Why the Zell Miller transformation?

[Fuzzy Bear]

Zell Miller was/is the ultimate opportunist, and a bigger flip-flopper than Mitt Romney.  I have little doubt that his shift to a Democrat-hating Democrat is opportunistic and money oriented, generating sales for his books, TV appearances, etc.  I noted that Miller endorsed Bush for President even while Lieberman was still in the Democratic race; he turned his back on even a like-minded Democrat who was a viable Presidential candiate who may well have picked him as a running mate.  That right there tells me that Miller's shift was all about money.

Miller was chief of staff for LESTER MADDOX!!!  He then became Lt. Gov of Georgia and challenged Herman Talmadge in a Democratic primary, posing as the less conservative candidate.  He lost that race, but was elected Governor, and his 1992 keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention was one of the best keynotes ever; it unveiled Miller as a potential new Democratic star, and there was little reason to believe that Miller would be a possible contender for a spot on the national ticket in 2000.

In 2002 a funny thing happened.  Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes and Democratic Sen. Max Cleland lost re-election in what were not overly nationalized racea.  This event pretty much convinced Miller that he was not likely to be re-elected in 2004.  How he went about selling himself out is a question I'll allow others to answer, but Miller was always a pragmatist, and he saw (A) no way to be re-elected as a Democrat and (B) no way the Republicans would allow him to be their nominee for any office of note.  So he became a GOP star whose books and speaking engagements are in demand; he's probably made more money out of politics than in it. 

I don't begrudge him any of this, but this line that the Democratic Party left him is rubbish.  Miller knew what the Democratic Party was, and the Democratic Party knew what he was.  Miller was NEVER pressured to be more liberal by the national Democratic Party; they only wished for him to oppose them quietly on legislation when he believed he ought to, and support the national ticket if only by announcing he was voting for them.  Miller left because he didn't want to be voted out by the GOP tide in Georgia, and he did it in a way where there was something in it for him, even if it meant betraying folks who supported and voted for him over a period of decades.  Miller was a pure opportunist in 1970, in 1980, in 1992, and in 2004.  He's Mitt Romney's Southern-Fried Role Model.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Zell Miller didn't change. His party left him. Miller stands exactly where Democrats did in the 50's as I do myself for the most part.

Sorry, dude, but this dog don't hunt!

The Democratic Party, for the entire length of Miller's political career, was the more liberal party that had a conservative wing to it, comprised mostly of its white Southern members. 

Let's look at Miller's career choices.  He started out on the right, as Lester Maddox's Chief of Staff.  He became Lt. Gov of Georgia in 1974 at a time when Jimmy Carter was starting to run for President, the National Democratic Party was actively seeking a centrist alternative to challenge George Wallace in the South, and the national party was actively (A) trying to bring in line its Southern members by insisting that its committee chairmen in the Congress adhere more closely to the national party line (no more Howard Smiths), while (B) building up Southern Democrats who had moderate voting records, but who were supportive of ending segregation and who would support the party's natonal ticket for President, if only in a lukewarm manner. 

This was Miller's time to bail.  Instead, he challenged Sen. Herman Talmadge in a 1980 Democratic Primary FROM THE LEFT!  (Rep. Dawson Mathis was his conservative challenger.)  Miller supported Mondale, Dukakis, and he gave a speech for Clinton at the 1992 DNC that led me to believe that he would be the Next Big Thing in Democratic politics.  His turn to the right and abandoning the Democratic Party was not something people foresaw in 1999, when he was named to fill the Senate vacancy caused by the death of Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell.

And there's no doubt that Miller, had he chose to, could have endorsed Kerry, however tepidly, and been reelected to the Senate in 2004.  It would have been tough, but I believe he would have prevailed.  He could have easily been a Democrat supporting the Iraq War and prevailed.  Until 2001 or so, his views and votes were within the midrange of the Democratic Party.

What I believe is that Miller sold out.  He needed and wanted money, and he got some.  Without his bailing on the Democrats, who would read his books?  Who would seek his endorsement or his opinions on FOX News?  Who cares about Dale Bumpers these days?  Miller is a bigger star today, and a bigger moneymaker, then Sam Nunn, who had a far more substantive career, and who seemed to hold moderately conservative views without feeling evicted or abandoned by the Democratic Party.  It's all about the Benjamins for Miller; the Benjamins that come from celebrity.  But his assertions that "the Democrats left me", or "the Democrats are no longer a national party" is hogwash for the sake of making a buck.

[Fuzzy Bear]

It's because of politicians like Miller that people hate politics. The man is either an opportunist, a traitor or just simply insane.

Would you say the same thing about Lincoln Chaffe or Jim Jeffords? Or Miller is an admirable man for sticking to his values and principles instead of blindly following his party? What do you have to say to this?

Chaffee did not switch parties until after his electoral defeat.  As a Senator, he was dovish, but did not volubly oppose the national GOP.  He stated that he would "write in" George H. W. Bush for President in 2004 rather than vote for W., but c'mon now.

