Regarding the controversy in Virginia, I think there are distinct issues to be considered. First, there is are acts of bad judgement and second there are crimes. If there is an allegation of criminal behavior, the authorities need to act accordingly. Whether prosecution is pursued is a local decision. If the issue is an act of bad judgement at some point in your life, should the result be destroying your career? How we deal with each of them is important in light of the extreme reactions from the “Jumping to Conclusion Police (JCP)” that are quick to target others accused of something, anything.
We learned during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings that baseless allegations shouldn’t be allowed to ruin a nominee’s career. We learned that accusations must be accompanied with corroboration to prevent character assassination without recourse.
During that painful time, we heard accusations from multiple women who accused the judge of sexual assault during his years in high school. In the intervening years no hint of impropriety as Kavanaugh rose through the ranks of federal judiciary with multiple occasions where federal investigators dove into his past to expose misdeeds that would disqualify a candidate for appointment to any federal judgeship. Not a word from anyone suggesting that Kavanaugh was unfit for appointment.
In each of the cases in Virginia, the circumstances are somewhat different.
In Governor Northam’s case, youthful indiscretion is only part of the issue. His response to the allegation was to deny that he was either the guy in black face or the guy in the KKK robes; either of which would be problematic. That is the problem for me. The fact that he is confused suggests that he was caught in a lie. Where have we heard that lying derails a career more frequently than bad judgement?
For Attorney General Herring, whose immediate reaction was to call for Northam’s resignation ended up admitting that he also dressed in black face as a youth. The JCP jumped on him too and initially demanded his resignation. His own hypocrisy of being guilty of semi-racist behavior while condemning Northam for the same demonstrates an apparent lack of character.
The case of Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax is different. Two women accused him of sexual assault at different times in his life; one in college at Duke University and one later in his life. There is corroborating evidence supporting their allegations but neither woman is asking for criminal prosecution. Whether he is prosecuted or not, his repeated assaults suggest he might be an abuser.
For the partisans in the crowd, it has been pointed out that all three elected officials in Virginia are of the Democrat persuasion creating pressure from the party to respond. Since the ME TOO Movement came about as a result of liberals calling out some of their most noteworthy icons as sexual predators it got a lot of news coverage and reaction from political leaders. It was fashionable to judge the witch on the pyre without evidence corroborating their claim, only an allegation. Everyone who had a soap box was up there judging.
That time conditioned us to believe that an allegation was good enough to convict, so they were quick to demand Kavanaugh be disqualified from serving on the Supreme Court. What Kavanaugh did that differed from the celebrities was to demand his accusers provide evidence corroborating their claims. Judge Kavanaugh was asking for one of the foundations of our justice system; due process.
Ultimately, everyone is entitled due process and shouldn’t be burned at the stake based upon flakey allegations. Without offering an opinion about Northam, Fairfax or Herring, I would just say each is entitled to full investigation before they make a decision about resigning. Absent criminal prosecution, it will be their decision to resign or stay.
When Donald Trump was a candidate, he was accused of being immoral at the least and the opposition wanted his behavior to disqualify him from serving. Trump’s defenders said, “Let the voters decide.” And that is what I would say about Northam, Fairfax and Herring, their behavior might be characterized as racist in the cases of Northam and Herring, but while racism is distasteful, it’s not a crime. In the case of Fairfax, if his accusers aren’t willing to press charges and the prosecutors aren’t inclined to prosecute, then that case goes nowhere. If character matters for elected officials, then this might be an opportunity for them to demonstrate if they have any.
Each of these elected officials has exposed their questionable character and are guilty of bad judgement or “youthful indiscretions” but like Trump, they will be judged by the voters when they next stand for re-election.
Remember Marion Berry was convicted of multiple felonies and still re-elected Mayor of Washington DC so voters may not be as concerned about any of these characters as you might.
