Posted on 07/16/2013 7:18:40 PM PDT by LdSentinal
State Sen. Rick Ward III of Port Allen has formally announced he is switching political parties, the third state lawmaker to defect to the Republican Party in as many months. With his move, the GOP now holds a supermajority in the state senate.
"Overall, I feel like the Democratic Party has left where I'm at," Ward said Tuesday. "I'm conservative. My voting record shows that."
Ward added that "based on the feedback" he's had in his two years in the state senate that his district would be better represented by a Republican. "Based on the direction that both the national and state party is headed," he said. "I'm more suited and a better representative of the constituents in my district if I switch parties."
Ward said he did not contact the state Democratic Party before he filed paperwork to switch to the GOP on July 15. Meanwhile, state Republican leaders welcomed the change.
"Louisiana's Democratic Party is losing members at an alarming rate, one that suggests they are completely out of touch with the values of Louisiana residents."
Ward is the third state lawmaker to leave the Democratic Party since late May. Just a week before the end of the 2013 legislative session, state Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas announced he was joining the GOP. In doing so, he became the first black Republican in the state senate since Reconstruction.
Last week, state Rep. Jim Fannin of Jonesboro, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, also announced he was switching parties. Like Ward, Fannin and Guillory also cited ideological reasons for the switch, saying they identified more with Republican values on the definition of the traditional family unit as well as gun control.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Oh great, another RINO...
Crossing the aisle is not exactly unusual in the Swamp State but the number of rats deserting to the elephant party indicates a strong red state tide is flowing in.
in what way?
Reagan was once a Democrat.
There are still a lot of traditional Democrats:my grandaddy was a Ddemocrat,my daddy was a Democrat,.....they really have been left by the Democrat party.
And many never really look to see what “their” party claims to be for,regardless of party.
That's where the Republican Party, nationally, makes everyone a sucker.
Look at their platform-planks and their actions and you'll be amazed at the total lack of vigor pursuing them [again, on the national level] — I would even go so far as to say that the Republican party is the party of liars: the democrat party will mock/berate regular people for guns… the Republicans, on the other hand, are all too happy to claim things like ending the Assault Weapon Ban (which had a sunset clause and they literally had to do nothing) and have never (to my knowledge) pushed for a repeal of either the Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act. (Same with abortion: look at the `12 nominee.)
Doesn’t bode well for Mary come 2014.
3 in 3 months. Maybe this will start a trend.
The democrat party is not a party of America. They rule like 3rd world dictators. Holder and BO are leading this and it’s not pretty.
I think a lot of old-fashioned Democrats are getting a little iffy about the whole communist / homo-centric direction their party has taken over the past decade or so. It gets to a point where they can't look in the mirror anymore.
I agree. The Democrats have “jumped the shark” and showed their true face to America too soon. The communists have it in their heads that the changes they have made to America and the electorate are irreversible so they have dropped their masks. There are enough Americans that are disgusted by the Democrats and realize that they have been the “useful idiots” that Lenin and Stalin were so fond of.
Remember the communist goals? Especially the one to take over one or both political parties? What better way to infiltrate?
No, Reagan was once a democrat and I still recall when they refused to allow their name to be capitalized and they still seemed to care somewhat about this country and it’s people.
My father-who has always remained curiously neutral(don’t ask me how) has always maintained there’s a not a “dime’s worth of difference” between the two parties.
I’m now inclined to believe there is considerably less than a penny’s difference now...
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