Well, yeah, I remember. ;-) And many a democrat in Alabama has switched over to the Republicans in my lifetime. When I was a boy EVERYONE was a democrat. Now, no one is, except Blacks. Since blacks make up about 26% of the population of Alabama, the democrats are now forever in the minority here.
Still, the old-time democrats were and are conservatives, first and foremost. That is why I’ve always supported their conversion.
When Shelby switched, I supported him, too, thinking he was simply being true to his conservative roots.
Now I’m not so sure.
When Shelby switched, I supported him, too, thinking he was simply being true to his conservative roots.
Now I’m not so sure.
By this reckoning, Ted Cruz can’t really remain Ted Cruz without eventually leaving the Republicans. Look at Rubio and Rand Paul. It took them less than a term in office to flop like fish on the deck. Rubio is dead to me as a conservative and Paul is at best a borderliner. But they both have a big future in the Republican party.
Palin has no future in the party because she won’t do what many of the others have already done—sell a piece of herself for a bit of power and privilege.
I’m a de facto “third party person” only because the only national candidate I could fathom has no place in the other two parties.
I still think there are many of those old Blue dog, Reagan, Conservative, ‘Southern’ Democrats around.
If they and the conservative ‘right’ could ever drop the ‘old family political party’ mentality and join forces, they could create a viable political party.
The GOPe would lose so many that they could lose their viability. The Dems also could lose many (they aren’t all liberals and leftists and progressives). The GOPe and Leftist Dems would have to merge or the ‘conservative’ party could blow them away in national elections.
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Otherwise, we are going to see the status quo and that status quo has moved substantially leftward since 2000.
At the time of Shelby’s switch, 1986, I had been in Hunstville about six month. I had come from Texas and both states were in the process of white voters voting Republican ticket.
Mr. Shelby has only gotten more BIG G’ment with age