Congressman Ralph Hall (TX) to join GOP

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.rollcall.com/issues/1_1/breakingnews/3908-1.html

Spurred on by Redistricting, Ralph Hall to Join GOP

By Chris Cillizza
Roll Call Staff

Friday, Jan. 2; 07:31pm

Rep. Ralph Hall (D-Texas) has declared his intention to switch parties just days before a three-judge federal panel is expected to rule on the Republican-backed map that would significantly alter a number of Lone Star State districts, including Hall’s, according to several Capitol Hill sources.

Hall was placing calls to Republican House leadership informing them of his decision to seek re-election as a Republican late Friday.

[arcos]

1. D- Texas or DINO- Texas? now it's obvious... n/t

[Rowdyboy]

2. He really didn't have a choice if he wanted to stay in congress

What the Hell, he never voted for us, anyway.

[NewJerseyDem]

4. Yes he did

He probably would have been reelected even as a democrat because he is so conservative.

Anyway, he may run in Max Sandlin's district so that he can beat Sandlin who probably had some chance of winning if he didn't have to run against Hall. Then, Hall will let republicans elect someone in his old district. I think that he is just doing this to help the republicans secure a victory in Sandlin's district.

He should just retire. He is the oldest member in the House of Representatives, I believe.

[boneygrey]

3. I say

good riddance.

[mrbill]

5. oh nooooo, that scumbag was my congress critter.....

wonder what took him so long?

[NewJerseyDem]

6. AP link

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PARTY_SWITCH?SITE=TXAUS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Texas Rep. Hall to Switch to Republicans

By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Texas Rep. Ralph Hall switched parties Friday night, filing for re-election as a Republican after nearly a quarter-century as one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress.

"I've always said that if being a Democrat hurt my district I would switch or I would resign," Hall said in an interview with The Associated Press. He said GOP leaders had recently refused to place money for his district in a spending bill and "the only reason I was given was I was a Democrat."

In an interview in which he said he had filed to run as a Republican, he also said he didn't agree with "all these guys running against the president."

Hall's switch marked the first fallout from a GOP-led drive - bitterly contested by Democrats - to remake Texas' congressional districts more to their liking. Party strategists contend they can gain five or more seats through a mid-decade redistricting, a change that could greatly strengthen their grip on power in the House.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Gee * doesn't want to do everything he can for his own state

Even if it means going to a Democratic controlled district?

What happened to "I'm a uniter not a divider?"

[monobrau]

7. Hall: "I'm a whore, what can I say"

No doubt he'd join the Baath party if it would get him elected.
Buh bye, Richie.

[Vogon_Glory]

8. Changing Parties, Eh, Ralph? You'll Get Your Reward, Ha! Ha!

Ralph Hall will probably find that his political career will come to a close after November, 2004. He'll get his not at the hands of angry Democratic voters, but at the hands of his new Republican "friends."

Time was when a Democratic legislator could safely change parties and become a GOPster with no more repercussions than angry Democratic voters in his or her district. Those days ended about ten years ago. These days, a turncoat Democrat running in his new Republican primary finds himself arrayed against hard-right Republican ideologues with the backing of the Republican establishment and every ultra-conservative organization in the state. Those candidates far more often administer a sound drubbing to the former Democratic solon in the primaries.

In days of old, hard-line Stalinists would use terms like "politically unreliable," "adventurist," and other pejoratives to describe those they didn't feel toed the line quite firmly enough or in what they considered to be a timely enough fashion. While today's GOP is far from being old-time Communist, they use many of the same ideas for their political candidates.

Ralph is about to find that out the hard way. He didn't turn his coat back when Phil Gramm and others were doing it.

[NewJerseyDem]

9. Forbes didn't fare well

Michael Forbes (NY) was one of the last congressman to switch parties. He became a democrat and then republicans helped a democrat run against Forbes in the primary and Forbes lost.

However, Virgil Goode (VA) switched to being a republican from a democrat and he has being to fine.

[RowWellandLive]

11. Virgil Goode (VA)

switched from Independent to Republican.

[RowWellandLive]

12. Sorry

we are both right, he was a D 1st, then an I, now an R. Your main point is correct though, it hasn't hurt him. Guess it just depends on the circumstances.

[Freddie Stubbs]

21. Only one Dem to Rep party switcher in Congress has lost their primary

in the last ten years. Greg Laughlin won a competative race as a Democrat in 1994. He then switched parties. He lost the primary run-off in 1996 to Ron Paul (who at the time was a former Congressman with a nation-wide fundraising base). Laughlin was not conservative (he was a moderate). Hall is a conservative Democrat, and is very popular. He will be reelected.

