Am I not a Democrat?

The Seattle Times has an interesting story about Greg Stephens, who is trying to challenge Jeff Sax at the Snohomish County GOP convention for a council seat. The problem is that if the county party doesn't think he's a Republican, so no dice.

The Stephens story illustrates the wrong logic that is going around our county and state parties, that is leading us to sue to overturn the Top Two primary. Our parties, the only way regular people can become active in politics, should not become closed groups, paranoid of people that take up their banner. They should be a lot more open than this.

Apparently, they can stop Stephens from speaking at the convention (the only way to get the party nomination is this crazy post Top Two world) if they think he's not "a real Republican."

But, just saying you're a member of this or that party ain't enough for these guys, which just shows how crazy the opposition to the Top Two and the state of the parties really is. They're so paranoid that he's a Democrat interloper, that they want to close the party to him. Look, if you don't like the guy, and you think most active Republicans won't, what's the harm in letting him speak?

Says the SnohoGOP chairman Steve Neighbors, using his extra stong powers of logic:

"[Stephens] knows that we can't just let anyone say they're Republican," Neighbors said. "We can't have a Democrat speaking at the Republican convention; he wouldn't win anyway."

I wonder why most people in Washington don't want to be registered by party? If someone isn't pure enough for the leadership, they don't get in.

In a way, I'm glad to see the Snohomish GOP acting like this, at least its not us. But, I know that given the chance, we might send a not so pure Democrat packing.

As Democrats, we should let everyone who wants to call themselves a Democrat speak. Let them live and die politically by their ideas, not by who they have supported in the past. Party labels are not that important that they should rule our politics.