Freshman Dem Switching Parties

Here it goes. The dropping off like flies on a live horse. This is the beggining of the end of the democratic party as it was once know. The party of old slavery and the rich is coming down. The majority of America is agianst a health bill that only a handful knows what it contains. Speculated 43% tax increase to pay for it. Good luck getting a raise to offset its tax costs on your pay check.

it sounds like he is a republican in all but name anyway…perhaps he ran as a democrat in order to get in office?

No loss….he hasn’t been voting democratically anyway and like Lieberman he needs to be in the party to which he is showing his allegiance. No party…democratic or republicans needs someone who votes the other way. Not critical of his opinions but he needs to be somewhere else. No asset to anyone this way.

So he is doing this for money and power instead of what he thinks is right. These people are so pathetic. Ron Paul is a beacon of light in a cesspool of corruption and fraud.

talmag | Dec 22, 2009 11:53:26 AM…..I agree with you about Ron Paul. But I know nothing of the party switcher.

Keep the title!
Having the label of democrat is the only way you can go to these meetings behind closed doors that c-span can’t even go to.
A democrat label also lets you meet with the president in other meetings.
Being a republican will only get you excluded.

I do not like turn coat’s. It makes me think that this Senator that won the seat as a Democrat was a Republican anyway. But new that the only way to get the seat was be a Democrat. Sounds like that the Democratic party didn’t vet this person in general. He does the people of Alabama an injustice by being a TURNCOAT. Turncoats are not for the people that elect them, and I believe that the people of Alabama need to find a good Democrat at re-election time, and put this Turncoat out on his collective Arse!!

He votes like a republican anyway-he comes from a state that is ranked nearly last in education and not too good in health care-and he expects the republicans to help him with that?? make me laugh-things will stay the same-the worker bees will stay in their place and the 5% wealthy will use them to acheieve their ends-that’s called capitalism here-and something a bit more negative in other countries

the voters from his district should be allowed to recall him post haste. all this “i’ll run as one thing and then switch to the other side as it suits me” is bogus. it’s bogus when a republican morphs to democrat and vice-versa. just one more reason among many to have no faith whatsoever in politicians.

What’s this, a democrat actually realizing that government intervention leads to strangulation of our economy, hindering growth?
I thought all democrats were liberal socialists at heart, but apparently some are able to eventually see the light.
Either that, or he is beginning to see that after obama is done with the democratic party, the American people are going to run away quicker from them then obama did from rev racist.

One guy isn’t exactly earth shattering but is welcome anyway. It would take a mass exodus to get the attention of the marxist we have running the country these days so I doubt they are very worried.

stickman…I have never pretended to know “everything” that is in this bill. I do pay attention enough to know that our current system needed repair desperately. You have any idea how many people my age are still working simly because they have NO portable, affordable health care? And you and others still want to make the “blind assertment” that we are the greatest
nation in the world? We have 30 some million who cannot afford health care at all! And every time they go to the emergency room to be treated (since hospitals do not turn people away) guess what happens to our costs? So instead of trying to “split hairs” with me on the “total contents” of the bill, how about recognizing the bigger picture here. Like focusing on the thing that has caused our premiums to rise so much over the past two
decades. Affordable coverage.

He switched parties for one reason only.. he knows if he runs as a Democrat next election, he is gone. If we Americans are Smart, the next election we will vote for the “New” Person and throw ALL the Crooked Elite out of office. If we do that everytime they come up for election, then the RICH and ELITE will find that it is NOT WORTH ALL THE MONEY they are putting into elections if the person getting elected is not staying long enough to USE THEM.

Katie McClure–Turncoats??? How about Colin Powell, Robert Gates, Arlen Spector. Whether it’s by party or actions, they are turncoats! I don’t like it when they do it for either party. This one may be particularly damaging to the Dems though!

“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.”

It would seem to me that universal health care would be a shot in the arm for Alabama’s economy. Too bad.
Posted by: The_Mick |
—Sorry to break your bubble but Alabama is smart enough to know that this will cause taxes to increase and do damage to our overhaul healthcare system. Parker is a good man who knows the medical and insurance fields and also knows that this bill is bad for the country.

CND All I know is that for months now all I have heard is how big, bad, and profitable these insurance companies are and now you are going to be forced to buy insurance from them. HA, that is claasic. If you don’t buy you go to jail or face huge fines. Once this garbage goes through, then bush tax cuts expire(everyones taxes go up… look it up) cap n tax (extra 100-150 a month barrys estimates not mine) there will be some serious anger. I understand the emotional side of your argument but this bill does not hold water. Just think…. they could have actually helped these people and instead just another dem payoff.

