by Kerry Dougherty
You would expect that Governor Ralph Northam, in the final two weeks of his governorship, would engage in a little self-reflection, maybe even a bit of humility and admit that he and his “team” made colossal mistakes on Monday that left hundreds of travelers stranded on a frozen 50-mile stretch of highway for more than a day.
Shoot, a normal person might even — dare I say it — apologize for the endangerment of so many people.
Ha.
If there’s one thing all Virginians know about Northam by now it’s that this guy is incapable of admitting he was wrong and he never apologizes.
Yesterday was no exception.
As the rest of the country watched in stupefied disbelief at a snowy, clogged I-95 packed with immobile cars and trucks, Northam was resolute.
The mistakes that led to the life-threatening situation weren’t his, he declared Wednesday. They were the fault of the drivers.
“We gave warnings, and people need to pay attention to these warnings, and the less people that are on the highways when these storms hit, the better,” Northam told The Washington Post.
Fewer, Ralph, fewer. Not “less” people.
Unbelievable. I-95 was on the verge of turning into the Donner Pass and the governor points his fingers at the hapless drivers and their passengers who were caught in the mess?
How many people heard those warnings, Governor? The traffic cams were out because Virginia has no back-up generators for them when the power fails. And what motorist who’s traveling a major stretch of interstate expects that the roadway would not be kept plowed? Or plowed at all?
If you ever suspected a lack of love between this governor and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, that was confirmed with Northam’s flippant remarks, which seemed aimed at the senator who spent 27 hours on Northam’s highway to hell and gave a detailed account of the harrowing conditions in interviews when he finally arrived at the Capitol.
Of course lots of armchair governors joined Ralph in victim blaming. On social media they lectured the unwashed about the need to keep blankets, candles, matches, mace, high-powered beacons, binoculars, tourniquets and HoHos in the glovebox for just such an emergency. Oh, and what kind of a reckless fool gets on the expressway with only half a tank of gas, they demanded to know. Or without a charging cord for a cellphone?
There’s simply no excuse for the clusterfart on I-95 Monday. A Northam apology is in order. But Virginians will never get one from the most arrogant governor in recent history.
Nine more days.
This column has been republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.
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