Psst, Don't Tell Anyone: 'Wave' of Dems Leaving the Party 'Over Marriage, Religious Freedom Concerns'
The Catholic News Agency's Michelle Bauman reports that there has been a "wave" of recent defections and departures from the Democratic Party that could be as many as several hundred. The establishment press is clearly being remiss in failing to note them at all -- something which would not be occurring if it involved Republicans going to the party of the left.
The reasons for the moves primarily relate to President Obama's endorsement of same-sex "marriage" and the assault on religious freedoms inherent in his administration's requirement that employers who offer health insurance plans, in Bauman's words, "cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs, even if doing so violates their consciences." Excerpts from her report follow the jump, including a notable quote from Artur Davis, the former four-term Democratic congressman who announced to very little press coverage in late May that if he runs again for public office, it will be as a Republican:
Story Continues Below Ad ↓Democrats leave party over marriage, religious freedom concerns
A wave of local and state Democrats throughout the U.S. are leaving the party due to controversy over its leaders’ support for “gay marriage,” as well as concerns about religious freedom and the defense of the unborn.
“There comes a time when you have to stand on what you believe in,” said Greg Waggoner, sheriff of Leake County, Miss. “And I can no longer have any connection with the Democratic Party if that’s the route they’re going to take.”
Waggoner was one of seven local Mississippi Democrats who formally switched his party affiliation to Republican on May 30.
He said that the Democratic Party took an “extreme left turn” when its national leaders “endorsed same-sex marriage” in recent weeks, presenting a direct conflict with his faith and allegiance to Christ.
Firmly committed to the belief that marriage is a union “between a man and a woman,” he realized that his views were better reflected in the Republican Party.
According to the Mississippi Republican Party, more than 50 Democrats in the state have switched their affiliation since "Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have taken over the national Democrat party."
Other states – particularly those in the South – have had a similar experience, as Democrats are exiting the party at a significant rate. The shift is being attributed to increasingly liberal stances by leaders of the Democratic Party.
... This support for “same-sex marriage” was a concern for Rick Murphrey, mayor of Kings Mountain, N.C., and prominent Pennsylvania committeewoman Jo Ann Nardelli, both of whom were lifelong Democrats before they recently switched their party affiliation to Republican.
... Among the reasons ... (Artur Davis) cited for cutting ties with the Democratic Party was the contraception mandate, which contradicted his belief that “faith institutions should not be compelled to violate their teachings because faith is a freedom, too."
If Mississippi's experience of 50 switches is happening at even half that rate in several other states, that would mean that hundreds of declared Democratic Party politicians are now former Democrats.
As to Davis, I did a search on the quoted phrase in the excerpt above (still in quotes) at Google News. Only five results came back. Only two were from establishment press sources. One of them was a "Notable and Quotable" item at the Wall Street Journal, which carried the full text of what Davis posted at his web site; the other was in a Right Turn blog post at the Washington Post by Jennifer Rubin. The lack of other results shows that the few establishment press sources which might have carried the news of Davis's move didn't quote one of his primary reasons for making it.
I suspect that many of those who have recently become former Democrats would echo what former Democrat Ronald Reagan said when asked why he left the party: "I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. It left me."
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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Comments
Roy Acuff
Submitted by oldfart on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 5:36am.
Remember that song: "I saw the light"?
the Jim Jones Party
Submitted by MidAmerica on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 7:04am.
It's an amazing thing to watch the democrat party commit political suicide by following obama down the road to disaster. The best thing for the democrats would be for obama to lose. Without needing to defend the indefensible the democrats could reorganize and put themselves back on a politically sound course.
Don't think so.
Submitted by c5then on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 10:39am.
Obama is not the driver of this manifastation in the Democrat party, he is the effect of it. The Democrats have been heading this way for over a decade. Bill Clinton was a moderate Democrat (who knew?). Obama represents the more "mainstream" democrats and is STILL not liberal enough for a sizable minority in the party.
