What are the House Democrats thinking? First they kick out Delegate Ron Thompson (D-Raleigh) and now they vote him back in.

Thompson had not shown up for almost a year, never took his oath of office, and never appeared for one meeting during the session or most of last year’s interims. When asked to at least show up long enough to hold his hand up and say “I will,” Thompson refused. He then asked for an extension and failed to meet the date.

Now following logic that makes you want to beat your head against Robert C. Byrd’s statue, the House has voted him back in.

Perhaps instead of having a minister open their session in prayer, they should have a clown sing the “Hokey Pokey” with special words:

We vote Thompson in,
We vote Thompson out,
We vote Thompson in,
And we scream and shout.

We can’t make up our minds,
We can’t see past our snout,
That’s what the House is about.

Democrat House Majority Leader Joe Delong stood on the floor today with his hand in his pocket (bad form, Joe, bad form) and explained why he wants to reinstate Thompson…or tried to at least. “We now have definitive evidence… He is simply receiving treatment by a trained physician and I think it would be very dangerous precedent by us to not recognize that.”

In legalese, Thompson appeared at the Raleigh County Circuit Court on a mental hygiene petition and hearing.

According to Beckley’s Register Herald, “Mental hygiene hearings are not typically open to the public. They are used to determine if a person is a danger to himself or others, or in cases of alcohol and drug addiction.

“Prior to a hearing, a licensed clinical psychologist — in Raleigh County, someone from FMRS — examines the person against whom the petition is filed. If the examination does not reveal addiction or mental illness and likelihood to cause serious harm to self or others resulting from the mental illness, the person is released and the case dismissed. But if the examination reveals a likelihood to cause harm, then a mental hygiene commissioner, circuit court judge or magistrate conducts a probable cause hearing. The examiner testifies at the hearing, as does the person who filed the petition. Mental hygiene petitions are generally filed by a family member or someone close to the family.”

So armed with the knowledge that not only is Thompson AWOL, but perhaps mentally unstable as well, the Democrats vote him back in. Brilliant!

The question has to be asked: why couldn’t the House Speaker have simply asked Thompson why he had not shown up for over 8 months? If the proper homework had been done before the vote – the first one, I mean – all this could be avoided. Now the Democratic leadership looks amateurish.

No matter what Thompson’s excuse, the fact remains that he has not shown up for work. In the meantime, while the House waits to see if he is mentally unstable, Raleigh County voters are not represented. With the way the Democrat Delegates are voting these days, I doubt any of us are being represented either.