Friends in strange places

Republican Farrell Quinlan found himself the subject of a proposed motion at a county Republican meeting early this month after signing up to follow updates from Terry Goddard’s fan page on Facebook. With a click of his mouse, Quinlan was suddenly under the microscope of LD4 Chairman Lyle Tuttle, who filed a proposed motion to strip Quinlan and fellow Republican Brian Symes (accused of the same crime) of the remainder of their PC terms.

In his motion, Tuttle cites bylaws barring members of the county party from endorsing non-Republicans, like Goddard. But Quinlan argued to Haney that by signing up for the Facebook page he wasn’t “endorsing” Goddard; he was merely conducting “opposition research.” And Symes isn’t endorsing Goddard – he’s actively campaigning for Vernon Parker. The whole mini-controversy even resulted in a statement from Adam Driggs, who told Haney: “… Our great party, the party of liberty and freedom, should not even consider a motion that would police party members’ associations and friendship, or limit their constitutionally protected freedom of association. We are not a party of guilt by association.”

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