I know this will come as a surprise to so many politically interested people here in Delaware, because almost no one saw this coming, I am sure.

Last night the bomb was dropped at the Sussex County monthly GOP meeting in Georgetown.

Believe it or not, Rose Izzo announced that yes, she will once again be running for Delaware’s one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. I know, I can’t believe it myself, who would have thought it possible.

It must have taken great courage for Ms. Izzo to come to this decision.

Ms. Izzo made a short speech which included references to her Italian heritage and tying it together with the Italian explorer Columbus, since it was Columbus day, and inferring like Columbus, she would have the courage to go blindly into uncharted territory. She did leave out any references to the fact that Columbus is also credited with bringing syphilis to the new world. She may also want to remember that Columbus did not end up where he was intending to go.

The short speech will be coming to UTUBE in the near future I am sure, since Mr. Izzo was recording it.

Other notable guest were community organizer Eric Boye, who has taken credit for helping Nelly Jordan to win her seat as Vice Chair of the state GOP. Thank so much Mr. Boye, glad to see that ACORN is alive and well.

To close out the night, former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Baxter gave an inspirational speech which was not short. Mr. Baxter ran against Joe Biden back in 1978 and won 41% of the vote, which may be the closest anyone ever got to Mr. Biden.

Unfortunately for Mr. and Mrs. Izzo, they had run out of the meeting after Mrs. Izzo’s speech, taking no questions by the way, and missed the chance to capture on tape Mr. Baxter’s backhanded endorsement of Ms. Izzo’s campaign, when he said, “I hope she wins”.

Missed opportunities Ms. Izzo.

This month’s announcement follows last month’s appearance of former candidate for U.S. Senate, Kevin Wade. I see a troubling pattern of former candidates being all the GOP has at this time. This is not a good pattern, we need fresh faces and ideas if we are to mount any real challenge of the Democrats. But the TEA people like their comfortable shoes, and it would seem they also like repeating old mistakes.

I had a chance to speak with Delaware State Treasurer, Chip Flowers yesterday at the Apple Scrapple Festival in Bridgeville. (Thought it was going to be about Vance Phillips didn’t you?)

I just couldn’t pass up the chance to ask Mr. Flowers face, to face, about the credit card dust-up in his office.

For those who aren’t aware, former deputy treasurer, Erika Benner was forced to resign her post after it came to light that she had illegally charged personal expenses to her state issued credit card. Ms. Benner has since reimbursed the state, which in itself has become a bit of a controversy, within a controversy.

It seems that Mr. Flowers has had a little trouble explaining exactly how much Ms. Benner spent, and how much was legitimate uses, and how much was illegal use. It seems according to Mr. Flowers, that Ms. Benner may have paid back more than she needed to, that some of the money she has paid back was in fact legitimate expenses that she was entitled to use the card for. Of course this all came out after the Division of Accounting began looking into Mr. Flowers’ use of his state issued credit card, and that he and Ms. Benner had used their cards in the same places at times.

The most outrageous of Ms. Benner’s illegal uses of the card would have to be that she used the state issued credit card to purchase football tickets to see a game between  the Patriots and the Cowboys, and also a car service for that same weekend. It has been rumored that Mr. Flowers may have also attended this game as Ms. Benner’s guest, at the expense of the Delaware tax payers. Another rumor is that there is actually a photograph of Mr. Flowers at this game.

So yesterday I took my opportunity to ask Mr. Flowers flat-out, “were you at this game?”, his answer was a firm “no”.  I then asked, “so there is absolutely no chance that a photo exist of you at this game?”. Again, he answered categorically, “no”.

So until said photo surfaces, that part of the story would seem to be a non-starter.

The other part of my discussion with Mr. Flowers was about the “accepted” practice of state employees routinely using their state issued credit cards, either for personal use, or as Mr. Flowers explained, many times employees go over their daily per diem, and then reimburse the state. However, there is clearly written policy that no employee is to use the state issued credit card except for approved expenses, and in my view, going over the set per diem, is an unapproved expense.

So one has to ask, if the policy says no, why are employees routinely allowed to use for personal use, and to go over their per diem with the state issued credit card, and then, without any penalty, or consequence, just pay it back, only to do it again and again?

In my view the only policy needed is termination and prosecution if a state employee misuses their card. Even if we are talking about the per diem, how hard is it to say to a waiter, “you can go up to this amount on my state credit card, and anything over that, you have to put on my personal card”? And if you either don’t have credit, or can’t afford the extra cost at that time, then eat at McDonald’s.

Mr. Flowers’ answer would seem to be to rewrite the policy to specifically mention that paying back exceeding the per diem is acceptable. Again, in my opinion, this would only codify and condone the behavior, when what needs to be done is to discourage, and eliminate the behavior.

I again call for a complete investigation and audit of “ALL” state issued credit cards. This is my money, and your money, and we have a right to know how it is being used.

This is supposed to be an actual phone call to a radio station, the tag line I saw was about it being a blonde moment. I think it demonstrates a TEA moment.

I apologize in advance if this post seems rambling and without any real theme. But I have been mulling this one over for some time now, and as time has passed I have been building on a theme.

