Posted on 04/01/2008 5:27:42 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, announced today he will not be a candidate for the Congressional seat being vacated by Bud Cramer. Butler, who is serving his seventh term in the Alabama Legislature (fourth in the Senate), was considering running as a Republican for the north Alabama congressional seat.
"After much prayer and consideration, I have decided not to run. I appreciate the support of many across the district and the state who encouraged me to seek the office, but at this time being with my family and finishing the job I stated in the State Senate is my priority," he said in a statement.
Butler said he had been prepared to announce he was switching parties but will now wait until the end of this legislative session to make a decision.
Qualifying ends Friday. Democratic state Sen. Parker Griffith, a retired Huntsville cancer specialist, has formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination. Huntsville lawyer and retired engineer Ray McKee is seeking the GOP nomination. Republican Wayne Parker, who lost twice in congressional races against Cramer, "tentatively" plans to announce his candidacy Thursday, according to Parker's web site, wayneparker08.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.al.com ...
Am I being paranoid, or could it be that Tom Butler and Alabama Democrats pulled off the ultimate April Fools’ Day prank?
I had my concerns about Butler. He’s not really a Conservative, he’s fairly old to embark on a Congressional career, and why would he switch parties to be a backbencher in the minority party when he likely has more power and influence in the majority as a member of the calcifying Democrat-run AL Senate ?
If Wayne Parker runs, this will be a 2nd tier perennial candidate, not a great recruitment for us.
I’m also worried about AL-2. That seat hasn’t elected a Dem since 1962 (the GOP predecessor of Terry Everett’s, Bill Dickinson, just died yesterday (Monday) — noteworthy in that until his passing, the 5-member class of AL Republican House freshman from 1964 were all still alive, one of whom is now the oldest current or former member of Congress, 99-year old Glenn Andrews), but with the huge crop of candidates, the ostensibly moderate Montgomery Mayor, Bobby Bright, may be the best bet for the Dems to recapture it. The GOP tried to recruit him. I’m leaning towards State Sen. Harri Anne Smith. No woman has ever won federal office in AL at a regular general election. Smith was also rated as its most Conservative State Senator in ‘04.
I hate April Fools day.
That applies to Bulter in Alabama and "John Kennedy" over in Louisiana (Kennedy is probably the only "major" candidate in a HIGHLY contested U.S. Senate race right now that has absolutely no issue positions listed on his website). These guys are craven opportunists who will stab the GOP in the back at a moment's notice if it gives them an advantage in a later election, and Bulter just proved it. Several reputable Louisiana freepers have told that JFK's namesake in Louisiana has never been a social conservative and actually ran to the LEFT of Chris John is his last primary campaign. The last thing we need is a "Republican" Senator from a conservative southern state voting with the Dems on social issues... though I suppose we got a taste of that when Richard Shelby and Thad "I only vote with the party on the social issues cuz I have" Cochran got elected.
Note this doesn't apply to party switchers who do so for principled idealogical reasons (even if becoming a Republican may HURT their future election prospects) after much soul searching, such as Ronald Reagan. Those types should be welcomed into the GOP with open arms.
The power-hungery types however, need to be scrutinized with a fine-tooth comb -- and have their feet held to the fire that they WILL support conservative values across the board if we give them our nomination. They should not automatically receive the GOP nomination for a major office on a silver platter without any vetting, but sadly John Kennedy appears to have already done so.
The fact is that just about any candidate with a clue in Cramer's district is going to run as a conservative to get elected, given the conservative-leaning nature of the voters. Whether they will actually vote that way once they become entrenched in office remains to be seen. By their fruits you will know them.
I agree that Wayne Parker had his shot before and hasn't proven to be much of a threat to the RATs in this district. We're better off running Ray McKee, he might be a second tier candidate but he can run as a Washington outsider and his strong stance on the FairTax might get some crossover Dem votes.
I'd be more concerned with keeping Alabama's 2nd district in GOP hands now that Terry Everett is retiring, than hoping for a pickup in the 5th.
John N. Kennedy has a long record of supporting conservative causes, so I’m not concerned with him turning out to be a RINO.
The AL-05 gave President Bush 60% in 2004, so either of the two potential GOP candidates would have a good chance of winning an open-seat race. Sure, we would all prefer a first-tier candidate, but we can still win this.
We will hold the AL-02. Democrats made it too Republican in redistricting (so as to increase their odds in the AL-03) to be able to win it.
Maybe I’m being optimistic, but that’s how I see it.
This didn't stop the guy from turning RINO overnite and increasingly flirting with his 'RAT party roots once public opinion turned against the war in Iraq.
Which of course, leads to the question why a guy from a family of career liberal Democrats who happily supported the Dems back when they controlled NC politics would have been so "conservative" himself when he first ran for office in his own right. Seeing how North Carolina's political landscape changed, the phrase "political opportunist" comes to mind.
Yet you think a guy who ran to the LEFT of Chris John just a few years ago can be trusted to be "with us" across-the-board now that he tossed an "R" next to his name?
Walter Jones jumped the shark on the Iraq issue, but so have others who appeared to be conservative and who have always been Republican. Back when he was a Democrat, Jones was a pro-military Democrat (as was his father), so his apostasy on Iraq is certainly not due to his returning to his “Democrat roots.”
I believe that Kennedy ran to John’s left on a couple of issues but to his right on others. In any event, Chris John is by no means a liberal-—his voting record in the House was quite a bit more conservative than that of John Breaux or, IIRC, just as conservative as Billy Tauzin’s before his switch to the GOP.
John N. Kennedy is not a perfect conservative, and I don’t think we can count on him to support free trade or maybe even supply-side economics. But he’ll be a solidly conservative Senator on social issues, and overall will probably be no less conservative than, say, Richard Shelby of Alabama.
The GOP brand name stinks big time. Woody Jenkins is trailing the Dem by 3 points in the La-06. Plus the Dem turnout slightly exceeded the GOP side in the MS-01 (Wicker’s old seat). Conservatives this year just are in no mood to win.
Do you have a link to the Jenkins poll? I hadn’t heard about that.
As for the MS-01 turnout, are you referring to the run-off or the first primary? I still doubt the Dem will get much over 40% in MS-01.
Here’s the link to the La-06.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/internal_gop_poll_shows_possib.php
As for Roger Wicker’s seat, I am referring to Tuesday’s election results.
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