Video statement from Ralph Northam, governor of VA.

[MelissaB]

Link to tweet

[oberliner]

1. Still not resigning

[Blue_true]

3. He should not resign.

All of us have stuff in our past that we are not proud of.

I read some extensive posts by you defending Tulsi Gabbard tonight. You made some excellent points, some that I agreed with, some that I didn't. But Tulsi Gabbard at 22 year old was a virulent homophobe, that was 15 years ago, Northam dressed in Blackface 35 years ago. So, if we hold to the standard you seem to be implying in your post to this OP, Tulsi Gabbard should be disqualified for being a homophobe 15 years ago, even if she has validly changed for the better since then.

[oberliner]

4. I have not called for him to resign

I have just noted that he has not yet done so.

[Blue_true]

7. Good enough. nt

[Kingofalldems]

10. Yeah, I think we can read and know he hasn't resigned.

[brooklynite]

8. Who's standing up for Tulsi Gabbard?

I think they both deserve to be called out.

[LBM20]

12. If it was long ago & Gabbard has changed and apologized she should be able to serve. People change.

[LBM20]

2. He did a DUMB and WRONG thing LONG ago. He is sorry. Has been a good man in his life. He deserves

some forgiveness. It was SO long ago. EVERY SINGLE PERSON HAS DONE SOMETHING DUMB AND WRONG AND REGRETFUL IN THE PAST. EVERYONE! These mistakes should not define a person's entire life. That is wrong too. That is unfair and WRONG.

I can say that I have made a number of mistakes in my life, including having said some dumb and wrong things and acted in ways on some occasions when I was much younger and long ago that I regret, don't do anymore, haven't done for SO long, and would never do again. Times change. People grow and learn.

We ALL have made some mistakes. This act was long, long ago. It is NOT who he is now. He should not resign.

[Blue_true]

5. People change.

I am guessing that he became a soldier after finishing Medical School and went into a world that was vastly different from the almost all White world that he had lived it, he saw that and changed for the better.

[LBM20]

6. Joy Reid made homophobic statements a number of years ago. Should she resign? No! Kevid Hart also

made homophobic statements several years ago. Should he resign from public life as an actor? No! They have come around. They have apologized profusely. I forgive them. Northam's act was LONG ago. It is not who has been since, nor who he is now. He should not resign by any means.

[backabby-blue]

9. Joy Reid should not run for office

Northam should resign. Yes, everyone has made mistakes but homophobic or racist mistakes should disqualify those people from office

[LBM20]

11. No they should not. It a LONG time ago and they have changed. You would be disqualifying SO many

good people. C'mon. EVERYONE makes mistakes. Think about the mistakes you've made in your life. Should you be disqualified from public office for the rest of your life? My goodness. This is getting out of control.

[Blue_true]

13. I agree.

At some point, we need to put up a statue of limitations and look at what a person did during that period. Was Northam a racist 20 years ago? Accounts say that he was not, in fact he was working to produce a state where everyone was treated equally. Was he a racist in the military? We need to look at his track record beyond him being a 25 year old doing something which a large percentage of people in his isolated social class likely saw as being ok. We should look at what he did in the military when he served with, had to treat and live among people who did not look like him or came from his social circle.

[delisen]

14. what about anti-female comments? I guess these should be disqualifing.

I do think Biden should be disqualified based upon his handling of the Anita Hill pillorying. It was truly a blot on the Democratic Party.