Lines are being drawn and alliances are being made and it will be done at the expense of those who have the most to lose, our ordinary citizens. You no, the ones who cannot afford not to be Patriots. Our most powerful and respected leaders in our Party have declared war against each other and we are all at fault for what is happening. Why have we allowed this to continue without someone or someones seeking to mediate a truce between these waring camps. Lets face it our Party is screwed up. There is not and probably have never been an infrastructure in place to deal with situations like this and we are all sitting back twiddling our thumbs hoping things will get better. Well, it will not get better and we as a Party are beginning to look like the joke that we are around the country. But that's okay for those of us who are able to relocate to another state and pretend that it never happened. But, what about those who are unable to do that and are stuck in this mess that we have allowed to happen? The people that trust us to lookout for their welfare and create a better world for them? What about our obligation to them or did we or do we have an obligation to them? It is becoming very painfully clear that to many of us are here for our own self interest, our families and our business associates and to hell with everybody else. You know who you are and so do most of us. Those who are supporting individuals based on what you can get out of it or just to bring our Party down as we know it because you cannot control it. As County Chairs we are volunteers chosen by other volunteers to promote the interest and concerns of our Party members by choosing qualified candidates or as I like to call them mediators to negotiate for the fulfillment of these interests and concern on a state or federal level. The power rest in our hands because we get it directly from our constituents and we lend it out to our elected officials and yet we sit here on our hands and allow this madness to continue. We need to either get a back bone or get out of the business because all we are doing is abusing the power that was given us by the people who need us the most. On our next meeting I will be there and I will be vocal about what is going on and I really don't care who feelings I hurt, because contrary to some of you I am going to represent my people and I will not be intimidated.
As always, these are just my feelings and they don't have to be right. But, they are right for me.
Lee Walter Jenkins
MCDP Chair
Dear Mr. Jenkins,
ReplyDeleteI confess that I am conflicted about this matter. The primary reason I voted against Mr. Harpootlian for chair was his attitude on race. I think it's wrong and not what the party needs. It sounds like what he did, barging into the black caucus meeting and announcing he would ask donors to give to candidates challenging Sen. Ford, was inexcusable and, indeed, treated the members like children being told what's what. On the other hand, where do we draw the line? Whether the elected official is black or white or Hispanic, when do we say, enough is enough; this person is not acting like a Democrat anymore? Sen. Ford has compromised on the Confederate flag, said that we need illegal immigrants to work for us because African-American workers (and white workers, too) are lazy, and, most egregiously, not just voted for but promoted "school choice" without a plan to save the failing public schools in which most poor children, many of them African-American, will be stuck. I know there are many other instances that have led many in our party to doubt whether Sen. Ford should be called a Democrat.
I think this matter could have been handled very, very differently. If it were up to me, I would not actively solicit donations for Sen. Ford's campaign, but I would also not actively discourage donors, and I certainly would not have made the kind of announcement Mr. Harpootlian did. This sort of thing is exactly what I feared when he was elected chair. I'm all for party unity and not forcing everyone to walk in lock-step; I am a pro-life Democrat, so I certainly have a stake maintaining a "big tent" for our party. But is there a line? Maybe the line shouldn't be drawn on this side of Sen. Ford in particular, but is there a line we can draw so that we are not supporting candidates and officials who really are not Democrats even though they claim to be? I think that's a difficult question but one we must answer.
Thank you for reading my response, and thank you for continuing to be in touch with Democrats about issues that matter.
Katharine P. Eastvold
Dorchester County
I agree with you in principle, but Ford is the wrong battle to fight.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you want to talk more.
Jonathan Eastvold
My concern is not about Senator Ford or Mr Harpootlian, it is about the Party and the people we represent. There are ways to handle disagreements without destroying the house that you live in. I think most people are not use to my way of looking at things. I believe that the only way to affect change is to first address the problem openly and second to deal with it at its root cause. The root cause is never race, religion, ethnicity, gender or nationality. The root cause is always whether it is Right or Wrong, which is something we can all agree upon. When we use anything other than that we play into the hands of the puppeteers out their trying to manipulate situations to benefit there own cause. If we are going to live up to our motto as the Party that cares about people, we must be more conscious of our shortcomings and putting more effort into solving them, more diligent in holding our leaders accountable and more demanding when it comes to respect for each other, the Party and most of all the people we represent.
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is just my opinion and it does not make it right.
Lee Walter Jenkins
Thank you for reading my response, and thank you for continuing to be in touch with Democrats about issues that matter.
ReplyDeleteKatharine P. Eastvold
Dorchester County
If the matters in this article are facts, then how was Harpootlian elected as State Chair, even worse, he said the ranking Democrat, an African American recruited him for this position. If these matters are fact, Sen. Ford and Mr. Jenkins is on target.
ReplyDeleteIt is against the rules for a Party Official to exercise this type of position or behavior.
Even more appalling, the Party has been and is being sued for these same types of alleged actions.
The words of a good friend “We can’t control the thoughts of others against us or beside us, BUT we can surely make them accountable for what they say and do”. The Minority and Black Caucus should see this type of behavior as divisive and take a position that demonstrates that this will not be tolerated.
Until we build solidarity and hold our members of the Democratic Party accountable for they’re actions, we will not be able to check the Governor or any Republican’s action. We can’t demand respect from others if we can’t demand it from our own!
As it stands in South Carolina, “The Democratic Party” operates as a private club where poor people are non respected and speaking members, with only voters privileges on election day, thus many who are elected “Black and White” continue to disproportionally neglect and fail the minority and African American community. For those who would challenge this statement, please look at the failing school statistics, look at the unemployment statistics, look at the incarceration statistics, look at the lack of economic development statistics and then pay close attention to what excuses we accept form those who are elected to champion our causes. AND, look closely at what they are doing, just drive through these communities for the real proof.
We are experiencing a crises in our community, we are poorly represented with a lack of leadership and can’t impact the the Democratic Party the way we should, and a much lesser chance of getting any respect form another political party.
I hope “We The people” can find some solutions soon!
Gregory Brown