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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DD™ who wrote (1639)	9/6/1998 7:52:00 PM
From: Who, me?	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

GOP Boasts of Democratic Switchers By RON FOURNIER AP Political Writer ATLANTA (AP) -- Thumbing a well-worn Bible displayed like a trophy on his Senate desk, Sonny Perdue says he didn't abandon the Democratic Party -- ''it abandoned me, by God.'' President pro tem of the Georgia Senate, a lifelong Democrat at the height of his political career, Perdue announced April 13 that he would forever be Republican. He was the 367th Democratic officeholder to switch parties since President Clinton took office. The 367 range from local politicians to members of Congress. Proudly and frequently updated, the Republican National Committee's party-switching list is now 374 ex-Democrats long -- and growing. ''These people have been awakened to the fact that their party isn't what it claims to be,'' RNC chairman Jim Nicholson said. ''Their party remains the party of big government.'' Interviews by The Associated Press with dozens of party switchers in 19 states reveals that ideology and anti-Clinton sentiment are not always what turn Democrats into Republicans. It often is a matter of political survival. Some switchers are fueled by greed or anger. And many finally decide to shed outdated traditions, no longer calling themselves Democrats just because granddaddy did. It can be a huge mistake: the change has derailed more than one political career. But when examined collectively, the explosion of party switchers gives Republicans reason to believe they are solidifying their newfound majorities. ''Things are moving dramatically in our favor,'' said Rep. John Linder, R-Ga., who is in charge of adding to the GOP's House majority. ''There was a tremendous upheaval in the early 1990s ... and whatever happens in this election is not going to much change it.'' Democrats acknowledge that an increasingly conservative American electorate has helped Republicans make numerical gains, but they believe the influx eventually will help create a more extreme GOP. ''The country is changing political attitudes. Across the South, a number of people have switched for survival or a comfort level,'' said Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. ''But the continued move of the Republican Party from right to far-right is going to cause a considerable loss of moderate Republicans, once moderate Republicans realize where there party now is.'' ------< For scores of politicians, especially in the South, leaving the Democratic Party was like breaking an old habit. Their families have been Democratic since the Civil War, when the GOP was the Party of Lincoln and Union invaders.Though they clung to theirDemocratic roots for years, allegiances began to wane in the civil rights era. ''I was raised in organized labor. My father worked at a lumber mill. I attended political meetings and rallies with my parents,'' said Larry Dolezal, a county commissioner in Montana. ''It was a very difficult, soul-searching decision for me.'' Perdue grew up in a Democratic Georgia. ''Those of us who were compliant children, we did as our parents did -- we voted Democratic,'' he said. ''But over time our national party and our values stopped jibing.'' By ''our values,'' Perdue said he meant low taxes, little welfare, family-friendly policies. In the opinions of many Southern men, those values come in only one color: white. ''I think race plays a factor in this,'' Perdue said. It's a point that normally goes unspoken, but some former Democrats believe the party of their forefathers caters to minorities, not them. Gathered beneath a cloud of cigarette smoke at the Golden Glaze Donut shop in Byram, Miss., a group of white men are chatting with a Republican congressional candidate when a black woman opens the door. Her kind could never get elected by whites, one man says. ''Black might get donuts in here, but never votes,'' whispers 74-year-old John Garner. Somebody chuckles. Would a white Democrat do any better among white voters in this southwest Mississippi town? ''He's still a Democrat,'' Garner said, waving away a whisp of smoke. ''Can't trust 'em anymore.'' Breaking generations of tradition, these white men -- all former Democrats -- now support the state's Republican governor, two Republican senators and the mostly-GOP House delegation. Ninety-one of the party switchers come from Texas, 52 from Alabama and 39 from Florida. Of the 374 new Republicans, 285 live in states that once belonged to the Confederacy. Democrats can only hope that as Republicans gain strength in rural America -- especially in the South -- their party can advance in growing suburban districts. ------ MORE< AP-NY-09-06-98 1536EDT