In a world where internet rumor is viewed by some as fact and what’s posted can change the course of history, even when no facts have been confirmed, it’s becoming standard practice expect social media driven drama in the last days of political campaigns.
The race for Virginia’s tenth congressional district is slowly taking on the look of something that happened in Virginia in 2019 during the blackface scandal that threatened to end the Governorship of Ralph Northam in Feb. 2019. Suspiciously timed allegations are nothing new in politics. But in 2019, the timing perfectly coincided with the news that a Governor in scandal was set to resign.
In 2019, the person who was the target of was Virginia’s second Black Lt. Governor, Justin Fairfax. As a press corp desperate for clicks as media revenue models fail rush to report on complicated stories is the truth fully reported and is the public well served? In the case of Lt. Gov. Fairfax the answer was no.
This week, Delegate Dan Helmer, who has been endorsed by The Washington Post and is the top fundraiser in the race for Congress in Virginia’s 10th district, has been the subject of unsubstantiated rumor which serve to confirm he may in fact be the front runner. As other candidates call for Helmer to drop out of the race, even before investigation and with no facts on the table, a question must be asked: Do Democrats believe in due process and “innocent until proven guilty?” Or does the party just “believe” what they read on Elon Musk’s X. Is a Democratic party currently attempting to court Black voters for the Nov. 5, 2024 mindful of how issues of due process and racial justice concern Black voters — the party’s most loyal voting block?
Loudoun Attorney Phil Thompson and Lauren Burke discuss race, MeToo allegations, how Justin Fairfax was treated by his own party and the events of 2019. This episode was recorded on June 13, 2024.
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EP33 - Loudoun's Flashback to 2019, Dan Helmer, Due Process, Race and Politics