Dave Burris owes John Atkins and family an apology

Dave Burris, owner of the Delaware Politics blog and former Sussex County Republican chair, has referred to Democratic state representative candidate John Atkins as a “disgraced piece of human garbage.” Click above and see for yourself…

First of all, yes, I am a John Atkins apologist and supporter – I don’t care what you think, Dave Burris. You have your blog to say your piece, I have mine. But my piece on my blog is this…isn’t “disgraced piece of human trash” a little (or a lot) harsh ? Isn’t someone entitled to make a mistake – or several – then call himself on it and make himself accountable (all of which Atkins did) ? I guess not. I think I have said before that I am embarrassed to be a member of the same party as Burris on another forum (I didn’t call Burris any names, I don’t operate that way).

Think about it too, Dave…John Atkins has kids. Yes, he screwed up. That is one of the hardest things to do, to mess up and to have to explain your actions to your kids, and to try and turn that into a life lesson for them. I talked to John Atkins about this whole thing about two weeks before he resigned his seat, and he was remorseful for his actions, and I believe him. To have the willingness to explain himself to a guy who lives 500 miles away shows me that, even though he made those mistakes, he really regrets them. Add to that, this was almost a year and a half ago…why can’t we just leave all this in the past ? John has admitted that he did wrong, has apologized profusely (he even asked on the Maria Evans Show yesterday how many times some people [like Burris] expect him to apologize)…let’s move on.

State Senator George Bunting was on the Dan Gaffney Show on WGMD this morning. He called for an apology from Burris as well. Props to Senator Bunting for that.

And just for the record, the first thing I’ll be attacked for is the fact that I live in Ohio, the home of Cleveland mayor Frank “Johnson” Jackson, who endorsed Barack “Obamba” for president…why should I give a hoot about the 41st district of Delaware ? Why should I care about John Atkins’ run for re-election to the Delaware House of Representatives ? What business do I have talking about this ? I’ll probably be asked to keep my nose out of this election by Mr. Burris. And I’ll now address all that.

First of all, the vast majority of (my wife’s and my) discretionary vacation dollars the last 10 years have been spent in Sussex County, Delaware. Even when I’m not there, I still support many of the businesses there by making purchases (Dogfish Head products [I don't drink, but I like their logo shirts], Peppers salsa, Cutting Edge Realtors, etc.). We also vacation there, putting a few extra dollars into your economy. Having said that, State Representative Pete Schwartzkopf once told me that yes, even though I don’t live in Sussex County, the fact that I care enough about my favorite resort town is enough reason to have an opinion that counts. John Atkins and others (including Dan Gaffney and others in the Sussex community whose opinions matter to me) have echoed that sentiment. And like I said earlier, this is my sandbox. Feel free to disagree, but this is where I give my opinions on things. And yes, I do care about the goings-on in my favorite vacation spot.

That said, my opinion is this…John Atkins for State Representative in the 41st District. Furthermore, my opinion is this…Dave Burris owes John Atkins and his family an apology…in a public forum, not by e-mail, snail mail, or any of those other faceless outlets. Do so on your blog…or better yet, call in on WGMD.

Lest I forget…Dave Burris also wants to be your next governor.