Jeffords never became a Democrat, but he became an Independent who caucused with the Democrats solely over a local parochial pork-barrel issue.  Jeffords was a huge supporter of the Northeast Dairy Compact, a subsidy program to dairy farmers that benefitted Vermont's dairy farmers, and Jeffords was it's cheerleader.  In 2001, the Bush Administration decided not to renew this program.  Whatever the flaws of the program, the Bush Administration didn't seem to understand just how important this program was to Jeffords, whose caucus switch shifted control of the Senate from the GOP to the Democrats.  That's the entire reason that Jeffords switched. 

Had the Northeast Dairy Compact been renewed, Jeffords likely would have remained a Republican.  He was never in electoral danger in Vermont; Vermonters saw him as a guy with some clout who wasn't a mossback conservative.  Despite his moderate record, Jeffords was well-regarded by his GOP colleagues, and on good terms with the GOP leadership.  Trent Lott took pains to cultivate Jeffords, knowing that Jeffords was the most liberal member of the GOP caucus, but understanding that he was elected from liberal Vermont.  Despite his status as a Republican, Jeffords was in no danger of being defeated at the polls; he was no less popular than Susan Collins in Maine is now.

Perhaps Jeffords was hanging onto his GOP label solely for its value in fighting for Vermont's Dairy Farmers.  I can understand this, but to shift the balance of the entire Senate to the Democrats over a parochial issue less than a year after being re-elected as a Republican is not exactly keeping faith with the majority of folks that elected you.

[Fuzzy Bear]

It's because of politicians like Miller that people hate politics. The man is either an opportunist, a traitor or just simply insane.

Would you say the same thing about Lincoln Chaffe or Jim Jeffords? Or Miller is an admirable man for sticking to his values and principles instead of blindly following his party? What do you have to say to this?

Chaffee did not switch parties until after his electoral defeat.  As a Senator, he was dovish, but did not volubly oppose the national GOP.  He stated that he would "write in" George H. W. Bush for President in 2004 rather than vote for W., but c'mon now.

Jeffords never became a Democrat, but he became an Independent who caucused with the Democrats solely over a local parochial pork-barrel issue.  Jeffords was a huge supporter of the Northeast Dairy Compact, a subsidy program to dairy farmers that benefitted Vermont's dairy farmers, and Jeffords was it's cheerleader.  In 2001, the Bush Administration decided not to renew this program.  Whatever the flaws of the program, the Bush Administration didn't seem to understand just how important this program was to Jeffords, whose caucus switch shifted control of the Senate from the GOP to the Democrats.  That's the entire reason that Jeffords switched. 

Had the Northeast Dairy Compact been renewed, Jeffords likely would have remained a Republican.  He was never in electoral danger in Vermont; Vermonters saw him as a guy with some clout who wasn't a mossback conservative.  Despite his moderate record, Jeffords was well-regarded by his GOP colleagues, and on good terms with the GOP leadership.  Trent Lott took pains to cultivate Jeffords, knowing that Jeffords was the most liberal member of the GOP caucus, but understanding that he was elected from liberal Vermont.  Despite his status as a Republican, Jeffords was in no danger of being defeated at the polls; he was no less popular than Susan Collins in Maine is now.

Perhaps Jeffords was hanging onto his GOP label solely for its value in fighting for Vermont's Dairy Farmers.  I can understand this, but to shift the balance of the entire Senate to the Democrats over a parochial issue less than a year after being re-elected as a Republican is not exactly keeping faith with the majority of folks that elected you.

Jeffords left because the Republican party had become too right-wing for him.

Of course the Republican party has gone even further to the right since then. Look at who proposed a rule change to prevent Senators from switching parties in 2001 after Jeffords left?

Specter.

Yes, Specter.

The GOP has gone way to the right, but Chaffee, Snowe, and Collins never switched while sitting Senators.  Chaffee didn't switch until he was defeated for re-election, when he concluded that a Republican would have a nearly impossible row to hoe in RI and that he may not be able to win future GOP primaries after failing to endorse W in 2004.

Jeffords did this solely because of the Bush 43 Administration cancelling the Northeast Dairy Compact.  It had nothing to do with ideology; that only comes into play when you are in a situation where you are unable to either (A) win your party's nomination or (B) prevail in the General Election over the opposition party.  Jeffords was not in either situation; he had been protected by the GOP leadership over the years, and had been cultivated by Trent Lott who, while far more conservative than Jeffords, recognized his need for Jeffords's vote to organize the Senate.  The Vermont GOP was/is more pragmatic than many; they were not going to jettison a Senator such as Jeffords who was never in a single bit of danger over being defeated at the polls, and Vermont has never dumped a moderate Republican incumbent over mere ideology.

It sounds better for Jeffords for people to say that he left over the lofty principle of the rightward philosophical drift of the national GOP then to say that he shifted the balance of the Senate over a parochial pork-barrel issue, but that's what happened.  I liked Jeffords; he was an independent guy and, given that he was willing to offend others greatly by causing a wholesale shift in the balance of power in the Senate, he's a guy I'd want in my corner when the chips were down.  But if the Northeast Dairy Compact had been renewed in 2001, Jeffords would have remained a Republican, without a lot of fanfare.