Comments on: Bad year for party switchers

By: REPUBLICAN REDEFINED

REPUBLICAN REDEFINED — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 19:46:57 +0000

New Republican / Former Democrat Parker Griffith Defeated in Alabama Primary…

US Representative Parker Griffith was defeated yesterday in his bid for the Republican nomination in his Northern Alabama Congressional district. So what’s the big deal here? Isn’t this just an example of the anti-incumbent streak being dem…

By: funky chicken

funky chicken — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:07:51 +0000

I remember Griffith’s party switch, as I recall he did so with everything to lose and nothing to gain politically. He did so apparently as an act of pronciple in protest to The One’s socialist policies, the exact cause of many HotHead rants in these very threads.

Griffith appears to be one of a dying breed in the mold of the great Scoop Jackson, a dedicated patriotic american who put country before party. To me its a shame to see him go, but this is war, and we can chalk Griffith up as collateral damage. I wish him well.

Archimedes on June 2, 2010 at 9:07 AM

Yep. And this seat is now at least 50/50 likely to go back to democrat. Oh well.

By: neobadger

neobadger — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:57:48 +0000

Which is the bigger kiss of death; being endorsed by Barack Obama or being endorsed by the national Republican party?

By: The War Planner

The War Planner — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:20:08 +0000

"On Tuesday, Republican challenger and long-time conservative Mo Brooks handily won the three-way GOP primary, earning 35,712 votes, or 51 percent, and sending the incumbent home."

..and there's a problem here?

By: cartooner

cartooner — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 15:07:01 +0000

karenhasfreedom on June 2, 2010 at 9:54 AM

Yes, it was a weird shaped district that stretched from my house (at the time) in Ft.Worth south for over 170 miles to my Dad’s house in Conroe! BTW, Wright became Speaker of the House after Tip O’Neill before his book scandal forced him to resign.

By: dczombie

dczombie — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:44:11 +0000

It’s a shame because Griffith is a good guy and it would have been nice if he’d been rewarded with the chance to defend the seat as a republican. On the other hand, I have little sympathy for any incumbant who gets turned away at any point in the process, especially this time around. He will move on to bigger and better things and we’ll get a good solid conservative elected to that seat. In the end it will be better for him and better for us.

By: The Other McCain

The Other McCain — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:11:48 +0000

Griffith apparently didn’t do much homework before switching parties.

You can say that again. Alabama is an open-primary state, meaning that angry Democrats could request a GOP ballot and vote against Griffith.

By: antisocial

antisocial — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:02:54 +0000

Democrat Politician: I am finished if I run as a democrat. There is no tolerance for moderates(squishes), so I can’t run as a centrist democrat. I can’t even run as a Republican. Those right wingers won’t trust a former democrat. So I am screwed no matter what I do.

Republican Politician: Hey I don’t want to be a Specter. And I don’t want to be Crist. Unless I am a right winger, I am screwed.

Thank you GOD.

By: karenhasfreedom

karenhasfreedom — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:54:01 +0000

I remember Phil Graham in those days. I lived in his district which was a weird gerrymandering from College Station all the way up to the conservative side of Fort Worth Texas, hundreds of miles away from College Station.

THis weird district, which at times was only a few hundred feet wide, I believe, was gerrymandered to protect Jim Wright’s seat in the DFW area. At the time, Jim Wright was the House Majority leader until he had to resign becuase lobbyists were buying his books by the caseload just to line Wright’s pockets.

By: karenhasfreedom

karenhasfreedom — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:50:54 +0000

Crist is waiting to tell folks who is is caucasing with in DC because he is shamelessly waiting to see who has the majority in the Senate. If he wins, then he is suddenly going to discover he wants to caucus with the majority party, no matter which one. This guy is more transparent than Obama claimed he would be if he won the Presidency.

By: cartooner

cartooner — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:47:21 +0000

Rep. Phil Gramm,D-Tx, was leader of the “Boll Weevils”– who were, unlike today’s “blue dogs”,true conservative Democrats in the House. They generally voted with Pres. Reagan against their leadership.

