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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: slacker711 who wrote (47436)	1/31/2008 11:36:41 AM
From: Sam	Respond to of 541855

I cant remember the last time that a Republican or Democrat actually changed their position from one that agreed with their party's platform to one that disagreed. It seems to happen universally in the other direction. You should read Gordon Smith's book that came out last year, Remembering Garrett amazon.com Smith, for those who don't know, is a Republican Senator from Oregon. He is a Mormon from a pretty wealthy and prominent family, and was considered to be quite conservative, especially coming from a state like OR. The book is about his son's battle with depression and eventually suicide in his early 20s, just a few years ago, and how it changed Smith. Smith has become a champion of programs that support and help depressed people, and, indeed, a champion of federal involvement in health care, including mental health care, as a result. He has not only "flip-flopped" on his previous position, he even says several times in his book that he regrets his own previous votes and is sorry to admit that most members of his own party are wrong-headed on these issues. It is a pretty quick read and a good book. Smith sounds like a Democrat sometimes, and if you go back and read some of his speeches or writings from 5-7 years ago, that would have been pretty unthinkable. Some people do change, IMHO, and, although it is always possible that I am mistaken, I think he is one of them. And I don't think it is a change based on the office he is seeking or polls or elections or the state he comes from (could we call that a "Romney" change?), I think it is heartfelt. But, in general, your point is well taken--such metamorphoses are rare.