When Denny Butler switched parties, there was widespread wailing and gnashing of teeth on the Dem side. He was criticized, of course, by persons both angry about his flip and fearful of losing the House. And, his silence as to why he did it did not help matters any.
Now there is a video making the rounds where he says to a Republican audience that he is “glad to be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.”
So, Rep. Butler, since you apparently are concerned about solving problems, perhaps you could solve a problem for your constituents by answering these questions, just to clear things up and indicate your intentions.
You were a long-time supporter of unions. Now that you are a Republican, it is assumed that you will vote for Right To Freeload. Was all that union support a sham? Or have you changed your mind about the need for unions?
You voted to provide education to refugees and immigrants. Since you’ve joined the “no immigrants” party, are you now against helping refugees and immigrants?
You voted to increase the minimum wage. Twice. Since raising the minimum wage makes your new peers see red, are you now opposed to that?
And finally, you said you were glad to no longer be part of the problem. Are you saying all Democrats are the problem, or only some? Or, is it the policies — taking care of the working people, watching out for children and the poor and the powerless — that you now find distasteful?
Let me be clear. I do not know Denny Butler personally. (We have spoken at some meetings.) I do not know if he is a man of integrity or not. I do not know if he made the switch on principle, or for some sort of gain.
But I know this: If a man spends a lifetime supporting one set of principles and policies, and then suddenly throws all of that away and calls it a problem, he owes his constituents and his former colleagues an explanation.
And if he did it just to play the game, just to get ahead, he owes the man in the mirror an explanation.
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Feature image courtesy of Marco Belluci
