Screengrab from https://youtu.be/pJlxeysHm7k

One of the lessons we learned from the whole Brett Kavanaugh fiasco is that if you feel you have been wrongly accused of a serious offense, like forcible rape, your only legitimate course of action is to apologize to the victim (#BelieveWomen) and commit seppuku. If you are outraged at your reputation being burned down, that is a character flaw, very possibly related to toxic masculinity, and it shows you don’t have the temperament to hold public office. The thrice married Charlie Sykes used the pages of thankfully defunct Weekly Standard to attack Kavanaugh’s anger and proclaim him unworthy.

As you know, while Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was under pressure to resign over having worn blackface as a med school party 35 years ago (no, I really don’t care and I don’t think anyone should care but #NewRules, baby), it was revealed that a woman had approached the Washington Post with an allegation that next in line of succession, Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, had forced a woman, now a college professor in California, to perform oral sex on him during the 2004 DNC convention.

At first, Fairfax claimed the allegation was false and had been debunked by the Washington Post. Then the Washington Post said that they hadn’t debunked the story and that Fairfax, via his attorney, had confirmed that he did have sex with the woman. This puts Fairfax squarely in Harvey Weinstein country. The encounter happened and now he’s trying to say that she really wanted it while she says she was coerced.

Now we have this

NBC News has learned that Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax used profane language in a private meeting Monday night, while referring to his accuser, Dr. Vanessa Tyson. Two sources tells us Fairfax said of Tyson: “Fuck that bitch.” — @GeoffRBennett & @jonallendc — Kasie Hunt (@kasie) February 6, 2019

Sure, Dr. Tyson (funny how Christine Ford was always called doctor and no one in the media is doing that in this case) has now hired the same law firm that repped Christine Ford during the Kavanaugh hearing

Vanessa Tyson, the woman accusing Lt. Gov. @FairfaxJustin of sexual assault, has hired Katz, Marshall, and Banks, the same law firm that represented Christine Blasey Ford.https://t.co/6T5QtGLqPd — Thomas Wagner (@TWagner416) February 5, 2019

and she’s scheduled to speak next week at a symposium at Stanford University called Betrayal and Courage in the Age of #MeToo.

Speaking of bad timing for @FairfaxJustin, Vanessa Tyson to appear on a panel to discuss…wait for it… "Betrayal and Courage in the Age of #MeToo"https://t.co/M0gcdAbQ0k @Eventbrite — Sharpton's2ndChin (@toadtws) February 5, 2019

but that’s no reason to get upset and start calling names.

On the merits, there is a much stronger case to be made for Fairfax being forced to resign than there was for Al Franken. By the #MeToo and #BelieveWomen standards, this is a slam dunk. We know it happened. We know Tyson says she felt coerced. Case closed. Nothing else matters. Fairfax blowing his top over this, particularly in front of witnesses, shows a lack of judgment and temperament. It shows a lack of respect for women and their feelings and indicates he thinks of women a sexual devices, not people. The fact that he hasn’t even acknowledged that she has a different recollection of their sexual encounter speaks volumes.

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