Dave Burris to Leave Republican Party
Mark this date on your calendar. Dave Burris is resigning his position as Chair of the Sussex County Republicans. I have been speaking to Dave over the past few weeks and he had recently confided in me that while he wasn’t quite ready to call himself a Democrat, he certainly didn’t feel the warm Republican glow any more. He will file his resignation and change of party form tomorrow morning in Georgetown.
Here is a snippet from the resignation letter:
Over the past few months I have been harassed and cajoled by several leaders of the party that I used to call my own. Ultimately, I was successful in pushing John Adkins to resign, but in the process I have come to realize how morally bankrupt my party truly is. The support that I received from the moderate and liberal readers of my blog has astounded me and reminded me that the Republican party has been talking a good game on family values, but that ultimately we, as a party don’t have the courage to stand up for what is right.
Thanks, Dave. It’s good to have you out of the clutches of that party of greed. Wanna get together and sing Kumbaya?
Update for future googlers: This was an April Fools Hoax. Thanks for playing.
Tags: local R's
I thought that last line was a bit glib for such a weighty matter
– then a light buld went off over my head.
I had already gone through a thorough April Fool’s punking from the WNJ editorial pages and wrote a post about it so you’s a thunk I’d have been prepared for more but I have to tell you that the header of this post sent a SHUDDER through my being…AACCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!
punked again.
I can sympathize with Dave and it is very hard to be Republican but looking at the Carper and Minner regime they left Delaware a mess. I’ll admit there are some good D’s as legislators but yet there are a few good R’s. However, is the grass really greener on the other side?
Why should Dave or I run form the party rather then stay and help bring it to the center?
Honestly, the are enough D’s and R’s who are Independents at heart that could breath real life in the Independent Party.
Though I feel Atkins was just a sacrificial lamb thrown to the wolves aka the inner rage of many of us who want to force change in Dover on both sides, I admire Dave courage to cut across the grain. The bottom-line is neither the Republican legislators nor its leadership could get Atkins to move. Dave came in at the 12 hour and push Atkins.
I would have preferred Atkins to stay and watch a showdown and I am sure many tough talking Republican legislators would have been force to step and vote Atkins out.
From the side of what the consensus was Dave Burris step and got the job finish and should be a hero in his own party. He is no different that those Republican legislators who suggested Akins step down. Dave just did with my honestly from the heart.
John Allison
GOP Chairperson 19th RD
AKA Gilligan’s Island
No disclaimer at all or even a hint? No reference to the date?
It’s not like I’m short of people calling for my head or anything.
Say nice things at my funeral.
It does say to mark this date on your calendar… Bold and italic no less…
Even so, you got me geek. Great job.
That is the highlight of my day.
Even I have to admit I was taken … for a few seconds! 😉
Very impressive integration of the hint into the body of the joke. Very, very nice.
The problem for many readers (including Dave?) may be that it’s not that far-fetched?
Yes, Mike. Dave signed up as County Chairman of the Republican Party, and found that this action was not sufficient to express his dissatisfaction with the GOP.
I just read the WNJ editorial Dave mentioned.
After today’s drubbing, I bet next year he’ll stay in bed on the first.
Wait a minute…
This (from the Nation) explains why Liberalgeek’s joke worked so well.
There’s been a lot of evidence recently that the Bush administration is causing (or perhaps amplifying) an ideological shift among the American public away from Reagan/Gingrich conservatism, towards something resembling social democracy. That might be a touch pollyanna, but check out the latest data from the massive Pew survey released last week. Kevin Drum runs down the most important data points: a sharp decline in the percentage of voters identifying themselves as Republicans, a significant increase in the percentage of people who think “government should help the needy even if it means greater debt,” and similar decline in the percentage of people who think “school boards should have the right to fire homosexual teachers.”
In other words the populace is getting a) more socially liberal b) more economically progressive c) more identified with the Democratic party.
As soon as I saw that you spelled Atkins wrong it was a dead give away …