[mbperrin]

22. Here's a pretty good list:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/02/national2003EST0664.DTL

[Freddie Stubbs]

24. Forbes actually lost the Democratic nomination after switching

Forbes was a big supporter of Newt Gingrich. After Gingirch retired, Forbes did not get along with the new Republican leadership. He switched parties, but Democratic primary voters back home didn't buy his conversion. Hall has been a conservative Democrat, and is popular with Republicans in his district. Many of those Republicans are fromer Democrats.

[sonias]

13. Don't let the door hit you on the way out Ralphie

Ralph was no friend of the Democrats, he's been a closet repuke for years. He finally saw he had to come out of his closet to enjoy the new south with his other Dixiecrat friends turned repukes. Let's just call them born again repukes.

Sonia

[LoneStarLiberal]

14. An Example of Hall's Routine

I attended a field committee meeting here in my home town about a month ago chaired by Ralph Hall and Michael Burgess, who is unfortunately my Rep.

Talk about putting on a political blackface routine...Hall, clearly out of his depth, spent most of his time in the warm-up to the testimony of the speakers (this was a Joint Committee hearing on nanotechnology) talking about what a godly, moral man George Bush was and how he had wholeheartedly supported him in all he had done.

For a second, I think Dr. Burgess was actually embarassed by Hall's pucker-up minstrel boy routine.

Well, now he can tap and shuffle his way over to his masters whose boots he so eagerly licked over the last few years.

[KeepItReal]

15. Hey Ralph, don't let the door hit your backside on the way out...

...and take Zel Miller with you!

[schultzee]

16. Greedy Old Pig (G.O.P) What a traitor and coward and selloutl

[pasadenaboy]

17. All the DINOs should leave

seriously. If your not progressive, don't bother being a democrat as far as I'm concerned.

[maggrwaggr]

18. he was blackmailed by the GOP. Check out the story:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4067485

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Veteran Democratic Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas said on Friday he had switched parties to become a Republican after being denied funds for his district for the first time.


The Yahoo story makes less of this little fact, but it's still in there:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040103/ap_on_go_co/party_switch

Be sure to rate it a 5.

This is the kind of dastardly bullshit the GOP continues to do. Blackmail, bribes, destroying careers ......

[NewJerseyDem]

25. It wasn't just him

Hall said he wanted to be a democrat basically because he wanted conservative democrats to still be in the party and he wanted to move the party to the right. But, he didn't want to do that if it hurt his district. However, the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill denied all pork projects to every democrat who voted against the bill. Hall, like every other democrat, voted against the bill and lost pork for his district but the republicans that voted against it kept their district's money. So, Hall felt like being a democrat was hurting his district so he switched.

[Nile]

19. Typical of most politicians these days.

They are in it for the money and power. They do not give a damn about anyone but themselves.

[IndianaGreen]

23. Exactly, many politicians cannot be trusted

They are in it for the money and the perks. Rare is the politician that is a dedicated public servant.

[farmbo]

20. Thirty pieces of silver...

...Or a custom- drawn congressional district.

Judas will be Judas.

:grr:

[NewJerseyDem]

26. He isn't the most senior congressman from Texas

I'm really annoyed that all the TV media is reporting that he is the most senior congressman from Texas. Charlie Stenhom is!!! Even though, it doesn't matter very much it would be good if some reporters would get their facts right. It just makes you wonder if they can't tell that 1978 came before 1980 what else they are getting wrong.

[Shakespeare]

27. He's 80, so hopefully he'll die soon.

No loss, in that case. "I think it'll be easier to get re-elected if I'm a republican."

Oh, okay....so you're not doing this on principle, you're doing it out of opportunism. Yup, you're moving to the correct party for that. Now go fuck yourself.

[GinaMaria]

28. Where are all the GOPers screaming

that he should return the money he used for his campaign like they did with Jeffords :eyes:

[ThoughtCriminal]

29. Basically admits that corruption works

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040103/ap_on_go_co/party_switch_13
<snip>
"He said GOP leaders had recently refused to place money for his district in a spending bill and the only reason I was given was I was a Democrat."
<snip>

So, by his own admission the leaders of the party he is switching to place party membership and cronyism, above all other considerations. Rather than fight the corruption, he chooses to join it.

[peterh]

30. On FreeperRepugs back in Sept......

the debate centered on a potential man-made lake to be named Ralph Hall lake….a couple of comments about Ralphie are below:

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1010659/posts


Mr. Hall was about as conservative as you can get and still be a Democrat.

Ralph Hall is more conservative than 95% of the Republicans in the House. Why he never switched parties is one of life's great mysteries.



Ralphie’s ideology appears closer to the RW than the Left and if he were to change parties based on that, I would commend him and offer to pack his bags, kinda what I’d like to do for Lieberman (have to watch myself, already have one demerit associated with that critter)…..but, for Ralphie to leave based on retaining a job…well…that’s political cesspool material and happy wallowing to ya…

[Democat]

31. Right wingers said it was a crime to change parties when Jeffords did it

Where is the outrage?