“When I became governor, the legislature in Louisiana was 95 percent Democrat. And there was no debate. They were part of institutional corruption: that’s what monopolies have. So one party government’s not a good idea. And so about halfway through my term, I said, ‘Buddy, you want to make a contribution? You change parties. You have some Republican tendencies about you, and you love reading history about Abraham Lincoln and he started the Republican Party. Change parties, and you’ll change the debate in Louisiana elections, although it might hurt you running for governor.’ It did hurt me, but it was the right thing to do.”

– Former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer