Miss. State Rep. Jim Barnett Switches to GOP

Magnolia Report ^ | 2/25/2003 | MagnoliaReport.com

[JohnnyZ]

Dr. Jim Barnett, State Rep. from Brookhaven, switched to the Republican Party

[JohnnyZ]

This is breaking on MagnoliaReport.com; no articles yet. Dr. Barnett endorsed GOP candidate Mike Parker over now-governor Musgrove in 1999 and has been in the Rat doghouse (rathouse?) since. He's conservative, must be pro-tort reform (lawyers own the Mississippi Rats) and is a welcome addition to the GOP.

Since Lt Gov Amy Tuck switched two months ago, there have been several more switchers:

"the first was Terry Burton, a long-time Tuck ally who announced his switch Dec. 30th. Three house members have switched: Larry Baker, Frank Hamilton, and Herb Frierson." quoting myself

Senator Travis Little will also almost certainly switch, and Rep. David Livingstone is the other Democrat hanging out there who hasn't qualified yet; anyone know if he's a possible switcher?

[Bogey78O]

Okay...

[Conspiracy Guy]

If you are from the South you will appreciate how big this is. I'm a Republican but I know a lot of Yellow Dog Democrats. They are Republicans in thought but dad and grandpa and great grandpa were Democrats so it has to be right. A conversion is huge.

[rface]

good for you!

[dixiechick2000]

Great news!

Bump and ping!

[JFC]

we have an ex dem now turned GOP running for Larry Combests spot... in Texas... I just can not support someone who was a dem a month ago!

[JohnnyZ]

good for you!

Him. Good for him. Not so sure Jim's a FReeper. ;)

We're at 82-37-3 now in the House, still 31-21 in the senate. Republicans are forecasting a 10-seat pickup in the house in the 2003 state elections, and we could easily get Attorney General, Governor, Treasurer as well. I think taking the senate might be a little bit of a stretch, but two open Rat seats are in conservative districts and a Little switch would leave us needing only a 5-seat swing.

[votelife]

BUMP within 10 years the Dems will be in serious trouble in the South.

[lasereye]

within 10 years the Dems will be in serious trouble in the South.

The Dems have been in serious trouble in the south starting about 40 years ago. The south has been largely Republican at the national level, and Republicans have had at least parity at the Governor level, and have made huge gains in the statehouses. If anything, the Democrats may be in a position to gain in the future because of the huge influx of Hispanics in many areas of the south. Republicans may be at their high water mark.

[evangmlw]

When dim dare Democraps started threat'n to take away da guns and da cigarettes, day went to far.

[cubreporter]

thanks for that explaination. I never knew what Yellow Dog Democrat meant. I guess I should have looked it up but ... so thanks a bunch! One more for our side. :)

[Mind-numbed Robot]

They are Republicans in thought but dad and grandpa and great grandpa were Democrats so it has to be right. A conversion is huge.

After the Civil War Republicans from the victorious North so dominated and mistreated the South, pushing through some questionable Constitutional Amendments in the process, that for years after, in fact up until now, many Southerners said, "I would rather vote for a yeller dawg than vote for a Republican." Voting for a Republican was tantamount to forsaking their deepest held values as well as their heritage. Many in the rural South also suffered greatly during the depression and mistakenly give FDR credit for getting them out of it. Many still feel that way but most are now very old. They can't get over the past and come to grips with the fact that Democrats now stand for everything they hate.

Ralph Hall of Rockwall, Texas, is a very conservative Democrat and always will be I suspect, but other than the party he is on our side.

[ACAC]

Who do the 3 independents vote with when they organize the House? Are they conservative or liberal?

[NYC Republican]

Awesome news. Every little defection helps!!!

[Gunder]

Actually, I think the GOP is making inroads with Hispanics. Thanks to G.W.'s outreach efforts and this whole Estrada circus, there's an awakening going on in Latino communities. That may not be reflected in the next election, but the seeds are being planted.

[DeuceTraveler]

What does everyone think of the possibility of Zel Miller going Republican? He seems to espouse Republican ideals sometimes like in this FoxNews article:

Miller lashed out at CBS executives in a Senate speech Tuesday for their plans to air The Real Beverly Hillbillies, which would chronicle a rural, lower-middle-class family that moves into a luxurious Beverly Hills mansion. The program is modeled after the hit 1960s sitcom.

The Georgia Democrat, a former two-term governor, called the proposal a "minstrel show" and "Cracker Comedy" at the expense of hardworking Americans. He said he doubted CBS Television chief executive Leslie Moonves would dare try such a spoof featuring a black or Latino family.

"I plead with you to call off your hillbilly hunt," Miller said. "Make your big bucks some other way. Appeal to the best in America, not the worst. Give bigotry no sanction."

As criticism built in January over the prospect of such a show, Moonves apologized and said the network meant no offense.

On Tuesday, CBS spokesman Chris Ender also stressed the network wasn't trying to offend anyone and said it's not clear when — or even if — the proposed show, which did offend Miller, will air.

"It's bizarre and unfortunate that he's formed a conclusion about a project that doesn't even exist yet," Ender said. "It's a program in development that is being considered but has not yet been given a production commitment. Not a stitch of film has been shot."

This isn't the first time Miller — a self-described hillbilly — has spoken out when he felt others were using the term in a disparaging way.

In July 2001, he fired off a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld demanding an explanation for news reports that Rumsfeld or his aides had used the term "hillbilly" to describe some members of Congress and their staffs. Rumsfeld denied using the term, and Miller said he took him at his word.

As governor, Miller took on an editorial cartoonist who put these words in the mouth of a mountain couple looking at a Picasso painting: "Mabel, ain't he a dead ringer for your cousin up in Rabun County?" Rabun County is in North Georgia.

Miller also blasted actress Jane Fonda when she told a United Nations group that parts of Georgia resemble a Third World country, with some people in North Georgia living in "tarpaper shacks." Fonda later apologized.

[JohnnyZ]

ACAC, one of the 'independents' (Tom Cameron) is a renegade nutjob conservative, probably a FReeper ;) I think he believes in caning criminals and children or having criminals cane children, or something like that. I'm pretty sure another (Charlie Smith) is basically Republican, lost in the primary and got elected independent. Maybe. Tommy Horne is a lawyer and chairman of the Rules Committee -- he's a Democrat vote, until the Republicans get in power eight years from now, by which time he'll be dead (well, 75 y.o.).

If anything, the Democrats may be in a position to gain in the future because of the huge influx of Hispanics in many areas of the south. Republicans may be at their high water mark.

I would very much disagree. There are still a LOT of conservatives in the Rat Party in the South and these folks are still steadily making their way to the GOP or dying. That trend still has another 10 to 20 years left, assuming the national Rats stay liberal.

As far as the influx of Hispanics in the South, I think that will eventually benefit Republicans. (My brother-in-law, for example, is basically a Pub now b/c of Bush, my sister, the other Bush, and his son George, in that order. And he knows who Miguel Estrada and Rosario Marin are, if you get my drift.) These aren't NYC Puerto Ricans we're talking about here.

More of a challenge for Republicans in the South is the shift to urban and suburban populations; candidates will have to focus more on middle class suburbanites and less on rednecks.

[JohnnyZ]

No, Zell will stay a registered Democrat til he dies, but he'll be voting for Republicans on election day. He's already announced he won't endorse any candidate running for his senate seat, not even the eventual Rat nominee.

[fieldmarshaldj]

*Bump*

[Conspiracy Guy]

PIZACTLY.