Free Republic

Once a Democratic stronghold, Northeast Florida is now, without question, Republican country. When local politicians and experts discuss that drastic shift over the past 20 years, they point to one familiar face -- that of former President Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday at 93. "He's the one that started that movement, here and in the whole state," said Bill Taylor, who chaired the state Republican Party from 1974 to '80. "He had the faith, and it was contagious." Reagan, politicians and observers say, made it acceptable for local officials to be Republicans. The former president's message of keeping money in...

Visitors to the noon Sunday Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Boston's South End might be forgiven for thinking time travel is possible. Women and girls wear mantillas -- a lightweight lace -- to cover their heads. Only men are allowed in the sanctuary, the area hard by the altar. The priest faces east, just as the worshipers do, so for much of the service only his back is visible as he quietly mouths ancient prayers in Latin. When the time comes for the homily, the priest climbs the steps into a pulpit -- rarely seen in Catholic churches today...

The great G. K. Chesterton, ever the soul of childlike wonder, once said that of all the things he wondered at, he wondered most at those who wonder not at all. We can only guess what he would have made of the whole wonder-free Vatican II experiment, with its arriviste contempt toward not only traditional Catholicism but also great sacred music, glorious liturgy, majestic sculpture and architecture, and graceful translations of holy writ. Indeed, to find anything to match Vatican II’s sheer Philistine hostility to the beauty of the Lord’s house and the place where His glory dwelleth, Chesterton would...

For Willie L. Talton, 60, of Warner Robins, there was no epiphany, no moment the lights flashed on and he realized he was a Republican. Neither did that moment occur for 30-year-old Nick Chester of Mableton. "I have voted for lots of Democrats," says Talton, the chief deputy sheriff of Houston County. "But in the last two or three years, I have been an independent voter. And as you start voting, you start learning things. I realized all of the candidates I was voting for were Republicans, so I started watching them and I started attending meetings. It seemed like...

Oliver Kellman has been trying to set up a meeting with his old boss, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas). So far, she has not personally returned his calls and they have no set meeting. And it’s no wonder. Three years ago, Kellman, now 36, was an apparently happy Democrat working as the chief of staff for Jackson Lee, one of the more vocal liberals in the House. He had worked for other Democrats, such as Reps. John Conyers (Mich.) and Eliot Engel (N.Y.). But about a month ago, he severed ties with a party he had been affiliated with since...

JACKSON, Miss. - Southern District Public Service Commissioner Michael Callahan told The Associated Press on Monday that he's becoming a Republican because he no longer feels comfortable as a Democrat. "Over the past couple of years, it's just something that has been brewing. I think there's a lot of Democratic politicians out there that are like me," Callahan, 36, said. "The Democratic Party here in Mississippi is moving more to the left and it's becoming tougher and tougher for conservative politicians like myself to find a place in the party," he said. Mississippi Republican Party chairman Jim Herring of Canton...

<p>Speaking to a civic club Monday in Starkville, Dale, a Democrat, said the majority of voters — particularly many white voters — feel the national Democratic Party has deserted them.</p> <p>"The party has lost the support of its base in the Deep South because of unpopular stances it has taken on base cultural issues important to voters in the South," he said.</p>

Council Bluffs Representative Is Democrat No More POSTED: 11:11 am CST March 19, 2004 UPDATED: 11:16 am CST March 19, 2004 DES MOINES, Iowa -- A House Democrat has switched parties, boosting the Republican majority to 54-46 in an election year during which Democrats had hoped to gain seats. Friday is the deadline for lawmakers to file papers to run for re-election and Rep. Doug Struyk, of Council Bluffs, announced in a news release that he intends to switch parties and run as a Republican. Struyk said the change is necessary to maintain his independence. He said his priorities...

Democrat State Rep changes to Republican Iowa Rep. Douglas Struyk announced he would change his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican today, and run for re-election to his Council Bluffs district. Struyk, who is completing his first term, announced the switch Thursday evening. "My priorities have not changed. They continue to be children, education and economic growth," he said in a release. Democrats were unaware that Struyk had made the decision at the time of the announcement. The change gives Republicans a 54-46 majority in the House.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Myrtle Beach state Sen. Luke Rankin plans to switch to the Republican Party, South Carolina GOP officials said Tuesday. Rankin has served District 33 as a Democrat since 1993. In an open letter to the residents of Horry County, Rankin wrote that he has considered which party affiliation would allow him to best serve his constituents. "Because of recent rules changes in the South Carolina Senate, which require key leadership positions and committee assignments based on party affiliation as well as seniority, I am now certain that the needs of Horry County can be better served if...

