Vote ‘Yes' on the Tollison-Bell Amendment

By Editorial Board Wednesday, November 16, 2011 3:20 p.m. CST

The worst dirty trick we saw this last election wasn't a campaign ad, a robo-call or an "astroturf" campaign from a shadowy coalition of instigators and carpetbaggers. (Of course, all three happened.) In fact, this dirty trick didn't happen in the lead-up to the election at all. It happened afterward—when Sen. Gray Tollison switched from being a Democrat to being a Republican, after he ran unopposed—and even after accepting money from the Democratic Party.

Soon after, Rep. Donnie Bell of Fulton, who defeated another Republican candidate while campaigning with a D after his name, undertook the same cowardly act, and arguably tipped the House with his political philandering.

Some readers might ask—why the bellyaching? Candidates switch parties frequently, particularly in the south and particularly, these days, from Democratic to Republican, as the great 40-year shift of the southern strategy is finalizing itself in the land of magnolias and palmettos.

But switching parties within 48 hours of being re-elected—and acting like you're joining a new country club instead of tossing your supporters under a bus—makes you more than a selfish politician, a scheming opportunist or a conniving tactician. It makes you a con artist.

Tollison himself says he's been mulling the change for "more than a year," but, apparently, he only got around to finally making this heart-wrenching decision after people had gone to the ballot box and put a check next to "Gray Tollison (D)." More than a year ago was exactly the right time to make this decision.

How many of his constituents and supporters assumed that Tollison was the person he said he was? How many voted for Bell because they wanted the Democrats to retain control of the House or because they thought a Democratic candidate would be better for Mississippi?

We disagree with the excuse that the only thing constituents want is for their representative to be a member of the majority. Some voters appreciate a candidate with actual principles.

If these men were slowly having this epiphany about themselves or their constituencies, why not have the intestinal fortitude to reveal that before the election and run on the merits of their beliefs and those of their new party? Why not allow Democrats to field a candidate in opposition to these newly minted Republicans, instead of running as a faux Democrat all the way to the end?

Some people vote straight-party ticket; some people vote in certain races for certain parties (like the House); some people vote because they know and respect who they think you are. To these people, these men lied.

Even worse is the righteous posture that suggests they did it for their constituents. Gentlemen, at least show enough character to admit that you acted out the charade in your own interests, not those of your voters.

Voters who saw the potential of initiatives to alter the landscape in this last election should consider another one: Let's add the ability to recall elected officials to Mississippi's constitution. We can call it the Tollison-Bell amendment.

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