Posted on 10/25/2004 6:17:49 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Alexander defends late party switch in 5th District debate
By ADAM NOSSITER Associated Press writer
MONROE -- Congressman Rodney Alexander defended a last-minute party switch that infuriated Democrats Sunday night, in the sole televised debate of an otherwise quiet race to represent a broad swath of central and north Louisiana.
Alexander, boosted by polls showing him way out in front and likely to win the 5th Congressional District race without a runoff, spoke calmly about an issue that initially threw his race into an uproar, and had Democrats from Louisiana to Washington denouncing him in harsh terms. He brushed off other challenges as well Sunday night, on such issues as economic development and importing prescription drugs.
Sunday, in the televised debate at Monroe television station KNOE, Alexander appeared unruffled by questions on the last-minute switch. Polls show him leading his closest challenger by anywhere from 24 to 30 points, and he may be the one candidate for a major office in Louisiana who avoids going into the state's unique overtime period, the Dec. 4 runoff.
His Republican opponent in the race, Jock Scott, who was initially embraced then quickly dropped by the party after Alexander made his switch, is polling only 11 percent in Alexander's poll, and even less -- 9 percent -- in an independent poll released last week.
In Sunday's debate, Scott, a former state legislator, attempted to make an issue of the hasty party switch, saying "we would all have to be pretty naive" to accept the congressman's explanation -- that he suddenly felt he could no longer defend a party he had previously supported. Alexander, in his first term in Congress, angered fellow Democrats by first filing qualifying papers as a Democrat, then two days later -- with 15 minutes to go -- switching to the Republicans.
"When he qualified, he went in and bestowed all kinds of praise on the Democratic Party as the party of the little man, then two days later he switched to the Republicans," Scott said. "Is he suddenly now going to change his record on labor issues?"
Alexander, meanwhile, repeated his previous explanations for the switch: that his voting record could no longer be reconciled with what had been his party allegiance. "I had gotten to the point I found I was defending my votes against the Democrats," he said.
"On the day Miss Blakes got in, I realized I was going spend the next three months defending myself against the Democratic Party," Alexander said, referring to the now lone Democrat in the race, Zelma Blakes.
The incumbent spoke less than the others, limiting his answers to simple declarations. "I came to the people three years ago to ask the people for their vote. I promised that I would work hard. I've done that," he said.
On other issues, Scott and Alexander sparred over economic development issues in the impoverished 5th District -- the ninth-poorest district in the country -- with Scott, a lawyer and university professor, heatedly insisting central Louisiana needs a new interstate highway, and Alexander imperturbably saying it doesn't, and that it wasn't going to get one anyway.
Scott says a central artery in the district -- U.S. Highway 165 from Alexandria to Monroe -- is dangerous and clogged, and needs to be replaced by an interstate highway, currently making its way through Arkansas; Alexander coolly said U.S. 165 should be made into a four-lane highway, a more practical goal.
Scott has been making an issue of Alexander's congressional staff, saying, for instance, that Alexander pays a part-time worker full-time wages, and that in general it lacks the expertise to help the jobs-poor 5th, which stretches from the Arkansas line to the edge of Baton Rouge, in south Louisiana.
"We've suffered for too long from bad roads, a bad economy without any plan," Scott said. "We need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps in the 5th district."
Alexander vigorously denies the part-time worker charge -- he says the employee in question is full-time -- and he also defends the quality of his staff. On Sunday there was much back and forth on the issue, with Scott pledging to hire three economic development experts if he is elected.
Blakes, a political novice who claims status as the granddaughter of a well-known local civil rights figure, diverged sharply from the two Republicans on the issue of the Iraq war, which she opposes.
Blakes also attacked the congressman over his party switch. "It's important that people have a candidate with loyalty and commitment and that their word is their bond. You answer to the American and the 5th congressional citizens," she said.
sounds like more to come on this topic .......
Gotta love LA!
He did the right thing. He switched before the election, and now the voters must decide. I suppose you might argue that he should have switched earlier, but he probably did not make up his mind until now, and felt it would be wrong to wait until after the election to announce his decision.
In this case it probably didn't matter, since he was so far ahead.
More power good, less power bad. That's what the 'Rats have decended to.
