I'm not a big fan of Tim Skubick, but last Friday's column in the Lansing State Journal is worth checking out. In it, he ponders the possibility that former Congressman Joe Schwarz may run again... and as a Democrat.

Schwarz may switch parties. As a Democrat, he could theoretically run for his old 7th Congressional District seat, which he unceremoniously lost to GOP right-winger Tim Walberg last summer.

The Battle Creek physician is a moderate dinosaur in the GOP that stopped embracing moderation when former Gov. Bill Milliken left town 30 years ago.

Skubick is absolutely right, there. Tim Walberg and his allies in the Republican Party have shown that moderates are no longer welcome. Democrats, meanwhile, even the "left-wing blogger fringe," have been embracing both progressives and moderates. (If you didn't watch it in January, check out moderate Democratic Senator Jim Webb's response to the State of the Union. This is a good sample of what the Democratic Party stands for.)

Anyway, Skubick continues...

The list of those who want the affable Dr. Schwarz to change include U.S. Sen. Carl Levin and his younger brother, U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin. The wife of veteran U.S. Rep. John Dingell, Debbie, has been pushing Schwarz to flip for more than two years.

But he is not there yet. He confesses there is less than a 50-50 chance he will change. And for some other Democrats, that's fine with them.

Skubick proceeds to mention Jim Berryman, a likely Democratic candidate and friend of Joe Schwarz.

Schwarz says he and Berryman are "close friends" but that does not mean Schwarz will automatically step aside. He'll make his decision on party affiliation in June.

Personally, I don't think he'll switch, and I'm not convinced that he'll run, as a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. But if he did run as any of those, it would be interesting to watch.

Now, I'm off to Chicago for a few days, and won't have much computer access. Congressman Walberg, try not to do anything too newsworthy!

Labels: 2008 Speculation, Democratic Party, Joe Schwarz, Moderate Republicans, Republican Party