a Democratic Governor. A black Democratic Governor. There is no downside to his resignation. None at all.

Sometimes resigning is a mark of responsible behavior. I think he should resign at once.

have you ever said anything or did anything that could be considered offensive or stupid now that you are older and wiser? I sure did. I said all kinds of things that would make me cringe if I heard them today. It wasn't even that I was trying to be a bigot. It was just how we talked in that day and age. Lots of times we really didn't even think about what it meant. We just didn't know any better.

As an adult, I've marched against war, racism, got arrested protesting laws outlawing gay marriage, and have always voted Democrat or progressive. Should none of that matter because I said some ignorant things when I was young and didn't know any better? Am I condemned to always be held to what I was and what I did before I was even old enough to vote or drink?

We have to allow people to grow and change. We can't hold everybody to the fire forever because of what they did decades ago. That makes us no different than out enemy.

I never have, and never plan to. If I were to run for an office, I would do just what you said, and see if there was anything in my past that might be revealed. But I'm not going to run for office.

People who hold elected office are held to a higher standard by their constituents than people who do not. That's how it should be. That's how it is. Anyone who runs for office needs to do a thorough evaluation of actions from the past to see what might be revealed. People who do not run for office have only themselves to answer to.

So, are you going to run for office? I'm not.

Just as an aside, Governor Northam was a Republican before he became a Democrat. Did he become a Democrat because that would help him get elected? I don't know. Was he sincere about that change of parties? I don't know. Do you?

But will hold everyone who does up to a standard that you yourself are admitting you would not live up to? How does that help us as a party or a movement?

Let me ask you this? Do you think you should be prevented from ever running for office because of something stupid you said or did when you were a young man? Or should your life of progressive activism and support override such past mistakes?

That's not my style in any way. I don't want to be in charge of anything. That's why I have worked for myself since 1974. My businesses have all been sole proprietorships with no employees. I do not seek any authority over anyone, nor am I willing to work for anyone but myself.

It's not a matter of being prevented from running for office. I won't be doing that.

My past? It's OK. But, I'm not seeking anyone's approval for it. That's just not my bag.

And thank them for being willing to step into the fire and do battle for us. And sometimes find forgiveness in your heart for mistakes that they made 35 years ago and do not reflect who they are today. They are human too.

If it were, I'd be thanking Republican office-holders, too, for "stepping into the fire." My job is to be a voter. My vote is my ultimate voice. Sometimes I have volunteered to campaign for candidates. However, I have only done that when I have known that candidate and his or her background.

There's no need for me to forgive the Governor of Virginia. I don't even live there. But, generally, I hold Democratic candidates to a far higher standard than Republican candidates. That's why I have never voted for any Republican in my entire life. They don't meet my standards. I expect Democrats to meet those standards. If they prove not to, then I will not vote for them the next time. If it's bad enough, I will call for their resignation.

I call for Northam's resignation, although it doesn't matters, since vote in Minnesota now.

by who they are now, what they run on, and how they perform when in office. Not for stupid stuff they did decades ago.

I did not vote for Northam. Others did. They are the ones that matter in Virginia. I have only an opinion, as I state in my signature line in every post on DU.

Each of us votes according to our own criteria. That is true for black voters in Virginia as well. Would they have voted for Northam had they known of that photo? I think not. Do they now think he should resign. It appears that they do.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211763045

Just about every civil rights group and prominent African American leader has called for his resignation.

Defending blackface and Klan uniforms is not a hill I am willing to die on or ask my party to die on.

Hyperbole much? Just maybe not be so quick to sacrifice our own.

Sounds like a bargain.

over Northam?

So far

the NAACP
NARAL
the VA Black Senate Caucus
Ted Lieu
Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
Cory Booker
Julian Castro
Terry McAuliffe

have called for his ouster.

When Democratic calls for his ouster become essentially universal it will likely do more damage to him than the party if he lingers on.

Nope.

So yes, he is one of our own. Shunning him and exiling him now isn't going to change that.

What he did was get dressed up in a way that was HURTFUL and MOCKING of a specific minority group of people. That wasn't just offensive or stupid. It showed a meanness of spirit and a lack of character at an age where he should have had one.

...as soon as he resigns.

However, when everybody is quick to crucify you and ignore the thousands of good things you might have done with your life because of one stupid and insensitive thing you did as a young man and brand you as being something your not, maybe I can at least sympathize with why somebody would want to lie about it.

... is knowing about this and not stepping in front of it after knowing it existed.

If he didn't know it existed then that's as sloppy at least.

And still not a great enough sin to hand the GOP another victory over something they themselves would never live up to.

They went on a feeding frenzy against him too. He wanted to go through the ethics process (or whatever is the process), but they HAD to have him out. That is why I will never vote for Gillibrand. She's brainless.

On LGBTQ issues and don't expect them to resign over past attitudes. What has Northam's record been? If it indicates he's still racist then he needs to go otherwise, why the double standard?

... this picture as soon as he had a chance.

Wheres the oppo research !!?!?

and allowed the voters to decide, based on this knowledge of his past behavior, that they could look past it, that would be different.

But he did not. So now that the past behavior has been revealed, his own decision to hide the incident, or incidents, has come back to follow him.

The black caucus of the Virginia legislature has asked him to resign. I think he should listen to them. My input is as a resident of another state, so it's not my call. I will trust Virginia voters to make their own decisions.

"If Johnny jumped off a cliff or played in traffic, would you follow?"

So my mother never asked such questions. Instead, she told me what to do, in her greater wisdom.