I didn't get to see this debate, but it seems that Adam covered Rodney fairly in this article picturing him as calm, practical, and confident.
Yes, but if you were a Dem, you probably would have preferred that he run in the primary as a Republican so that you could run someone against him, even if he was expected to win.
Fire away!
Who's stopping you?
Other states are aghast when they discover their politician's are dirty. Not us.
Can't pull the wool over our eyes. When they GET caught...that's when we kick them out. I mean dang, if your dumb enough to get caught we don't want ya.
This is pure sarcasm....you know that right?
Or is it?
Add another RINO to the ever expanding list of "the enemy from within".
Good question. This is my home area, though I hail from Houston today. No opportunity, no nothing back home. Just cotton and paper mills, soybeans and rice. Some natural gas wells and tons of timber. Not a lot to build a commercial base on. Hunting, & fishing are the only other two possibilities.
As for roads, OMG, are they right. Many areas are served by roads from Huey P. Long's day. Twisty, narrow, dangerous. Even the major roads are nothing to write home about. My personal preference is to four-lane 165 as opposed to creating an interstate to nowhere, but more bypasses are needed around podunk speed traps. (Pollock comes to mind, as does the 4-way stop at Tullos.)
About the change in parties, it's just another small step in the continuing marginalization of the Democratic party. This is an area that was too conservative to continue to belong to the same party as Kerry, Kennedy, and Edwards. Unions are strong at the paper mills (I remember campaigning for Reagan-heh, the memories), but religion runs deep.
There are plenty of jobs here in all sectors...just how hard were you looking for one?
And the roads..shoot...My hubby and 3 of my kids were born in Texas so that's my second home, I can say this. I've been down roads in Texas that would defy an abrams tank to successfully navigate them. They got pot holes in them that look like sink holes. All roads are bad in all states not just here at home.
Add to that three seats in TX and probably two in GA and we may extend our house margin by 6-10 seats.
Here the Democrats have a point, although it may be sheer coincidence, as they always argue vehemently, point or not.
But -- the bottom line is the way this switch was done shows that there is something deeply lacking in Alexander's character. I'll accept his votes when they come, but you'd have to be a fool to trust him an inch.
Someone who would betray his friends for you will betray you for his next gang of friends. Especially when -- as in this case -- personal power and personal gain factor in.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
I'm going to assume your first line is a joke. Otherwise, we'd be discussing it with the mods.
Location: Monroe and parts north.
Searching: "not very" after the first few employment agencies looked at me like I was insane. I had a college degree and could go to work at the paper mill, if I had a relative vouch for me with the union. Or sales clerk in any of the failing retail outlets, like so many of my classmates. Five months after I graduated from college, I moved to Houston.... just in time for the oilfield bust of the mid-80's. At least it was a bigger frying pan....
Roads: If you think Texas roads are bad, you are deluding yourself. Some, especially around the cities or in western Louisiana, aren't bad. But the northeast corner of the state was the armpit of Louisiana, and consistantly shorted in funding. Perhaps you missed the part about it being the NINTH POOREST district in the nation? Obviously it was really overflowing with milk and honey, which I lacked the wit to see.
I talked to a friend back home, who told me the story is that basically, Alexander had been looking to change parties for some time, but he wanted "an excuse" for political cover.
Well, he filed to run as a Democrat, but just before the deadline ran out, a black woman also registered to run as a Democrat for the first time. La. uses a unique no-party system; there are no party primaries, if no one gets a majority in the general election, four weeks later the top two vote-getters go head to head in a run-off.
So on the one side he had the Republicans and conservatives who would vote for their candidate--Bush has long tails in this area. On the other, he had a black woman who would suck off virtually all the black support. There was a real good chance he could end up in third and out of the run-off.
Presto! He has a golden opportunity to claim the Dems backstabbed him, and switch parties. So he refiled just before closing of qualifying. Of course, the Dems may have had nothing to do with it, or they may have done it for "insurance" if he did bolt. Either way, it's just politics as usual, and the Republican takeover of the south marches on...
Thanks, Ubu.
Always good to hear the inside skinny from those who are on the ground. After all, each of us can only be in one state at a time.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Wow...we already picked up a new House seat!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.