How sad it must be for Trump supporters

If Fairfax were accused of any crime but rape, would he be forced to resign with no investigation?

What if someone came forward and accused Gov. Northam of a hate crime in medical school, alleging that he picked him up in his car one night, took him to a field, tied a rope around his neck, threatened to lynch him and tormented him for hours with racial epithets and threats at gunpoint before dropping him off back in town and telling him he would kill him of he ever reported it. Northam said he did nothing of the kind but, instead he and the man went for a drive and sat out in a field drinking and talking before going their separate ways.

Would you assume, without more information that the accuser, a respected doctor, was telling the truth and that Northam must resign? If the statue of limitations had not yet run, would you want the accuser to press charges or would you say he didn't need to try to prosecute the crime but, instead, his word is enough because so much time had passed?

Rape is different than any other crime in its impact and trauma on the victim, so it must be treated differently in some respects. But must it be treated differently in ALL respects, particularly in terms of suspending all due process?

And should the fact that a crime has a unique impact on a victim - like a hate crime - change the due process rights of the person accused of committing it?

I say no.

I've seen people here insist that, although Dr. Tyson has publicly Lt. Gov. Fairfax of a crime, she has no responsibility for charging him but, instead, is well within her rights to simply make the public accusation and not go any further.

And some people are also saying that, now that the allegation has been made, Fairfax must bear all of the consequences he would have incurred had he actually been convicted of a crime short of being incarcerated and being legally declared a felon. He must relinquish his job, lose his political career and forever be stigmatized as a sexual predator and a criminal, without ever having an opportunity to defend himself or require his accuser to be held to her
proof, as other persons in this country who are accused of any other crime are entitled to do.

Sexual assault victims advocates have fought to change the way victims are viewed and treated in the judicial system and society. But they did not create a new and separate extra-judicial process for charging and punishing individuals for crimes without any opportunity to defend themselves.

I don't know whether Fairfax raped Tyson. And neither, at this point, does anyone else other than the two of them. We can try to weigh their credibility but, in truth, we don't know these people. Tyson could be as honest as the day is long. She could also be a stone-cold liar. Fairfax could be an honest young man who would never and has never harmed any woman. He could also be a rapist. I don't know and neither do you. Claiming we can judge the credibility of either of these people at this stage because of what they do for a living, how educated they are, or what we read about them is foolish.

But I do know it is wrong to assume an allegation, especially one as serious as rape, should be treated as a conviction is wrong. People may think it's justified in this case. But the next time, it could be YOUR husband or son or brother or friend who's accused and I am very sure you would not want them to be treated as Fairfax is.

BREAKING: video surfaces of Whitaker at the Trump Hotel after yesterday's hearing

My advice to Elizabeth Warren

(recognizing that a woman with Sen. Warren's experience and savvy likely isn't seeking and definitely doesn't need my advice ...)

Lay off trying to spar with Trump. Few people can get the best of him in that arena and he's shown he can successfully sucker punch you. You can't beat him at his own game.

You have a wealth of substance and ideas - more than many candidates usually do at this stage. Please focus on that!

Last week I posted a hypo asking about whether a governor admitting a rape should step down

and got creamed by some here who accused me of everything from equating blackface and rape to advancing a hidden agenda to hating women.

This week, my hypo not only seems far less problematic but eerily prescient but

So let me posted two versions of it again with a couple of tweaks and try again to find out where people think these lines should be drawn:

As the pressure mounts on Fairfax to resign, here's one suggestion

If he feels he must resign, he should agree to do so only on one condition: Northam publicly agrees to appoint an African-American woman Lt. Governor approved by the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus in his place.

I would push for him to agree to both appoint an black female Lt. Governor and then resign himself, but that would make too much sense.

Why would any middle or low income Trump supporter donate money for his or Jared's defense?

Isn't Trump's alleged wealth -one of the main reasons they say they voted for him?

How does anyone with that severe a case of cognitive dissonance get through a day without critically injuring themselves?

Is it just me, or is Whitaker the poster boy for white male privilege?

Can you imagine any woman or any black or Hispanic person as unqualified, as corrupt, as unsuited, as inarticulate, or as unimpressive as this man clearly is ever rising to this level?

Kamala's not having it

I would love for the House tomorrow to pass a special commendation to Nancy Pelosi

for her fortitude and restraint in not smacking this fool upside the head.