Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Exclusive: Rep. Parker Griffith switches to GOP
Politico ^ | 12/22/2009 | JOSH KRAUSHAAR

Posted on 12/22/2009 8:05:01 AM PST by Danae

POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he’s switching parties to become a Republican.

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.

(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Alabama
KEYWORDS: 111th; alabama; democratnomore; gop; griffith; housesenate; parker; parkergriffith; realignment; republican; switch
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 121-140141-160161-180 ... 301-309 next last
To: who knows what evil?

Okay, then good conservatives would not have been elected to any level of government in the South from say 1880 to now. In many areas of the South, until very recently, the only way to be elected was to run as a Democrat.


141 posted on 12/22/2009 8:56:01 AM PST by Maine Mariner
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 115 | View Replies]

To: Danae

Holy sh##! I am speechless. If ever we needed a sign from God, this is it.


142 posted on 12/22/2009 8:57:43 AM PST by ABQHispConservative (A good Blue Dog is an unelected Blue Dog. Ditto Rino's!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: edcoil
Look at the legislation the “republican” leadership

Not exactly sure how you figure that is the fault of former Democrats who switched to Republican, however. Seems to me, the problem with the GOP "leadership" (you scare-quoted the wrong word) is that they've gone Washington - and they were perfectly capable of doing that while having always been registered GOPers. The answer is increased conservative vigilance, challenging RINOs in the primaries, and term limits - not driving away potential allies and elected officials because they used to be Democrats.

143 posted on 12/22/2009 8:57:52 AM PST by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus (Conservatives unite behind conservative Republicans in the primaries!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 139 | View Replies]

To: proudpapa

dittos. I don’t care if he’s a striped assed ape, if he
votes against this debacle, he ok with me.

here in King Co WA, all the reps are thoroughly leftish
and the sole Republican (Reichert) is a global warmist who barely kept his seat against a certified moonbat.


144 posted on 12/22/2009 8:58:22 AM PST by rahbert (If not by the power of persuasion, then by the persuasion of power - Andy Stein)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Danae

Since very few Republicans are conservatives (anymore), perhaps instead of RINO the term should be changed to CINO.


145 posted on 12/22/2009 8:58:24 AM PST by TheUndead (...it's all downhill from here.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: notaliberal

Do you REALLY think a Democrap is better than a RINO?

We need all the help we can get to fight Obamacare and the Ogabe’s thugs.

If a Senator or Rep is going to vote against Fascist Healthcare, why diss them?


146 posted on 12/22/2009 8:58:35 AM PST by AlanGreenSpam (Obama: The First 'American IDOL' President - sponsored by Chicago NeoCom Thugs)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: fieldmarshaldj
Shocking development out of Alabama. This district has not had a Republican represent it since at least the start of Reconstruction, 1868

Interesting if this gets reported by the MSM.

They made a big deal when the NY seat went Democrat and it had been held by the GOP for a century as well.

147 posted on 12/22/2009 9:00:34 AM PST by fortheDeclaration ("Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people".-John Adams)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Maine Mariner
Okay, then good conservatives would not have been elected to any level of government in the South from say 1880 to now. In many areas of the South, until very recently, the only way to be elected was to run as a Democrat.

I understand that, but people need to realize that the democrat party of old has very little in common with the current crop infesting Washington...

148 posted on 12/22/2009 9:00:39 AM PST by who knows what evil? (G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 141 | View Replies]

To: Danae
he wouldn't vote for Nancy Pelosi to remain as House Speaker because she's too divisive. He joked that if she didn’t like it, he’d provide her with a gift certificate to a mental health center.

Hey, if Pence or Boehner or King said something like that, FR would be praising them to the skies. I suggest we give this guy the benefit of the doubt at least while Obamacare is on the table, and I say that as someone who hasn't voted for a RINO since 1996.

149 posted on 12/22/2009 9:01:11 AM PST by Notary Sojac ("Goldman Sachs" is to "US economy" as "lamprey" is to "lake trout")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

yup.. and who’s to say your not just another RINO supporter... I guess your posting history will tell that tale...


150 posted on 12/22/2009 9:02:31 AM PST by myself6
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 133 | View Replies]

To: billhilly
Tip of the iceberg.

I hope so!

151 posted on 12/22/2009 9:02:50 AM PST by b4its2late (Before you can control a horse, you have to break it. Sound familiar?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

I think dems go to where the power is regardless of power. The problem with allowing a switch is now you have a democrat in a republican office getting election funding from republicans.

