Democrats Abroad face purge battle
AS DEMOCRATIC Party supporters in the US are fighting in the trenches to determine their choice for presidential candidate, Panama Democrats Abroad, who recently cast their vote for Bernie Sanders, are engaged in another struggle as a group of Hillary supporters tries to oust board member Eric Jackson.
Heading those calling for his expulsion at a June 11 meeting, is Sean Hammerle who was recently the target of an investigative story by Panama born Jackson, publisher of Panama News, claiming that he had falsified his business credentials
The story was expanded on another Panama blog alleging that false photos of “staff” had been posted on a business site.
Jackson, a lawyer, has an enduring reputation as an iconoclast unafraid to take on with the pen those who wield insider or establishment swords. .
He has over the years uncovered many expat fraud artists which, instead of earning him the praise of his fellow countrymen, has often led to him being pilloried.
Meanwhile lengthy emails have been flying around Panama like hail (the size of golf balls) in a Washington November storm.
Jackson has been an active member of Democrats Abroad, Panama since its reactivation in the wake of the 2000 election, established the group’s Facebook pages in 2010 and became a member of the group’s board of directors in 2011.
Hammerle joined the group in 2015 and became a member of the board of directors in that year.
Jackson vows to fight the expulsion move and urges Panama’s Democrats, who voted 2-1 for Bernie Sanders (whom Jackson supported) against Hillary Clinton (whom Hammerle supported),to attend the June 11 meeting to vote against it.
But so far Hammerle has failed to disclose the meeting’s location.
Democrat activist, author and former Canadian MP, Phil Edmonston, has attempted to calm the waters, by drawing attention to the group’s procedural rules.
Meanwhile the Democratic contenders are gearing up for the California primaries, and party leaders are trying to unify the party before it moves to take on The Donald. If Panama is an example, that’s going to be a tough fight.
