AL-02, ID-01, PA-10: Bright and Minnick Won't Switch, but Carney (!) Mulling It

[ccharles000]

First, the good news:

With Griffith's announcement Tuesday, eyes immediately turned to his home state freshman counterpart, Rep. Bobby Bright.

But Bright told the House Democratic leadership Tuesday night that he planned to stay in the party, according to a senior Democratic aide.

Similarly, Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho), another freshman Blue Dog who would be a prime target, indicated in a statement to POLITICO that he won't switch.

"I will remain as independent as Idaho, I will not be switching parties, and I will win in November," Minnick said in the statement.

These are two guys who you'd think might have something to gain by switching -- they occupy blood-red districts and surely would have an easier time winning re-election as Republicans, right? Well, say whatever you will about their voting records, but they're not morons like Parker Griffith. They know full well that they would stand a greater chance of being teabagged to death in a GOP primary than they do of losing a general election as a Democrat. In other words, once you go Dem, there ain't no goin' back.

But wait, what the hell is this?

Democratic Rep. Chris Carney received a phone call Wednesday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asking him to consider becoming a Republican, a top GOP official told POLITICO.

A spokesman for Carney declined to say if the congressman was considering such a switch.

"No further comment at this time," said Carney spokesman Josh Drobnyk, who would only confirm that the call took place. <...>

But aide acknowledged that they had gotten "a nibble" from Carney and were now making the pitch that he'd be better off switching parties than running again as a Democrat in a northeastern Pennsylvania seat that President Obama lost by 9 percentage points last year.

Carney would be a damned fool to do this. Perhaps he's just being coy as a means to foster some kind of cross-ballot appeal, in order to say to his GOP constituents that even DC Republicans think that he's "their kind of Democrat". But if Carney thinks that the NRCC could clear a primary field for him, or if he wouldn't be vulnerable to a generic teabagger in a primary after voting for the stimulus and health care reform, his stupidity is breathtaking.

http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/6080/al02-id01-pa10-bright-and-minnick-wont-switch-but-carney-mulling-it

[Better Today]

1. I'm in one of the mentioned districts, and if they think staying Dem

while voting Repub is going to get him re-elected, he's nuts. Everyone around here thought they were voting for a Dem, with Dem principles, those that didn't vote for him find him to be weak because he doesn't "even vote with the constituency that voted him in." Clearly it took many crossover votes to put him in office, but to determine that the electorate did so stupidly and didn't want him to vote D rather than R is going to be such a mistake.

[Arkana]

2. He can go.

It would be one less sumbitch Blue Dog.

[LastNaturalist]

3. Fucking Chris Carney?!?

He votes fairly liberal too. These fucks.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. Don't worry about Carney

He's not going anywhere as of right now: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/house/pa-house-democrat-resists-part.html

[LastNaturalist]

5. I hope 2010 shocks the Washington Elite and Dems pick up a couple House seats.

And Parker Griffith, even if he wins, looks like an ass.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Me too

I remember how pissed I was about how a bunch of Dems jumped ship right after the 1994 midterms. Hopefully, we're not going to see a repeat of that but I can't imagine that things are going to be THAT bad for the Dems next year. I just have a hard time believing that people could already be so mad and fed up with the Dems after the past 8 years of Bush- including 6 years when they controlled the WH AND Congress. But then again those damned "independents" are so fickle and seem to be easily manipulated by the Repubs. *sigh* :shrug:

[LastNaturalist]

7. The memory retention of a may fly.

Still, Specter trumps Griffith at this point. So we're still winning on the "traitor front."

:)

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. Oh yes definitely

Specter was a much better "catch" than some wayward Democratic House Member who hasn't even been voting on our side nearly this whole term and thinks that Nancy Pelosi has been the most "divisive" Speaker of the House (as if Newt Gingrich never existed :eyes:). I still don't understand why Snowe and Collins haven't jumped ship yet though but with Snowe being so wishy-washy, I'm not sure if we could trust her more than we can trust "Traitor Joe" who IMHO hasn't earned an iota of the *trust* that President Obama, Reid, and the rest of the Democratic establishment placed in him after his independent bid for re-election in 2006 and especially after actively campaigning for McCain/Palin in 2008. :hi: