In earlier posts I've called out Delegate Frank Turner for
his lack of backbone on the gambling issue. In this June article by Lindsey
McPherson in Explore Howard Frank told the reporter “he hasn't changed his mind
about the need to let the five authorized casinos — approved by voters in 2008
— get up and running before the state approves a sixth.”
"I don't think I'm going to back off my
principle," Turner said during a break of the June 12 meeting in Annapolis .”
Just two short months later he backed off his principle.
Recently, in a Letter to the Editor in Explore Howard, he
defended the abandonment of his principle.
“We have all been confronted with situations in the
workplace that we do not agree. That does not mean we abrogate our
responsibility and walk away. I did not create this system nor do I wish to
create total chaos by doing something that would make me totally ineffective in
the future as a legislator. We must choose our battles wisely.”
Who is this “we” Frank is referring to?
Every day someone, somewhere is confronted with the choice of
principle over personal interest. Courageous people make the hard choice.
The bottom line, as I see it, is that Frank wasn't willing
to put his political future at risk by standing on principle.
That says a lot about a man.
