Why did the Democrats not immediately call Justin Fairfax to resign?



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From now on, the situation will change quickly, but since Friday afternoon, no Democratic presidential candidate, nor any other party leader, has called for the resignation of Fairfax. Instead, they almost asked a person to investigate the allegations.

This reaction sharply contrasts with the urgent calls for resignation against Governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam, also a Democrat, following a photo of two men – one with a black face, the man, and the other. other in Ku Klux Klan dress – appear on the page of his medical school directory. In the 48 hours that followed the news last Friday, each candidate in 2020 (or future candidate) had called Northam to withdraw. (Northam initially stated that he was one of the two men in the photo, but that he later retracted.)

Interrogated earlier this week on the first allegation against Fairfax, a series of prominent Democrats reiterated their call for Northam's resignation. Do not engage in this possibility with respect to Fairfax. "We will learn more about this," said Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (D). "But that does not change the fact that Northam has to resign."

Why the obvious double standard? Especially since the Democrats have adopted a policy of zero tolerance towards those accused of sexual assault, insisting that the women who lay these accusations have faith. (Californian Senator Kamala Harris, in explaining her vote against Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court said: "When Dr. Christine Blasey Ford made serious and credible allegations of sexual assault, not only was she attacked by the Senate Republicans, she was ridiculed by the President of the United States. ")

The answer to the question" why "is complicated, but boils down to two things: politics and race.

Let's start with politics.

One of the main reasons why politicians so quickly called for Northam's resignation over the black image of the face he was / was opposed to is that Fairfax was waiting behind the scenes – an African of 39 years -American rising star at the party. What better way to counter a racial scandal than to replace the black-faced governor with a black politician descended from the slaves of Virginia? (When Fairfax was sworn in as lieutenant governor, he had the papers released with his great-great-great-grandfather .)

He was seen, Rightly, by the politicians and the democratic strategists constitute the most elegant solution possible to a very thorny political problem.

There is no such simple solution to the allegations against Fairfax. In fact, all of this has become a lot more complicated, with Fairfax having to deal with sexual assault charges, while not only Northam, but also state attorney General Mark Herring are dealing with allegations blackface of their past.

Which brings me to the second major factor of hesitation in demanding the resignation of Fairfax. We have three Democratic politicians in central Virginia right now: a black politician accused of forcing women to have unwanted sex and two white politicians besieged not only by their lack of judgment on racial issues, but also persistent problems of the Commonwealth with the race.

Virginia was the site of the White supremacy march in Charlottesville in 2017, which left a dead counter-protester. Virginia was the site of the so-called "Massive Resistance" – a movement led by Democratic Senator Harry Byrd, father, aimed at using legislation to prevent Commonwealth public schools from integrating it. Virginia was home to the capital of Confederation. And so on.

Add all this to Donald Trump at the White House – and his clear use of racial animosity for political purposes – and you end up with a toxic political stew.

The fact is: There is no easy way out of this political situation. The three highest-ranking Democrats in the state – including Fairbank and Herring, the two leaders for the Democratic nomination for 2021 – are all involved in scandals likely to destroy them, even the three. Given the uncertainty about the "right" thing to do, most Democratic politicians are trying to buy time to see how all this will subside.

A notable exception to this silence practiced at Fairfax is the Democratic Virginia Rep. Don. McEachin. "I think Justin has mismanaged the situation," said McEachin, a black man, at CNN's Manu Raju . "In the United States, one of the curses of being an African-American is not to play with an angry black man."

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