Posted on 02/06/2011 9:04:32 PM PST by FromLori
Reporting from Atlanta — For Democrats, Ashley Bell was the kind of comer that a party builds a future on: A young African American lawyer, he served as president of the College Democrats of America, advised presidential candidate John Edwards and spoke at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
But after his party's midterm beat-down in November, Bell, a commissioner in northern Georgia's Hall County, jumped ship. He joined the Republicans.
Bell, 30, said he had serious issues with the healthcare law and believed that conservative "blue dog" Democrats in Congress who shared his values had been bullied into voting for it.
Bell's defection is one of dozens by state and local Democratic officials in the Deep South in recent months that underscore Republicans' continued consolidation of power in the region — a process that started with presidential politics but increasingly affects government down to the level of dogcatcher.
"I think the midterms showed you really can't be a conservative and be a member of the Democratic Party," Bell said.
Since the midterm election, 24 state senators and representatives have made the switch in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I lived in one of the southern states during a time in which a sizable fraction of the state legislature included Demo-to-GOP party-switchers. Some were opportunists who hurt the party by joining it, some were conservatives in their heart who just happened to be raised Democrat. The lesson to me was you’ve got to consider these guys individually before you write them off.
Remember, Ronald Reagan, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, Bill Bennett, and countless other good folk started off as donkeys - I would’ve hated to lose them.
You are correct.
The difference between then and now is that we no longer have the luxury of multiple terms in office to see how sincere was their “conversion.” We’re out of time!
‘The lesson to me was you’ve got to consider these guys individually before you write them off.’
Exactly. Trust, but verify.
Very true!... but the opposite is also true, you have to really consider them before thinking that they are Conservative or even Republican.
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