Another Johnson County Republican switches sides to run in 2006

Associated Press
Posted on Sat, Dec. 31, 2005 

SHAWNEE, Kan. - A moderate Republican who lost her seat in the Kansas House to a conservative GOP opponent will try to win it back as a Democrat.

Cindy Neighbor, now a member of the Shawnee Mission Board of Education, is the second prominent Republican from Johnson County to switch parties in order to run next year.

In a move that showed just how deep a divide exists between the party's conservative and moderate wings, District Attorney Paul Morrison said in October that he would run as a Democrat against conservative Attorney General Phill Kline in 2006.

"We haven't left the Republican Party," Neighbor said Friday. "They left us."

Neighbor ran for the House as a Republican in 2002, when she defeated incumbent Mary Pilcher Cook in a close primary election. Both are from Shawnee.

Cook defeated Neighbor in the 2004 GOP primary, but Neighbor's supporters believe the larger voter pool in a general election - as opposed to a party-only primary - will give her the base of Democrats and moderate Republicans she needs to win.

Neighbor criticized county and state Republican leadership as "inflexible and intolerant," unwilling to work with Democrats or moderates - a charge state GOP Chairman Tim Shallenburger denied.

"We've tried very hard to be flexible and very tolerant," said Shallenburger, a conservative who lost the 2002 gubernatorial race to Democrat Kathleen Sebelius. "She's running as a Democrat because she's a liberal."

Cook characterized her opponent in similar terms, saying the switch showed Neighbor's true political identity.

"I've always said her principles were contrary to the Republican principles of limited government," said Cook, who in 2004 accused Neighbor of voting often with the majority of House Democrats.

I've been through Kansas several times and this really brings up a serious question.  If she and another person switched to the democratic party does she expect to get more than 2 votes?  Once you get out into farm country, I couldn't find any democrats.

I remember when they said that about Republicans in Texas.

Exactly what Dems DON'T need.

From the horse's mouth: he hasn't left the Republican party. Well screw him. Once in Congress, this dude will always be a liability.

Dems should put their own candidate up to elect, one that hasn't left the Democratic party. Even if the dem candidate doesn't win, at least that other dude won't be an embarassement carrying a Dem endorsement.

I've been through Kansas several times and this really brings up a serious question.  If she and another person switched to the democratic party does she expect to get more than 2 votes?  Once you get out into farm country, I couldn't find any democrats.

I disagree.  I think this is exactly what Democrats need.  It makes a wonderful public statement to see people switch parties, and it'll hurt the Republican image just as it's hurt Democrats in the past.
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The issue is not about "image" or how cool a political party is.

The image is VERY much the issue and the sooner Democrats and liberals realize it, the better.
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If elected officials leaving the Republican party hurts their image, then why not give it a helping nudge?    We want moderate voters, right???    Geez, how often have I read that.    Democrats must move the the "center" and attract the swing voter.
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Btw, it'll only take a handful to create the image.

And create the illusion dems have control until a few elected switch parties to join the GOP immediately after the 1994 elections like:

- Dick Shelby

and

- Ben Nighthorse Campbell

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People switch parties all the time, but the Republicans have successfully used recent Dem to Rep switches as proof of how out of touch Democrats are.
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Posted on Thu, Mar. 30, 2006 

READER VIEW: DOES GOP STILL REPRESENT YOU?

There have been many changes in the majority party in the past two years that have convinced me that I do not wish to be a member of a political party that chooses to reject science, compassion and a vision for Kansas that would require progressive thinking. I, therefore, am both proud and excited to distance myself from the Republican Party and run for the office of state representative in District 103 under the Democratic Party in the 2006 election.

Recently, the Kansas Republican Party has embraced social policies in its platform that have positioned the party as one of the most extreme in the nation. I believe this platform is detrimental to the spirit of Kansas, and that voters need to rethink their positions with regard to a party that has honestly left them behind or taken their votes for granted.

Kansans can and do have a choice this year. We can continue with the status quo and continue to elect the same incumbent Republicans who have brought embarrassment and shame to our state. Or shall we vote Democratic for a change and try a new approach to state government? An approach that doesn't depend on who can "out-conservative" one another or shamelessly vilify a minority group for votes, this approach consists of common sense and a goal of the common good.

I have a vision and out-of-the-box solutions that are based on what works and not what my faith or my conscience dictates; therefore, I resign my position as a precinct member of the Republican Party. I urge fellow Kansans to open their minds, listen to the minority party and ask themselves if the Republican Party represents them.

MICHAEL SHEA
Wichita