A Voice in the Democratic Wilderness

A supporter of Senator Rosalind Kurita shares his perspective on the hearing by the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee that ousted her from the party's nomination. Mind you, he is not one of those conspiratorial Republicans who voted in the Democratic primary, but a self-professed "lifelong Democrat" who sees what his party did as an injustice to Sen. Kurita and to the electorate. At one point during the hearing, he felt led to leave the room when he voiced his opposition to what the committee was doing.

...I was challenged by party officials and told I had no right to voice my opinion of the proceedings. That is when I started to get angry and responded 'but, I am a voter!' It was clear that the party officials were very concerned that an insurgency might erupt and began hurrying toward me telling me to leave. That is when I went on to shout as I was voluntarily leaving 'the Executive Committee should do its job and vote on the basis of the facts and the evidence, not vengeance.' I did not need to be escorted out, but I am certain that I would have been escorted out had I stayed any longer.

This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue as the state Democratic Party wants to make it. As I've stated throughout this blog, it's a matter of ethical conduct and honoring the wishes of the voters of Senate District 22. It's up to the voters not to validate what the state Democratic Party did to Sen. Kurita with a vote for the presumptive Democratic candidate, Tim Barnes. Take a few extra minutes to write in her name on November 4. If the Democratic bosses are allowed to do it once, it will happen again at their own discretion.

Clarksville Online provides the following steps voters in Montgomery County should take to write in Sen. Kurita's name:

You will cast your vote for President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative and then State Senator. You will see Tim Barnes name as the Democratic nominee. Directly under his name you will see WRITE IN. Push the button beside WRITE IN.

1. The screen will change and the letters of the alphabet (A-Z) will appear. Place an X beside each letter: K – U – R – I – T – A . You will see KURITA spelled out in the middle of the screen.
2. Once you have typed KURITA just press the done button at the bottom to accept and return to the former screen.
3. You should now see Kurita with an X beside it underneath Tim Barnes name on the ballot. You can now continue on with the remainder of the ballot.

Remember – you can always ask an election worker to help you with this process.