State Rep. England maybe just tired of Red?

By Solman

Everybody’s talking about State Rep. Kirk England’s switch from the Republican to Democratic parties. In legislature circles, it’s this weeks Paris Hilton scandal. But what most people are gossiping seems to be focusing on votes, redistricting, demographics, and regional party support. Certainly, the numbers in all the articles and columns do suggest that this party trading will have an as-yet uncertain affect at the polls, and England’s Grand Prairie district is seemingly in flux demographically, but I wonder if amid all this hemming and hawing if there could actually be a shred or two of conviction in this political theatre. Could England actually be fed up with the Republican Party and hoping for better achievements in the ranks of the Democratic minority?

Look at the whole Craddick escapade, among other dramas this past session. It was messy, it was political, and it drove deep wedges into already prominent rifts within the republicans in the house. Rick Perry champions his office as if he makes no note of his narrow victory among the four candidates last election. The appeal of the George Bush “cowboy politics” model is fading, even here in Texas. All over the country, singular politicians are starting to react to the high stakes, hard-line, red state vs. blue state politics that seems to have the national debate over every issue gripped in turmoil.

So why cant Kirk England be following his conviction and leaving a party he no longer feels at home with? I’m not going to ignore the polls, and if England is worth his salt he didn’t either. His district is sandwiched between two opposing forces; Ft. Worth suburbs whose voting record include some of the most conservative representatives in the legislature and Arlington, a district with a democratic woman as state rep. I’m sure these external forces are playing a part, and his district is growing in population and can no longer be relied on for suburban republican support. So of course voter turnout at the polls is a consideration, but its much safer to take a path such as aiming more for moderate republican image rather than leaving the party altogether if you are simply trying to preserve votes.

There are a few voices making the same assessment as myself, but overwhelmingly the talk is about districts and votes and party lines. I don’t wish to place England on a pedestal, but I don’t think something as simple as voter turnout is enough to get you to leave the majority in the lege for the minority.

More reading:
http://www.star-telegram.com/arlington_news/story/242464.html
http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/246309.html