My Daddy Was a Democrat

I hear that a lot lately. I feel strongly that 100 years is long enough for one party to have controlled the State of North Carolina. Sure, there have been a few Republican governors, and the House was controlled by Republicans for a couple years, but by and large the Democrats have controlled this state since the Democrats took control of the NC Senate in 1898.


The Democrats control the agenda in lawmaking, they control where highway money is spent. For example, why is there an interstate loop around Fayetteville before Charlotte’s loop is complete? It’s because of the arcane formula that allocates money equally by district, not by where the growth is.

My daddy was a Democrat, too. He was a conservative Democrat. In Virginia, it was the party of Harry F Byrd, Jr. who left the Democratic Party and became an independent. It was the party of Mills Godwin who’s first term as Governor of Virginia was as a Democrat and his second, 4 years later, was as a Republican. My daddy did not willingly leave the Democratic Party, it left him. The party was taken over by progressives. (I don’t say liberal, because the progressives have co-opted that label as well. My beliefs were considered liberal in 1970.) The Virginia Democratic Party became the party of Governor Jerry (“If it moves, tax it!) Balliles. They tried, unsuccessfully, to remove the state constitutional requirement to balance the budget so taxes soared to support their social programs.

So, my daddy was born a Democrat, but died as a proud Republican. He changed with Goldwater (against Lyndon Johnson, the most progressive president since FDR). I changed with Ronald Reagan who I consider the greatest President of my lifetime, a strong proponent of individual responsibility and opportunity.

As someone who has basically sat out politics for a dozen years because I did not see a chance of change, I now see that opportunity for change. Everyone please check out the candidates. What do they stand for? Don’t just vote the way your daddy did.