GOP "Extemist" Movement prompts NC candidate to switch to Dem

[mnhtnbb]

A Republican congressional candidate is renouncing his party and switching his affiliation to Democrat.

Jason Thigpen, who is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Walter Jones in the 3rd Congressional District, wrote a blistering assessment of his former party, saying his shift was precipitated by the tea party push for a government shutdown.

“I simply cannot stand with a party where its most extreme element promote hate and division amongst people,” Thigpen said in a statement posted to his campaign website Thursday. “Nothing about my platform has, nor will it change. The government shutdown was simply the straw that broke the camels back. I guess being an American just isn’t good enough anymore and I refuse to be part of an extremist movement in the GOP that only appears to thrive on fear and hate mongering of anyone and everyone who doesn’t walk their line.”

Thigpen is a six-year Army veteran who received a Purple Heart, according to his website. He graduated from UNC-Wilmington in May and started a nonprofit group called Student Veterans Advocacy Group. The 36-year-old lives in Holly Ridge with his wife and four children.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/10/31/3329326/gop-extremist-movement-prompts.html#storylink=cpy


WOW! That ought to get some attention. Don't know whether it will help him in the primary--or whether he could possibly
win against Jones.

There's more in his statement here:

“I didn’t go to war to defend the liberties and freedoms of one party, race, sex, or one income class of Americans. So, to come home from serving our country and see North Carolina legislators using their super-majority status to gerrymander districts and pass a law to deliberately suppress and oppress the voting rights of Democrats but more specifically minorities and college students, is absolutely deplorable.

“This same group of spineless legislators piggybacked a motorcycle safety bill with legislation intentionally geared to shut down women’s health clinics because of their ‘right righteous’ beliefs on abortion, while then cutting funding to the programs which help feed and provide healthcare to the babies they invariably forced the same women to have. Sounds like the Christian thing to do, huh?”

Full statement here: http://www.thigpenforcongress.com/hate-has-no-home-in-representation-congressional-candidate-for-nc3-parts-company-with-the-gop-to-run-on-the-democratic-ticket-by-christopher-dean/

[bigdarryl]

1. I'LL take him even though he's probably more to the right of me and most DU'res

Your going to see a lot of this in the future because the rethug party is taken over by the NUTS

[Maedhros]

12. ...which is leading to the Democratic Party being taken over by conservatives.[n/t]

[blkmusclmachine]

24. Go away, GOP. We don't need any more of you in our Party.

[elzenmahn]

41. I'm not jumping for joy...

...when it comes right down to it, D and R are just labels. The people who hold those labels are who's important here, and my concern is that the Dem party may move even further to the right as a result.

[BodieTown]

47. But Why Would You Take Him?

He could become an independent. He's no "lib".

He's a staunch Baptist and has been a Bush con up until today. Don't tell me he didn't smell the t-baggers when the rest of us did, so many years ago. Or maybe he's just an excruciatingly slow learner?

The infiltration of his type into Dem party is to dilute it and ultimately extinguish it. I think it's an acceleration of an existing 'con strategy.

[Tanuki]

48. I didn't know "staunch Baptist" was a deal-breaker.

That would have excluded Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, the gentleman in your own avatar pic, and many more...

[kelliekat44]

53. These chameleon critters need to be watched closely if they win as a Dem. nt

[Dopers_Greed]

2. Great

Another blue dog.

All these Lieber-crats are moving our party more to the right.

[polichick]

4. Yes, that's a problem.

[BrotherIvan]

6. I noticed as well

That he could "switch" to running as Democrat "without changing his platform." Funny, huh?

But many here will scream that a checkbox in the D column is better than nothing. And yes, the tea party majorities passing this insane legislation must be stopped. But as far as I can tell, it's the real Democrats like Wendy Davis who have the balls/ovaries to take on the nutters. Should we be happy there is one less RWNJ, yes. Should we be satisfied with a DINO: NO!


p.s. and to anyone who starts screaming, my auto-retort is: if someone has been voting Republican all these years--through Reagan and both Bushes--then they have proven themselves to be a selfish git, and changing sides now can't fix that.

