Sicilianthing

How many Republican RATS will Betray Trump at the 11th hour ?

I’ve counted 16 to 19 at least... how many in the Senate are needed to Impeach Trump ?



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Dems gain as GOP state lawmakers switch sides because of Trump extremism

"Those of us who were moderates are clearly not welcome," said one Republican official who switched parties.

Jan. 31, 2019,
By Associated Press

Democrats' gains in state legislatures didn't end with last November's elections.

Over the past two months, as lawmakers were sworn in and this year's statehouse sessions got underway, Republicans in California, Kansas and New Jersey switched their party affiliations to become Democrats.

They cited various reasons, but the party-switchers have one thing in common: They say the GOP under President Donald Trump has become too extreme.

"The Republican Party, for all of its statements of having a big tent, continues to limit the tent," said Kansas state Sen. Barbara Bollier, of Mission Hills, one of the switchers. "Those of us who were moderates are clearly not welcome."

Bollier was one of four moderate Republicans from the Kansas City suburbs to switch parties.

The latest party-flip came this week in New Jersey. Republican state Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego, who represented a suburban Philadelphia district in southern New Jersey for nearly a decade, left the GOP, the minority party in both houses of the Legislature.

She cited the desire to "be a part of the discussion" in the Democratic majority but also hinted that the national Republican Party is no longer recognizable.

"My core values that originally drew me to the Republican Party have not changed, but the party which once echoed the vision of Ronald Reagan no longer exists," she said in a statement announcing the change.

Her announcement came just days after California Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, who represents San Diego, left the GOP. He said he differs with his former party on immigration, health care, gun control, abortion and gay rights.

The defections come after the Democratic Party won control of the U.S. House in the midterm elections and gained seats in 62 of the 99 state legislative chambers, according to data provided by the National Conference of State Legislatures (Nebraska is the only state with a single legislative chamber).

They also come at a time when the president's approval ratings are dipping.

"This is largely a product of the Trump phenomenon," said Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "President Trump has blown the lid off of this party. It starts to look like a personality cult."

In Democratic-leaning states such as California and New Jersey, the defections add to the GOP's challenges.

Republicans will have to focus on state issues to regain relevance and votes, said Jack Ciattarelli, a former New Jersey Republican lawmaker who says he is planning to run for governor in 2021. In New Jersey, that means focusing on underfunded public pensions and affordability.

"In this era, there will always be those whose intense disdain for Donald Trump will determine their vote," he said. "But I still believe there are a majority of New Jersey independent-unaffiliated voters and even some soft Democratic voters that will vote for the party that's going to solve the various crises."

The political landscape in the party-switchers' seats has been changing for some time, which also helps explain the shifts.

In New Jersey, Addiego beat her Democratic opponent with 63 percent of the vote in 2013. By 2017, her winning percentage was cut to 52 percent. And last November, Democratic Rep. Andy Kim defeated then-incumbent Republican Tom MacArthur in the 3rd U.S. House district, which includes all the towns Addiego represents in the state Senate.

Maienschein's Assembly District has become more Democratic since his first election, when it was considered safe for Republicans. Republicans had 38 percent of registered voters to Democrats' 30 percent in 2012. Registration is now roughly even. Statewide, independents now outnumber Republicans in California.

In Kansas, the four defectors were all from a congressional district that Trump narrowly lost in 2016 and that elected Democrat Sharice Davids last year.

Unlike the lawmakers in California and New Jersey, they went from the majority to the minority party. Republicans in Kansas pointed to the fact that the lawmakers were moderates who voted mostly with Democrats, anyway.

Republicans in New Jersey and California criticized the lawmakers for their switch, characterizing it as a ploy to hold on to power.

"People will view Addiego's party change for what is — an attempt at political survival," Ciattarelli said.

But voters were split on how they viewed her defection from the GOP.

Dick Bozarth, a 79-year-old retiree from the construction industry, said at a diner in Medford, New Jersey, in the heart of Addiego's district, that the change sends a bad signal.

"She wants to be with the radicals right now?" he asked. "Is that what she wants to do?" Bozarth said he's voted for Addiego before but will not do so again.

Dave DeAngelis, a 65-year-old retired auto repair shop owner who recently moved to Berlin, a town just outside of Addiego's district, said he's supported her over the years.

He said that because of her long political experience in local and state office, her political party isn't important to him.

"If she still holds her opinions, I don't think that would make a big difference," he said.

The change could help her get more done: "It's very difficult to be a Republican in this state," he said. "She wouldn't get anything through the state Assembly because she doesn't have the votes."