I have reached a point where I can no longer tolerate the fact that every time some sub group of the TEA movement decides to act the fool, it reflects back on the Republicans .

Okay, I get it, in the beginning the TEA movement, also known as the TEA Party, was welcomed and encouraged by a large number of Republicans. Of course that was back when TEA stood for, “Taxed Enough Already”, now it seems only to stand for, “Totally Eccentric Always”.

There was a time when the TEA people were reasonable and motivated to move the nation forward. That seems like such a long time ago. Now the TEA movement has been taken over by any number of sub groups, and one has to wonder how many of them are even registered as Republican, yet, when the TEA people do something outrageous it seems to always stick to the GOP.  And there seems to be no goal except to destroy, and obstruct.

Of course the most outrageous act in recent times is the so-called government shut down, instigated by TEA people in the U.S. Congress, specifically the House of Representatives, and yes they are Republicans, but they are RINOs, or “Republicans In Name Only”.  Because in my view Republicans wouldn’t act out in this manner.

The idea that we would just scrap our entire system of government, and attempt to govern by brute force, is the complete opposite of everything our Founding Fathers envisioned when they gave birth to our representative republic.

The fact is, that no one would like to thwart Obama care more than myself, but what is happening in D.C. right now is not governing. How did we get to this point? Well, Obama care was passed when the Democrats had won more elections than the Republicans, and in doing so they were able to push through their vision of health care reform, Obama care.

Now the TEA people in the House of Representatives have decided to short-circuit the process, and even though they haven’t won enough elections to repeal Obama care, they are attempting to strong-arm the opposition.

Basically they are acting like spoiled children. And who gets blamed? That’s right, the Republicans. But in my view these people are no longer acting as, or for, the Republican Party. They are acting for themselves, they are seeking self glory, and hoping for one dollar donations from the ill-informed among the electorate. These people who run around talking about Liberty, justice, the good of the citizens, they talk of their love of democracy, and the founding principles of this great nation. And for all their talk? What do they do? They piss all over those founding principles.

They either can’t, or won’t, accept the fact that to  actually affect real change they must first win elections, and win more elections than their opposition. Instead they spend their time coming up with what amounts to nothing more than theater, and grand standing. And for what in the end? Nothing, they will end up caving in, and in doing so, will again give more elections to the Democrats.

So why would so-called Republicans be so eager to do so much that hurts the GOP? Because they are RINOs, they are not Republicans in their ideology. They are libertarian, or anarchist at best, or just complete idiots otherwise. They are bitter people who cannot accept that if you lose elections, then you don’t get to govern, and you don’t get to repeal legislation, no matter how bad said legislation is. So they stomp their feet and hold their breath, and say it isn’t fair, and if you don’t let them have their way, they will never speak to you again.

But don’t think that this behavior is limited to the federal  level of our government. Oh! No!

Right here in little old Delaware we have recently been treated to another demonstration of the petulant child syndrome of the TEA people. In the recent ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court, in finding that the office of county sheriff does not have arrest powers, the supporters of the TEA candidate sheriff, Jeff Christopher have been running around crying foul and shouting that the court is either liberal, or corrupt, or both.

The worst offender of such behavior may be former losing candidate for Sussex County Council, Don Ayotte, who by the way is also a former Republican who thank goodness became a an Independent. Mr. Ayotte writes for a declining blog site and his post on the court decision was nothing short of pure libel.

In his post, Mr. Ayotte made accusations that all five of the sitting justices of the Delaware Supreme Court were either on the take, or that they were simply in the pocket of the well-known, unknown “them”.

However, Mr. Ayotte was not alone, in a Facebook post, Sheriff Christopher made these statements, “Folks, I am worn by these these people in this ever increasingly liberal state”, you see, it’s not that he was wrong, just that the state is too liberal. He went on to say, “We are considering going to the Federal courts only to get it out of those hands influenced by Delaware politics.”, again, not wrong, just so much corruption in the state that it is not fair. And finally, “Sheriff’s are elected with arrest powers by you. If that disappears, then we are doomed.” DOOMED? REALLY? It is this type of doomsday rhetoric that leads so many to believe that TEA people are not stable, that they are actually looking forward to Armageddon.

It is time for Republicans to stand up to these TEA people bullies, to stop allowing them to drag the GOP down into the gutter, with their gutter style politics. It is time that we call them for what they are, fanatical, fringe, and dangerous to the civil well-being of this nation.

Do I agree with the left on how to move the nation forward? No, not always. Do I want to move the nation, and the state forward in a more conservative way? Yes, always. But what I will not do is to totally ignore the rule of law, nor will I blaspheme our Founding principles for the sake of a political agenda.

This  nation is more divided today in many ways, more than it has been since the time of the Civil War. Some would tell you it is solely because of the liberal radical left, but I would tell you it is also because of the radical conservative right, or as they have become known, TEA people.

These two radical elements of our political society have made it impossible for the elected officials of the two parties to actually find any middle ground, any compromise on the issues most important to the citizens of the nation. To work together for the true good of the nation and its people.

