Ralph Northam Refuses To Answer “Yes or No” On Pipeline Support

Ralph Northam finally made one thing clear to Virginia voters last night at the Democrat gubernatorial debate in Roanoke: He will not tell them whether or not he will support the pipeline. After ducking and dodging the question at two previous events, Northam was asked again by moderator Jean Jadhon if he could say “yes or no” on supporting the pipeline. He proceeded with his rehearsed talking points that he had used before, but this time the moderator wasn’t having it and pressed him for a straight answer:

JEAN JADHON: “Can you say yes or no, for or against the pipeline? Or are you not going to be clear on it, yes or no?”

RALPH NORTHAM: “You know I think I explained my position on the pipeline and again at the end of the day, it’s not, it’s not something” – [Audience boos] – “it’s not something that a governor or a lieutenant governor can make a decision on. I can tell you though that if the pipeline moves forward I will make sure that it’s one with transparency and with science, like I just explained.”

Ralph Northam had three chances this week to state unequivocally whether he will support the pipeline, and the third time could not have been any simpler. Still, Ralph Northam inexplicably refuses to give voters a yes or no answer on the issue. Unlike Governor Terry McAuliffe, who supports the project, or Tom Perriello, who opposes it, Ralph Northam clearly does not believe that the people of Virginia deserve to know his stance. Northam’s refusal to give the people of Virginia a straight answer to a simple question with tremendous importance to the state shows that he is completely unqualified to serve as the state’s next governor.