Do Democrats Still Need Quotas For the State Party?

It looks like the drama that has taken place within the Democrat party over the past couple weeks has not subsided, according to the latest from WLBT (h/t Y’all Politics).

Last week, state Chairman Jamie Franks appointed Eduardo Martinez, who is Hispanic, as Interim Executive Vice Chair. Almost immediately after that appointment, Vice Chair Barbara Blackmon cried foul. One of Blackmon’s complaints was that because Martinez is not a member of the administrative committee, he cannot serve.

Her second complaint was a bit more interesting. Because Franks is white, the Democrats constitution says the vice-chair needs to be black, according to Blackmon. Blackmon said: “A Hispanic is not defined as a race…It’s defined as an ethnicity. You cannot inject a Hispanic in that position.”

Here is what Franks said in response: “In following the Constitutional requirements for that office, I appointed someone of opposite race than me by selecting the first Hispanic member of the Mississippi Democratic Party to ever serve in a leadership position. I consulted with the officers of the Executive Committee, including Vice Chairwoman Blackmon, before making my selection.”

I find it ridiculous that the Democrats are still operating on 1960s style quotas to run their party. It is time they wake up, move into the 21st century, and begin hiring people who are going to move the party forward and figure out a way to grow and win in Mississippi. And the longer it takes them to do that, the more the GOP will grow.