(UPDATED. See below.) In Stalin's Soviet Union, execution was considered an insufficient punishment for a person who fell out of favor and was deemed a traitor. That person would literally be erased from history.

In a pre-Photoshop era, Stalin famously had photographers use hand-drawing techniques to remove people from photographs. The best known example is that of Stalin with Nikolai Yezhov, onetime head of Stalin's secret police. Despite Yezhov's having loyally carried out thousands of arrests and executions, when Stalin executed Yezhov, he also erased Yezhov from history:

Happily, Democrats in Georgia don't have the option of executing politically disfavored people, but they'll certainly do their best to erase them from history. Former state representative Vernon Jones, a black Democrat who supports Trump, has discovered that if you're an apostate from the Democrat party, you will be driven from the fold.

Last week, Jones endorsed President Donald Trump for a second term. His reasoning was straightforward:

"It's very simple to me. President Trump's handling of the economy, his support for historically black colleges and his criminal justice initiatives drew me to endorse his campaign," said Jones, who added that he had no immediate plans to switch parties. "There are a lot of African Americans who clearly see and appreciate he's doing something that's never been done before," Jones said. "When you look at the unemployment rates among black Americans before the pandemic, they were at historic lows. That's just a fact."

Georgia Democrats responded swiftly and brutally. Not only did they repeat the usual baseless canards about Trump's racism, but they instantly tried to un-person Jones:

State Democratic officials tried Tuesday to disown Jones, a former chief executive of DeKalb County, Georgia's biggest Democratic stronghold. State Sen. Nikema Williams, the chairwoman of the state party, called him an "embarrassment" who doesn't reflect Georgia values. [snip] In a conference call with the AJC, the Georgia House's three top Democratic leaders backed Rhonda Taylor, a community activist who is challenging Jones in the June primary. House Minority Leader Bob Trammell said he is sending her a check immediately. "We're not sure what was on Vernon's mind. It's antithetical to what we believe in," said state Rep. James Beverly, D-Macon, the chairman of the party's House caucus. "We can't support an ideology that's diametrically opposed to who we are and what we value."

Throughout his political career, Jones has been an outspoken iconoclast who has occasionally sided with Republicans, drawing the ire of his fellow Democrats. He's proven to be unafraid of the give and take of hardcore party politics. However, the response to his Trump endorsement has been so extreme that even a fighter like Jones can't take it anymore.

Jones announced on Wednesday that, rather than staying in office through the upcoming election, he's stepping down immediately:

Democratic Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones announced that he is stepping down from office, citing attacks and harassment from his party following his endorsement of President Donald Trump for re-election. [snip] The blowback from his party is too much, and he is stepping down from his post as the representative for Georgia's 91st House District, Jones said. "I'm sick and tired of me and my family being attacked and harassed by the Democrat Party for putting my country before my party," Jones said in a statement released Wednesday, and first obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

What happened to Jones is consistent with what happened to many conservatives when Trump was elected — their so-called "liberal" friends proved not to be liberal at all, but to be leftists, and, in the spirit of true leftism, they rejected as a friend anyone who supported Trump.

Jones is unbowed by the experience. Indeed, he intends to remain a Democrat in the hope that he can help the party become better:

"Turn the lights off, I have left the plantation," the controversial ex-DeKalb County CEO said in a statement. Jones said he was not switching political parties but would work for Trump's re-election. "I don't plan to leave the Democratic Party because somebody's got to be in there to hold them accountable — hold them accountable to how they are treating black people (and) root out the bigotry," Jones said on "The Rashad Richey Morning Show" shortly after announcing his resignation. [snip] "I intend to help the Democrat Party get rid of its bigotry against black people that are independent and conservative," Jones said in the statement announcing his resignation. "I endorsed the white guy (Donald J. Trump) that let blacks out of jail, and they endorsed the white guy (Joe Biden) that put blacks in jail."

I wish him luck. He's got a hard task ahead of him.

UPDATE: On Thursday, Jones had a change of heart and walked back his original decision to end his term early: