There is quite a spirited debate going on over at Doc’s Political Parlor about the staff who resigned today, what their motivations were and whether or not they were Bud Cramer/North Alabama people or Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee people.  I had to laugh at this debate, because you can pretty quickly determine the history of folks on legislative staffs.

There is no doubt Sharon Wheeler was NOT chosen by the DCCC, she knew Parker Griffith for some time prior to working for him as chief of staff and she worked as a legislative director and chief of staff in the Alabama Senate for a decade.  Any suggestion that she was somehow “hand-picked” for him by the DCCC is completely bogus.  Similarly Will Crain was an intern for former Rep. Bud Cramer, but that was back in 2006. Chase Chesser was a more recent intern, for both Bud Cramer and Jo Bonner, but had not been employed with Griffith long.  Legislative Correspondent Arinze Ifekauche was fresh out of college before working as an organizer on Griffith’s campaign.  Press Secretary Sean Magers is still listed as a “Solicitation Chair” for the UAH College Democrats, so it’s probably safe to say he is a recent college grad as well..

Legislative Director Megan Swearingen on the other hand worked for Texas Rep. Chet Edwards prior to coming to work for Parker…certainly a strong indication that her ties are to the party and not the district.  Legislative Assistant Brian Greer worked for Georgia Rep. David Scott which would also indicate he has connections within the congressional family.

Staff Assistant Mary Lugh Huston had not previously served anyone in Congress.

So the vast majority of the staff either had no congressional service background at all (and thus difficult to demonstrate they were familiar to folks in the DCCC) or had Alabama ties, but were not Bud Cramer’s longtime staff.  You can certainly make a case that Swearingen and Greer may have been suggested by other Dems in Congress, but tough to show from this history that his entire staff was handpicked for him by Washington insiders.  Not that any of this is really all that important now, but it’s the kind of thing politicos like to discuss.

UPDATE:  Upon re-reading, I wanted to make sure folks understand I was not implying the DCCC isn’t helping these folks after the fact, they most certainly are.  But assisting staffers who choose to leave under a circumstance like this and either implying the DCCC orchestrated the departure or that these staff members are beholden to the DCCC is a stretch.

Comments are welcome below.

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