Say what? Just because I say I am a Rep. doesn't make me one. Just vote for me & I'll say & be whatever you want. -- Sen. Don Cheeks (Augusta).
Sen. Don Cheeks, R-Augusta -- one of the four party jumpers the Gov. was so proud of in 2002 -- was asked at a candidate forum in Augusta how someone who switched parties so soon after his election could be trusted to represent the mostly black and Democratic 22nd Georgia Senate District (Cheeks you recall is being challenged by former State Senate Majority Leader Charles Walker, a Democrat).
No problem the GOP Senator replied, having the letter "R" next to his name on the ballot didn't make him a Republican.
"I never represent the party, I represent people," he said. "I never claimed to be a Republican, including the day I changed."
When pressed in a candidate forum, Cheeks said, "I thought I could do better being in a party the governor controlled."
I am going to send a copy of this post to Bobby Kahn and ask that he forward it to the Lt. Gov. (the Lt. Gov. doesn't do email, or maybe it's just mine to which he sends an automatic response).
I hope Bobby and the Big Guy will ask the good Senator if we can count on him this next session. That is, are we one closer to taking back the Senate or not, or do we count his seat as 1/2, or what?
There is a morale in this revelation that I hope is not missed by the press.
Members of the press can no longer just report that so and so switched parties, or feed us what the switcher said about switching or any press release the switcher hands out.
Henceforth members of the press who are up on these matter must pop "the question" to the switcher -- what if anything does this mean Sir/Ma'am? And by switching are you "claiming" to be a Republican/Democrat?
(Switch from being Republican to being Democrat, don't laugh; what goes around comes around.)
Things just aren't simple anymore.
(10-8-04 The Augusta Chronicle.)
_______________
P.S. Want to know what I suspect happened here? Sen. Cheeks got cold feet after he switched when he read what Bill Shipp wrote about him and the other Benedict Arnold's.
In late 2002 after the Senator's highly-publicized switch, Mr. Shipp wrote:
Party switching is to politics what Russian roulette is to target practice -- easy to do but very dangerous. The perpetrators of both acts are often considered impetuous and not fully aware of the possible long-term consequences.
Take down their names -- Dan Lee of LaGrange, Rooney Bowen of Cordele, Jack Hill of Reidsville and Don Cheeks of Augusta. In some future contest of political trivia, you may wish to impress your friends by reciting these identities.
With a couple of notable exceptions, history has not been kind to Georgia party switchers.
Voters somehow feel tricked when their candidate goes from D to R or R to D just as election ballots are cast.
_______________
Not a bad theory of mine is it? They don't call him the Dean for nothing.
No problem the GOP Senator replied, having the letter "R" next to his name on the ballot didn't make him a Republican.
"I never represent the party, I represent people," he said. "I never claimed to be a Republican, including the day I changed."
When pressed in a candidate forum, Cheeks said, "I thought I could do better being in a party the governor controlled."
I am going to send a copy of this post to Bobby Kahn and ask that he forward it to the Lt. Gov. (the Lt. Gov. doesn't do email, or maybe it's just mine to which he sends an automatic response).
I hope Bobby and the Big Guy will ask the good Senator if we can count on him this next session. That is, are we one closer to taking back the Senate or not, or do we count his seat as 1/2, or what?
There is a morale in this revelation that I hope is not missed by the press.
Members of the press can no longer just report that so and so switched parties, or feed us what the switcher said about switching or any press release the switcher hands out.
Henceforth members of the press who are up on these matter must pop "the question" to the switcher -- what if anything does this mean Sir/Ma'am? And by switching are you "claiming" to be a Republican/Democrat?
(Switch from being Republican to being Democrat, don't laugh; what goes around comes around.)
Things just aren't simple anymore.
(10-8-04 The Augusta Chronicle.)
_______________
P.S. Want to know what I suspect happened here? Sen. Cheeks got cold feet after he switched when he read what Bill Shipp wrote about him and the other Benedict Arnold's.
In late 2002 after the Senator's highly-publicized switch, Mr. Shipp wrote:
Party switching is to politics what Russian roulette is to target practice -- easy to do but very dangerous. The perpetrators of both acts are often considered impetuous and not fully aware of the possible long-term consequences.
Take down their names -- Dan Lee of LaGrange, Rooney Bowen of Cordele, Jack Hill of Reidsville and Don Cheeks of Augusta. In some future contest of political trivia, you may wish to impress your friends by reciting these identities.
With a couple of notable exceptions, history has not been kind to Georgia party switchers.
Voters somehow feel tricked when their candidate goes from D to R or R to D just as election ballots are cast.
_______________
Not a bad theory of mine is it? They don't call him the Dean for nothing.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 11:28 AM
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