Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Here a scandal, there a scandal.......

Personally, I'd like to know what kind of person would go out of their way to destroy another person's career, just for the sake of doing so.

By now, you might be aware of the imbroglio in Virginia involving Governor Ralph Northam and a 35 year old medical school yearbook photo that purported to have Northam in either blackface or a Ku Klux Klan ensemble. Northam initially admitted he was one of the two men in the incriminating photo, then walked it back, and later acknowledged he did use blackface to masquerade as singer Michael Jackson around the same time, when Jackson made the moonwalk a thing.

This morning, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax is now facing his own issues, as allegations of---wait for it---sexual misconduct have cropped up against him, just as it seems he would take over as governor if Northam finally finds his moral compass and resigns, as many in Virginia, on both sides of the aisle, are urging him to do.

If it was a Republican operative that dug up the dirt, because Northam & Fairfax are Democrats, then it's another case of dirty pool politics.

We've got something like that here at home.

Troy City Councilman Mark McGrath, no relation to the Sugar Ray frontman of the same name, stepped down amidst reports of leaving racial slurs in a voice mail some time back.

The difference between McGrath and the governor's office in Virginia is that McGrath took ownership of his situation, and did what was best for the community, his political career effectively over. Northam has only taken partial ownership of his sitch, but is refusing to step down, fearing that the GOP would swoop in and take over, since it's likely Fairfax would have to step down as well in the face of his scandal. In each case, the parties responsible for these tactics hide in the shadows like a nest of roaches. McGrath is a Republican, and the Democratic-controlled City Council in the hometown will choose one of their own to fill the seat, representing a section of Lansingburgh. Northam & Fairfax are Democrats, and you have to figure Trumpian Dittoheads representing the Geezers Party (Republicans) had a hand in the twin scandals brewing in Virginia.

This vicious cycle never ends, but it has to. For all our sakes.

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