The local Republican Central Committee, steered by our own Billy Shreve, has had a quite a bit of the drama lately. Things came to a head last night when certain members of the committee, in the spirit of Trump (their words), are attempting to “drain the swamp” of those they no longer want on the committee. Third world dictator accusations were slung, lawyers were called and state delegates shut down. What we are interested in are the new by laws that were adopted at last night’s Drama Fest 2016:

• Causing harm to the “reputation and good name” of the Republican party “as it pertains to official business.”
• Verbally harassing or abusing committee members in “in plain view of the public” or during an open session of the committee.
• Disclosing remarks made by any committee member during a session closed to the public without explicit permission from the person who made those statements.

Nice use of the scare quotes! Now what we want to see Billy do is propose these changes to the county charter. Just imagine these new by-laws when it comes to our own county council:

• Causing harm to the reputation and good name of the Frederick County Council as it pertains to official business.
• Verbally harassing or abusing council members in plain view of the public or during an open meeting of the Frederick County Council.
• Disclosing remarks made made by any council member during a session closed to the public without explicit permission from the person who made those statements.

What’s good enough for the Republican Central Committee is good enough for the council! We can’t let there be any double standards!