CND FOX
Contrary to your liberal beliefs, America IS the greatest country in the world. We have the best treatment facililtes, hospitals, doctors, and medical schools in the world. I know that pains you to hear, but it’s the truth. 90% of all life-saving drugs and medical breakthroughs have been created/discovered here in the USA.
Government takeover would cripple that innovation, which has helped to benefit the lives of people all over the globe.
Have you ever spent any time in european hospitals? I have been to several. What I saw was disgusting. Sure, it was “free”, while taxpayers are robbed 50% of their income to pay for it. The hospitals i went to had almost No doctors, long lines, and filthy rooms/waiting areas.
Do we have problems here in America? Of course we do, and if the monstrasity known as government would just get out of the way, perhaps we could have some actual competition between insurance companies across state lines. Guess what that would do..lower the rates!
And what about tort reform? Several of the doctors I know have been saying for years that their medical malpractice has gotten so high that their practices are in jeopardy.
You can thank all of the liberal trial lawyers for those frivilous lawsuits, who have driven the last of the OBGYN’s out of west virginia.
And what about illegal immigrants robbing our health system? 15,000 illegal babies were born in dallas alone last year- we pay for all of those costs!

Only in Alabama.

The First of MANY more to come! The Dems. are starting to realize that they may have cut their own throats. Silly Rabbits.

Smart man, he sees the problems and I’m sure sees the writing on the wall. Gary’s comment hit it perfectly. This bill is a piece of junk that benefits no one. They’re trying to ram it home before xmas just so they can pat themselves on the back. The whole thing is riddled with favors and pork, how does that help anyone? Sadly it’s not even a step in the right direction. Want to fix health care? Dump the insurance companies, dump the medical lawsuits, dump the personal injury lawyers, and revamp the FDA from the ground up (so that our people can have the latest medical advances in a timely manner like those in Europe can and it won’t cost companies so much to get to market with new products). The costs would come down so much that you wouldn’t need insurance 90% of the time. There’s no reason my co-payment amount should cover the entire 15min office visit if the system is efficient. Let gov’t cover the 10% when you really do need help.

Will you people ever learn?
I can see it now: When Republican start pulling off even greater atrocities in 2013, some senator will switch out and join back the Democrats.
PATHETIC!
INDEPENDENT 2010/2012 !!! The whole lot of politicians needs to be changed… like dirty diapers. Too bad for even the very few honest ones (like Ron Paul)… If the candidate is either Republican or Democrat, DON’t EVEN think of picking them, no matter what promises (lies) they may say. Even an honest person who joins either Party will inevitably get corrupted. INDEPENDENT 2010/2012 !!! If you EVEN THINK of making excuses and voting for someone from either party, you are a hopeless idiot.

“Sure, it was “free”, while taxpayers are robbed 50% of their income to pay for it.”
I see you’re still making numbers up.
There isn’t a single European country paying anywhere close to a 50% health tax rate.

No Senator should be in office more than 2 terms (12 years) and no Congressmen/women should be in office more than 3 terms (6 years) otherwise they do too much harm to us all. VOTE OUT the INCUMBENTS in 2010.

This is just the first Dem. to realize that they have cut their own throats. Your going to see alot more of them getting Voted/thrown out and changing parties.

All Republicans should.

The NEW Democratic Party is actually called PROGRESSIVES. The PROGRESSIVE movement is actually COMMUNISM or SOCIALISM. Please read the definition of Communism.
com⋅mu⋅nism
  /ˈkɒmyəˌnɪzəm/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kom-yuh-niz-uhm] Show IPA
Use communism in a Sentence
See web results for communism
See images of communism
–noun
1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. (often initial capital letter) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
3. (initial capital letter) the principles and practices of the Communist party.
4. communalism.
Origin:
1835–45; < F communisme. See common, -ism
As you can see the Democrats are actually COMMUNISTS. We should re-open the McCarthy Trials again and discover who they are, so we can deport them to a communist country.

Un-American, you’re right on about the new democrats. i’m in my 40′s and the hero of the democrats my entire life was JFK…who was a hard core anti-communist and staunch defender of free market principles. he wouldn’t even recognize the modern democrat party…in fact, he’d likely rebel against it due to the fact that it’s been hijacked by socialist…for whom JFK had little but disdain. the democrat party, like the republican party before it under bush, has ceased to even resemble what it was decades ago. it’s not the democrat party i grew up knowing…it’s a socialist party now and the point can’t really even be seriously debated any longer. again, JFK, the hero of the democratic party was 100% opposed to socialism and 100% in favor of capitalism. funny thing is that the JFK democrats believed in civil rights, but unlike modern democrats, they saw the best way to achieve civil rights justice was to direct the energies of capitalism, rather than to attempt to destroy capitalism. i think JFK would probably want to punch obama in the face.

