Posted on 08/06/2004 3:10:41 PM PDT by republicanwizard
At last! Some good news today! Congressman Rodney Alexander has switched parties!
AL? Did Alabama lose a seat or did another Democrat take another Democrat's seat from him? My count is that we still have the 6 Repub. seats and the 1 Dem. seat we always had.
Here is his voting record:
http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=S0421103
There are hundreds of reasons there.
*GOP HOUSE PICK-UP PING!*
Congressman Rodney Alexander won an upset victory in a December run-off in the heavily conservative 5th district by (i) running to the right of the GOP nominee (Fletcher) on the abortion issue (Alexander only supports one exception for abortion---when the life of the mother is in danger), (ii) benefitting from the sour grapes of the Republican House candidates who didn't make the run-off, most of whom criticized Fletcher, (iii) benefitting from the sour grapes of incumbent Congressman John Cooksey, who was upset at having been beaten for the Senate run-off by Suzie Terrell and did not urge his supporters to vote in the run-off, and (iv) benefitting from the false rumors, published in a Mexican newspaper, that Bush would allow greater sugar imports from Mexico, but would wait until after the Louisiana run-offs to announce it. All of those things allowed Alexander to win by a 51%-49% margin, but because of a lack of strong Republican candidates he likely would have won reelection even with a D next to his name. As a Republican, though, he will win easily, since he's a perfect ideological fit for the conservative district.
Alexander's switch, combined with Ralph Hall's switch in Texas and the 6 Texas seats we will pick up this November due to redistricting, will cement GOP control of the House for many years to come.
"AL? Did Alabama lose a seat or did another Democrat take another Democrat's seat from him? My count is that we still have the 6 Repub. seats and the 1 Dem. seat we always had."
Aaaargh! Sorry!! Too many windows open!!
Oh sorry, didn't know what AL stood for there. Yes I don't know why Bud Cramer doesn't go ahead and switch parties. He tends to lean away from the radical to the more conservative. Do you live in AL? Does the AU stand for Auburn?
AuH2O = Goldwater. :)
Nah, he applied but he got an 'A' once in high school so they wouldn't accept him ;)
Au ~ Gold
H2O ~ Water
As in Barry, pre-senility.
Cramer won't switch, believe me. I lived in North AL (in his district) most of my life. He may be moderate as compared to northeastern Dems, but he's no conservative. Our best shot at beating him came back in '94 when my friend Wayne Parker lost to him 50.5% to 49.5%.
DOH!! okay I am really feeling stupid. :( Maybe I need to go get a cup of coffee so that I can concentrate. LOL
FYI
I remember that!! I'm from Boaz, AL., his district. I do not understand his popularity. It must be the funds he's able to spend.
Love your tagline, by the way!
After Ronnie Flippo (a clown if there ever was one) retired in '90 to run for Governor (he was crushed), Cramer, as Madison County District Attorney, was his picked successor. He did help create the district Children's Advocacy Center, which I give him credit for. And his strong support of the Space Station and defense jobs help him in the very hi-tech district. The Huntsville area big businesses keep him flush with cash. When he does retire, it'll be a dogfight to replace him.
Yes, you're right there. He seems to be extremely popular. It's a shame I don't know much about him. I grew up in Boaz, but when I was old enough to vote I had moved to Montgomery, so I did not become very knowledgeable about Cramer. More concerned with the district I was in.
Who does your tagline quote? It is very appropriate for the times we're in, with the election that is upcoming.
"Congressman Rodney Alexander (R-LA) Has Switched Parties"
Wasn't Rogers' district intentionally made more Democrat by the state legislature? I think it was Bob Riley's seat before he beat Don "Singleterm".
BTW, great news on Alexander's switch. Did he really run to Fletcher's right on abortion? I suppose it doesn't surprise me that he won, then. From what I heard, the 5th district is very culturally conservative.
The above from the Town Talk local Alexandra LA paper which is a link and title only paper.
Barry Goldwater. The source of his username.
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