Posted on February 11, 2019 at 11:52 am in Political commentary | RSS feed
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No Loss for Words
Youthful Indiscretions or Character Flaws?
by Steve DanaRegarding the controversy in Virginia, I think there are distinct issues to be considered. First, there is are acts of bad judgement and second there are crimes. If there is an allegation of criminal behavior, the authorities need to act accordingly. Whether prosecution is pursued is a local decision. If the issue is an act of bad judgement at some point in your life, should the result be destroying your career? How we deal with each of them is important in light of the extreme reactions from the “Jumping to Conclusion Police (JCP)” that are quick to target others accused of something, anything.
We learned during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings that baseless allegations shouldn’t be allowed to ruin a nominee’s career. We learned that accusations must be accompanied with corroboration to prevent character assassination without recourse.
During that painful time, we heard accusations from multiple women who accused the judge of sexual assault during his years in high school. In the intervening years no hint of impropriety as Kavanaugh rose through the ranks of federal judiciary with multiple occasions where federal investigators dove into his past to expose misdeeds that would disqualify a candidate for appointment to any federal judgeship. Not a word from anyone suggesting that Kavanaugh was unfit for appointment.
In each of the cases in Virginia, the circumstances are somewhat different.
In Governor Northam’s case, youthful indiscretion is only part of the issue. His response to the allegation was to deny that he was either the guy in black face or the guy in the KKK robes; either of which would be problematic. That is the problem for me. The fact that he is confused suggests that he was caught in a lie. Where have we heard that lying derails a career more frequently than bad judgement?
For Attorney General Herring, whose immediate reaction was to call for Northam’s resignation ended up admitting that he also dressed in black face as a youth. The JCP jumped on him too and initially demanded his resignation. His own hypocrisy of being guilty of semi-racist behavior while condemning Northam for the same demonstrates an apparent lack of character.
The case of Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax is different. Two women accused him of sexual assault at different times in his life; one in college at Duke University and one later in his life. There is corroborating evidence supporting their allegations but neither woman is asking for criminal prosecution. Whether he is prosecuted or not, his repeated assaults suggest he might be an abuser.
For the partisans in the crowd, it has been pointed out that all three elected officials in Virginia are of the Democrat persuasion creating pressure from the party to respond. Since the ME TOO Movement came about as a result of liberals calling out some of their most noteworthy icons as sexual predators it got a lot of news coverage and reaction from political leaders. It was fashionable to judge the witch on the pyre without evidence corroborating their claim, only an allegation. Everyone who had a soap box was up there judging.
That time conditioned us to believe that an allegation was good enough to convict, so they were quick to demand Kavanaugh be disqualified from serving on the Supreme Court. What Kavanaugh did that differed from the celebrities was to demand his accusers provide evidence corroborating their claims. Judge Kavanaugh was asking for one of the foundations of our justice system; due process.
Ultimately, everyone is entitled due process and shouldn’t be burned at the stake based upon flakey allegations. Without offering an opinion about Northam, Fairfax or Herring, I would just say each is entitled to full investigation before they make a decision about resigning. Absent criminal prosecution, it will be their decision to resign or stay.
When Donald Trump was a candidate, he was accused of being immoral at the least and the opposition wanted his behavior to disqualify him from serving. Trump’s defenders said, “Let the voters decide.” And that is what I would say about Northam, Fairfax and Herring, their behavior might be characterized as racist in the cases of Northam and Herring, but while racism is distasteful, it’s not a crime. In the case of Fairfax, if his accusers aren’t willing to press charges and the prosecutors aren’t inclined to prosecute, then that case goes nowhere. If character matters for elected officials, then this might be an opportunity for them to demonstrate if they have any.
Each of these elected officials has exposed their questionable character and are guilty of bad judgement or “youthful indiscretions” but like Trump, they will be judged by the voters when they next stand for re-election.
Remember Marion Berry was convicted of multiple felonies and still re-elected Mayor of Washington DC so voters may not be as concerned about any of these characters as you might.
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Posted on February 11, 2019 at 11:52 am in Political commentary | RSS feed | Reply | Trackback URL