Posted on 11/06/2014 2:11:00 PM PST by SeekAndFind
In the wake of Tuesdays drubbing, soft Democrats in Congress are pledging to stand with the presidents party for now.
So-called independent Sen. Angus King (I-ME) backed off his pledge to caucus with the majority party in the 114th Congress on Wednesday. He was joined by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) who represents a state which is shifting rapidly from blue to red without the requisite stopover into purple territory.
The story is not the same on the state-level. As the fallout from the 2014 tsunami settles, a wave of party jumpers is sapping the Democrats of authority on the legislative level.
In Manchins home state, Democratic state Senator Daniel Hall announced on Wednesday that he would shed his party identity and join the Republican Party. The Senator, who was not up for re-election on Tuesday, told Eyewitness News over the phone, that the people in his district voted in large numbers against the Democratic Party and he made the change, to best represent their interests, a local West Virginia CBS outlet reported.
Surely, Halls own interests will also be served nicely by the flip. His switch reverses a 17-17 member tie in the state Senate which was to be broken by the states Democratic gubernatorial administration. Republicans are now the majority party in West Virginias state Senate. The GOP also took control of the states House of Delegates on Tuesday night for the first time in 83 years.
Hall was not the only soft Democrat on the legislative level to abandon the presidents party. In Missouri on Wednesday, Rep. Linda Black shed her party label and determined to become a Republican.
With the addition of Black, Republicans now hold 118 House seats, nine more than the 109 needed to override the governor on a party line vote, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. They also hold 25 Senate seats, two more than the 23 needed to override the governor on a party line vote.
Black ran unopposed on Tuesday and was reelected by her Desloge constituents as a Democrat, promoting the states House Democratic minority leader to call her flip a deceptive bait and switch. No matter. Certainly, the majority Republicans in the Show Me States legislature will see to Blacks interests.
While this phenomenon seems contained on the legislative level, cautious observers say it is a good bet to watch the Congress. No one likes serving in the minority, particularly if joining the majority is a viable option.
An earlier version of this post identified the next Congress as the 115th Congress
I agree. Keystone is a can’t miss. A CLEAN BILL will get vetoed, and the veto will be overridden, or signed.
It will also repair relations with the Canadians (somewhat).
Extinct? You haven’t met my father in law.
this is how we get RINOs
'We just need to win and we`ll take over the party from the inside!', yeah, right!
Newt didn't do it. Denny Hastert never came close. No other republican did it either, not Nixon, not Reagan, not Bush. .
FYI
Sen. August King (D) is a lying little shit.
Manchin is an opportunist.
Rats finally showing their true colors - Yellow and Red.
Really? A budget bill passed by Reid’s Senate and signed by Obama?
Must have been in the hospital then.
“No change of heart. No change of convictions.”
There are many people in public offices, however, whose convictions are manifestly contrary to a civil, self-governing society. Namely those who wink at sodomy, abortion, and such while taking bribes. These are the ones who need weeding out. Nancy and Harry, for starters. They shouldn’t even be allowed to vote, let alone hold public office.
Actually, Spectre was a double jumper.
He jumped ship to become a Republican when it was to his political advantage, and then jumped back when it suited him.
May he rest in peace, but people like him make slime look attractive.
Same goes for Jumpin’ Jim Jeffords.
“Blue Dog Democrats. They are now extinct.”
McIntyre indubitably was a Blue Dog, but Rahall, Matheson and Barrow were not (with Barrow being the most liberal of the bunch).
On a tangential but important note, I think it was Arkansas that had a Dem state government and was threatening to pass a law to throw its electoral votes to with winner of the national majority - which would threaten to moot the electoral college calculus in cases where the popular vote was different than the conventional unit-rule electoral vote. The idea obviously being that the Democrats could run up the score with illegals in their strongholds, and compromise (they hope, fatally) the Republican Partys presidential chances.Given that Arkansas is turning bright red (it now has no Democrats in its 2015 congressional delegation), I hope that that Democrat plot can be defeated or reversed before 2016. Any word on that??
Welcome to the party
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsSHq_EuqJA
I’m just kidding, it’s good of course but I can’t help somewhat resenting people that switch only after a big GOP victory so they can have more power.
I wonder why the Missouri Rep waited so long, dems in MO Leg have been irrelevant for a while. I guess she sees they aren’t coming back.
Ping to 16, it’s a gas mask.
This happened in 2010 as well.
Yup, just like that Reagan guy.
I think the only office Reagan was elected to as a Democrat was head of the actors union.
Don't be surprised if Joe does shift. He does not have the heart of a dem. The party of unions was part of his heritage, but he is pro-life, pro-gun, Constitution. He does not make a good dem. I think I will write him another letter. I've sent him two already since he hit D.C. reminding him that his everlasting soul is in jeprody if he doesn't repent.
Looking at it now, I think I know why he isn’t moving. He is going to return to WV to run for governor again in 2016. I think he’s had enough. Seemed pissed at Reid in a recent interview, wouldn’t even clarify if Dirty Harry was a fool or not.
This means 2016 is not such a great map for the dems. They start with a deficit as the WV seat goes automatic red. If Sandoval challenges Reid, thats pretty much locked up for us as well.
This will likely stem any losses we suffer because of the map.
Wouldn’t he be more likely to switch even to run for Gov. again? I voted for him when he was a dem. Hated to but he has a good heart. He just doesn’t fit the liberal mold that is the currnt dem party. Now that we have taken the State Legislature it would be nice to rid ourselves of Tomlin. I would vote for Joe again, but would do so happily if he was on the “right” side.
He may switch. I guess he doesn’t see much point in having to deal with the ire of Democrats while he’s still in Washington. My prediction is that he changes party when he leaves the senate and runs for governor in WV as a republican.
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