Posted on 11/11/2011 5:44:46 PM PST by LdSentinal
JACKSON - District 21 state Rep. Donnie Bell of Fulton, re-elected to the state House Tuesday with 58 percent of the vote as a Democrat, announced Friday morning he had switched to the Republican Party.
Bell said he switched because he could do more to help his district as a Republican since the party will control state government after Tuesday's election. Republicans won the governor's office and will hold majorities in the House and Senate.
The Republicans will hold a majority in the House for the first time since the 1800s.
"I am still Donnie Bell," he said Friday morning. "I voted as a Democrat what I thought was right. I will vote as a Republican what I think is right."
Bell's switch most likely gives Republicans 64 members in the 122-member chamber.
My bet... we see a lot more of this in coming months.
“My bet... we see a lot more of this in coming months.”
There really isn’t much more left. There are VERY FEW white Democrats left in the South. They have either been defeated by Republicans or have become Republicans.
The Democrats, at least in the South, but also a lot more in other areas are simply becoming the party of minorities. They have little room for whites, and no room at all for whites in the South.
I don’t like be it, even if it is for our side. This should never be allowed. If someone wants to switch parties, let them do it BEFORE they are elected.
Southern white conservative Democrats are almost extinct. Almost every Southern legislature except AR is now GOP majority and I expect the GOP to take over there not too long now.
Here’s a little more good news for the coming year.
He gosh-darn well better start supporting Republicans then. Switching parties just to be in the majority isn’t what is desirable. Doesn’t sound like a very stand up guy if he switches parties right after an election.
They’ve seen the light. There’s not much he can get for his district in the minority. I expect more white Democrats in the MS house to jump ship soon.
Hey, I’ll take a conservative Dem party-switcher in a heartbeat, much faster than I’ll support the kind of entrenched liberal GOP hack. Hells bells - it was the conservative Democrats that threw out the socialist GOP bums at the beginning of last century. I see history repeating itself right now.
But, along-side that - most interesting to me is the number of blacks in the south that are becoming Republicans too!
My hope, and that of most conservatives, is that we can continue to purge the GOP nationally of RINO's - be they black or white.
The district I live in was at one time represented by a good legislator, who ran as a D. His family was Ds all the way back, so it came naturally. While in office he switched parties. I thought that was a mistake. He betrayed the majority that voted for him. Had he asked me, my advice would have been to wait until the end of the legislative session, announce that he was changing parties, and run under the new label. I think it would have been more honest. In reality he fitted the Rs better than he fitted the Ds, so in a sense he was "coming home." I just don't think he should have done it in the middle of the legislative session.
We don’t need them.
Our state went solid GOP for the first time since Reconstruction.
The *good* news remains to be proved.
I am glad he did it, but, it seems weird to run as a D then switch a few days later. Sort of deceptive.
There was a slight chance the body might remain Democrat, so that probably accounts for why.
Thats pretty bad. If he wanted to be a Rep, he should have run as one. Switching parties 3 days after an election should be an automatic forfeit of the win.
LLS
He got 60% of the vote. I will never understand how he continues to win reelection. I despise that SOB.
LLS
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