In Montana, one state legislator changes parties, and power in state legislature shifts

[DeepModem Mom]

NYT: Montana Balance of Power Shifts With a Single Seat
By JIM ROBBINS and KIRK JOHNSON
Published: November 18, 2006


(George Lane/Independent Record)
State Senator Sam Kitzenberg switched to the Democratic Party.

HELENA, Mont., Nov. 17 — In the Montana Legislature, the balance of power is so exquisitely delicate that a single person can change it, and on Friday, a veteran state senator who was re-elected last week as a Republican did just that.

The senator, Sam Kitzenberg, a former high school teacher, filed papers with the secretary of state to become a Democrat, thus swinging what had been an evenly divided chamber, with 25 seats for each party, into Democratic control.

“I’m 59 and I’ve been a Republican since I was in high school, and 12 years in the Legislature,” Mr. Kitzenberg said in a telephone interview.

He described himself as a moderate who had felt increasingly out of step in recent years with his party’s more conservative bent.

“It’s kind of like a family, it’s kind of hard to leave,” Mr. Kitzenberg said. “But I didn’t leave them — they left me.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/us/18montana.html

[Erika]

1. Yes. Great for the Big Sky Country!!!

Way to go.

[indepat]

15. My activist daughter moved to Montana three years ago and I like to think she has made

a difference in the political landscape there.

[krispos42]

2. Oh, smack!

Did he moon the Repubs as he lept from the sinking ship?

[skipos]

3. Too bad Chafee didn't wise up like this. nt

[buddysmellgood]

4. Conscience...sweet.

[rockymountaindem]

5. This reminds me of the Freep "Jews vote 87% Democratic" thread

They're gonna be wicked pissed now...

[pinto]

6. I'm unfamiliar with Montana politics, and they keep on surprising my assumptions.

:kick:

[blondeatlast]

28. I used to live there. Very environmentally conscious, very libertarian,

socially conservative but surprisingly non-judgmental. I lived in a tiny little burg of 1600 people and knew virtually all of them. These were about the most genuine people I've ever known.

Let's just say they want the government to concentrate on the big picture and to keep it's snoopy nose out of their homes.

Not to mention the most awesome natural beauty imaginable, and that's saying something since I live in Arizona now.

[dubykc]

7. Awesome, congrats Montana!

[Ediacara]

8. I'm honestly shocked the GOP didn't see this coming

He apparently endorsed Tester, but the GOP is all, "That dirty, rotten scoundrel!"

[lcordero2]

9. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“But I didn’t leave them — they left me.”:wow:

[yellowcanine]

10. Amazing. Apparently Repuking can be cured.

[Octafish]

11. Welcome aboard, Sam!

Full steam ahead!

[burythehatchet]

12. Schweitzer, Tester, now this?

[snowbear]

13. Way to go Senator Kitzenberg!

Gotta love the BigSky Country! ~~~~~~

[Major Hogwash]

14. Then why didn't he run as a Republican to begin with?

He won't get re-elected after pulling these shenanigans.

[IndyOp]

16. “To have these Republicans gnashing their teeth reminds me of...

“To have these Republicans gnashing their teeth reminds me of a guy who’s been kicking his dog and is then surprised that the dog moves in with the neighbors,” Schweitzer said.

Mr. Schweitzer pointed out that many Republican lawmakers also worked for the state, and that they had only themselves to blame for Mr. Kitzenberg’s departure by their criticism of his moderate voting record and their effort to unseat him with a more conservative candidate in a primary. In the 2005 session, Mr. Kitzenberg voted 75 percent of the time in agreement with the Montana Conservation Voters, an environmental group, according to Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan group that tracks the records of officials.

:kick:

[Ediacara]

19. He wasn't just elected

His term is 2004-2008.

[JudyM]

17. The hits just keep on coming. More reason to celebrate, DUers! n/t

[Vickers]

18. "they left me.”...

I use similar words when I talk with people who seem to be wavering in their Repuke convictions, and it always seems to strike a chord.

[TheJollyNihilist]

20. Good for him!

Welcome!

[lateo]

21. I'm a former repub too.

And what I think is he is just coming to grips with the fact that they were never moderate to begin with...and don't give one squirt of piss for someone who is moderate.

[progressoid]

22. Oh snap!

[Robeson]

23. We have a Big Tent, Sam. Welcome aboard!...

...:toast:

[illinoisprogressive]

24. The Republican Party Just Doesn't Get it

Voters shouted last week they want bipartisanship and no more hate politics. The republicans cannot get this through thier heads. They think if they veer more right (as if going more right than now was possible) and more partisan (ditto) they will get back the power. They are so obtuse.

[talk hard]

25. the party left him all right

[Politicub]

26. Sa-weet!

Here's to seeing more people switch to the dem column!

[CGrantt57]

27. This is wrong.

I'm sorry, I can't be happy for this guy, or my party because of this.

He ran as a Republican, and was elected as a Republican. The people who elected him were voting for a Republican.

In my book, this is unethical and shabby, to say the least.

"You dance with them what brung you."

If you wish to switch parties, at least have the decency to do it during the re-election season.

[blondeatlast]

29. He didn't "just" run. The OP provided a link. Make use of it. nt

[OregonBlue]

30. Don't worry, be happy! Do I hear the sound of redistricting? It's about

time the Dems got back in power there. Hope they redistrict the state PDQ. Maybe those Republican seats won't be quite so safe the next time. If that happens, you'll probably see a wave of party switching.

[CGrantt57]

31. So.....

we do the same thing they do (redistricting to protect our seats), but, somehow it's better coming from us?

[NoPasaran]

32. Politics is a contact sport

Wear your cup and your helmet!

[OregonBlue]

33. No, we redistrict in a fair and rational manner, not in such a way as

to protect incumbents!! Any other method is just more of the corruption, more of the same.

[CGrantt57]

34. You don't get it, Oregon...

No matter HOW we redistrict, the Corporate Media will seize on it as being politically motivated and testament to the "corruption" of the democrats now that they have power.

We can't redistrict, or set things right, for at least two election cycles. By then, America's attention span will have forgotten that we were ever the minority party and we can do as we please.

Besides, if redistricting was such a great thing, how come it didn't help the Republicans win last time?

Regards,

[OregonBlue]

36. Redistricting didn't work because they DID underestimate the anger

of the voters. Who cares if anyone thinks it political. It needs to be done now to assure fair representation. You'd rather just hope that we win in 2008 by playing fair? You actually believe that the GOP is going to play fair? What planet are you from?

[MissMarple]

35. The Republicans are showing themselves as ravenous, power hungry, unprincipled...

...whores. Any honest person who previously thought the Republican party was their party of choice, well, sweetheart, wake up and smell the coffee. Please, do so. Principles, values, and integrity do not belong to any party. As with religious principles, values, and integrity, they lie within the individual, not with some odd child group or other. Groupies...what more can I possibly say, except... Grow up, if possible? Please.