Democratic Rep. Gene Taylor: I Voted for McCain
(Credit:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
It's the ultimate in distancing yourself from your party: Rep. Gene Taylor, a Democrat from Mississippi, said in an interview with Mississippi's Sun Herald that he voted for Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election.
Taylor, at left, has often broken with his own party, and has repeatedly criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for being too liberal in this campaign cycle - even though he voted her to be speaker in 2007 and 2009.
He now says that's over.
"I will not support her for speaker again" Taylor said in the interview. "I'm very disappointed in how she's veered to the left."
Taylor said he would throw his support behind Missouri Rep. Ike Skelton, another moderate Democrat and the chair of the House Armed Services Committee.
Taylor has opposed Democrats on some of the Obama administration's key legislative victories. In September, he was the first Democrat to sign a petition to repeal the health care law.
The Mississippi congressman claims to be essentially independent."Both parties are screwed up. They're screwed up in different ways," he said.
Taylor's district is rated as "probable Democratic" hold, according to a CBS News analysis of the race, though his Republican opponent, Steven Palazzo, has made strides in recent weeks. Palazzo has stressed Taylor's past support for Pelosi.
