The 3rd Congressional District of North Carolina is Ground Zero for the all out assault on Voters Rights, Education, Teacher's Tenure, and Civil Rights. Marshall Adame is a lifelong Democrat running against a former right wing, ultra conservative Tea Party member turned Democrat, Jason Thigpen. Mr. Thigpen's motivation for the sudden party change, in my opinion, is suspect.
Why Democrats should not trust Jason Thigpen. Well I have several good reasons.
First, I never trust "Fence Jumpers", until they have proven to me they have actually embraced the polices and ideologies of the party, and that takes time. How does anyone, especially a right wing ultra conservative change his core values literally overnight.
Second, I believe that his party change was politically motivated just to get elected. Jason Thigpen believed that running as a Democrat provided better odds of getting elected than running as a Tea Party candidate against the Republican incumbent Walter Jones, and a former Bush and Jessie Helms aid, Republican Taylor Griffin of New Bern. This strategy has proven to be flawed, since despite Mr. Thigpen's belief that he would be running unopposed as a Democrat in the 3rd District, thereby taking on the winner of the Republican Primary head to head without actually having to campaign until the General Election. Mr. Thigpen's plan would have worked but for one large and overlooked detail....Marshall Adame. This was a huge miscalculation on Mr. Thigpen's part. Marshall Adame, is a lifelong Democrat, Vietnam War Vet, the father of two Iraq/Afghanistan veterans, one of which is a wounded warrior, a retired Marine with tons of political experience with State Department, a member of United States Congressional Commission on Wartime Contracting and a Senior Level Consultant for Fortune 500 Companies. There is no Democrat in the North Carolina political field today with Marshall's experience, and I would dare say that includes all incumbents.
Third, and most importantly, Mr. Thigpen is woefully unqualified to represent Democrats of the 3rd District. Although as a Veteran, I respect his service to our country, however, simply six years of military service does not qualify him for the position of US Congressman, nor does it provide the seasoned experience required to hold such a position.
Fourth, Mr. Thigpen's change in party seemed to be strategically time with the announcement of Mr. Griffin's entry into the Republican Congressional race. For me to believe that Mr. Thigpen's decision to change parties was in no way related to Mr. Griffin's entry into the Republican Primary is simply a bridge to far.
This type of political maneuvering, and the reasons that drove Mr. Thigpen to jump the fence in the first place gives me pause and concerns me greatly. In my estimation, Mr. Thigpen's decision to change parties speaks volumes about his character.
Was Mr. Thigpen decision to become a Democrat, a leap of faith, or a calculated political maneuver. I believe the latter.
(Democrats, Progressives and Independents voters need to support Marshall Adame, Democrat for Congress for the 3rd Congressional District of North Carolina)