Rallying Behind Party Switchers

(Texas Insider) After State Representative Chuck Hopsons recent switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party the buzz in Austin and throughout Texas is what one might expect.  Some Democrats have reacted with anger and have resorted to questioning Mr. Hopsons integrity.  Most Republicans however have welcomed Mr. Hopson into their party with open arms.   Hopsons gutsy move is so beneficial to the Republican Party of Texas it is hard to imagine why any Republican would voice opposition.  However since some individuals in the Republican Party appear to be unable to set aside their personal feelings in order to consider the benefits to the party we decided  to analyze & list some of the cost-benefits.   Despite the fact that Hopson has been endorsed by 80 of the Republican Texas House caucus most Republican Senators in the Texas Senate Governor Rick Perry Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn and many other statewide elected Republicans there are still a few Republicans who seem to be disgruntled with Hopsons switch.  The attitudes of these individuals are particularly disturbing when their refusal to welcome a new member into the Republican Party sends negative messages to other moderate to conservative  in D.C. they usually call them Blue Dog Democrats with disdain  who might be contemplating a party switch as well.  If there is ever a time that Republicans need to rally behind and welcome anyone willing to switch parties and adhere to the GOP platform it is now.  Regional Implications Chuck Hopson has been instrumental in helping to get many down-ticket Democrats elected. For almost ten years Chuck Hopson has been a Get out the Vote machine for Democrats in Panola Rusk Cherokee and Houston counties in Northeast Texas.  He has spent millions of dollars turning out Democratic votes in that area.  This has proven to be a huge benefit to down-ticket Democrats.  Now that Rep. Hopson has joined the Republican Party down-ticket Republicans will benefit by this rather than Democrats.  The long-term down-ticket implications for Northeast Texas Republicans will be greater than anyone can imagine and I predict that many Republicans will win local races in the future because of the fact that Hopson has switched parties.  For example all locally elected politicians in Panola County are currently Democrats; yet many of them claim to be closet Republicans.  Due to Chuck Hopsons switch to the Republican Party Panola County may in fact soon become a Republican-majority county.  Within the past week two Democratic elected officials in Hopsons home county announced that they will be running as Republicans during the next election.  Their decisions were attributable to Rep. Hopson announcing his switch to the Republican Party.   State Implications Recently there has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of other moderate to conservative Democrats switching parties.  History has shown that legislators who switch parties almost always move in the direction of their new party.  Obviously the Texas Republican Party lost ground during the last election and would be wise to do everything within its power to stop this trend.  When one elected Democratic legislator switches parties there is one more Republican legislator and one less Democrat.  When a party is close to losing its majority it needs to embrace any Democrat who switches to the Republican Party.  If that legislator later proves to not be in line with Republican values the voters have the opportunity to make sure that that legislator is not re-elected during the next election. Chuck Hopsons voting record has always been to the right of his Democratic peers.  It appears that Hopson did not succumb to the pressure of the Democratic Party leadership in the past and did not consistently vote in line with their agenda.  Rep. Hopsons decision to join the Republican Party has almost guaranteed that he will be re-elected.  Its very unlikely that he will have a Democratic opponent in the general election.  Even if he does have a Democratic opponent in the general election the opponents chances of winning are virtually non-existent.  Because of Hopsons decision to switch parties the Texas Republican Party will be able to devote attention and financing toward other more closely-contested races.  Therefore there is a strong possibility that Rep. Hopsons switch will actually help the Texas Republican Party gain even more seats during the next election.  Before Chuck Hopson switched parties there was a 76-74 Republican majority in the Texas House.  Now that Rep. Hopson has switched the Republican majority is now 77-73.  These numbers show that due to Hopsons change of parties the chances of the Democrats taking control of the House during the next election are unlikely.  Therefore its obvious that Chuck Hopsons decision to change parties is very beneficial to the future of the Republican Party.  If only one or two more Democratic House members would follow suit the Republican majority would no longer be in peril. National Implications According to pundits Hopsons decision to switch parties has probably cost the Texas Democratic Party several million dollars.  This is money that would have been appropriated to the Texas Democratic Party from national Democratic organizations.  These funds will almost certainly be sent elsewhere because of the fact that it is very unlikely that the Democratic Party can take control of the Texas House during the next election.  Also due to the population growth in Texas Texas should soon get three to four new U.S. congressional seats.  If the Republicans maintain their balance of power in the Texas House the re-districting will be done in such a way as to ensure that these new seats will be Republican seats.  Therefore it is even possible that Rep. Hopsons decision to switch parties might even jeopardize Nancy Pelosis position as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.  That is a big deal. No matter the party the message to Chuck Hopson and others who might be contemplating a party switch as it was a couple years ago when Republican State Representative Kirk England jumped to the Democratic side of the aisle should be a welcoming one.  The odds are that Chuck Hopson like many of his predecessors will begin legislating even farther to the right now that hes free to do so without a Liberal Democratic leadership looking over his shoulder.  Regardless of the political knashing of teeth in Austin or elsewhere Republicans should at least give Hopson and other new Republicans a chance.  And if Hopson proves the welcoming committee wrong and continues to vote like a Democrat despite his new party affiliation the voters in East Texas will have their electoral recourse in just two more years. The beneficial message that a warm welcome might send to other Democrats in Texas and across the nation is so great its likely worth any risk the good Mr. Hopson might pose to the ideology of the far right.