Walker Hines Has Just "Caoed" Himself

Walker Hines, my local Representative in the House side of the Louisiana state legislature, has switched parties. He is now a Republican, casting aside his Democratic Party affiliation. And this means he's effectively betrayed all of us Democrats who voted for him. Next election, he's toast. I'm more and more inclined to think that any elected official who switches parties while occupying an office should have to resign the office upon making such a switch and a special election to replace this official should be called immediately. He claims that his switch was based on "principle" as opposed to political expediency. But I have to say a principled person would have coupled his switch of party affiliation with a resignation from the office. Had he run for office as a Republican to begin with, he would have lost outright. He owes his election to his Democratic party affiliation, and a principled person would be behaving much, much differently now. What a shame.