by Lowell
Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, February 3.
- As Venezuelans protest, struggling Maduro seeks early parliament vote
- Venezuelans March as Guaido and Maduro Vie for Legitimacy (“Protests show crisis deepening as both men clamor for support”)
- Played by Putin: Madeleine Albright explains how Trump is “playing a strong hand poorly”
- Ocasio-Cortez inspires Democratic presidential hopefuls to come out swinging on climate change (“But the big test will be their specific policy platforms.” I would hope that the science alone would cause everyone to come out swinging. This is a dire crisis.)
- How Fox News Pushes Trump to Make Every Bad Decision (“No story has demonstrated the power of this unending Trump-Fox feedback loop like the partial government shutdown.”)
- Beto O’Rourke sees stock fall (“O’Rourke has vexed some observers over the past few weeks, first for livestreaming a dentist appointment — a move critics panned as oversharing — and later for documenting a meandering solo road trip in a series of deeply personal blog posts. He’s also been a bystander as other big names like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have entered the race.”)
- Ronny Jackson: Trump makes controversial doctor his chief medical adviser (Gack, not this guy again!)
- A Long Talk With Julián Castro (“The Democratic 2020 candidate on why people care if he speaks Spanish and how Trump is like a fastball.”)
- ‘Unforgivable!’: Trump Slugs Northam Over Racist Photo (Hahaha, anything coming from the racist-in-chief…LOL)
- Trump targets Gillespie amid Northam race scandal (Amazing that nobody on the Chopra or Perriello campaigns checked Northam’s med school and VMI yearbooks; seems like Oppo Research 101, right?)
- Trump’s State of Disunion (“In the aftermath of the shutdown, the President’s deep unfamiliarity with the lives of working Americans may create opportunities for the Democrats.”)
- Virginia abortion bill reignites national debate (Note, again, that third-trimester abortions are VERY rare – none in Virginia the past few years – and basically in the most extreme circumstances.)
- Ralph Northam Is Lying (“Even if he’s not in that racist picture, he’s telling stories that don’t add up.”)
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Demands Northam’s Resignation: This Is ‘Painful’ (“The congresswoman called his actions ‘painful + eroding to American society.'”)
- Is it karma or simply fate? Virginia could be poised to get its second black governor
- Website that published Virginia governor’s racist yearbook photo has ties to Corey Stewart campaign (“Big League Politics, which broke the Northam story, was acquired last year by Mustard Seed Media, according to a report last year in The Daily Beast. Mustard Seed is owned by former Stewart campaign consultant Reilly O’Neal, who also worked with Roy Moore’s failed Senate campaign in Alabama.”)
- Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam: I Wore Blackface but Not in Racist Photo (“In a whiplash-inducing press conference, the Democrat takes back his acknowledgment that he posed for a shocking photo in 1984—and says he won’t resign.”)
- Northam Looked Ready to Show Off Moonwalking Skills Before His Wife Stopped Him
- Mark Warner, Tim Kaine Told Ralph Northam to Resign After Bizarre Speech
- Reaction to Northam Photos Highlights VAST Moral Difference Between Virginia Democrats and Republicans When It Comes to Racism, Bigotry
- 6 moments of weirdness with Ralph Northam (“The Virginia governor joins the annals of bizarre political press conferences.”)
- Video – Gov. Northam Holds Press Conference at 2:30 pm. What Will/Should He Say? [UPDATE: Northam Says It Absolutely Was NOT Him in the Photo]
- Gov. Northam refuses to step down, despite flood of calls for his resignation over racist photo
- Fairfax was preparing to be Va. governor. Then Northam said he was staying put.
- Why Ralph Northam Should Resign (“The best public service he can now render is conserving the strong social stigma against white supremacists.”)
- Analysis: Northam struggles to escape Virginia’s troubled past — and his own (“Northam — whose early successes, including a long-sought Medicaid expansion, have been a bright spot for Democrats — on Saturday found himself in a place no politician wants to be in 2019: explaining on national television how hard it was to remove shoe polish from his face after a dance routine. He said he darkened his face in the 1984 routine to imitate Michael Jackson and the moonwalk.”)
- ‘He should step down ’: Racist photo sparks near-universal calls for Northam to resign
- At surreal press conference, Northam struggled with the one question that mattered most (“Though he talked for what seemed like an excruciating forever and was asked this multiple times, it was a question the governor never answered in anything close to a satisfactory way…In sum, Northam’s basic argument appeared to be that because the image was so incendiary and appeared on his page in a yearbook he had never seen before, he felt compelled to apologize first.”)
- In his own words: Northam describes moonwalking in blackface, denies appearing in KKK photo
- Virginia Democrats overwhelmingly call on Northam to resign
- Could three state leaders oust a governor under the Virginia Constitution?
- Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who could become governor: ‘We’re at a critical moment right now’
- Warner, Kaine, Scott call on Northam to resign
- Schapiro: Northam rhetorical dance on racial controversy is a killer
- AG Herring releases statement saying Northam should step down; will support Fairfax (That might have been the most striking statement all day.)
- Frank B. Atkinson column: Virginia can show the way, again (And with this obscenely stupid op-ed, the early reviews on the new leadership for the RTD’s editorial page aren’t good.)
- Editorial: Northam must step aside
- Union Hill residents see link between Northam’s racist photo and pipeline decisions
- Editorial: Can Northam still represent Virginia?
- Ralph Northam photo controversy: Could he be impeached? What if he resigns?
- EVMS vows to review yearbooks after Northam photo highlights issues
- Virginia lawmakers, others react to Northam’s reversal on racist yearbook photo
- Dick Saslaw was the lone VA Democrat to rush to Northam’s defense. It could cost him re-election. (“Yasmine Taeb, a progressive candidate running against Saslaw, says he’ll pay a price for wavering on an issue that demands moral clarity.” Anyone who’s paying attention should oppose $a$law’s reelection.)
- Kellam: DEQ’s oversight of pipeline is lax (“Roberta Kellam Kellam served two terms on the Virginia State Water Control Board. She is a former instructor of environmental law and policy at the University at Buffalo Law School”)
- Regional disagreements on funding I-81 fixes halts legislation
- Winter warming up into the work week; 60s by Tuesday?
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