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The chorus of prominent liberals and progressives demanding the resignation of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is resounding. Last Friday, images circulated from Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook page showing two people in racist garb, one in blackface and the other in a Klansman costume.
After initially apologizing for the image, the Democrat has since claimed that neither of the people pictured is him — although Northam added he did wear blackface on another occasion, as part of a Michael Jackson costume. (At a bizarre press conference Saturday, Northam appeared ready to back up this story by performing the moonwalk.)
Northam’s bungled reaction and unwillingness to take accountability for the racist material on his personal yearbook pages (separately, a college yearbook referred to his nickname, “Coonman,” a variation of a racist slur) has everyone from the head of the NAACP to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for him to step down.
Below is a Who’s Who of former allies who want to see Northam retired:
Former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder (the first elected black governor in the U.S.)
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine
Virginia Senator Mark Warner and Rep. Bobby Scott
Former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
Former Vice President Joe Biden
NAACP President Derrick Johnson
California Senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris
New Jersey Senator and presidential candidate Cory Booker
New York Senator and presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand
Massachusetts Senator and presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren
Former HUD Secretary and presidential candidate Julián Castro
Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer
Former Attorney General Eric Holder
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
The Congressional Black Caucus
Planned Parenthood
NARAL President Ilyse Hogue
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