Reply to Ralph Northam yearbook page shows men in blackface and KKK robe

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]One of the few liberal leaders who has not explicitly called on Northam to resign is the Reverend William Barber, a prominent pastor and left-wing activist in North Carolina. “Some are calling for the [governor] to resign [and] that’s their right,” he tweeted. “I don’t know what the [Governor] has done over the years in word, deed [and] policy to make amends for his past.” (He also tweeted that “the worst racism is policy & structural racism”).

That last line is important. As obnoxious, offensive and racist as it is to dress up in a Klan hood and don blackface, these are symbolic acts. When you offend someone, it is worth apologizing, as Northam did. But Northam did not promote or pursue policy decisions to harm the lives of African Americans. In fact, he has done the opposite. Under his tenure, Virginia finally expanded the Medicaid program as promised under the Affordable Care Act, opening up health care to 400,000 low-income Virginians. Around a third of those who benefit from Medicaid expansion are African Americans.

Why don't Democrats think this is worth something? Why is he being treated as such a liability nonetheless?[/quote]

I'm a Democrat and I think that there is some reasonable middle between the 90s era of willful blindness towards Bill Clinton's treatment of women because of his political support for women's rights and the current "off with their heads!" dynamic of modern Democratic orthodoxy.   I also don't think Al Franken should have resigned.  People are human and they make mistakes.  He should (and did) apologize but the insensitivity needs to be viewed against the totality of his career and how his positions throughout that career have affected African Americans.  [/quote]

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