[Chaco Dundee]

22. posted that about a month ago.

The rats are leaving the sinking ship.

[L0oniX]

38. I hope the Dems don't become ratfuckers.

[Chaco Dundee]

39. that is my fear as well.

I wish Dem's would point those rats toward Independence instead of accepting them into their ranks.anybody can claim to have had a change of mind.but have they?

[stillwaiting]

7. I really think that is the purpose for the creation of the Tea Party by the Koch Bros/elite.

We seem to have the choice between stark, raving mad lunatics (on just about everything) and 1980's-era Republicans that are mostly enlightened on social issues.

There is currently zero threat to the status quo on economic issues.

Zero. And so the elite will continue to amass more and more of our wealth and income (as has happened since the 70's).

[polichick]

9. Sinister plot - but I wouldnt put it past them...

Dem voters have to change the game during our next primaries.

[blkmusclmachine]

25. NO. MORE. "BIPARTISANSHIP."

Stay in the GOP, where your heart is anyway. We don't need any more Blue Dogs.

[Kablooie]

11. Soon the Democratic party may hold the all the views of the traditional Republican party.

and the traditional Democratic party views will fade away if this keeps up.
And I'm sure corporate money will continue to pour more Republicans into the Democratic pool.

At least we will have a dedicated opposition party but they will all be within the Democratic party.

[Dopers_Greed]

16. It's already like that

We still have some some actual progressives (like Sanders for example), but don't forget that many more Dems flip and vote with Republicons than the other way around.

And Obama has largely carried on America's long-running RW neoconservative foreign policy.

[Jamaal510]

17. To his credit,

"And Obama has largely carried on America's long-running RW neoconservative foreign policy."

he has done his job by keeping the country safe since first being elected. He coordinated the killing of the person responsible for 9/11, Ghaddafi went down under his watch, he ended the Iraq War and is drawing down the Afghan War, there are less troop casualties now, there have been no more 9/11-type attacks here, and there have been no other new wars started under this administration. It would've been a different story under a President Romney or McCain. In fact, even Reagan managed to start at least one war during his presidency.

[Laelth]

30. Quite. I think Obama's foreign policy has been fairly good. n/t

-Laelth

[Drunken Irishman]

43. I get confused by the neoconservative foreign policy line...

As if interventionism began in the 1980s with Reagan and his ilk. In fact, prior to the 80s, it was the Democrats who were pro-interventionism and Republicans who aligned more with the isolationist ideologues. The irony is that, beyond Jimmy Carter, Obama is probably the least pro-war Democratic president we've ever had and yet, many liberals assault him as some puppet for neoconservatism.

[blkmusclmachine]

26. +1, Kablooie. That's the Goal. A right of center Party, and a lunatic hard right Party. And we'll be

told to clap louder, lest the evil far right should "win." No thanks. I'm OUT!

[AlbertCat]

21. All these Lieber-crats are moving our party more to the right.

I agree.

My cynicism tells me he switched because he thinks Repugs are gonna lose big in NC and he just wants to be on the winning side. IOW, he believes in nothing. So, a typical GOPer, not a Dem.

[L0oniX]

36. I suspect a lot of that is going on right here too.

[polichick]

3. Good to know there are a few sane Republicans left - oh wait, he's a Dem!

[blkmusclmachine]

27. DEM's not even worth the toilet paper it's written on, anymore...

[polichick]

29. Yeah, the lesser of evils ain't what it used to be.

[corkhead]

5. What's he going to do when we start dragging the Overton Window back in the other direction?

[Arkana]

8. If he's not going to change his platform, why run as a Democrat?

His issues page still reads like every other Teabagger nutjob I've ever seen. "Government doesn't create jobs! Free markets mean free people! The President is compromising our national identity!"

[DFW]

10. It's a move based on pragmatism, not a change of heart

If he's running in a district where batshit crazy is the only thing that sells in the Republican primary, it was disappear or change parties.

[L0oniX]

37. Why not go independent?

[DFW]

42. I'm guessing here

But NC doesn't appear to have a good track record of electing independents. It's a long way from New England.

