I am proud that the Republican Party (largely thanks to Ronald Reagan) has been able to bring over so many intelligent people from the Democratic Party. We need to bring disaffected Democrats over (and believe me there are plenty of them out there). As the Democratic Party moved further and further to the Left, and as the Henry Jackson wing of the party started to become extinct, becoming Republican became a natural progression.
by Caroline May
The New York Times caused a bit of a stir last week when the paper rehashed Texas Republican governor and potential presidential candidate Rick Perry’s years, prior to 1989, before he was a Republican.
[…]
The prediction has already proved correct, as Perry’s Republican dissenters are using the fact that the governor once had a “D” next to his name as another reason not to support his candidacy.
Yet as opponents seize on the oft-forgotten truth, the list of successful Republicans who started their political careers as Democrats is practically too long to recite. One of the Republicans’ favorite leaders, Ronald Reagan, started his career as a liberal Democrat, and Reagan and Perry are not alone.
Conservative darling and current presidential candidate Michele Bachmann first campaigned for Jimmy Carter in the 1970s as a Democrat. It was not until law school that she moved to the right.
In addition to Perry, five other Republicans currently in office used to hold office as Democrats: Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, Texas Rep. Ralph Hall, Nebraska Republican Sen. Mike Johanns, and Louisiana Rep. Rodney Alexander.
Additionally, New Mexico Republican Gov. Susana Martinez never held office as a Democrat, but prior to 1995 and up until 1988, she was a registered Democrat.
Dozens more have followed the same path that have come and gone including: former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, former Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith, former Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, former Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and former Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott.
[…]
Read the rest:
Tags: Caroline May, Rick Perry