Party switching can go in both directions. In Oklahoma, state Rep. Johnny Tadlock, who represents a rural district in the state's southeast corner, switched to the GOP. Democrats have been losing seats there over the last two decades.

Liberty Tree

They are just RINOS finally admitting they are really Democrats.

Sicilianthing

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That’s right and now we’re going to expose them all.

cSc61 Loc: Austin

I don't think this should be allowed from either side of the aisle. These people are elected to represent their constituents not themselves! They were elected because they presented themselves as one thing or the other. If they decide after being elected they can no longer support the party they were elected under, then they should QUIT! Changing sides after you're elected is a blatant betrayal to the voters and should never ever be allowed.

Kevyn

Your Idiot Pumpkinfuhrer is the traitor, a traitor to our nation, constitution and values. He has never had a majority of Americans who wanted him to be president, that’s right never. He fouls the office due to the influence of the Russians, without them he would still be swindling suckers in real estate deals and fleecing working class Americans with scams. As Trumps numbers tank republicans are abandoning him like rats jumping off a burning garbage scow. There are close to the numbers for a conviction in the senate and we already have the numbers to impeach in the House. The coming jump in gas prices, economy slow down from another shutdown or the impacts of the tariffs he is charging American taxpayers will crush his numbers further and his back will be to the wall. He has damaged and divided our nation while embracing our enemies and for this he needs to be punished. There is absolutely no way he should be pardoned, as shameful as it is to see a former president in prison it was a mistake to let Nixon skate, a mistake we can not afford to make twice. The other thing that is necessary is asset forfeiture. Trump has used his position to loot American taxpayers and his families empire should be liquidated to recover what can be recovered from his criminal enterprises.

cSc61 Loc: Austin

[quote=Kevyn]Your Idiot Pumpkinfuhrer is the traitor, a traitor to our nation, /quote]

Blah blah blah ... same old moldy oldy coming from this tired jukebox. Are we ever going to get a new tune out of you? ... something resembling an original thought would be nice. We could tune in to CNN and MSNBC if we wanted to hear these tired old tracks.

Sicilianthing

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I totally concur, it’s total Bullshit Flat out what they’re doing.
2 party Shamscam in the District of Criminals Country Club perks and benefits... Red Team Blue Team CRAP

Sicilianthing

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Wow dude, you’re on a good one this morning... you take a hit of that Crack already?

You have only 1 Valid Good point in this post.

Sicilianthing

[quote=cSc61]

>>>

This is Kevyn’s Song check it out... Turn Up The Speakers !

Blah Blah Blah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfJhMfOPWdE

cSc61 Loc: Austin

That song was hilariously annoying. His posts are just annoying. "No likey Trump - orange man bad!" over and over and over for two straight years now. We see you Kevyn ... we get it. Move on! There has to be something else you're capable of discussing, no?

Sicilianthing

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It’s obvious he and few others are paid to be here and report back to their masters.

I’m not concerned with them, it’s the other eyes here we’ve become aware of... WE SEE YOU TOO !

Iamdjchrys Loc: Decatur, Texas

I disagree. I think they are real Republicans, instilled with the values of Reagan-era Republicans, who are embarrassed and ashamed at the shenanigans of Trump and his cronies. I have the same problem, being a Democrat instilled with the values of JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I am ashamed and embarrassed at the shenanigans of the liberal left. There are a lot of us moderates, in both parties as well as those who have fled to the independent Party, who believe in the principles and ideals established by the Founding Fathers of this once-great country, as they were carried forward. Ideals such as liberty and justice. We are now the laughingstock of the global community which we, until recently, served as the ideal of democracy and human rights, and as its de facto leader. Changes made to our environmental, cultural and political leadership are simply unacceptable, and will be resolved by our next President, who will hopefully be carried by those ideals and champion them.

woodguru

I look at Blue Dog Dems as a reflection of the people that put them in office, rather than dem traitors...

Your RHINOS are the same thing, they can't be expected to stick with the party when the party isn't reflecting the values of the people that voted for them

woodguru

The party system is dead, we need to start voting for people who want to govern rather than play partisan games.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

If any one would stand for individualism I would have thought that it would be you.
So I say you need to take a whole new look at what individualism means to individuals.
Shame on you for degrading some one for having an independent thought.
I see you as an independent person who takes pride in your independent thinking.
Is that just something that is good for some & the rest should be sheep & follow blindly?

Let me just say I no longer look at you as being a person with views I would put trust in.