C-SPAN 25TH ANNIVERSARY STORY WINNERS I have been a liberal democrat all my voting life as are my father and mother. We are African Americans and the democrat ticket is our voting birthright. In my mind, the conservative racist Republicans wanted to “Turn Back the Clock” on any progress Blacks have made over the past forty years. I began watching Washington Journal on C-SPAN about eight years ago. I love the call-in show and I am good at being able to get my calls answered (every thirty days of course). In 1996, I called in on the liberal line. I...

<p>Fifth District U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander is considering switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party, he confirmed late Thursday afternoon.</p> <p>"I'd be misleading you if I said I haven't talked to the Republican leadership about it," said Alexander of Quitman. "I'll make a decision within the next few days."</p>

As Georgia Democrats head to the polls to choose a presidential nominee on Super Tuesday, the red clay on the soles of their shoes may be about the only thing that distinguishes them from Democrats elsewhere on national issues. Like voters in other Democratic primaries, they are dissatisfied with, if not downright angry at, President Bush; worried about jobs, health care and education; and upset about the war in Iraq, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV poll conducted by Zogby International. Jean Morgan, 68, a retired nurse from Cartersville, hasn't decided whether to vote for front-runner Sen. John Kerry of...

Republican shift means changing definition of Texas Democrat 02/28/2004 By KELLEY SHANNON / Associated Press With Republicans holding all statewide elected offices and Texas Democrats struggling to regain their footing, this question persists: Who is today's Texas Democrat? More answers may emerge in the March 9 primary, when Texans cast ballots for party nominees for president, Congress and a few statewide offices. Another chapter will unfold in the November general election. There are some 12 million registered voters in Texas. They aren't required to declare membership in either party. They can decide in each primary whether to vote Republican or...

FRANKFORT Bill Targets Party Switch Elected officials who switch political parties could wind up in court under a bill introduced in the Kentucky House. The bill envisions allowing campaign contributors, individuals, political parties or political action committees to sue a party switcher in small claims court to recoup their money. The bill was offered by a group of Democrats. Co-sponsors include two House leaders, Speaker Pro Tem Larry Clark of Louisville and Majority Leader Rocky Adkins of Sandy Hook. "This provides a way for people who feel like they've been duped to retrieve the money they invested in the campaign...

PBS’s Now on with Bill Moyers on Friday night delivered the usual liberal media perspective on Southern politics and the history of the two political parties. Setting up a series of segments with liberal guests complaining about appeals by conservatives and Republicans to racist sentiments held by whites, co-host David Brancaccio recalled how “when the Democratic Party embraced civil rights, the old political order began to fall apart -- 1964 was the watershed moment when legendary South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond turned Republican.” In fact, Democrats, such as House Speakers Tip O’Neill and Jim Wright, held power for another 25...

<p>FRANKFORT, Ky. — After Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher's election on Nov. 4, Kentucky's long-term trend of Democrats becoming Republicans accelerated, especially among those closest to the state capital.</p> <p>In Frankfort and surrounding Franklin County between Election Day and the end of December, 147 Democrats went Republican while 29 Republicans went the other way, records show.</p>

<p>The Politics of Prayer As Democrats abandon traditional values and religion, their core voters are slipping away    By Tony Quinn, Tony Quinn is co-editor of the California Target Book, a nonpartisan analysis of California legislative and congressional campaigns.</p> <p>SACRAMENTO — A GOP gerrymander of Democratic districts in Texas will probably add six to eight Republicans to the House. Every other big state is so heavily gerrymandered that no other major changes are likely. This means the GOP majority in the House is expected to grow by at least half a dozen seats.</p>

The Other White Flight Can Democrats ever regain the support of Southern whites? BY KEVIN GRIFFIS Carlton Sparks is the reason the GOP has a stranglehold on the South. With his wife Cindi and their 17-year-old son Andrew, he lives in a tan, one-story home off a country road surrounded by mountains. His kitchen walls are wood-paneled, covered with Cracker Barrel-style knickknacks and a pair of decorative, cloth bouquet hangings. Sparks, 49, makes a good living for a resident of Blairsville, GA. He pulls in more than $45,000 a year from Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation, where he works...

<p>Campaign signs at the Best Western Harbor View in Melbourne Friday read "Jackie Colon for County Commission District 5." Voters first saw those signs in 2000 when Colon initially won the seat.</p> <p>But in the fine print at the bottom of the signs, the "D" that followed Colon's name was taped over and replaced with an "R."</p>