Although this is horrible for Northam this also points the finger at the GOP establishment.
Twitter was going crazy wondering how the Republican’s oppo research team didn’t find this photo.
I don’t know how much Ed Gillespie was paying his oppo research team, but he should immediately demand a refund.
— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) February 1, 2019
How did Ed Gillespie’s oppo research people miss this? And that is quite a week for the Va Governor — that comms director may need a cocktail. 🥃 https://t.co/dD2WTTlZAy
— Bret Baier (@BretBaier) February 1, 2019
Remember when Democrats, Ralph Northam among them, insisted that Ed Gillespie was a racist because he wanted to let local governments decide whether or not to take down Confederate statues?
— Alexandra DeSanctis (@xan_desanctis) February 1, 2019
Ed Gillespie should get a full refund from whosever ran his oppo research operation. @RalphNortham
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) February 1, 2019
So….who was in charge of opposition research for Ed Gillespie and how did he or she miss this? https://t.co/d2nfxnOsOP
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) February 1, 2019
Some are even speculating that the Gillespie campaign had this photo but decided not to use it.
Several astute readers have suggested Gillespie’s campaign may have known of this but chose not to use it, fearing it would muddy the distinctions they were trying to draw
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) February 1, 2019
Ed Gillespie was a pick of the Republican establishment:
Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for. Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 8, 2017
This is a perfect example of why the Republican Establishment can’t help but lose. They have no backbone and seem to be incompetent as well. The Republican establishment had no problem digging up dirt on Donald Trump and Roy Moore but it can’t seem to find a College yearbook of a Democrat in a key swing state.
