RIP Ralph Hall, the original modern ConservaDem

Ralph Hall, who along with John Dingell, was one of the last two WWII veterans to serve in Congress, died Thursday.

For those who don't know more, Hall was the second successor to "Mr. Sam," Sam Rayburn, in Texas' 4th Congressional District.

Rayburn held the seat for a little over 48 years. Ray Roberts won a special election at Mr. Sam's death and held the spot for almost 20 years. Hall then held it 34 years before being primaried out of office by John Ratcliffe.

The first newspaper I was at was the now-defunct Bonham Daily Favorite. This was several years before Hall jumped parties but the speculation was out there in already in the middle and late 1990s. And, I asked him directly in his 1996 re-election cycle and he brushed it off.

After Newt and the Gang took over the House in 1995, that's when the speculation all heated up. I hit him in the first election year after that. But, Rethugs at that time wouldn't honor his overall seniority and committee seniority at 100 percent at that time, which is part of why he said no.

Eventually, Shrub Bush mixed carrots and sticks, and got Danny P.(edophile) Hastert to make it all good on seniority issues, and Hall jumped ship in 2004. Long before then, he was the most conservative Democrat in the House.

Political pundits and sociologists who decry the polarization of America get it wrong, especially if they point to Hall's past as an example of what was better.

Although Hall was not, as far as I know, an unregenerate segregationist, nonetheless, he points to a past when such men held swing power in the Senate as Southern Democrats. Polarization problems have little to do with American political parties continuing to engage in "sorting" that makes them more like parliamentary parties in Europe. Rather, this is something we should applaud.

Rather, polarization has primarily to do with large degrees of racism, anti-government conspiracy mongering and anti-science stances in today's GOP, combined with, to a definitely smaller but not nonexistent degree, SJW-type elements among Democratic backers today.

Unfortunately, Democratic leadership, especially in the House, worried about numbers or whatever, is still ready to accept too many "galvanized Blue Dogs" into membership.