[Tom Rinaldo]

13. Based on his comments so far, I'll take himn too - for a NC Dem

I worry about somewhat moderate Republicans switching parties and pulling the Democratic Party more to the right also, but this guy seems like he is more than simply less crazy than the Republican he is running against. He sounds like he actually has real character and a sane moral compass, which makes him seem possibly a notch up from being a pragmatic partisan carpetbagger just looking for a more plausible path toward self advancement.

For the near term future we will need to elect some centrist Democrats from districts that have voted in conservatives lately if we want to take the House form Republicans - and that is essential or there is NO chance of anything remotely progressive emerging from Congress. I would be looking for candidates like this guy who at least have some personal integrity rather than simply being smarmy opportunists. Then, to offset their moderating influence on the Democratic Party, we have to work hard to recruit and elect strong and solid liberals and progressives from blue leaning districts. That will mean fighting it out in primaries against centrist Democratic incumbents in some cases

[Laelth]

31. He doesn't bother me.

I don't agree with much of what he has to say, and I'd rather a real Democrat ran for the seat, instead. That said, if he wins we'll take him. Speaker Pelosi could still twist his arm when absolutely necessary.

-Laelth

[Tom Rinaldo]

32. "Speaker Pelosi could still twist his arm when absolutely necessary" Yep...

It's pragmatic politics but the most important part of that sentence is "Speaker Pelosi". For the near term I'm not expecting to pick up many currently Republican seats in the South with true liberal candidates. A few maybe with really special candidates, but in general not yet. That can change though, maybe even by 2016.

[pansypoo53219]

14. um, divide + conquer has been the GOP since like FOREVER. you just could not SEE it.

[blkmusclmachine]

28. Yay! More "Change!"

[jeff47]

15. Less than it appears: It's an R+10 district with a R incumbent who is not this guy

I think he realized he couldn't win the R primary against the incumbent, and is hoping to get some help from an anti-R backlash.

[BillyRibs]

18. My Answer is,

Get lost We don't need any more DINO's Go Become a Libertarian because you're useless!

[jenmito]

19. Wow! K&R&T! n/t

[bonniebgood]

20. Classic pi**ing in the pool. Yea go be a libertarian. don't be fooled he sees the numbers

for the tbag party. he will get to congress and vote like any other republican. Leopards don't change their spots
overnight.

[blkmusclmachine]

23. Bad news. The Republicans need to stay in their own Party, and not run as Third Way/Blue Dogs/DINO's

[dotymed]

49. +1000

[Ian_rd]

33. Massive kudos to him for calling the voter laws what they really are

There will be many more like him. Some will switch because of genuine differences with the new party of the crazy, and others will switch just for political survival.

[Rozlee]

34. He's just being huffy and making a symbolic gesture.

He'd have been better off switching to an Independent. That seems to be the default party of disenchanted moderate Republicans anyway and he'd still have won votes from some of the Rethug loony toons that would never dream of voting for a Democrat.

[frog64]

35. southerner

now, this is a good southern man!

[fascisthunter]

40. True, but there are plenty more, I know

Some of which are here posting on DU, and we need to stand with them as one, not northern vs southern, but one America.

[bemildred]

44. Yep, south-bashing is easily used for divide and rule tactics, on us. nt

[scheming daemons]

45. Bottom line: if this makes "Speaker Pelosi" more likely, I'm for it

[mnhtnbb]

46. I'm with you.

[Rowdyboy]

50. Absolutely. In 2009 Mississippi had a 3-1 Democratic delegation. Today its 3-1 Republican

The two who lost weren't perfect by a long shot but they were the best that could reasonably be expected in their districts and their Republican successors are much, much worse. I'll take a moderate Democrat in Mississippi any day over a tea-bagging Neanderthal (apologies to any Neanderthal DUers who post here).

[Tanuki]

51. I totally agree. Anyone here who thinks differently should ask themselves

if we are better off now with republican miscreants Diane Black, Scott DesJarlais, and Stephen Fincher representing Tennessee in congressional districts that had until 2010 been held by democrats Bart Gordon, Lincoln Davis, and John Tanner. Better a blue dog than a rabid dog, imho.