In the words of Mistermix, What The Hell Is Happening In Arizona?
A nasty battle between factions of Legislative District 20 Republicans and fears that it could turn violent in the wake of what happened in Tucson on Saturday prompted District Chairman Anthony Miller and several others to resign.
Miller, a 43-year-old Ahwatukee Foothills resident and former campaign worker for U.S. Sen. John McCain, was re-elected to a second one-year term last month. He said constant verbal attacks after that election and Internet blog posts by some local members with Tea Party ties made him worry about his family’s safety.
In an e-mail sent a few hours after Saturday’s massacre in Tucson that killed six and injured 13, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Miller told state Republican Party Chairman Randy Pullen he was quitting: “Today my wife of 20 yrs ask (sic) me do I think that my PCs (Precinct Committee members) will shoot at our home? So with this being said I am stepping down from LD20GOP Chairman…I will make a full statement on Monday.”
Something is very wrong. People don’t walk away from leadership positions on a whim. Apparently some Republicans are drawing connections between Saturday’s shooting and the violent rhetoric.
In the meantime, a series of accusatory e-mails was exchanged among party members. Some blasted Miller’s support of McCain, called him a “McCainiac with a penchant for violating the rules” and a “McCain hack.”
Hmm… that sounds familiar. The very same thing is playing out in downstate Delaware. And you can add another email from Sussex to the pile.
WHEREAS, The Chairman’s position is one of an executive, for the express purpose of directing meetings at the pleasure of the Executive Committee; however, Chairman Ron Sams uses the power of the position to further his own personal agenda. The Chairman runs the meetings as though the Executive Committee is there at his pleasure, as if his position was one of a tyrant or sovereign king by:
Tyrant? Sovereign king? Go read the whole thing. It ends by calling for Ron Sams resignation. Frankly, given the bad behavior at this month’s meeting combined with the over-the-top, non-professional wording of this email, I’d consider resigning. And that probably makes me a coward, but when a commenter at Delaware Politics starts referring to next month’s GOP meeting as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre… Yep, I’m outta there. Obviously, this isn’t just an Arizona problem.