Tuesday, March 28, 2006

If you're going to be a Democrat, STAY a Democrat

I'm not one to turn away any potential converts, but if you're going to switch parties, it's not a good idea to switch BACK.

J.W. Gibson, who listed among his supporters long-time Democrat Harold Byrd, is facing removal from the 2006 Democratic County primary by the Democratic Executive Committee when they meet on April 6. Thanks to David Holt for the correction; the Primary Board has apparently already approved the removal and the ExecCom will have to vote thumbs up or down on the matter.

Supporters of Commissioner Walter Bailey researched Gibson's primary voting record and found that, after registering in 1987, he voted Democrat solidly UNTIL 1994, when he began voting in Republican primaries, where he has voted ever since. To top it all off, Gibson was elected in 2003 to the Shelby County GOP Steering Committee, where he served for two years, through 2005.

One would think that a fellow might want to take some time and renew his Democratic connections before jumping into another political race, wouldn't one?

Do you think that this might have something to do with the fact that the Democrats are going to capture District 5 and regain control of the Commission this August?

Let's see how the Primary Board votes, and what Chairman Matt Kuhn has to say about this. You don't want to turn converts away, like I said, but you sure as hell first want to be sure that they really ARE converts and not just GOP plants.

5 comments:

David Holt said...

Technically, I think the executive committee will have to vote to remove. The primary board has already voted to reccomend that is done.

David Holt said...

"Do you think that this might have something to do with the fact that the Democrats are going to capture District 5 and regain control of the Commission this August"

I'm shocked you could even consider the possibility of such a sinister political tactic. It's rabble rousers and bloggers like you who are stirring up trouble when things should just be left alone! You should be ashamed. :-)

polar donkey said...

Kind of a funny story. A friend of mine who sneaked into Bush's Social Security speech in order to disrupt it, ran into Gibson the in line to get in the auditorium. Gibson Said to my friend "I thought you would be outside with the protesters." My friend thought that he would be busted and thrown out, but made it in and disrupted the speech. When my friend saw that Gibson was on the ballot as a Dem a few weeks ago, he pointed out that Gibson was a republican, but needless to say no one paid attention. I suggest the Democratic Party pay a little more attention when people have advice or information.

polar donkey said...

Do we need to bring in Bob Tuke again to handle this situation as well, or can we take care of it ourselves?

polar donkey said...

I have an idea, lets get Sidney Chism, Harold Byrd, and JW to have a press conference. At the press conference lets have JW swear allegiance to the Democratic Party. Then Sidney and Harold promise they will drop out of the party if JW does not show absolute fidelity to the party. I'd really like to see that. I'd also like to see JW, Sidney, and Harold endorse Harold Ford jr while they are their too. It would be captivating TV. Can the democratic party sell tickets to next week's executive committee meeting as a fundraiser.