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The next Democratic party-switcher? Could be a while
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| Contributor | User 13 |
| Last Edited | User 13 Mar 07, 2004 09:37am |
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| Category | Analysis |
| News Date | Sunday, March 7, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Texas Democrat Ralph Halls defection to the Republicans in January was hardly a shock considering hed voted like one for years. But it may be a while before GOP leaders find another Democratic congressman willing to switch sides.
Those Democrats who now hold the most conservative mantle, including a good portion from the South, insist they have no plans of defecting, largely because their differences with the party arent quite as stark as Halls or numerous other party-switchers who preceded him.
They didnt switch as the once-solid Democratic South trended for Republicans. They didnt switch when Newt Gingrich and a new crop of GOP freshmen took hold of the U.S. House a decade ago. They didnt switch after the election of President Bush, or the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, or the war in Iraq.
So if they havent switched by now, when will they? Never, predict some analysts who contend its not that these lawmakers arent conservative, its that they arent conservative enough.
Their voting records are not as vastly opposed as one would think, said Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political scientist. Theres almost nobody left who votes more often with Republicans than Democrats now that Ralph Hall is gone. Go back 20 years, there were lots.
There is one glaring exception _ Democratic Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, who has endorsed President Bushs re-election bid and most of his legislative efforts. Miller plans to retire next year, and he resisted the temptation to switch _ even when the defection of then-Republican Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont temporarily shifted Senate control to Democrats.
Still, Millers party opposition record is historic, according to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly. Last year, Miller opposed party leaders on 91 percent of key votes. Thats the most contrarian one-year score in the half-century that the publication has tracked party unity or lack thereof.
The most conservative House Democrat is probably now Kentuckys |
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