A conservative wanting to run for the office will get no funding from the republican party. These switches force conservatives out of the election process unless they self fund.


152 posted on 12/22/2009 9:02:50 AM PST by edcoil (If I had 1 cent for every dollar the government saved, Bill Gates and I would be friends.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 143 | View Replies]

To: who knows what evil?

You are absolutely right-and I expect more elected officials from the South to switch to the Republican party
for the very reason you mentioned. I think the switch today is great news.

I think we saw a bit of this in 1972 as well.


153 posted on 12/22/2009 9:04:15 AM PST by Maine Mariner
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 148 | View Replies]

To: ozarkgirl
Have you taken the worlds smallest political quiz? It’s at the bottom of the screen and I used to love that site but looking today at John McCain - he’s not right conservative and it says he is.

The World's Smallest Political Quiz - yes, I've taken it before, though I noted that it seems engineered to give false positives for libertarianism (not surprising, since LP affiliates invented the quiz). I hate to say it, but I've yet to see a TRULY well-rounded political quiz in the WSPQ type (biaxial) format.

Probably the closest would be this one which seems to be a pretty accurate indicator. However, it, like the WSPQ, eschews asking questions about social issues like abortion, gay marriage, sex ed, etc. The reason for this is because, when you start asking people to answer questions about these types of issues, people start moving towards the "Conservative" corner and away from the "Libertarian" corner (same deal with WSPQ). Libertarians get around this by just not asking those questions. In place, they ask questions where the "conservative" answers are simply outlandish and not supported by most conservatives, like whether we should put people in prison for having oral sex, etc. That way, they can include a few "social issue" questions, and still get the libertarian-leaning responses they want (so that people will begin to self-identify as "libertarian" instead of "conservative").

154 posted on 12/22/2009 9:06:23 AM PST by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus (Conservatives unite behind conservative Republicans in the primaries!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 138 | View Replies]

To: myself6
yup.. and who’s to say your not just another RINO supporter... I guess your posting history will tell that tale...

Yes, I guess it will.

155 posted on 12/22/2009 9:08:58 AM PST by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus (Conservatives unite behind conservative Republicans in the primaries!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 150 | View Replies]

To: Danae
"Hey, sounds to me like he is more conservative than John McCain."

Many people unfamiliar with the Deep South do not understand two main points: (1) a few politicians are only democrats because their dad, grandads, great-granddads, etc., were democrats and it is a family tradition, so to speak; and (2) a democrat in the Deep South is generally more conservative than just about any republican out west or (especially) the northeast part of the country.

Before someone wants to misconstrue my comments as an approval of democrats in general, get a grip. I'm only trying to explain something that is true in this part of the country. While it is a little less the case in national politics, it is much more the case in local politics. The Deep South, overall, is pretty darn conservative, with the exception of the large cities that are largely black populations, especially river cities (Memphis & New Orleans are excellent examples).

156 posted on 12/22/2009 9:10:10 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: myself6

Reagan was in 1948 “just wild about Harry”.


157 posted on 12/22/2009 9:10:22 AM PST by Theodore R.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 116 | View Replies]

To: TomServo

It could be too that he was unaware of just how leftist the Democrats are until he saw them in action. I would imagine that thousands of AL Democrats are in blissful ignorance about their party.


158 posted on 12/22/2009 9:12:58 AM PST by Theodore R.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 63 | View Replies]

To: edcoil
I think dems go to where the power is regardless of power. The problem with allowing a switch is now you have a democrat in a republican office getting election funding from republicans.

Your argument is predicated on the belief that Griffith is not a conservative. His voting record, as I pointed out above, doesn't support this assertion.

Again, I challenge your assertion (blanket, at least) that the "Republican Party" refuses to support conservative candidates. In fact, despite a few high profile cases to the contrary, this is not really the case. Despite the propaganda from the whiners, Dede Scozzafava is not really, actually, truly the norm.

159 posted on 12/22/2009 9:13:28 AM PST by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus (Conservatives unite behind conservative Republicans in the primaries!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 152 | View Replies]

To: Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus

Good point; there was a TX Democrat who switched in 1995, and Ron Paul took him out in the primary in 1996. Gingrich and GWB were against Paul.


160 posted on 12/22/2009 9:14:21 AM PST by Theodore R.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 99 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 121-140141-160161-180 ... 301-309 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson