Democrat Congressman Switches to Republican

The political environment in Louisiana is always full of surprises but is seldom surprising. People have grown accustomed to political shenanigans to the point where it's considered a form of entertainment. For example, I'm sure many folks recall Edwin Edwards telling the people of Louisiana to "hold their noses" and vote for him anyway.

Well, politics as usual was demonstrated by last week when freshman Democratic Congressman Rodney Alexander switched party affiliation to Republican at the last moment of filing for reelection. The result has been absolute shock. Democrats in Louisiana and Washington are angry, very angry. They're mad at the treachery, the perfidy, the cowardice, the just plain sneaking no-good backstabbing.

It appears that no one is more upset than Rep. Nancy Pelosi who aspires to become Speaker of the House and, therefore, cannot afford the loss of any Democratic seat. Not only that, but Pelosi hosted a fund-raiser last month where Alexander was the guest of honor. She feels betrayed and it shows in her demeanor and on her face. Oh, wait a minute, she looks like that all the time.

Interestingly, Alexander also feels betrayed - by the Democratic Party.

"For several months, I have been defending my vote within my party. I'm pro-life. I'm pro-family. I'm pro-gun. I'm for a strong defense," he said.

Since everything Alexander supports is contrary to the Democratic Party's agenda, it appears he needed a new home.

The drama is by no means over, though. The Democrats are endeavoring to get Alexander removed from the ballot. A complaint has been filed in Baton Rouge stating that Alexander violated the law when he change parties and he may be removed from the ballot. Whether he stays on the ballot or not won't change the political impact to the Democrats. They've suffered a wallop. It left them without a viable candidate for the November election.