Posted on 08/06/2004 3:10:41 PM PDT by republicanwizard
At last! Some good news today! Congressman Rodney Alexander has switched parties!
That is good news, but this has been a day of good news:
1. The unemployment rate dropped. [Don't let the Dims worry you, what matters is the number of people employed. People know they are employed IF THEY ARE, they do not know that from BLS seasonally adjusted data.]
2. The Boston Globe gave the Swift Boat Vets story legs by lying. And nothing has changed about what the Swift Boat Vets have said.
3. Now the GOP margin in the House rises by one. [I guess the bad side of this is Dems for Bush drops by one?]
Boom boom boom, another bits the dust.
AWESOME! Alexander is as conservative as they come, and a great addition to the GOP House caucus.
Well, we lost three seats in the last two years-KY 6, SD AL, and this one. Now it's ours again.
Are you sure it's not just a clerical error. I looked at the state's web page and it isn't clear or was there an announcement as well?
where can we write and thank him??
Good idea!
Huzzaaahhhh!!
We're a lock to pick up at least six more in Texas thanks to last summer's redistricting.
And the official announcement of this is where ?
There's a 50/50 chance that incumbent Congressman Rodney Alexander, a Democrat, will have not one but two Republican opponents in this fall's election.
Qualifying is this week, from Wednesday through Friday, for the Nov 2 election. If necessary, the run-off will be Dec 4.
Clyde Holloway, a former congressman who ran third two years ago, may make the race, but when he answered the telephone Sunday afternoon at his home he was not sure.
"It's a 50/50 chance," he said.
Republican Jock Scott of Alexandria is already running and has been for several weeks. Scott served three terms in the Louisiana House. Back then he was a Democrat.
Scott is an attorney but also a history professor at LSU-A. He has expressed strong support for President Bush on the controversial war in Iraq.
Holloway, now 60-years-old, served three terms in Congress from 1987-93, but reapportionment placed him in a district where he couldn't win. Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge defeated him.
Reapportionment, however, gave him a new chance, putting Alexandria in the same district with Monroe.
Holloway owns and operates a nursery at Forest Hill south of Alexandra.
When the Legislature carved out the new 5th Congressional District with both Monroe and Alexandria in it, the seat was open because member Jim McCrery was from Shreveport.
That's when Dr. John Cooksey of Monroe was elected in a run-off with Rep. Francis Thompson of Monroe. Holloway ran third.
The seat became vacant again when Cooksey ran for the U.S. Senate, and again, Holloway ran third. Republican Lee Fletcher lost the election by less than 1,000 votes in the run-off with Alexander.
Now nearing the end his first two-year term, Alexander has done just about everything right except for one mistake. He flirted with the idea of switching parties and went public with it.
That created a mild storm in Democratic circles. Alexander was backed into a corner by influential Democrats who helped elect him. As a result, he declined to switch despite promises from Republicans to improve his lot in Congress.
Other than that, Alexander has performed more like a Republican than a Democrat in a district that leans strongly to the Republican side although Democratic voters outnumber Republican voters.
The district is considered a Republican stronghold.
Alexander, meantime, has been very visible in his role as a congressman, meeting with voters throughout the district, answering their questions and attempting to solve their problems.
He skipped the Democratic Convention.
Holloway expressed it well, "Alexander will be hard to beat. If I run, it will be an interesting race."
A conservative for a number of years, Holloway was first elected in a district that also elected the late Gillis Long who was far more liberal than he was conservative.
In addition to his races for Congress, Holloway ran for governor and also for lieutenant governor. He enjoys campaigning, getting out there with the people.
"The last one was ugly," he said, referring to his third place finish behind Alexander and Fletcher. He blamed the Fletcher campaign for doing him under.
Fletcher's not running this time. He is building an advertising-public relations firm in Monroe. But he still has his hand in politics. He's supporting Scott.
So is Dr. Cooksey who announced his support for Scott long before Holloway expressed an interest in running.
Will Holloway do it? If his wife approves, he will answer the bell. There's still fire in his belly.
I love you Rodney. You have seen the light. I will be proud to pull your lever in the Fifth District.
He wasn't going to win if he stayed a Dem.
Now the rats need two aditional pickups to get ahead.
No chance.
I question the timing of this announcement. ;-)
Always good to see a man come to his senses. The dems will soon be a dying breed.
He sounds like a good man.
He must be the last Blue Dog to switch over.
Welcome to the GOP Congressman.
Go to the page that's linked above, then scroll down to the 5th district area. You'll see 2 entries for Alexander, the latest being dated today and he filed to run as a Republican.
And Best of all -- Martin Frost will have to get a real job!!!!
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