Keeping the party going

No matter who takes the helm of Floyd County's Democratic Party Central Committee, I do hope the chairman shows a little mettle.

I know and admire both candidates for the top post and I know that party unity is a primary goal for each. I just hope that after the contest, party discipline is also at the top of the agenda.

Sacrificing discipline for unity can have unintended consequences. I understand more than a few of the current precinct chairs and vice-chairs and at least one candidate for party office have openly stated their disloyalty and present intention to support Republican candidate(s) in upcoming elections.

That's a sure recipe for disaster. A party member might, in good conscious, vote with the other side. But an elected precinct captain or county officer who would speak openly of abandoning the party must step down, or abandon all pretense of being a moral person.

Let's hope the new chairman skips the brief "honeymood" in his newly won office and takes the opportunity to pin the tail on a few stray donkeys.

Our purpose and our future

Volunteer Hoosier was created to offer an online forum to solicit ideas, questions, comments, and suggestions for the Winter version of our Public Affairs Symposium. Although this Web log has been part and parcel of our bookstore blog, we envision an expanded role in the coming months.

You will note that Volunteer Hoosier has been a bit more (and, unfortunately, a bit less) than a forum for symposium comments. During the coming months, to the extent possible, Volunteer Hoosier will be the conduit for my own frankly political expression.

I do think it is inappropriate to use the resources of my business to express my own opinions on issues of public affairs and politics, so I will maintain this Web log. But, you will begin to notice a broader focus for this blog in the coming weeks.

We all are appreciative of the initiative shown by fellow blogger NA Confidential with his Web log. While I will continue to contribute my comments to Roger A. Baylor's original postings, I will be trying to generate a healthy portion of my own opinions here. I may not be able or willing to post on a daily basis, but I will endeavor to make the postings on this site edifying and worth your consideration.

As always, I invite your comments and emendations to the opinions expressed here. It would be unfair to intrude on the original postings of my friend and colleague Mr. Baylor, so here is where you will see the majority of my musings and opinions.

For the sake of decorum and consistency with my stated purposes for this Web log, I won't be posting opinions, per se, until after the Destinations Booksellers Winter Public Affairs Symposium. In addition, this is the the primary site on which you will be able to read the post-symposium report and post-event comments.

But, fair warning. After Wednesday, the nature and frequency of postings for Volunteer Hoosier will change in tone and in nature. We hope you will enjoy it.