One of the main reasons that the Republican party seems to have shifted way to the right is because the Democrats have shifted way to the left.
I remember when I was much younger there was actually an overlap between the Democrat and Republican parties. A more conservative member of the democrats could have been a more liberal member of the republicans or vice versa. Today there seems to be a pretty big gap between then two.
I think that if Obama loses in November (Oh I hope so), the democrats will move even furhter to the left.
Here is a prediction to test my theory...When the SCOTUS strikes down the "Individual mandate" in Obamacare as unconstitutional, and therefore the whole law must be declared unconstitutional because they did not include the severability clause (on purpose), the democrats lead by Pelosi and Reid will harangue the SCOTUS for a bas decision and lament that there are too many "conservative" justices on the bench. They will not put forth a "mea culpa" and appologize for a poorly written and thought out bill that became a flawed law. If the problem is REALLY extreme, they may even start to make noises similar to FDR where they propose to expand the SCOTUS to a "more reasonable size for today" and add a few Federal Appeals districts to help with the case load, which will necessarily mean an addition of that many more justices to the SCOTUS...
Lets see if I'm right.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
yes but..
Submitted by MidAmerica on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 11:40am.
My point is that, yes, the democrats have drifted far Left but obama is forcing them to defend his erratic and unprofessional conduct of the office of President. Obama is truly the amateur and he is forcing much wiser political pros like Bill Clinton to do and say dumb things just to cover for obama. Behind the scenes it's got to be gettin' ugly among the democrat old timers.
In 2008 voters were given a manufactured fantasy to believe in as if it represented a real person. Turns out obama is just a composite like his girlfriends. The mythmakers can't spin their tale of a 'God among us' again and the actor himself can't seem to find a role that will bring the audiences back either.
I have three friends here in
Submitted by Seashell on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 7:36am.
I have three friends here in SC that are Democrats and they too are leaving the party over the marriage issue. Biden may have really shot Obama's chances.
When they do report it,
Submitted by RESTLESS 1 on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 9:18am.
It will reported as a purge of bigots frm their graces.
Watch.
And there will be emphasis on
Submitted by Free Stinker on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 9:40am.
And there will be emphasis on the Southern States that this happens in.
There will be limited or no mention of the Northeastern (w/higher Catholic population) States where there is a similar exodus from the Dems.
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
They're leaving because
Submitted by celator on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 10:16am.
They're leaving because they've figured out that leaders of the Democrat party aren't Democrats anymore. With 80+ members of Congress being members of the Democrat Socialist party (an offshoot of the New Party), with communists (Van Jones, and that Mao lover communications director), etc) having served in the White House, with the corrupt Holder (Issa: "you are a poor witness") as AG, well the list goes on. And then, on top of the manure pile which used to be the Democrat Party sits Obama.
Of course they're leaving the Democrat party. It will be a full blown stampede by this fall.
That's nothing...
Submitted by c5then on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 10:25am.
Wait till they see the number of rank and file members who decided to leave the party already, but we won't see their declarations until the night of Novemeber 6th.
Madison and Jefferson and Franklin built a Republic - Roberts killed it!
Dems Leaving Party
Submitted by Tex Expatriate on Fri, 06/08/2012 - 4:30pm.
The few Dems leaving the party cited by Blumer presage a vast number of Dems who have finally had it with America's most genuine communist party. I am in a food business where I encounter a lot of old-time and newly minted Democrat Socialists. I used to take their money for my goods. Now I refuse to serve them, and I tell them why. People say I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face, but I sell all my product to good people, so what's the loss?
South was Democrat
Submitted by Netstatter on Mon, 06/18/2012 - 7:20am.
I grew up in a South that was solidly Democrat. To be a Republican was anathema. Then the Democrat party veered Far Left in the late 60's and early 70's. Now, the South is solidly Republican.
It is correct to say that the Democrat Party is committing suicide by allowing itself to be taken over by far-leftists. It remains to be seen if the Democrat Party will survive.