POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.I have to wonder whether this could prompt some of the other Blue Dogs to do the same. A lot of "moderate" Dems were elected to replace Republicans in 2006 and 2008, and now those seats are primary targets for 2010 with so much public anger against the Democrats and their grand government schemes. It wouldn't surprise me to see a few more make the jump.
According to a senior GOP aide familiar with the decision, the announcement will take place in this afternoon in his home district in northern Alabama.
Griffith’s party switch comes on the eve of a pivotal congressional health care vote and will send a jolt through a Democratic House Caucus that has already been unnerved by the recent retirements of a handful of members who, like Griffith, hail from districts that offer prime pickup opportunities for the GOP in 2010.
The switch represents a coup for House Republican leadership, which had been courting Griffith since he publicly criticized Democratic leadership in the wake of raucous town halls over the summer.
Griffith, who captured the seat in a close 2008 open seat contest, will become the first Republican to hold the historically Democratic, Huntsville-based district. A radiation oncologist who founded a cancer treatment center, Griffith plans to blast the Democratic health care bill as a prime reason for his decision to switch parties—and is expected to cite his medical background as his authority on the subject.
While the timing of his announcement was unexpected, Griffith’s party switch will not come as a surprise to those familiar with his voting record, which is one of the most conservative among all Democrats.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Alabama Representative to Switch to GOP
Here's one freshman Democrat who didn't like his chances in 2010:
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3 comments:
The other Blue Dogs might as well switch parties, because there is not a lot of difference between Democrat and Republican when you boil it down. Both parties make a mockery of The Constitution and neither party represents its constituents, and both parties are servants to lobbyists and private interests. Both parties care very little if at all about the people who they are elected to represent except when it is time to get re-elected, and the example of this "Representative" switching parties so he can get re-elected is a prime example of that.
One might also note, Arlen Specter was a Democrat first, then became a Republican, and is now a Democrat again. Arlen never left the Democrat party in spirit and in policy.
The funny bit is that the dude from Alabama voted with the Democrats 85% of the time.
Conservatives ought to field a candidate against him.
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