In their infinite wisdom, this was their way of saying "be a leader, not a follower". I'll admit, I got into my fair share of trouble. Being from a small town where, because my parents were teachers practically everyone knew me, that name recognition got me busted before anyone else. Had to learn the hard way, as most life lessons are learned.

"Teachers and preachers kids"....

My parents always seemed to know what I had been up to. Someone would report on any bad behavior right away. I learned that early, and responded by trying to behave better, so I wouldn't be embarrassed by what I had done when I got home.

My parents were very, very smart. They carefully allowed more and more freedom as I grew up, year by year. By the time I was out of high school, I was well-prepared to be out on my own and make my own choices. I thank them for that. Did I still make mistakes? You bet, but I also had to deal with them, once I was no longer on the parental leash.

was indeed drilled into my head from an early age. Going off to college was a huge learning curve and my "drilling", in hindsight, saved me from some potentially dangerous situations. Now, this was the early 70's, a much, much different time.

People can and do change in a positive way.

Infinite punishment for finite transgressions is bullshit.

you are held to a higher standard, as Northam is discovering. You must answer to your constituents who elected you. It can be uncomfortable, to say the least.

when anyone makes an amends for a past transgression, that is humility and an acceptance of responsibility.
I will not respond with, "I don't accept your atonement." I do not have that right.
I do have the right, however, to determine if the amend is genuine; and that is done by looking at behavior.

Be careful how you answer. You may mark your mother as "not normal" if you say no.

This is a question of basic character. This is not a question of enlightenment later in life. And, yes politicians need to be held accountable. If he is an honorable man, he will resign. If he wants the power he'll try to sluff it off as youthful indiscretion. And "youthful indiscretion" is a really, really lame excuse for such abominable behavior.

During Northam younger years through the current date:

1.) Was/is he a member of a KKK?

2.) Had/has he shown the racist attitude towards anyone, or has he hurt someone, made a person uncomfortable because of racist remarks during his public service?

3.) Is there anything at all in his background during his service to the public office that suggests he was/is a racist?

4.) On Northam oppo research, during the campaign, did the " Repubs" find derogatory racist incident against Northam to warrant disclosure to the public? To answer this question, if there was an inkling of wrong-doing as a result of the oppo research, you bet your a##, these Republicans would have reported it to all the news outlet and broadcast it far and wide before the Election.

When we were young, we've done countless different stupid things. Granted yes, Northam carried it a bit too far by posting it on a yearbook.
Think about it, even the School allowed it to happen.
However, he sincerely apologized for his action.

For Pete sake, as progressives, are we living in the fantasy cloud that for those who run for office, qualification requirements, needs to be lily white, or the Miss, Mrs. or Mr. applicants, needs a perfect background in order to run for office.

In case we've forgotten, we are all human beings capable of mistakes.

I just hope for the sake of our Democratic Party, sanctimony and hypocrisy will not be the norm.

And that is what this is. You know how you can realize this? Have you seen ANY discussion on his RECORD with respect to civil rights? I'd like to know that. It makes a HUGE difference as opposed to this MINDLESS piling on.
If he has been supporting all those values or leaning in that direction. . . that is one thing.
But, if he has a record of actually advancing civil rights. . that makes a huge difference.

BUT, I have heard NO discussions about this important information. All I see is a bunch of people piling on. A bunch of cowardly people. I don't know who the guy is or whether or not he should resign, but no intelligent person should have a strong opinion about it unless they know who he has been in living his life. If you do, then you only prove yourself to be part of a mob.

You know he voted for George W. Bush? Twice?
You know he was a Republican until it became more useful to become a Democrat?


So, you tell me all the good things he has done for civil rights, OK?

We are both white, in that late fifties-early sixties age band.

I've been reading a lot of posts by African Americans that are helping me understand the feelings around this photo, chosen by Northam for insertion into his college yearbook.

I think you're right, here Mineral. I have no business sticking up for Northam because he posed for that picture in the first place, chose it to be in his yearbook, then just forgot about it. He did not bring it up, confess to it, apologize for it until he was caught. It is possible for me to understand the feeling of betrayal that members of the black community now feel for this guy.

They thought he was truly on the side of racial and social justice, and they thought they were electing someone who would fight for the rights of all people in VA, and for an even playing field, voter rights and all the rest. Then...this came out.

I guess for me it would be like being married to someone, loving them, then finding out that in their younger days they did something horrible that is profoundly offensive. Will it ever be the same? No. Can it be saved? A marriage, maybe. But years to build back that trust. For a governor? Maybe not.

I just asked a question on another thread about why so many on here dislike Tulsi Gabbard so much, and maybe I'm seeing that, too.

You know, when I was a kid, I naively believed that we were the good guys - that was before I really thought about our genocide against Native Americans and our enslavement and subsequent entrenched racism. Our foreign policy - the 'dirty war.' Vietnam. We lost our fucking heroes, Mineral. We did.

But, that is no excuse not to TRY to actually BE the good people now. No excuse not to TRY and make this country a real light on the hill, where people can come and find social, economic and environmental justice and opportunity to get ahead with hard work.

So, yeah, we've got to come to terms with the bad in order to embrace the good without soiling everything we touch. And our people do need to follow a higher standard.

He was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform. He got in other trouble as a teen too. But he turned things around and is now well grounded. One difference, he got caught soon after it happened and owned up to it then. This was kept quiet for 35 years. He could have been blackmailed - does that make a difference? Clearly he has turned things around. So what is the proper punishment.