with Gayle King. Good. Lord.
He's not going to resign. It's going to a long few years in Virginia. This opening was his prepared statement. He had time to work on this and it was still unbelievably bad.


[www.cbsnews.com]

GAYLE KING: I know this has been a very difficult week for you in the state of Virginia. So where would you like to begin?

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: Well it has been a difficult week. And you know if you look at Virginia's history we are now at the 400 year anniversary, just 90 miles from here in 1619. The first indentured servants from Africa landed on our shores in Old Point Comfort what we call now Fort Monroe and while--

(OK, let's pause here. He's making a hot mess out of history. Indentured servants were mostly desperately poor white people who signed a contract stating that in exchange for passage across the Atlantic to the colonies they would work for a number of years. Or they might have been prisoners who got sent over to work the rest of their sentences. Needless to say it was terrible and while it provided a lot of cheap labor in the early 17th century, the colonists soon realized it was safer and cheaper for them to enslave dark-skinned people. White people who had been "indentured servants" did not become slaves. Africans brought to the colonies before 1640 may have been classified as "indentured servants" because there was no law about slavery then, but they were brought against their will. Not the same as what Europeans experienced (though that was also terrible). That the Governor of Virgina cannot say the word "slavery" and discuss this brutal history in an intelligent way says a lot. Does the word hurt his feelings or what? )


GAYLE KING: Also known as slavery.

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: Yes. And while we have made a lot of progress in Virginia, slavery has ended. Schools have been desegregated. We have ended the Jim Crow laws, easier access to voting. It is abundantly clear that we still have a lot of work to do and I really think this week raised a level of awareness in the Commonwealth and in this country that we haven't seen certainly in my lifetime. So--

GAYLE KING: And why you think you still deserve this job and so many people are calling for you to step down?

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: Well again we- we have worked very hard. We've had a good first year. And and I'm a leader. I've been in some very difficult situations. Life and death situations taking care of sick children. And right now--

GAYLE KING: Because you're a doctor, yes?

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: --right now, Virginia needs someone that can heal. There's no better person to do that than a doctor. Virginia also needs someone who is strong, who has empathy, who has courage and who has a moral compass. And that's why I'm not going anywhere. I have learned from this. I have a lot more to learn. But we're in a unique opportunity now. Again the 400 year anniversary of the history whether it be good or bad in Virginia to really make some impactful changes--

GAYLE KING: Of slavery in this country?

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: Yes.

(OKay. She just confirmed that he's talking about the 400 year anniversary of slavery. And it has good parts, according to him? I guess there are good people on both sides.)

GAYLE KING: In this state, yeah.

//GAYLE KING: Did you ever think about resigning when the drumbeat became so loud and by the way, there was still beating for you to step down?

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: Well I--

GAYLE KING: Did you ever think about it?

GOV. RALPH NORTHAM: You know I don't, I don't live in a vacuum.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2019 12:03PM by Lemon Drop.

So ... why did she begin by letting him off the hook, and not focusing the interview on why he was in the news? Who cares if HE had a rough week?

Yeah.

Every time he opens his mouth he just comes off as an ignorant and patronizing rich white guy with no ability to empathize with the people he's supposed to represent.

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deckeda
So ... why did she begin by letting him off the hook, and not focusing the interview on why he was in the news? Who cares if HE had a rough week?

I read that opening sentence as this has been a rough week for Virginians. (not just him specifically).
I don't think she let him off the hook at all in these opening bits. This is just the opening of the interview apparently the full thing will be aired Monday morning.

wow, what a complete @#$%& idiot...

And for context of the complete weirdness of our times:
45 sends a horrible, racist tweet about Warren and ends it with "see you on the TRAIL."

And his defenders are saying he can't be expected to know about the Trail of Tears.
OK.

There's no upgrade path for this guy. He can't be re-elected in Virginia, and he certainly isn't getting a shot at Senator. He might as well dig in, hold on, and hope the next news cycle doesn't zero in on something else stupid he's done lately.

It's not the right thing to do, but hell, he's worked hard to get where he is and he'sentitled to it, isn't he?

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bfd
There's no upgrade path for this guy. He can't be re-elected in Virginia, and he certainly isn't getting a shot at Senator. He might as well dig in, hold on, and hope the next news cycle doesn't zero in on something else stupid he's done lately.

It's not the right thing to do, but hell, he's worked hard to get where he is and he'sentitled to it, isn't he?

I think that the prevailing argument -- and the one that works in his favor better than any others -- is that he was duly elected by the people to do this job and even if he's a twit, he's better than the next several twits in line.

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Sarcany

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bfd
There's no upgrade path for this guy. He can't be re-elected in Virginia, and he certainly isn't getting a shot at Senator. He might as well dig in, hold on, and hope the next news cycle doesn't zero in on something else stupid he's done lately.

It's not the right thing to do, but hell, he's worked hard to get where he is and he'sentitled to it, isn't he?

I think that the prevailing argument -- and the one that works in his favor better than any others -- is that he was duly elected by the people to do this job and even if he's a twit, he's better than the next several twits in line.

He is literally entitled to serve because he won and broke no rules or laws.

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vision63
He is literally entitled to serve because he won and broke no rules or laws.

Broke no laws, but he's broken rules of decorum.

I don't demand perfection from my leaders, but I do demand leadership.

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Sarcany

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vision63
He is literally entitled to serve because he won and broke no rules or laws.

Broke no laws, but he's broken rules of decorum.

I don't demand perfection from my leaders, but I do demand leadership.

I break the rules of decorum everyday. I demand results. That was a hard office for Democrats to win. The indiscretions of a young man who apologizes isn’t enough to throw that away.

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vision63
I break the rules of decorum everyday. I demand results. That was a hard office for Democrats to win. The indiscretions of a young man who apologizes isn’t enough to throw that away.

You're confusing the Governor with the AG.

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He needs to burn at the stake of the perpetual political correctness...

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"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end.
One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;
one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship."

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max
He needs to burn at the stake of the perpetual political correctness...

He needs to be able to form coherent sentences and say things that don't dig him deeper into the pile of @#$%& he's made.

He called slaves "indentured servants" twice. Once is a slip. Twice is bent.

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Sarcany
He called slaves "indentured servants" twice. Once is a slip. Twice is bent.

I agree, quite inconveniently he used the correct description of the Democratic voters, beholden to meager largesse of the Party, while slaving on the Democratic plantations....

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end.
One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;
one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship."