Signs of change

I'm a Democrat, fuck the GOP

What's Going on in the Red States?
by mcjoan

Sat Aug 19, 2006 at 06:33:12 PM PDT

First we had Kansas:

This November, nine former Kansas Republicans are running as Democrats, including one for the office of lieutenant governor and another for that of attorney general. For years, moderates and conservatives have been battling within the Kansas Republican Party, mostly over social issues such as abortion and evolution. As moderates get pushed out, they sometimes wind up with a `D' next to their name.

Then there was this in Oklahoma:

Depending upon your political allegiance, Republican state Sen. Nancy Riley's defection to the Democratic Party is either a major setback to GOP hopes of taking control of the Senate or a minor blip that will be overcome by Republican strength in the fall elections.

Riley, complaining there is no room for political moderates in the Senate's Republican caucus, bolted on Thursday--little more than a week after she got 23 percent of the vote in the July 25 Republican primary for lieutenant governor.

Even in Idaho:

Tony Edmondson has been a Republican for 40 years. But he says the Republican Party has left him behind. He says he's a centrist and can no longer stay.

"Just for me personally, it's where I am in my journey, and I feel our state legislature, the complexion of our legislature does not reflect the makeup of our state. . . ." That's why this former Washington County Commissioner is running for State Senate as a Democrat....

And now Nebraska:

The GOP lost its lock on the top state government offices this week when State Auditor Kate Witek jumped to the Democratic party just a few months after campaigning as Republican Tom Osborne's running mate in a failed gubernatorial bid.

"I got to the point where it seemed the Republican Party was only looking at controlling all the offices instead of looking at resolving all the problems challenging this state," Witek said in Friday's Lincoln Journal Star.

Anecdotes don't make trends, but it's still an interesting phenomenon. A quick and dirty Google News search didn't turn up any high profile Democratic defections, but I didn't conduct an extensive search. What other defections are happening out there across the country? Fill us in on what's happening where you are.

This is what happened to the Dems in the 1980's as the last of the Dixiecrats crossed over to the GOP. People are leaving the Republicans because they are run by crackpots.