Slooter Leaves Traditionalist Party, Now A Conservative

NWP senator switches from Traditionalist Party

GRANTHAM, NWP--New Portsmouth Senator J. Isaak Slooter, who made history last year after becoming the first Traditionalist elected to the Senate, is now leaving the party that helped launch his political career.

Mr. Slooter made the switch official today, after filing papers with New Portsmouth Secretary of State Richard Crux's office at the state capitol in Yanceyburg.

Sources close to the senator say he had been mulling a party-switch for months, in part because his Traditionalist affiliation hurt him in the politically moderate state of New Portsmouth, where most current office-holders are Nationalists or moderate Conservatives.

Slooter was also troubled by some radical factions of the Traditionalist Party, according to the sources. He was especially concerned that radical Christian fundamentalists might hijack the party and give the Traditionalist brand a bad name.

But critics say Slooter made the switch because the Conservative Party wanted to regain the majority in the Senate. Before his defection, both the NAT Party and the CNS Party held 43 seats each, with the NAT officially holding the majority because Vice President Don James is a Nationalist (in the event of a tie in the Senate, the vice president decides which party should be in the majority). Now, with Slooter's admission to the party, the CNS will hold a one-seat majority, 44-43. And the party's desire to regain the majority is precisely the reason Sen. Slooter made the defection, opponents say.

"The only reason Senator Slooter made this decision was because the Conservatives want to steal the majority," Sen. James Owen-Wilson (N-REM) said. "The Conservatives begged for him to join them, and he caved in to their pressure, pure and simple."

Not surprisingly, Conservatives praised Slooter's decision to join their ranks.

"We're happy to have him," Sen. Evelynn Blankenship of Veroche told STAR News. "Senator Slooter is a man of principle and is an extraordinary leader, and I don't think there's one person in our party who does not welcome his addition."

Sen. Slooter did not personally comment on his defection, but in a written statement, the senator said he made the switch after "considering several issues," and he felt his "goals and vision can best be accomplished" by joining the CNS party. The statement also denied majority control played a part in his decision, saying the senator does not "let partisan politics play a role in [his] decision-making process."

Slooter's switch means the Conservatives will now seize the majority in the Senate. Sen. George Landers (CEA) and Sen. Ty Jaimeson (CEA) will hold the Majority and Assistant Majority Leader posts. NAT senators Shay Robertson (DMG) and Bruce Kellney (TRI) will hold the Minority and Assistant Minority Leader positions, respectively.

Though the CNS will now officially have control of the Senate, their one-seat majority is hardly a guarantee the party's agenda will get passed, as seven Conservative senators are members of the moderate "Sideliner's Club." They include: Chuck Danbury (ARA), Robert Maclan (ARA), Victoria Albright (CEA), Ayden Benning (NWP), Niles Gilcrest (VER), Dick Ammons (HVN), and Andre "Bourret" Magiscanti (HVN).

With so many CNS senators willing to cross over to the NAT side, it's possible President Menuhaeo may have enough support to pass his economic stimulus package, which he is expected to introduce in two weeks.