Will Anderson: Ivey right to stand firm against NAACP call to resign

The head of the Alabama NAACP and two state legislators want Kay Ivey to resign for dressing up in blackface in a college skit 50 or so years ago.

For some, the argument goes something like this: If you think Virginia Governor Ralph Northam should’ve resigned for his blackface infractions while in med school, you must think Governor Ivey should resign now as well or you’re being a hypocrite.

Remember, though, that Northam is Virginia’s governor and, by extension, Virginia’s problem. Alabamians shouldn’t waste time assessing his character and fitness for office (For the record, I think he should’ve resigned when he calmly, coldly and confidently explained and defended infanticide.).

Here at home, Benard Simelton, the president of the Alabama NAACP, said in a press release that “During Governor Ivey’s administration, she refused to Expand Medicaid, did not support Birmingham increase in minimum wage…”

Mike Cason at Alabama Media Group added, “Democratic lawmakers have called for Medicaid expansion since it became available under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Ivey has not supported expansion, nor has the Republican-controlled Legislature.”

That may be true. And it may be a good or a bad thing. The glaring question, though, is what does it have to do with wearing blackface?

The answer is a mix of identity politics, cultural appropriation and other left-wing blather, to wit: If you are against expanding Medicaid or raising the minimum wage, you’re a likely sicko who finds amusement in blackface.

Democrats from Montgomery to The New York Times have picked up on the Kay Ivey story as another chance to tie conservatism to racism. The governor and the president get along quite well, after all; Ivey is quick at times to tout Trump‘s policies which must – because he’s a Republican and, well, he’s Donald Trump – be a sign of racism.

It’s straight out of the liberal playbook and applied to the current moment: Kay Ivey, as far as the press is concerned, is Alabama’s Donald Trump, at least until election day.

So the question lingers, should the governor resign?

Absolutely not. This is the moment, however unlikely, where she could draw a line in the sand, stand resolutely on one side, and say, “Political correctness stops here.” The nation would love her for it.

And so would we. At some point, our politics must return to governance and away from ridiculously excessive character assaults.

Will Anderson hosts “The Will Anderson Show” weekdays 5:00-7:00 a.m. on north Alabama’s WVNN.