A microcosm of the rest of society, some people there think he was being terribly disloyal, dishonest, etc. etc. because he ran as a Republican and then left the party. I don't get that at all. We could do that with a computer system. Vote on the platform on election day, vote for which party's platform you support, and be done. That's not what representative democracy is about at all.
Political parties have too much control as it is.
In fact, I think it would be a terrible shame if politicians were expected to vote along party lines all the time. It is not always possible to change something from within. Moderate Republicans have been trying for years to take their party back from the right-wing zealots who've taken power, and been unsuccessful. I left, I don't blame others for leaving. Perhaps it's a New England thing.