Two South Carolina Democrats think it just might be time for the state Democratic Party to part ways with its current don, Dick Harpootlian, and I couldn’t be happier.
Harpootlian is a smart, media-savvy, take-no-shit kind of guy, all of which are qualities lacking in the typical state Democratic Party milquetoast. But he’s also a homophobe.
When he’s not saying that Sen. Lindsey Graham is “light in the loafers,” he’s proclaiming that Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell prances around in a hoop skirt at Civil War re-enactments.
But, sadly, the calls for the Democratic Party to part ways with Harpootlian have nothing to do with his homophobia. Instead, the two Dems in question, Sens. Joel Lourie and Darrell Jackson, are upset that Harpootlian criticized fellow a Democrat, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, for endorsing a Republican in a Statehouse race. The State reports:
Two Democratic state senators said Thursday the state Democratic Party needs to part ways with its chairman, Columbia attorney Dick Harpootlian.
“There is a growing consensus that probably when the elections are over and the smoke clears, I think both rank-and-file Democrats and (the chairman) will think that, you know, that maybe it’s time to bring in a new chairman,” state Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, told reporters at a news conference where he endorsed Republican Sen. John Courson.
State Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, who previously endorsed Courson, went further: “I know (Harpootlian) mentioned maybe spending some time in North Carolina in the next couple of weeks. Perhaps, he will find somebody there who will respect him. I can tell you he is losing a lot of respect here in South Carolina.”
Wait, wait, let me get this straight. It’s OK for Harpootlian to let the gay-bashing bon mots fly, but it’s not OK for him to criticize a fellow Dem for endorsing a Republican. That’s just asinine.
I don’t know about you, but it’s even clearer to me now than it was before that the S.C. Democratic Party has no idea what it’s doing, and if it keeps acting like this, it’ll continue to remain as irrelevant as it is today. Love Best of Charleston? Help the Charleston City Paper keep Best of Charleston going every year with a donation. Or sign up to become a member of the Charleston City Paper club.