Posted on 10/04/2005 1:29:33 PM PDT by LdSentinal
FRANKFORT - Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield announced yesterday that they had persuaded a freshman Democratic state representative from Western Kentucky to switch parties.
The registration change of Rep. James Carr, of Hopkinsville, ended a weekend of speculation about the subject of the McConnell-Whitfield press conferences in Hopkinsville and Frankfort that were announced without details late Friday.
Whitfield tacitly acknowledged that the secretive nature was designed to spur interest.
At the news conference in the Frankfort GOP headquarters, McConnell also maintained his silence about recent controversies surrounding the Kentucky Republican Party's leadership and Gov. Ernie Fletcher, whose administration has been under investigation since May.
"We're here today to celebrate a really important development," McConnell said each time he was asked about Fletcher.
Carr now gives House Republicans 44 members, the most that caucus has had since 1944. It also continued the whittling of the Democrats' House majority, which has dropped from a 17-seat margin before the 2004 session to 12 now.
McConnell said the announcement was particularly significant because it shows a steady erosion of the "Gibraltar of Democracy" that was Western Kentucky.
"I think it's big news if you're writing about the future of the Republican Party," McConnell said when asked why he didn't give the same attention to the 2003 defection of Democratic Rep. Tom Kerr of Taylor Mill, in Northern Kentucky.
The subject of the press conference remained a well-kept secret over the weekend -- a rarity in Kentucky politics. Even prominent Republicans in Christian County claimed they didn't know the topic, as did top Fletcher officials and House Republican floor leader Jeff Hoover.
McConnell refused to say why Fletcher and Hoover weren't informed earlier about the announcement or invited to the events.
Hoover said later he was pleased that Carr made "such a bold step" to switch parties, even though he had no idea that was coming.
"To be honest, there is some frustration about not knowing what was going on until this morning. I'm sure there were valid reasons for that," Hoover said.
Fletcher said he was "thrilled" by Carr's registration change and described him as someone who "has been very good to work with."
The governor said he wasn't offended by being left out, noting that "it was something Sen. McConnell and Congressman Whitfield had been working on."
Fletcher said he spoke to McConnell two weeks ago by phone. "There's no reason for Sen. McConnell to be involved in this investigation," Fletcher added.
So far, McConnell has gone to great lengths not to be. That was especially obvious yesterday in his first public event in Frankfort since Fletcher's December 2003 inauguration.
A special grand jury is investigating whether Fletcher's administration violated state hiring laws. The investigation has led to indictments of 11 former or current aides and the firing of nine officials.
The governor also asked for the party to replace state chairman Darrell Brock Jr., a former Fletcher aide. The party's executive committee ignored that request.
As for Carr, the former Dow Chemicals employee defeated incumbent Rep. John W. Adams in last year's Democratic primary. He then went on to narrowly defeat Republican Tom C. Jones last fall.
Carr, 55, said yesterday he considered himself a Christian conservative who felt like the Democratic Party had "abandoned" him.
Democratic House Speaker Jody Richards released a terse statement blasting Carr for having "misled, deceived and betrayed the voters" as well as House leaders.
Richards said Carr privately assured him he was not seeking to switch parties.
Carr struggled to answer why he was nullifying his Democratic pledge. He said he had had no intention of changing parties when he gave reassurances to Richards.
"I've changed my view of that," he said. "I don't think the Democratic Party can have a Kentucky party that's different from the national party."
Great, so now we have another dem turn rep in office. This is why true republicans cannot get elected the Republican party is now all full of ex-democrats.
Boy we have a lot of cynics today. Another R behind a Representative's name is obviously a good thing. Don't spin it otherwise. Remember that Ronald Reagan was a Democrat for the first half of his life until he saw the light and I think he turned out pretty well. The converts are usually the most loyal.
Life long Republicans....Lincoln Chaffee, Mitt Romney, the late Nelson Rockefeller
Former Dems.....Phil Graham, Richard Shelby, and the late Ronald Reagan.
Hmmmm which to chose....
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? We don't need no stinking RINOs.
Don't be so hasty. Hopkinsville is right outside Ft. Campbell and is heavily populated by military and ex-military families. Western Kentucky democrats are more Ronald Reagan Republicans than John Kerry liberals. They want to be left alone by big government, they want their tax dollars spent on roads and schools and they are strongly pro-military.
How do I know all this? Because I was raised in a family of registered West Kentucky democrats who voted for Reagan.
...add Jesse Helms and Paul Laxalt.
you picked three from a congress of over 100 switchovers
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