Democrats grapple with Fairfax assault accusation in #MeToo era
February 5, 2019 at 6:49 PM
The day after Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) denied allegations of sexual misconduct, Democrats grappled with how to respond without betraying a rising star in their party or abandoning victims in the #MeToo era.
Nearly all Democrats at the state and federal level swiftly called for Gov. Ralph Northam to resign over a racist photo from his 1984 yearbook that became public Friday.
But lawmakers and party officials interviewed took a more circumspect approach to the allegation against Fairfax, which surfaced Monday, just three days later.
Although Democrats at the state and national level have been quick to say women should be believed and that all allegations should be investigated, they say they are resisting a rush to judgment.
Unlike claims of assault against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, former senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), former congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and others, Virginia Democrats privately note the accuser in the Fairfax case has not yet offered evidence she says corroborates her claim.
The dilemma shows the trouble they have enforcing a policy of zero tolerance.
“I have so many different things going through my head right now,” said Monique Alcala, chair of the state Democratic Party’s Latino caucus and a Fairfax supporter since he first made a splash in state politics by nearly winning the 2013 Democratic primary for attorney general.
“I could be totally wrong on this, but I just don’t buy it,” Alcala said, referring to the accusations, in which a woman said Fairfax sexually assaulted her in Boston in 2004.
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The biggest difference is the party of the one being accused. Fairfax's accuser has been identified as Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at Scripps College in Claremont, California. A far more credible claim and somehow the Washington Post inexcusably killed the story last year.
February 5, 2019 at 6:49 PM
The day after Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) denied allegations of sexual misconduct, Democrats grappled with how to respond without betraying a rising star in their party or abandoning victims in the #MeToo era.
Nearly all Democrats at the state and federal level swiftly called for Gov. Ralph Northam to resign over a racist photo from his 1984 yearbook that became public Friday.
But lawmakers and party officials interviewed took a more circumspect approach to the allegation against Fairfax, which surfaced Monday, just three days later.
Although Democrats at the state and national level have been quick to say women should be believed and that all allegations should be investigated, they say they are resisting a rush to judgment.
Unlike claims of assault against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, former senator Al Franken (D-Minn.), former congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and others, Virginia Democrats privately note the accuser in the Fairfax case has not yet offered evidence she says corroborates her claim.
The dilemma shows the trouble they have enforcing a policy of zero tolerance.
“I have so many different things going through my head right now,” said Monique Alcala, chair of the state Democratic Party’s Latino caucus and a Fairfax supporter since he first made a splash in state politics by nearly winning the 2013 Democratic primary for attorney general.
“I could be totally wrong on this, but I just don’t buy it,” Alcala said, referring to the accusations, in which a woman said Fairfax sexually assaulted her in Boston in 2004.
________________
The biggest difference is the party of the one being accused. Fairfax's accuser has been identified as Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of politics at Scripps College in Claremont, California. A far more credible claim and somehow the Washington Post inexcusably killed the story last year.
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