Democrat Turned Republican Parker Griffith Loses in Alabama GOP Primary

hotairpundit ^ | 6/2/10 | HAP

[Talkradio03]

Parker Griffith, considered a blue dog, switched to the Republican party on December 22, tonight was the GOP Primary in Alabama, Griffith comes up short to Mo Brooks....(Results)

[Minus_The_Bear]

Les Phillips would have been better.

[Beowulf9]

He switched to Republican on Dec 22? This is hardly new? Why publish this now?

[Patrick1]

Another one bites the dust!

[Maelstorm]

There is no good reason in Alabama ever to elect anyone but the most conservative candidate you can get socially and fiscally. I hope Mo Brooks is one of these.

[anymouse]

Griffith comes up short to Mo Brooks

[AzaleaCity5691]

First to Maelstorm:

That you said that shows that you aren’t really familiar with how Alabama politics has historically worked. Historically, social conservatism and economic populism have always walked hand in hand in this state. It’s how Wallace ran the state as his own dominion for 25 years and how Hubbert has also managed to for the last 20.

The 5th district is perhaps the best example of this. Everyone in that district gets their power from a federal agency (TVA). Scores of workers are employed in Huntsville solely because of government agencies and their contractors (Griffith switched because of Obama’s scrapping of a NASA program).

They are against abortion, gun control and all the rest but campaigning on lean government is not how you win in the 5th. Brooks has historically been more of a social conservative than a fiscal one (although he has been a fiscal one) but there is a limit of how far right he can go on fiscal issues before he starts losing the NASA/federal employee/government contract vote because people in this district love federal spending and they love federal pork, they simply want it on things that put money in their pocket books.

And Minus, I understand where you and the Phillips supporters are coming from, I really do. However, the black political leadership just did in the first competitive black candidate for governor in the state because of the unspoken belief they have that this state couldn’t elect a black governor.

Just because Phillips was a conservative and a Republican it doesn’t mean he would have avoided a similar fate. Against Raby, Phillips would have struggled to break 35% because tea party or not, Obama or not, North Alabama is North Alabama and North Alabama whites have never shown themselves as ones to vote for black candidates for anything.

[Maelstorm]

Thanks for putting things in perspective.

[AuH2ORepublican]

Congressman Parker Griffith switched from Democrat to Republican less than four years ago, lost the GOP primary around three and one-half years ago, left the GOP to become an “Independent” about a year ago, and now is set to rejoin the Democrat Party to run for governor:

http://whnt.com/2014/02/03/sources-parker-griffith-likely-to-run-for-governor/

While I supported Les Phillips over Mo Brooks in the 2010 primary, I’m just glad that that POS Griffith didn’t win the primary. Yeah, his switch to the GOP sure was genuine.

[Impy]

Just think, if he had been handed the GOP nomination for his House seat like he wanted then this jerk would be sitting as a Republican Congressman as we speak.

I’m loathe to label him a traitor since he was never really a Republican but a self-serving double agent. Smiert Spionam!!!!

[Impy]

More Bama news (filing deadline was 2-7)

No rat is running for the Senate against Jeff Sessions (who has no opponents at all, indies have until June). A historic first.

Indiana filing deadline was also 2-7.

Rats have candidates against the 2 statewide Republicans up for reelection (I always found it curious they have some offices up in midterms and others in potus years, PA does that as well and Missouri for the office of State Auditor) but have apparently passed on running someone for Richard Mourdock’s open post of State Treasurer.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I can’t believe Alabama Democrats would seriously allow a flake like Griffith to be their nominee with all this party switching. Now, Fob James did it (he was a Republican in the early ‘70s, switched to the Dems to run for Governor in 1978, later returned to the GOP), but in those days 36 years ago, the AL GOP wasn’t viable at the state level and ideologically, the whole spectrum was in the Democrat Party.

Now that the parties have sharp ideological divisions, how will Griffith explain the back and forth and back again beyond pure shameless opportunism ? I also well remember what the AL Democrats did to Artur Davis, and he was further left of Griffith (and they insisted on nominating a White that was to Davis’s left). The other candidate running for Governor is one Kevin Bass, whose website name is BassforObama. I think we can see which is more “pure.”