Un-American, I think you have it wrong. The Democrats are the same but the Republicans have just become more judgemental, racist, anti everything except what will fill their big donors’ pockets such as insurance co., hospitals, oil, etc. Republicans have no mercy for the middle class and below. The only reason the South are red states is because they were against the equal rights bill passed and so they hang on to their old beliefs. The Republicans voted against, Social Security, Medicare anything and everything that might help the middle class and poor. This is one Alabamian who will continue to vote Democrat and hopefully will be able to bring the State into the 21st Century as a human loving State regardless of creed, race, religion, sex, etc.
Posted by: Mickey | Dec 22, 2009 1:35:27 PM
Mickey if you do live in his district you should know that Huntsville is a diverse area and we are not all racist haters.

I wonder why ABC News hasn’t reported on the Nebraska sweet heart deal with Ben Nelson? I see a major problem with Democrats selling their votes to the White House and an even bigger problem with the White House providing such deals to states giving them millions of Federal (your and mine) money for medicare. Democrats are so corrupt but yet the point the finger towards Republicans…. Our elected officials better get it together both Dem and Repub!!

If Heathcare passes, we have one recourse to flip this flop, that is filing a grievance against Congress and the President. It is not only our right, but a duty of any citizen of the United States of America. The only time this can happen is when Congress/President is endangering our way of life, ie. economically, socially, with the intent of destroying the US and it’s sovereignty. We need to start a petition of redressing our greivances (our 1st Ammendment rights).

How anyone can change from Democrat to Republican or vice versa is beyond comprehension. The parties as they exist today are distinct opposites.

@Katie McClure a Turncoat in Alabama or a Sellout in Nebraska, they are all as loyal as their pockets will hold money. I’m fed up with the political process. It is broken and no one cares anymore. Everyone is self righteous and loud but nothing changes. Laws are blatently violated and nothing is done. Common decency is rare. I don’t see it changing any time soon. I got really involved in Politics late in life, thinking I really could make a difference, excited and enthused to volunteer and support. The reality of it all……….. it’s a joke. …..just words to get elected and then do what you planned to do all along once you are in there. I’m talking about local and statewide as well as higher office. You’d better know the person BEFORE they start running. That is who they will REALLY be.

And please people grow up everytime there is a story about Alabama someone tries to bring up slavery or civil rights. We were not the only state to be stained with that part of history. And stop trying to stereo type us as racist. Look around where you live. Racism exists in every state in the Union

Socialist/communist regimes have murdered 200,000,000 peole in the last 100 years, and the obamabots are still shouting for their dear leader to take total control of their lives.
The founding fathers are crying right now, but they will be smiling again when all of the socialists in washington get sent home in 2010 and 2012.

We are getting frighteningly close to a dictatorship!
Obama tells the congress what HE wants and it delivers in spite of over whelming public disapproval.
This dictatorship is self imposed unless we have the guts to do something about it. Just voting the 60 despicable Obama-serving senators out of office isn’t enough, we have to elect a new congress with enough guts and drive to repeal the disastrous actions of the current inhabitants of the Hill!
If the congress won’t listen on healthcare, it’s not going to listen on “cap and tax” either!

This is really good, because he will run as a republican , and people don’t like him anyway, I see a new and better democrat winning this seat next time. Say NO to the party of NO.

He is acting like Specter. He changed?

It looks like the Democrats have become the small-tent Socialist party, and those with any fiscal conservatism will be leaving soon – the rest will be voted into an early retirement.

Parker Griffith must have gotten a terrific bribe. Or he subscribes to the Joe Lieberman school of “whatever it takes to get noticed and get ahead.”

Congratulations to Rep. Parker Griffith for being the first Democrat into the lifeboat – and abandoning the S.S. Obama, after it struck the national debt reality iceburg.

Good for him. Most smart people would as I think the 2010 election will show the downfall of the democrats. Independent here. Tired.

Hey Jim Rod…where do you get your info saying that the majority of Americans do want health care? Oh yes, the Republican mouth piece. I don’t understand. The Republicans are suppose to be the Christian party but yet they are the ones that do not want to help their fellow man with health care or much of anything else as far as that goes.

The choice:
1. Be thrown out of office with the rest of the irresponsible, dictatorial, tax-and-spend, loony-left d-crat socialists in 2010, or
2. Become a republican.
Tough choice!

Everyone thinks this is a coup? How “democrat” can he really be if he’s from Alabama? I’ve been there and it’s NOT San Francisco people.
Posted by: Heidi L | Dec 22, 2009 5:14:16 PM
I live there too and there are plenty of liberals in Parkers district. Just because the state is red does not mean we don’t have liberal democrats. But your right it’s not San Francisco. We have rocket scientist here in Parkers district. I guess you would compare it to Houston.

