Kos caught something I’ve had an eye out for for a long time. Louisiana State Treasurer, John Neely Kennedy, has switched parties. He is now a Republican. It has been rumored for months that Karl Rove was wooing Mr. Kennedy for a senate challenge to Mary Landrieu in ’08. It appears that Rove succeeded. Mr. Kennedy’s announcement says nothing about a senate run, but it does mention that he plans to run for re-election as Treasurer. It also contains some curiosities.
I also believe in the power of ideas. Every advancement in art, science, technology, business, cooking and medicine has occurred only after someone challenged the rules and tried another way.
Cooking? Okay…I guess.
I believe in certain fixed, bedrock principles: that government should be responsive and accountable to the taxpayers who pay for it; that economic growth originates in the private sector; that education is the best safeguard of liberty; that ethics in government is critical to people’s faith in democracy; that the values of faith, work, family, personal responsibility and individual liberty are the building blocks of a prosperous society. I have concluded that the Republican Party is the party that best reflects my values today.
Government that is responsive and accountable to the taxpayers? The GOP gave us record deficit spending, lost billions in unaccounted for money in Iraq, and gained notoriety for a Bridge to Nowhere.
Education is critical to liberty? How about habeas corpus and the FISA law? Aren’t they critical to liberty?
Ethics in government? Look at the Department of Justice. Look at the guy that recruited him.
Faith and family? Look at David Vitter, Mark Foley, and the seemingly endless list of Republican pervs and adulterers.
Personal responsibility? What’s he looking for…a Medal of Freedom?
It’s laughable that this guy would choose this moment to switch parties to the Republicans. The Republicans are the least respected institution in America today. People loath them.
Nevertheless, Kennedy is the first serious challenger to any incumbent Democratic senator in the ’08 cycle. And there’s a reason Rove wanted this catfish.