Parker Griffith wants you to believe he is an independent...
I find this whole issue of State Senator Parker Griffith (D-Huntsville), conservatism and independence to be rather amusing.
Today I had Sen. Griffith on my radio show and we began by talking about gas prices (which we are being told is the #1 issue in November), Griffith assured me that if he was elected he would vote to drill off the coast of the U.S. now. A pretty remarkable position for someone running as a Democrat, especially considering how adamant the national party is against drilling.
You see, Parker Griffith is a Democrat but he is an "independent," or at least he wants you to believe he is. He used the term at least 5 times to describe himself during the interview. Griffith considers himself an "independent" and wants to be the next Bud Cramer, the problem is Bud Cramer is not an "independent." He is a Democrat, a Democrat who voted to go home for 5 weeks (who gets 5 weeks off a year?) instead of debating drilling, Cramer voted for timetables in Iraq, Cramer voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House and Cramer has supported her agenda 93% of the time.
How is that for independence?
Does Parker Griffith really want to be the next Bud Cramer?
In fairness, Griffith said Cramer was wrong and he would not have cast that vote, which is a pretty easy statement to make. But would Parker Griffith be on the floor of the House this morning demanding that Congress get back to work? No, he couldn't and the reason is simple. Parker Griffin will be beholden to Nancy Pelosi and unable to stand as an "independent" and he knows this.
It is obvious he knows this because he also told me that he would not reveal his choice for President in '08 because it is a "secret ballot." Seriously, that was his response. It is not like I asked the Secretary of State to reveal his vote or for him to let me go in the booth with him. He is staking this position out because he knows it will be hard to operate in DC if he is quoted in the press saying he supports John McCain and he knows he can't get there by supporting Barack Obama.
To me, it seems pretty clear John McCain and Barack Obama have two very different visions for this country and it should be rather simple for someone running for political office to pick one.
How can a major candidate in a contested race not be clear with voters at every opportunity?
Why does this matter? Because, this is the guy is claiming he is going to thumb his nose at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, but can't answer the question as to who he will vote for in November because he knows he can't support Barack Obama and win in North Alabama.
Need more proof of Griffith's conservatism and independence? Check out Brian at Flashpointblog.com's dissection of Griffith's immigration record.
Best part:
Today I had Sen. Griffith on my radio show and we began by talking about gas prices (which we are being told is the #1 issue in November), Griffith assured me that if he was elected he would vote to drill off the coast of the U.S. now. A pretty remarkable position for someone running as a Democrat, especially considering how adamant the national party is against drilling.
You see, Parker Griffith is a Democrat but he is an "independent," or at least he wants you to believe he is. He used the term at least 5 times to describe himself during the interview. Griffith considers himself an "independent" and wants to be the next Bud Cramer, the problem is Bud Cramer is not an "independent." He is a Democrat, a Democrat who voted to go home for 5 weeks (who gets 5 weeks off a year?) instead of debating drilling, Cramer voted for timetables in Iraq, Cramer voted for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House and Cramer has supported her agenda 93% of the time.
How is that for independence?
Does Parker Griffith really want to be the next Bud Cramer?
In fairness, Griffith said Cramer was wrong and he would not have cast that vote, which is a pretty easy statement to make. But would Parker Griffith be on the floor of the House this morning demanding that Congress get back to work? No, he couldn't and the reason is simple. Parker Griffin will be beholden to Nancy Pelosi and unable to stand as an "independent" and he knows this.
It is obvious he knows this because he also told me that he would not reveal his choice for President in '08 because it is a "secret ballot." Seriously, that was his response. It is not like I asked the Secretary of State to reveal his vote or for him to let me go in the booth with him. He is staking this position out because he knows it will be hard to operate in DC if he is quoted in the press saying he supports John McCain and he knows he can't get there by supporting Barack Obama.
To me, it seems pretty clear John McCain and Barack Obama have two very different visions for this country and it should be rather simple for someone running for political office to pick one.
How can a major candidate in a contested race not be clear with voters at every opportunity?
Why does this matter? Because, this is the guy is claiming he is going to thumb his nose at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, but can't answer the question as to who he will vote for in November because he knows he can't support Barack Obama and win in North Alabama.
Need more proof of Griffith's conservatism and independence? Check out Brian at Flashpointblog.com's dissection of Griffith's immigration record.
Best part:
One of the six senators on the committee who failed to show up was none other than Parker Griffith. He was in a meeting with business groups from Huntsville and said that he couldn’t leave to attend even a portion of the hour plus meeting. But Rep. Sue Schmitz was at the same meeting with Huntsville business leaders and said that she stepped out to attend to her legislative duties. If Griffith really supported Beason’s bill wouldn’t he have briefly left the glad handing session and gone to the FRAC meeting long enough for them to vote and move the bill along?
The next day a columnist from The Huntsville Times called Griffith to ask him about the situation. Griffith told the Times that he had “no position on the bill yet.” With co-sponsors like that who needs opponents?!
posted by Dale Jackson at
8/04/2008 10:11:00 AM
1 Comments:
Not only has Griffith declined to state which candidate he is supporting for President, he has also refused to say whether he will support Nancy Pelosi for Speaker.
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