Instead both radical elements demand 100% adherence to their radical agendas. And in doing so, we get what we are seeing in D.C., and it is spreading to the states.

I encourage all right thinking Republicans to marginalize the TEA people, do not allow them to set the agenda of the GOP, it will lead to ruination. The thing we need to be doing as Republicans is to be focused on winning elections, not on creating theater for the fanatical, radical fringe element of the party, but winning more elections than our opposition, so that we can make the changes that we believe will move the nation and the state forward, not simply for the good of the GOP, but for the good of all the citizens of the United States of America.

That is the American way, and also it is the adult way.

No, I am not talking about any of the teams currently playing in the MLB Playoffs. What I am talking about is the seemingly never-ending battle of Sussex County Sheriff, Jeff Christopher’s attempt to convince someone, anyone, that the words “conservator of the peace”, define the office of sheriff, and empowers it with the power to arrest people in criminal cases.

The first strike would have been the Delaware General Assembly passing HB 325, which essentially stripped the office of the sheriff of all powers, except those ordered by the Superior Court.

The second strike would have been said Superior Court’s ruling in Sheriff Christopher’s law suit against the Sussex County Council and the State of Delaware in which he challenged HB 325 as being unconstitutional, based on his believe that the words, “conservator of the peace” in the Delaware constitution, somehow defined the office of the sheriff based on the common law use of the term. Unfortunately for the Sheriff, the court did not share his opinion.

And now the third, and what should be the game ending strike, came in the form of the Delaware State Supreme Court up holding the lower courts ruling, in what I feel is a brilliant and well written decision. The decision written by Justice Holland leads the reader through the progression of Sheriff Christopher’s complaint, and then takes us on a historical trip back as far as the Magna Carta of 1215 and brings us through to the present including all of the changes made to the meaning of conservator of the peace, and the redefining of the office of the sheriff.

If any of my constant readers have followed along with my views of this on going issue, then you will see that the court’s decision is exactly what I have been saying all along. That in the absence of actual defining language within the constitution, the Legislature was free and obligated to define the office of a “constitutionally named only office”.

Here is a link to the entire decision, I encourage all to read this, and would say that anyone who reads the legal logic of this decision and still thinks that the simple term conservator of the peace, in any way gives any powers, and authority  to the office of the sheriff, well I would say they have passed beyond simply being convinced, and have passed into being fanatical.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcourts.delaware.gov%2Fopinions%2Fdownload.aspx%3FID%3D195770&h=zAQEkxrAg

Of course there have already been defenders of the sheriff saying that the court got it wrong, and as one would expect they are throwing the word liberal around as a reason why the court would rule as they did.

In fact, I heard the Sheriff himself interviewed on The Jarred Morris Show on Delaware 105.9 this afternoon, and as one would also expect, the Sheriff shows no sign of accepting the decision of the highest court in the state.

I have to say that I have on many occasions discussed, one might say debated, Sheriff Christopher on this issue, and have always found him to be reasonable in his arguing of his case, if in my opinion incorrect. I actually respect the Sheriff, even though I think he made the wrong argument in attempting to expand the authority of his office. However, on the Morris show he seemed to be tying himself in verbal pretzels in an attempt to make his case.

He seemed to be grasping at straws in a last effort to convince even one more person of his correctness.

Now I have used the baseball analogy of, “three strikes and you’re out”, but one does not have to wonder whether or not Sheriff Christopher considers this as being the final out of his game.

When someone has invested as much time, energy, and political capital into a single issue, it become almost impossible for them to see the reality of the situation. Add to that the almost hero status that his supporters have imparted upon him, and it must be very heady for him to walk into one of their posse meetings. That’s right I said posse meeting.

There are a couple of things that can come from this decision. The sheriff becomes more determined to run for re-election and makes this his campaign platform, and in doing so also seeks out candidates for the Legislature who would make it job one to over turn HB 325.

The second is that he decides to leave office, and becomes a permanent speaker on the constitutional sheriff speaking tour circuit, which he has spent a lot of time on recently anyway.

It will be interesting to watch his supporters attack the very system that they claim to treasure, and to cry liberal foul. Their history has been to act like petulant children when they have been unable to navigate the real world. They spend so much time in their echo chambers of posse meetings, and constitution classes, that they have no ability to discuss, or understand anything but the talking points that they have been spoon fed.

If they had been able to put their emotions aside and had logically assessed the state constitution, rather than buying into one person’s view of it, they might have seen that this was doomed from the beginning. But like so many of the hard right fanatics, they are easily swayed and convinced by rhetoric and trigger words, like constitutional, or liberal and conservative. They hear words like “rights” and “God-given”, and they simply fall in line and refuse to think for themselves.

So is this the end of the game? One would hope so, this has been nothing but disruptive, and has never been about anything but expanding the size of one government office. It has divided the Republicans of Sussex County for no good reason. There was never any benefit to the citizens of the county or the state. One would hope that Sheriff Christopher would now knuckle down and do the job of his office as defined by the General Assembly, and upheld by the courts, for the people of Sussex County. But I wouldn’t count on it.