"I"? Gee, I could have sworn the former Mayor ran under the banner of the Democratic Party and took a chunk of cash from the state and national Democratic party coffers. But this morning's Montgomery Advertiser paints Bright as so anti-party he's an "I", as in Independent:
"I am an independent, focused toward what's right for our country. ... My constituents are a close second. Party labels have a place, but it's down the line."
Does Representative Bright really think he could have won the election running as an "I" instead of with the support of a major party, "D" or "R"?
Note the previous post on this blog quoting the Clerk of The House as saying there are no Independents in the House right now. Guess we'll have to send him a copy of this story!
And the Washington Times had a story last month identifying Bright and Alabama's only other Democratic Congressman, Parker Griffith, as two of the very few real Blue Dog Democrats.
(I like to credit local reporters when I link to a story, but The Advertiser piece online has no byline that I could find.)
[UPDATE: My dead-tree and ink edition credits Deborah Barfield Berry as reporter on the Bright piece this morning]
He didn't run as an Independent because he would have had to gather signatures to be on the ballot. That's work. Of course, he had the money and the people resources necessary to gather as many signatures as he needed...but why bother?
ReplyDeleteThere is also the problem of voters who can't seem to get over it and break their habit of voting based on (D) or (R). The D's & R's are a known quantity even if voters aren't happy with what they do once in office.