State Representative Allan Ritter has confirmed to KFDM News that he's switching from the Democratic to Republican Party and will make an announcement next week in Austin, expected to be attended by Governor Rick Perry and a number of other GOP leaders and colleagues from the legislature.Who gets credit? Rick maybe gets a little credit... Joe Straus definitely gets some credit... the tea party gets a lot of credit...
I remember one of Kay's speeches during the primary... talking about how she was the best shot at getting Republicans a solid majority in the Texas House... and how under Rick it was a hopeless cause and Democrats would probably take over...
Didn't quite work out that way did it?
Aaron Pena is also potentially switching, but that's not confirmed yet (link). Excerpt follows...
“As a result of the devastation in the general election, where Texas Democrats lost their conservative and much of the moderate wing of their party, I responded to questions posed by the Rio Grande Guardian as to what the future holds for the party.
“That article caused a lot of speculation and the Texas Tribune, in a podcast, and Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka, in a blog, asked questions about my future.
“Although Paul took his post down soon afterwards, it opened up the floodgates and I have received over 50 calls, from Democrats and Republicans alike.
“Many of the Democrats are still thinking the party can be reformed and that perhaps, in a decade, we can be competitive again.
“Many of the calls from Republicans, including lawmakers, were that our community can still have a seat at the table now. Why wait a decade when you can have opportunities now?
“And so, after the large number of calls today and the growing speculation, I can say I am taking the matter under consideration and I will issue a public statement in the coming days, one way or the other.
Michael Quinn Sullivan opined that this means Republicans will have fewer excuses for not accomplishing big things this session... but Sullivan doesn't acknowledge that it probably also means that Straus is the guy... he gets at least some of the credit for party switchers coming to his side (link). Excerpt follows...
For the GOP, the pressure to deliver on conservative initiatives and priorities just got even higher. If the job is left undone come May, expect the Texas electoral tsunami to take out what it brought in. The Republicans will have no one to blame if the job doesn't get done.
If the Republican super-majority can deliver, though, Texas will benefit and the voters will remember.
With Mr. Ritter's welcome switch, the balance of governing power has altogether changed in the state Capitol. Now we see if the GOP has the courage and wherewithal to use this power to lead Texas boldly and effectively.
It does put a lot of pressure on Straus to have a solid conservative session... and he won't have many excuses... it also means he needs to pick conservative committee chairs... this is total domination for Republicans... and total annihilation for Democrats... the surviving Democrats are mostly far left, and the moderates can see what that means for them to be lumped in together with far left Democratic leadership... so they are jumping ship...
Pena has officially switched to the Republican Party, according to several news reports giving the Republicans a 101-49 majority in the Texas House of Representatives and we can expect more switches to come.
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