Black Louisiana Democrat assails party, joins GOP BY GUY BENSON A Bayou defection: Democratic state Sen. Elbert Guillory said Friday he is leaving “the party of disappointment” to join the ranks of Republicans. With the move, the Opelousas conservative becomes the only black Republican in the Louisiana Legislature. Guillory made the announcement as he received the Frederick Douglass Award at a national conference of black conservative leaders in Baton Rouge. Douglass escaped from slavery and became a leader in the abolitionist movement in 19th century America. By aligning himself with the GOP, Guillory becomes the first black Republican in the Louisiana State Senate since reconstruction. Republicans now hold a 25-15 upper chamber majority in Baton Rouge. Lest there be any doubt about the sincerity of his political conversion, Guillory absolutely torched his erstwhile party as he waved goodbye for good: “As of this day, I join Frederick Douglass as a Republican” the 68-year-old Guillory said as he wrapped up a speech blistering the Democratic Party. The move is a return to Republican Party registration for Guillory. “Today the party of disappointment has moved away from the majority of Louisiana. They have moved away from traditional values of most Americans,” Guillory said in prepared remarks. “They have left us behind on crucial issues like abortion, vouchers, 2nd Amendment rights, union control of public jobs, school prayer, family issues.” Guillory said the biggest disappointment for him has been the party’s role in the breakdown of families. “Their support of dependency over self-reliance, of everything but traditional marriage, of abortion on demand, their policies have encouraged the high teen birth rates, high school drop out rates, high incarceration rates and very high unemployment rates,” said Guillory. “Our self-initiative and self-reliance are sacrificed in exchange for votes for the party of disappointment. The list of disappointments is long,” said Guillory, noting “the lies and cover-up at Benghazi, the IRS harassing the tea party and wiretapping and spying on reporters.” He decried federal Democratic initiatives to stop drilling after the BP disaster as well as efforts to “confiscate all guns.” Democrats reacted predictably, slamming Guillory as a craven opportunist and denouncing him for signing onto Gov. Jindal’s “failed” agenda. Jindal defeated his Democratic opponent by 48 percentage points in 2011. http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/sen_elbert_guillory_switches_p.html http://theadvocate.com/home/6127130-125/guillory-announces-switch-to-gop http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2013/05/31/black-louisiana-democrat-assails-party-joins-gop/
Democrats support everything but traditional marriage? as a Democratic supporter I wasn't aware of that
Very enlightening to see this man prioritize his religion over his race. I've often wondered how many religious blacks could support a democratic party which has no problem with abortion and legalizing homosexual marriage. Good for this forward thinking Mr Gilloury. Especially nice that it happened the day he received the Frederick Douglass award!
Maybe they'd rather have things like good schools than government intrusions into their personal lives.
The Dem Party hasn't really changed on any of these issues, so it's hard to see how they've moved away from anything. It makes you wonder why this guy was ever a Democrat in the first place?
That's what I was wondering. Based on his statement, he was never a Democrat to begin with. I don't see a loss here. Then again, I don't see the news here at all.
Reading his little diatribe, he was a Republican anyway, but probably felt he had to be a Democrat due to his race. Didn't want to end up perceived in Louisiana like Ray Reagan---er, Nagin. Or maybe his views grew more hidebound as he aged and so....he switched to what he felt was more natural to him.
Nothing strange here - http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20130601/NEWS01/306010021/Sen-Elbert-Guillory-switches-back-GOP Based on that, one can make an argument that he switched for re-election purposes. He was elected, and now, he is abandoning the people who elected him in the office - people whom he was suppose to represent.
I have a low opinion of party switchers in general. They're either too dumb to know what they believe, or opportunistic, or both.
