Burnt Orange Report

Wow--now *that* is bipartisanship, boys and girls.

Wow, I suppose Nickerson was sincere about Hall.
At this past summer's state convention, I had the priviledge of spending an hour or so talking to Nickerson and others in his hotel suite. He was a real neat guy, and very respectful and complimentary of Hall's character. It's nice to see Hall return the favor.

There has to be more to this than just goodwill. Could there be some other positioning here which hints in anticipation of delay's redistricting for the last election being reversed and returned to the old district lines?

With delay increasingly in trouble and the redistricting case back with the judicial review panel is this a possibility?

If it is, it might be Hall's way of courting favor with Democrats and allow him to run in the old district without switching back to the dems.

Anyone have anymore thoughts or information?

Ralph Hall is 81 or 82. He has been in congress since 1980. I don't think this is an attempt to reposition himself politically to achieve reelection.

If he is trying to gain favor with anyone, its probably the allmighty-- someone Hall will undoubtedly be meeting pretty soon.

Jim Nickerson, by the way...not Charles

even if Hall did go back to the old district, it's still a strongly republican district. no need to suck up to the dems for that. he's the only democrat in the country that could win the seat. too bad he sucks as a dem...

Ralph never wanted to switch parties technically. He was afraid that Max Sandlin would have challenged him in the new 4th which had Ralph's western base and Max's Texarkana base. So he did it. Ralph never liked the national Democrats. He did like state and local Democrats like Former Senators David Cain D-Dallas, and Ted Lyon D-Rockwall, former Reps Keith Oakley D-Terrell and others. He's a nice guy and accessible to his constituents. Now his voting record with the exception of NAFTA is terrible.

That is true, he felt forced to switch parties, otherwise he never would have. And unlike Rodney Alexander, that worm from Louisiana, he did it in the most admirable way, he let everyone know up front it was a possibility after the lines got redrawn. This was very decent of him, and I think it just goes to show that he still has respect for his collegues in the Democratic party. People that he worked with for decades. You go Mr. Hall!

PC Writes:

Ralph never wanted to switch parties technically....Ralph never liked the national Democrats. He did like state and local Democrats like Former Senators David Cain D-Dallas, and Ted Lyon D-Rockwall, former Reps Keith Oakley D-Terrell and others.

I note:
Cain, Lyon and Oakley never switched parties. And, they are far better Democrats than Ralph Hall ever was. As for Hall never wanting to switch, "technically," no, why should he? The RCCC and Republican County Chairs in his old district would openly endorse him over his Democratic opponents. He "technically" switched a long, long time ago.

Ki writes:

That is true, he felt forced to switch parties, otherwise he never would have. And unlike Rodney Alexander, that worm from Louisiana, he did it in the most admirable way, he let everyone know up front it was a possibility after the lines got redrawn. This was very decent of him, and I think it just goes to show that he still has respect for his collegues in the Democratic party. People that he worked with for decades. You go Mr. Hall!

I note:

Show me where it is ever written he felt forced to switch parties? Look at the Dallas Morning News coverage from his switch. Never did he use that word or anything like it. It was more like a deal of "The Democratic Party left me," kind of thing.

I also never recall Hall being "upfront" about it. The media speculated, and he remained silent until the end. As for his "respect" for his Democratic colleagues, Hall was downing Sandlin in the Tyler Morning Telegraph while he was clearing out his Tyler office. That showed no class and similarly, no respect for his Democratic colleagues.

According to an old friend of mine who is in the know, he did feel forced to switch. I don't know all the details, but my friend told me this. there is probably a lot at work here.

But it really made no difference with any votes. It's not like he voted with his party on most issues, anyway.

Rep. Hall has worked to defeat Democrats for many years before making it official. In 1996 Hall joined Phil Gramm for a Gramm campaign bus tour of the 4th District, including Rockwall. Hall's "Republican" opponent was at the rally looking rather out of place, and was not allowed on the bus. Nearly all local GOP officials and candidates attended, along with the Rockwall HS band and 5th grade students from an adjacent public elementary school. These same GOP officials were also present at a Hall rally in 1998 with Charlton Heston.

Hall showed up at the Rockwall County Democratic Party's 2000 chili supper with a Bush endorsement speech.

My sources indicate chicken king Bo Pilgrim played a key role in organizing this event. Pilgrim and Nickerson are both community leaders in Pittsburg.