In 1982, Gramm switched to the GOP but he did it by resigning his house seat and running for it as a Republican. He won big time. Later he became one of Texas’ best senators.

By: teke184

teke184 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:45:17 +0000

Abby Adams on June 2, 2010 at 9:10 AM

Lieberman from Dem to Indy. ( he is still a dem and caucuses with the Dems.)

Charlie Crist will not tell anyone who will caucus with. He will wait for a poll because he has no priniples.

Nelsa on June 2, 2010 at 9:23 AM

The last Dem to Republican switcher to get re-elected was one of Louisiana’s House members, Rodney Alexander, in 2004.

The reason it worked in his case is that Louisiana Democrats tend to be Blue Dogs and he positioned his party switch as him being unable to stomach what the national Dems were leaning on him to support, such as John Kerry for President.

He was also at the end of his first term in the House when he switched, so it wasn’t a blatant political move to save his career from bad polling a la Specter.

By: honsy

honsy — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:42:14 +0000

As a Florida absentee voter, I would invite Charlie Crist to bite my crust. seejanemom

If Crist would walk by my stationary vehicle, I would not lower my window to speak to him. However, he could kiss my glass!

By: Bugler

Bugler — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:38:41 +0000

The national GOP gets its nose bloodied again. I don’t know what it will take for them to get the message, but we’re not following their directions any more. Mo Brooks will be a good representative.

By: Nelsa

Nelsa — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:23:07 +0000

Abby Adams on June 2, 2010 at 9:10 AM

Lieberman from Dem to Indy. ( he is still a dem and caucuses with the Dems.) Charlie Crist will not tell anyone who will caucus with. He will wait for a poll because he has no priniples.

By: Marcus

Marcus — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:20:05 +0000

As a Florida absentee voter, I would invite Charlie Crist to bite my crust. seejanemom on June 2, 2010 at 8:59 AM

Saw Chris Matthews for a moment on Morning Joe. Seems Crist will win because Marco and the Republicans like swimming in oil at Florida beaches. Actually I don't know why Matthews is invited to predict anything: according to him the Republicans aren't going to pick up one Senate seat.

By: Lehosh

Lehosh — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:18:08 +0000

It’s not wonder they booted him in the primary. Anyone who could stay Dem during the unprincipled caterwauling of the Bush years, the time history will remember as the period in which all things non-Dem became “just like Hitler”, is probably best booted.

By: txag92

txag92 — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:16:01 +0000

Nobody likes a quitter. Enough said.

Johnnyreb on June 2, 2010 at 8:51 AM

This isn’t a Palin thread. /

By: Abby Adams

Abby Adams — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:10:37 +0000

Who were the last party switchers to win re-election? Jeffords? Did he win again after switching parties? Who else in recent years won re-election?

By: Mr. Joe

Mr. Joe — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:07:15 +0000

Would you be happy if your sister brought home Andrew Sullivan?

By: Archimedes

Archimedes — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:07:04 +0000

I remember Griffith’s party switch, as I recall he did so with everything to lose and nothing to gain politically. He did so apparently as an act of pronciple in protest to The One’s socialist policies, the exact cause of many HotHead rants in these very threads.

Griffith appears to be one of a dying breed in the mold of the great Scoop Jackson, a dedicated patriotic american who put country before party. To me its a shame to see him go, but this is war, and we can chalk Griffith up as collateral damage. I wish him well.

By: American Elephant

American Elephant — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:03:06 +0000

This election, more than any in my lifetime, is shaping up to be a clear-cut, straight forward choice between progressivism and conservatism.

The far left is mobilizing to win the Democrat primaries, but they really have no clue how massive their a** whooping is going to be this November.

By: Bishop

Bishop — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:00:03 +0000

Neither party has a clue about the public anger out here, they should count themselves lucky that we aren’t the type of people to hotwire tanks and roll them toward the capitol buildings.

By: seejanemom

seejanemom — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:59:37 +0000

As a Florida absentee voter, I would invite Charlie Crist to bite my crust.

By: GrannyDee

GrannyDee — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:59:33 +0000

Never trusted Griffith anyway. Once a libtard Dem, always a libtard Dem.

GO, MO!!!