So Katie, you don’t like turncoats? How about when over 60% of the people do not want this health care bill passed? Are those who are forcing it on us any better than the turncoats? Maybe the turncoats are listening to the voter who put them into office. Sounds to me like someone has a twisted sense of loyalty when they vote for something a majority of American people do not want.

I noticed that the guy did not find his moral bearings until Obama went down in the pools. How convenient.

fraud and bribery party. you are gone in 2010.ben nelson probsably should stay in dc for christmas because he is not welcome in nebraska

Sounds to me that he saw the light. With the way that the Dems are going this country should be “owned” by China within 2 years having to borrow money to survive.

The Republicans are falling apart, hoping for national disaster for political gains, entirely leaderless, lacking any positive move other than “Just say no”, and they are hooting because ONE democrat jumps ship. I didn’t think this was silly season.

I feel that once an a person becomes an elected official of one party then they should be allowed to change their party affiliation until re-election time comes up. They were voted in as to represent that party for the length of their term and not decide part way through their term to change parties..
It makes me wonder now if this idiot Congressman was not a Republican all along and knew that he would never win as a Republican in the last election do decided to run as a Democrat. If I lived in his state, I sure would vote him out the next time.

I feel that once an a person becomes an elected official of one party then they should be allowed to change their party affiliation until re-election time comes up. They were voted in as to represent that party for the length of their term and not decide part way through their term to change parties..
It makes me wonder now if this idiot Congressman was not a Republican all along and knew that he would never win as a Republican in the last election do decided to run as a Democrat. If I lived in his state, I sure would vote him out the next time.
-posted by Chacooe
——–
1. A person is not elected to represent a political party. They are elected to represent all constituents living in whatever state or district from which they ran. Hopefully, voters will vote based on the voter’s assessment of the candidate at least as much as party. I’ve done it myself.
2. I agree partly that an elected official should not change parties….with the additional stipulation that they can change ONLY after the constituents can vote to approve or disapprove. If the majority of voters disapprove, no change should be allowed.
3. As for why he ran as Democrat: Perhaps he thought that was the political party that matched his views. Perhaps, after being elected, he found he disagreed with the Democratic Party so much that he felt it unethical to remain part of that caucus. Unfair to himself, the party, or his constituents.
4. Since you used the word ‘idiot’ to describe this gentleman, I question your objectivity. Were you this upset with Senator Specter changed from Republican to Democrat? Did you wonder if Specter lied just to get elected?
5. I will not assume either one lied to get elected. Both men probably ran on the party ticket they thought at the time matched their views. Once in office with the opportunity to learn the facts, both probably decided to change.

The First of MANY more to come! The Dems. are starting to realize that they may have cut their own throats. Silly Rabbits.
Posted by: Gunrunner | Dec 22, 2009 1:35:05 PM
_______________________________________
What’s funny about statements like these is it just proves that republican voters are so stupid that no matter who the person is, if they have and “R” in fornt of their name, they’d vote for them. Figure it out people, they’re playing on your party loyalty and laughing at you behind your backs……

Some of you do not know what you are talking about Griffith has always been a democrat but in Alabama it is not uncommon to be a Pro business, Pro Life, Pro second ammendment state congressman. It’s when he got to Washinton he found out the Dems don’t play that way. They have went way far left and they are supposed to be the party of moderates and independents.

Do you blame him? The Democrat Party is not the party of FDR or JFK. The Democrat Party today is the party of Castro, Chavez and Lenin; as they do not represent any “real” American. If you ignore the little things like “does Obama have a US Birth Certificate” then the Democrats see that they can completely ignore the entire US Constitution. Real Americans will fight back and take back our country and force this fraud – Obama- to prove he is a natural born US citizen or even a US citizen.

I lived in Alabama for a few years. It shocks me that a Democrat could win anything in that “good ole’boy” state.

I first registered as a democrat years ago when they first allowed 18 year olds to vote. I was 19. I voted for Jimmy Carter. Not because he was a democrat but because he is a Christian and his views and beliefs are the same as mine. His political party didn’t matter to me. That is the way I still vote. I vote for the person, not the party. I read up on the candidates and find out what they stand for and their voting records. I changed, though, from a democrat to a republican back in the early 80′s because I felt that the democratic party had moved to far to the left and had become too liberal and no longer represented me. I am a proud conservative. It was a decision that I’ve never regretted! I don’t think Rep. Griffith will regret his decision either! We need more like him!

I need to change my first message. I think it was Hubert Humphrey that I first voted for. I did, though, later vote for Jimmy Carter. I changed to a republican in the early 80′s.