NORTHAM’S REALLY TURNED OUT TO BE SCUM. How a Democratic Governor and the Mainstream Media Tried to Delegitimize a Civil Rights Rally Before It Even Started. “Northam probably knows more about white supremacy than I do, given his history, but this is starting to get ridiculous.”
UPDATE: So I’m wondering: What if Virginians rebelled and overthrew Northam’s government? It’s unlikely, but if they did, federal intervention is also unlikely. There have been two such cases in American history — the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, and the Wilmington Insurrection of 1898, and in both cases the federal government didn’t intervene. To intervene, the president would have to make a declaration under the Insurrection Act, and there’s no obligation that he do so. And the question of which state government is legitimate is, according to the Supreme Court’s decision in Luther v. Borden, political and non-justiciable.
Which means that if Northam were to be physically removed from office and a new state government put in in his place — possibly with a new legislature — it would be up to Trump to decide whether to restore the status quo ante, or to recognize the new state government as legitimate.
This probably won’t matter, but it’s worth noting, and I doubt very much that Ralph “Coonman” Northam has thought about it at all.