(Cross-Posted to DemNotes at www.DemNotes.com)

I had hoped to getting around to writing about last week’s Al Gore event, or about my visit to the Boulder Dems’ dinner last Friday, but a recent development has eclipsed all of that. In what may be the first of many, State Representative Debbie Stafford has announced that she has switched parties and has become a Democrat. The Legislature is now controlled by a rather unbelievable 40-25 margin — which is made more unbelievable when you consider that in 2004, Republicans controlled the Legislature by a 37-28 margin.

Here is some of Rep. Stafford’s statement:

I am happy to be here at this meeting of the House Democratic Caucus. I am here to announce that I will be joining the Democratic Party.
My decision to cross the aisle was not made lightly or quickly. This was a decision that was the product of a great deal of soul searching and contemplation. My decision comes from my gut sense of right and wrong, and my heart’s deepest values.

When I decided to run for the legislature in 1999, I ran because of my love for people and the issues that impacted the lives of our citizens such as affordable housing, health care, education, juvenile justice reform, protecting small businesses, and the economy. It was and is my desire to continue to make Colorado the finest place to raise a family, to work, and to preserve the beauty of this great state.

…

Like many others in Colorado, I feel this way:
I am not leaving the Republican Party as much as the Republican Party left me.

No one pushed me or pulled me: I decided it was time to place myself, and my self-respect, with the Democratic Party.

Rep. Stafford sounds a lot like the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, about whom I wrote after hearing him a few weeks ago at the ASDC meeting in Kansas City. There are those who will argue that she is being opportunistic, but the reality is in her statement that the Republican Party of Colorado has left her. Nothing could be more true — Colorado’s Republican Party is stuck in a right-wing mentality that does not advance this state or the people of this state. It has left a lot of decent-minded folks like Rep. Stafford.

So, welcome, Representative Stafford, to the Democratic Party. We’re glad you joined us!

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2007 at 5:30 pm and is filed under 2007 Legislative Session. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.