Carter Wrenn posted on July 11, 2012 15:19
North Carolina’s most famous Democrat, Jim Hunt, ran for statewide office six times and each time gave the liberal Democrat running for President a wide berth – and so did Mike Easley when he ran in 2000 (Al Gore) and 2004 (John Kerry). And no one thought much of it.
But now two Democratic Congressmen – Mike McIntyre and Larry Kissel – are giving another liberal Democrat, Barack Obama, a wide berth and all blazes has broken loose with one Democratic County Chairman wanting to drum Kissell out of the party.
Back in the old days if you attended a political rally in North Carolina you’d hear folks say with pride, I vote for the man not the party – and in the audience heads would nod. But in these more enlightened times if you go to a Republican Convention and stand up and say, Well, surely you don’t believe there’s a U.N. one-world government conspiracy afoot to take over North Carolina through zoning laws, then another delegate is likely to jump up and say, That fellow’s not a Republican, he’s a crazy liberal who doesn’t believe in Agenda 21;-- or if a Democratic candidate expresses a dram of doubt about the wisdom of Washington-run health care a local Democratic Party Chairman will jump up, declare him a pariah and add, horrified, That fellow ought to be a Republican – let’s run him out of town on a rail.
Years ago, Jesse Helms (who was no respecter of political parties) used to campaign all across North Carolina saying, I don’t care which party straightens the country out – as long as one of them does.
Maybe that sentiment is no longer true. Maybe it was never true. But, then again, maybe today we have a problem with convention delegates and county chairmen.