In Case You Missed It: Dems use ignored rule to oust gay candidate

Dems use ignored rule to oust gay candidate

Alabama party committee disqualifies winner, loser in primary runoff

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A Democratic Party committee Thursday night disqualified an openly gay candidate for the Alabama Legislature and the woman she defeated in the primary runoff because both women violated a party rule that party officials said no other candidate has obeyed since 1988.

The committee voted 5-0 to disqualify Patricia Todd, who was attempting to become the state's first openly gay legislator, and Gaynell Hendricks.

Committee chairwoman Amy Burks said earlier Thursday the party's executive committee would make the final decision and select a nominee for the seat from Birmingham's House District 54 at a meeting in Montgomery Saturday.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14505740/

Shooting ourselves in the foot once again.

:wtf:

I'm with you on how bad this is, but we need to represent it correctly. It's not a done deal.

Moreover, as reported in another thread on DU this morning the County Registrar of Democratic Voters refused their attempt on the basis that it violated basic Democratic principles.

the fact that they attempted to violate basic Democratic principles, AS DEMOCRATS, is friggin appalling!

:banghead:

Too white and too gay to be a democrat. Gee I'm sorry I didn't realize that our party only allowed "certain" people to run for certain districts. I think that a white woman won a "black" district is a thing we should celebrate. The overcoming of racial prejudice. The fact she is openly gay makes it an even greater victory. But instead the backward racists take out their Benjamin Moore color chart and decide the candidate is of the wrong hue. Disgusting. The committee shown be thrown out of the Democratic Party until they learn what a colorblind society really is. :grr:

The candidates broke the rules by not filing financial disclosures. The rules state that they should be disqualified. Patricia Todd got disqualified because she didn't follow the rules, not because she's gay.


However, it IS politically unwise to beat up on your own candidates and thwart the will of the voters.


(on edit)

Yes, I know that this rule is often ignored and the party leaders supported a different candidate. There may well have been political machinations involved here, but the fact is that these candidates didn't file financial disclosures as they were supposed to.

If we were talking about DeLay or Santorum or Romney, would you feel the same outrage or would you gloat about them being disqualified on a technicality (as I know I would)? They may be enforcing the rules selectively, but they're technically correct in disqualifing the candidates.

for the last 18 years, until now that is, no?

:shrug:

I edited my post to clarify....

Stupid in more way than one.

Bryant
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