It seems as though there are a few Republicans down here in Sussex that are not towing the teabagger line. I know, it’s hard to believe but it’s true.
At last night’s GOP Executive Committee meeting, Eric “St. Bodie Girl” Bodenweiser brought forth his resolution to support Sheriff Jeff Christopher’s request for “more training” for his deputies. The resolution was soundly defeated.
There were about 130 people in attendance – all of them white except for 3 Hispanics. Nary an African-American to be found. It’s also interesting to note that 3 uniformed members of the sheriff’s department were there – the sheriff, his top deputy, and another deputy. Now, I can understand why the sheriff was there in uniform; he is, after all, an elected official. But why was his top deputy and another deputy there in uniform and who was paying their salary to be there, especially if it’s after hours and they’re there representing the county? And if they’re not representing the county, why were they there in uniform? Are Sussex County taxpayers paying to have county employees attend GOP meetings?
The resolution failed for a number of reasons. A lot of people were put off by the backhanded way St. Bodie Girl presented it (first having Don Ayotte post it over at the other “blog” and then backpedaling and saying that he was only floating the idea). Also, the resolution contained nothing of substance. While the sheriff claims that he wants more training for his deputies, he could not explain specifically what type of training he wanted. Christopher claims (as do teabaggers Ayotte/Knotts/St. Bodie Girl) that his deputies face “dangerous situations everyday and they need to be able to detain people if necessary.” What Christopher couldn’t or wouldn’t explain is why he allowed his deputies’ Constable certification to expire. This certification would have allowed his deputies to detain people in certain circumstances.
Christopher claims that he doesn’t want to head a county police department or have police powers, yet he continues to say that he wants to enforce the law and make arrests. He also hasn’t commented on why his deputies are making police stops for speeding, which is specifically prohibited by law. As Vance Phillips told him during a County Council meeting earlier this year, he’d have a lot more respect for him and what he’s asking for if he’d just come out and ask, instead of just dancing around the subject. And right now that dance resembles a turkey trot, with a whole lot of turkeys trotting alongside the sheriff.