Author and activist Jack London famously wrote “Ode to a Scab” to shame strikebreakers.
“The modern strikebreaker sells his birthright, his country, his wife, his children, and his fellow men for an unfulfilled promise from his employer, trust, or corporation,” it concludes.
“Scab” seems appropriate to shame Democrats who switch to the GOP just to get elected, or to stay in office. The scabbiest ones run as Democrats, accept campaign contributions from Democrats, use Democrats as campaign volunteers, get elected, and then turn Republican.
Kenny Fogle, a union retiree like me, agrees that the “scab” handle fits these political hacks with their eyes ever-peeled for the main chance.
“That’s one of the big things that’s wrong with politics today — people will say or do whatever they think is necessary to get elected,” said the Nelson County Democratic party chair and former Kentucky Democratic Party deputy political director. “They are not loyal to anything except their own election prospects.”
Kenny and I have heard candidates alibi that they “left the Democratic Party because the Democratic Party left me.” Translation: they’re white folks — usually older males — who don’t like the party welcoming minorities, independent-minded women, immigrants, LGBTQ folks, and others who’ve been historically marginalized.
If these bigots expect pleas to come home, they’ll get none from Kenny and me. Good riddance,” he said. “Let ‘em go.”
Amen.
“The Democratic Party didn’t leave anybody,” said Kenny. “We expanded and brought in people who didn’t have a seat at the table. Everybody is important in a party that’s inclusive.”
Dems who join Team Red to take on real-deal Republican incumbents in primaries often lose because turncoats of any stripe are seldom fully trusted. I’m keeping up with some scabs in my corner of Kentucky to see how they fare in the GOP primary.
Kenny told me about such a challenger in his neck of the woods — a man who turned Republican to beat an unpopular Republican office-holder in the primary.
“Think of it this way,” Kenny proposed to the guy. “If you’d stayed a Democrat, you’d get votes from Democrats and Republicans who don’t like the guy either. Now, you’ll only get the votes of Republicans who don’t like the guy.”
Kenny said the candidate confessed he hadn’t thought of it that way.
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