Friends,
The week past three days started with the State of the Union and ended with a Green New Deal. Somewhere in the middle, the state of Virginia devolved further into chaos after another statewide official admitted to wearing blackface and the Lt. Gov’s accuser went public. So, all in all, unfortunately, it’s just another Thursday.
Let’s dig in.
Virginia
Who is fourth in line to the Governorship of Virginia? A question I certainly never thought I’d need to know to answer to but one that has become increasingly relevant.
Why?
The Democratic party of Virginia, apparently, has a tendency of elevating those with highly questionable moral character. On Monday we discussed Gov. Northam’s medical school yearbook page which featured one person in black face and another in a klu klux klan uniform. We also noted the fact that Lt. Gov. Fairfax, next in line to the governorship, had been accused of sexual assault.
It could not possibly get worse…. Oh, but it can, and it did.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring admitted he too dressed in blackface at a college party as an undergraduate student. Herring described the incident as causing “the greatest shame I have ever felt”.
Ok. So the Gov. wore blackface multiple times and had KKK imagery on his personal yearbook page, the Lt. Gov is accused of sexual assault by an unknown woman and the AG (third in line to be Gov.) also dressed in blackface. Those are the facts. That is it right? Right? There can’t possibly be more. Unfortunately there is.
Two hours after AG Herring aired his blackface incident Lt. Gov Fairfax’s accuser went public. Dr. Venessa C. Tyson an associate professor of politics and expert in black history at Scripps College in California identified herself as the woman Fairfax allegedly assaulted. She issued a statement through a law firm describing the event, in gruesome detail, which took place at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. I can’t bring myself to type it, but here is an excerpt:
“What began as consensual kissing quickly turned into a sexual assault,” Dr. Tyson wrote, describing her encounter in a hotel room with the future lieutenant governor. “Mr. Fairfax put his hand behind my neck and forcefully pushed my head towards his crotch.”
It was then disclosed that Representative Bobby Scott was told about the allegation a year ago. Fairfax, vehemently denies the allegation, saying the encounter was completely consensual.
Why does this sound familiar? A California based female professor accusing a high-ranking government official of a disgusting sexual assault on the eve of their probable elevation to higher office. Hmmmm. Oh, right this literally just happened. Justice Brett Kavanaugh. That fact is not lost on Fairfax, who has hired the same law firm that defended Justice Kavanaugh.
If you recall, Democrats, when they heard of the allegations from Christine Blasey Ford, skewered Kavanaugh immediately. The response this time? Initially tepid. Although, several high ranking Democrats including Kamala Harris, Corey Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand have called for an investigation, notably none have called for his immediate resignation.
They are playing the same wait and see game championed by Republican Senators Jeff Flake, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.
Now, whether or not Democrats can be credibly accused as having a double standard is up for debate. They are calling for an investigation following the Kavanaugh playbook, but they aren’t responding en masse or as loudly as they did when Kavanaugh was on the chopping block.
Last thing: All of these scandals coming to light at the same time probably ensures all three men will stay in power. Pressure to resign has to be spread out and thus it is unlikely any of them will be toppled.
But, if they do all leave office, next in line is the Speaker of the House of Delegate Kirk Cox, a Republican. Reminder: Cox is Speaker of the House of Delegates because Republicans retained control of the Chamber in 2017. How did they do that? By literally picking a name of out a bowl. A local race, which was to determine control of the House, ended in an exact tie, each candidate receiving 11,608 votes and it was resolved by a random draw.
The result? Republicans keep control of the House, Cox becomes speaker and now he has a chance to be governor. Crazy.
State of the Union
When President Trump delivered the State of the Union on Tuesday the incumbency advantage was on full display. The speech was all over the place but here are my three takeaways:
1. The majority of the speech could have been given by Jeb Bush or Mitt Romney. Trump, sticking to the script (for the most part) spent the majority of his time talking about the economy, criminal justice reform and a farm bill.
2. He hasn’t changed his argument on the wall. He continues to use anecdotal evidence to demean immigrants which, as if I need to say it again, are LESS likely to commit crimes.
3. President Trump is not looking forward to a Democratically controlled House of Representatives. He called congressional investigations “presidential harassment” and followed up his speech with several tweets saying Dems are going “nuts”
4. Trump, and nearly everyone, hates socialism and he is using the term to label all Democrats as extremists.
While he couldn’t resist slamming Democrats or deriding immigrants the speech highlighted what Trump’s reelection campaign will look like. Tout the economy, stoke fear of immigrants and categorize Democrats as anti-capitalism.
Immigration Negotiations
Negotiators, from both parties, are optimistic, for the first time in months, that a deal will be struck to secure the Southern border. It is unlikely President Trump will get his $5.7 in wall funding he demanded pre and post shutdown. In an interesting, subtle moment President Trump in the state of the union said:
“it (the wall) will be deployed in the areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need”
What that means he is no longer asking for a full wall on every inch of the border. This will come out the way it was supposed to. Wall in some areas and not others plus investment in technology at ports of entry and salaries for more judges.
Bite Sized Politics
· Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey released their Green New Deal which sets goals for some drastic measures to cut carbon emissions across the economy, from electricity generation to transportation to agriculture
· Jared Kushner will visit the middle east this month in hopes of gaining support for his Israel/Palestine peace plan.
· Joe Biden is looking to lock up support among Washington Democrats in hopes of entering the Presidential race as the establishment favorite.
· William Barr, Trump’s pick for Attorney General, was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee clearing a key hurdle in his confirmation journey.
· Democrat-led House Intelligence Committee voted Wednesday morning to send thousands of pages of materials to Special Counsel Mueller from its own yearlong Russia investigation.
· Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said Thursday that his committee’s Russia investigation has yet to find evidence of collusion between President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign
· Amy Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota will announce her decision to run for President on Sunday while Beto O’Rouke said he’d decide by the end of the month.
That is all.
Thanks,
The Lens 