An Open Letter to Rep. Paul Tine:

I am thoroughly shocked and dismayed at the receipt of your party affiliation announcement. You have let many, many thousands of your supporters down – and have done so willfully. I supported you as a Democrat; I made a campaign contribution to you as a Democrat; I was entitled to your remaining a Democrat throughout your entire term. If you wished to change your affiliation, you owed us the common decency of completing the term for which you were elected under the banner you flew during the campaign. I would like my money back, as you have shown you have no right to claim it.
Do you honestly believe that becoming an independent will further the interests of your constituents? Have you not been in Raleigh long enough to know that the majority party has nothing but complete disdain for any member who is not a fully committed acolyte of their miserable platform? That’s the platform that excludes the needy poor from health care, restricts voting rights, underfunds public education, kowtows to the rich and powerful, ignores environmental obligations, and generally refuses to look to the future of our state. And you think caucusing with them as an independent will gain you leverage to benefit your district and the state? Where are your professed principles of proudly opposing the party that ignores the most important needs of the state? Perhaps you and your insider sycophants triangulated this move in hope of your climbing some sort of power ladder, but your loyal Democratic Party member constituents have been abandoned. Do you think “invitations to caucus” are given to those who are not expected to vote with the “inviting” party? Here’s news: such “invitations” are given in a calculated scheme to reduce the power of the “invitee’s” party.
Which party in the state do the racists caucus with? Which party of the state do the misogynists caucus with? Which party of the state do the polluters caucus with? Which party of the state do the elitists claim as their own for caucusing? Are you so naïve as to believe that an Independent with no party affiliation will have the ability to sway the positions of the closed-minded who are backed by their artificial, gerrymandered majority? Our district has now lost any chance to influence outcomes in the House.
Out of family loyalty, I was a member of the party that has “invited” you to caucus with its members when I first registered to vote. Then I went to law school, practiced civil rights law, and became a public interest lobbyist. It was very clear to me early in that forty-year practice that the party which has “invited” you to caucus with them has no interest in civil rights, environmental protections, quality public education, or any other progressive issues. In fact, I have my own definition for that party – GOP: Greedy Old Plutocrats. For you to accept their “invitation” is an affront to those of us who expected you to remain our voice, difficult as that might have been. When I changed my party affiliation it was to become a proud Democrat, glad to oppose the platform of those with whom you will now caucus, and committed to progressive governmental involvement in our states’ and nation’s interests. Choosing neither party gives you no credibility or power with either.
In hope of joining a groundswell against your choice, I will share these thoughts with others, including the Washington Daily News. Your decision may gain you some personal notoriety among those who have “invited” you to caucus with them, but it will remain unacceptable to me. You may put me in the column of proud, staunch, progressive Democrats who have been let down by your obvious calculations that will turn you away from the courses that brought our paths to cross. Since you represent the District, I will continue to speak my mind regarding your votes, but you must know that my expectations of, and hopes for you have been drastically lowered.

In great disappointment,
Jeffrey H. Barker
Washington