Welcome to a New Democrat; Goodbye to an Old One

John Ross Hendrix, one of two Republican candidates who ran against Vernon Robinson, and lost, in the NC 13th Congressional Dist. primary, has changed his affiliation to Democrat and denounced his former party as stoopid for choosing an extremist to run against incumbent Democratic congressman Brad Miller. "Republicans are still voting for extremist candidates," Hendrix writes on his website (www.HendrixCampaign.com), "even worse than those who turned off 13th district voters in the past. Vision, moderation, and a common sense approach to the difficulties facing North Carolina and this nation are not what they want. A sane, rational conservative does not exist in their book."

Prior to the primary, at the Republican Convention on April 29th, Hendrix blistered Robinson: "Throughout this primary campaign, I have tried to concentrate on the important issues that concern the people of the 13th district and have spoken of my solutions to pressing concerns. This course of action has gained me very little while all around me, an atmosphere of 'queer fear' and xenophobia prevails, thanks to my opponent Vernon Robinson .... After the 5th district voters turned him away, after his own home town booted him out of the city council, after he chickened out of a duel with Mel Watt in the 12th district, Vernon Robinson set his sights on the 13th as a target of opportunity .... Vernon Robinson is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, that not so shining beacon of religious intolerance and disrespect for women, investigated by the Congress and Department of defense. We know where you are coming from, Vernon." There's more here, and it's about time that sensible conservative voices in the Republican Party started repudiating the extremism and hypocrisy of candidates like Vernon Robinson ... and David Blust ... and Virginia Foxx. But we won't hold our breath. In the meantime, we welcome Mr. Hendrix.

And on the flip side, a defeated and disgruntled Democratic candidate for Sheriff in Catawba has endorsed the Republican Huffman for election, in a display of sour grapes that will curdle milk two counties over. The Hickory Daily Record quotes the defeated Dem, Al Hoover, as saying, "The Democrats are not growing here. They're getting smaller and you'll see that in the November election. This party is going nowhere. I don't see any Democrats getting elected. I think it's going to be a clean sweep for the Republicans." Hoover says he'll change his registration either to unaffiliated or to Republican. We'll bet money on the latter.

Whether it's true that the party in Catawba is getting smaller, certainly some of the candidates are.