Rep Ralph Hall (D-TX) To Switch Parties

Fox News Channel | 01-02-04 | Tall_Texan

[Tall_Texan]

Brian Wilson on Special Report says U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas will be switching parties from Democrat to Republican. He is being pushed into a heavily GOP district with the new boundaries and he is known as a conservative Democrat. While it may not change that many votes, it will add one more "R" to the congressional makeup.

[WOSG]

Again, as a *conservative*, someone with an ACU rating above 80% is hardly on the "other side" from me.
He supports the republican agenda, he's just been wearing a "D" label while doing it. He shares a conservative agenda.

As noted, he was one of the few Democrats to vote for impeachment.

He is more of "one of us" than RINOs like Connie Morella, Specre, Lincoln Chafee, etc. Comparing him with Ralph Nader is silly, he is more like another Zell Miller, and old-style conservative southern Democrat, a species now near extinction.

[WOSG]

Yes, but I for one dont want the other major party to be a party of lunatic leftists. It creates several problems:
1. First, the media will be gunning for them no matter how loony.
2. If they ever get in power, it will be awful!
3. Sending moderates into the GOP wont make our party more conservative, will it. We will have our own problems of intrparty squabbling because the moderates wont have any other place to go and will want to take over the GOP.

End result: We may end up with a rump leftist democrat party and a GOP run by moderates. (Think how Cali ran with Arnold.) Yes, it could be worse, but it could be better too.

Here is what I would prefer: The leftists get totally discredited - the media wakes up and turns against cultural marxism; then the Democrats wake up and become "moderates", so we are left with a 'moderate' Democrat party and a Conservative republican party. And the Conservatives win the elections.

I can dream cant I?

We can set this up in 2004 by doing 2 things - make the Democrats lose big in 2004 and convince them they lost big because they went too far left.

[Kuksool]

Conservative TX RATS are fast becoming an extinct species. They only exist in rural areas. They wield little influence in the party. The Texas Democratic Party has become a party of Blacks, Hispanics, and White Liberals.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

They have little influence in the party and vote Republican in Statewide and National elections, but rat in local races. Many of their peers helped us build a Republican party in this state and we are foolish to ignore them.

[Kuksool]

I'm not saying we should blow off the Yellow Dogs. Its just that I get very cynical every time a RAT politician from a conservative region (think Chet Edwards) claims to be a "conservative".

[hosepipe]

[ Brian Wilson on Special Report says U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas will be switching parties from Democrat to Republican. ]

CAUTION: Rat leaving the ship, and becoming a republican rat...

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I understand that, but Hall is very conservative. When he started in politics he could never have been elected as a Republican, and while I am a life long Republican, early on I had to vote for dims if I was to vote at all. Until the mid 90's I would still vote about 20% dim (local races) to get the most conservative.

[Truthsayer20]

"...but the Dakotas elect full blown socialists. I've never been able to figure that out."

It has a lot to do with federal welfare farming.

[Clintonfatigued]

This is a nice developement. The 'Rats are one more seat short of control. This makes the House 230-205 Republican. Could Charles Stenholm be persuaded to switch partys?

[JohnnyZ]

Could Charles Stenholm be persuaded to switch partys?

Naw, he's pissed off about redistricting and swears he'll win even with the new map.

[Mr. K]

Who has that picture of little Tom Daschle standing on that little step stoll when giving a speech? LOL that was too funny- When he tried to float the "Daschle Democrats" term I couldn't help thinking "weee represent - the lollipop guild"

[jagrmeister]

I think a moderate Democrat party will stand a very good chance of beating a conservative Republican party. Bush won as a moderate Republican stressing "compassionate conservatism"- which included his support for public education, commitment to Medicare, etc. The day the Democrats get their act together and nominates another Bill Clinton who can win a few Southern and border states will be a dark day for Republicans. My two cents.

[Pubbie]

I don't think so - Stenholm was never as conservative as Hall was and these old Blue Dog Democrats Die Hard.

[1L]

Sorry to take you to task for your remark, but you're dead wrong. I'm a Texan and would probably have better luck finding an albino armadillo tomorrow than a conservative democrat in Texas. I suppose Charlie Stenholm is one of the last "conservative" dems, but the rest are liberal as hell (and worthless).

Dude, I don't know which "Texas" you think you live in, but the original statement was 100% correct. I don't know that the original statement meant congressional representatives, but if you actually knew anything about Texas, you'd know that truely liberal RATs are limited, for the most part, to urban areas, heavily unionized areas, and areas full of government employees. Even a good percentage of these people aren't truly liberal, but they do tend to vote for liberals on a state and national level.

The rest are moderate and conservative RATs who are RATs because their father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. were, and for no other reason. I know literally dozens of folks here in Texas that vote RAT from Al Gore all the way down to local elections, and these people are just as conservative as I am. For whatever reason, they seem to think this is still the 1950's where there are truely powerful multiple wings of the RAT party.

The original poster isn't "dead wrong." You are if you believe what you wrote.

[WOSG]

Can you name a single elected Democrat in Texas statehouse or Congressional delegation - other than Ralph Hall - who could be called a conservative?

"Conservative" Democrats who vote for Al Gore, Ann Richards and other Liberals are simply clueless.

[demkicker]

I don't know that the original statement meant congressional representatives,...

Yes, I was referring to congresional representatives and stand by my statement.

I know literally dozens of folks here in Texas that vote RAT from Al Gore all the way down to local elections, and these people are just as conservative as I am. For whatever reason, they seem to think this is still the 1950's where there are truely powerful multiple wings of the RAT party.

I also know some of those people too. They've been brainwashed even though its not their daddy's Democrat party anymore. They aren't particularly savvy on current events or politics, or they would know better. Bottom line: The democrat party mainly consists of hypocritical liberal elites, socialists, communists, union members, gullible, and often uneducated people.

[William Terrell]

Add another "R" to the policical makup, will it? Does a pansy change to a rose when a politician think he can get more votes as a rose?

What's the use of having more "R"s if the "R"s vote like "D"s?

[Tall_Texan]

I'd agree except this "D" has been voting more like an "R" than some lifelong "R"s. A mid-80s ACU is nothing to sneeze at and you gotta know he was taking a lot of heat in the Dem caucus for voting that way (which is probably why he doesn't hold any chairmanships or minority chairs despite his many years in Washington).

Generically, I would agree with you but not this guy who could be accurately portrayed as the Zell Miller of the House. There are many "R"s in Congress who started out as "D"s and some have been among our most loyal conservatives (Phil Gramm, for example). My only regret with Hall is that he should have read the tea leaves a lot sooner than this.

[Theodore R.]

I think Hall's switch enhances his reelection prospects. Still, not many 80-year-olds would enjoy changing their lifelong political party commitment, but it's all for holding the office perhaps?

I don't think the popular Charles Stenholm would enhance his reelection prospects by switching parties. Stenholm is probably more electable as a Democrat; Hall, more electable as a Republican. How do you assess both the Hall and Stenholm races?