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It’s not been a good week for the Democratic governor of Virginia, Ralph Northam.
After taking loads of heat from tens of millions of Americans over comments in which he refused to condemn a bill introduced in the House of Delegates that would authorize doctors to perform abortions up to and including the moment before birth, a picture from his medical school yearbook — where he studied to become a pediatrician, no less — surfaced showing him dressed either in blackface or in a KKK hood.
The photo, from Northam’s 1984 med school yearbook, shows two people holding what appear to be cans of beer. The person in blackface is smiling and wearing sunglasses.
After multiple media requests for a comment from him on Friday, he finally released a statement towards the end of the business day:
Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive.
I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now.
This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service. But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.
I recognize that it will take time and serious effort to heal the damage this conduct has caused. I am ready to do that important work. The first step is to offer my sincerest apology and to state my absolute commitment to living up to the expectations Virginians set for me when they elected me to be their Governor.”
Northam graduated from med school after attending the Virginia Military Academy. The photos were first released by Big League Politics on Friday.
I’m at EVMS in Norfolk, Virginia (Gov. Ralph Northam graduated here). These are photos from the 1984 yearbook, including @GovernorVA Ralph Northam’s page, in a yearbook provided by the library. I’ve asked the governor’s office for comment.
Sent from my iPhone pic.twitter.com/1u3mYKJWnY
— Sarah McCammon (@sarahmccammon) February 1, 2019
The abortion bill that Northam expressed support for was introduced by Del. Kathy Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who came to the U.S. with her parents following the war there between North and South Vietnam, which ended with the South’s loss in 1975.
In a post to her Twitter page, she ironically praised her parents for saving her as a baby.
“In 1979, my parents & I fled Vietnam as boat refugees,” she wrote, The National Sentinel reported.
“My dad was a dentist in the South Vietnamese Army & went to reeducation prison,” she said. “Upon his release, my parents took me, not yet seven months old, onto the open sea. They risked our lives for hope, opportunity & freedom.”
On Monday, Tran discussed her bill in a Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee with GOP Delegate Todd Gilbert. (Related: Abortion extremists on the Left are going to trigger new Supreme Court restrictions.)
During the exchange, she noted that her bill would allow a woman to have an abortion even when she’s full-term and dilating, about to give birth, CNSNews reported.
As for Northam, political analysts were already predicting his demise by late Friday.
In an interview on MSNBC, contributor and politics editor of The Root, Dr. Jason Johnson of Morgan State University, said, “I don’t know that Northam will be able to survive this kind of scandal because this probably won’t be the only thing that comes up.”
That sounds like prophesy at this point. According to Big League Politics, Northam’s nicknames at VMI included “Coonman,” which could be construed as a racial epithet. Also, E.W. Jackson, Northam’s black opponent from his 2013 race for Virginia lieutenant governor, noted that his yearbook behavior is “consistent” because Northam refused to shake his hand at their debate.
"I don't know that Northam will be able to survive this kind of scandal because this probably won't be the only thing that comes up – @DrJasonJohnson pic.twitter.com/tZAzXveYYU
— TheBeat w/Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) February 1, 2019
The one saving grace for Northam among Democrats: His unqualified support for abortion at all levels of pregnancy, even up to the last moment of the third trimester.
Abortion support is a litmus test for Democrats.
Read more about why Americans should no longer support Democrats at VoteRepublican.news.
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