Without reading too much into it, this story is interesting for its conformance to pattern. It reminds me of Ronald Reagan, who said he never left the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left him. It reminds me in ironic ways of the #WalkAway campaign and many of the confessions it generated.
It is unlikely the Democratic Party will soon collapse due to defection, but it is noteworthy that party defectors commonly describe their former fellows as unpleasant people.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
Unpleasant? That’s washington code for scurrilous, rabid, hate mongering snobs who think they were elected to own and command, not work for, the electorate.
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What a cogent description of the GOP.
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The problem the Democrats have always had is its broad spectrum of constituents. Herding cats is easier than corralling Democrats. I think if any party will have the occasional defection, it would by Democrats.
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Does the Democratic Party’s reputation for unpleasantness then derive from dictatorial methods to overcome the consequences of diversity?
If we say that some natural ratio of Democrats are bound to be malcontents, that doesn’t really explain the reputation for unpleasantness. After all, unpleasant behavior would have to exist on its own for the malcontents to notice and comment about it.
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You say a reputation for unpleasantness like that is a given. Your opinion is noted.
For my money, the small army of “unpleasant” Republicans way overrides any comparisons.
MTG, Hawley, Cruz, Boebert, McCarthy, Biggs, Graham…
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RE: “You say a reputation for unpleasantness like that is a given.”
It is a given, as stated in the post. That is why I found your commentary odd.
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What were the specifics for her to change parties.
Not generalities like “bullying”, but bullying for what?
That she was criticized on Twitter is really a kind of childish reason. Twitter is a chat box for insults, threats and conspiracies among its “features”. For an experienced politician to whine about criticism means she is in the wrong party. Republicans have cornered the market on victimhood.
She personally had an abortion and spoke out vehemently about it on the floor. Now she is changing her mind? She ran on liberal policies and won. Who is she trying to bamboozle?
What is really an amazing coincidence is that her change gave the GOP the exact number of votes for a supermajority. I think somebody got to her from the GOP. But coincidences do happen😇…except in politics, of course.
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I take it Ms. Cotham’s complaints don’t meet your standards. If Democrats are like you, I’d say she has a point.
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What are the specifics?
All I saw was “bullying”…about what?
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“. . . reputation for unpleasantness”
Laughable projection.
It MAGA-Republicans who have a reputation for – to put it mildly – “unpleasantness.”
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RE: “Laughable projection.”
Hardly. I described the pattern into which the posted story fits. Perhaps it is YOU who is reacting psychologically instead of rationally.
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I disagree.
Having spent years herding cats in a truly diverse party, I would say that the spectrum of thought in Democrats is infinitesimally small and they turn on each other for the tiniest variation.
Ms Cotham was vilified by her fellow Democrats for having the temerity to place an American Flag and praying hands on her Twitter label.
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“I would say that the spectrum of thought in Democrats is infinitesimally small”
I would say that your observation is nonsense. Our valued leaders range from a Manchin on the right, a Biden and many others in the middle, to a Sanders on the left. You do not get a much wider spectrum than that.
“Ms Cotham was vilified by her fellow Democrats for having the temerity to place an American Flag and praying hands on her Twitter label.”
She was vilified by some jerks on Twitter. What sort of vilification do you think RINOs endure from such people AND elected officials? Maybe check with Cheney and Kinzinger to see what kind of crap has been slung at them for doing their duty.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/559357-liz-cheney-hired-security-after-death-threats-report/
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” I would say that the spectrum of thought in Democrats is infinitesimally small and they turn on each other for the tiniest variation.”
Really? Try staying relevant in today’s GOP if you step out of line and criticize Trump. Or lose your committee assignments and get censured for standing up for the Constitutional order.
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As you are reminded of Ronald Reagan, I am reminded of Arlen Spector, PA Senator who swithced parties in the 80’s or 90’s.
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