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===2010 election===
===2010 election===
Griffith is expected to run for Congress again, for the first time as a member of the Republican party. He is going to face a [[Primary election|primary]] challenge from Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks and conservative activist Les Phillips. Some conservatives are criticizing Griffith for donating money for [[Howard Dean]]'s and [[Harry Reid]]'s political campaigns.
Griffith is expected to run for Congress again, for the first time as a member of the Republican party. He is going to face a [[Primary election|primary]] challenge from Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks and conservative activist Les Phillips.


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 20:13, 4 January 2010

Parker Griffith
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Alabama's 5th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2009
Preceded byBud Cramer
Member of the Alabama Senate
from the 7th district
In office
2006 - 2009
Preceded byJeff Enfinger
Succeeded byPaul Sanford
Personal details
Born (1942-08-06) August 6, 1942 (age 82)
Shreveport, Louisiana
Political partyDemocratic (2006-December 22,2009)
Republican (December 22,2009-present)
SpouseVirginia Griffith
ResidenceHuntsville, Alabama
Alma materLouisiana State University
Louisiana State University Medical School
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
ProfessionRadiation Oncologist
United States Army Reserves Medical Unit

Parker Griffith, M.D. (born August 6, 1942) is an American politician and Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Alabama's 5th congressional district since 2009. He is a retired, board certified Radiation Oncologist. He was a Blue Dog Democrat[1] but announced on December 22, 2009, that he has joined the Republican party due to disagreement with Democratic Party policies.[2][3][4]

Background

Griffith was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He taught 7th-grade math at T.H. Harris Junior High School in Metairie, Louisiana prior to admission to medical school. He received his medical degree with honors from the Louisiana State University Medical School in 1970 and served in residency at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. After a stint at the LSU Service Charity Hospital in New Orleans and a year of neurosurgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas, Griffith began his training to become a radiation oncologist, a cancer doctor who specializes in using radiation to cure cancer, training in radiation oncology through a combined program between UTMB and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1970 to 1973 while continuing his medical training at the LSU Service Charity Hospital in New Orleans[5].

Griffith moved to Huntsville, Ala., and established the Huntsville Cancer Treatment Center, the state's first-ever comprehensive cancer-treatment facility. As a physician, he provided discounted and, in some cases, free care to patients who lacked insurance. Griffith also conducted several clinical trials in conjunction with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine, and he partnered with St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.[6] He retired from medicine in December 1992, though he still holds a license to practice in both Alabama and Texas. He resides in Huntsville and, along with his wife Virginia, has 5 children and eleven grandchildren. Griffith is a founder of the Griffith Family Foundation, which awards cash grants to elementary school libraries across North Alabama. Since its funding in 2005, the foundation has given over $50,000 to area schools.[6]

Griffith ran for Mayor of Huntsville against popular three-term mayor Loretta Spencer in 2004. He then ran for the Alabama State Senate in 2006, defeating Cheryl Baswell Guthrie in a race where he carried 66% of the vote to Guthrie's 34%.[7]

Before his election to the United States Congress, Griffith was a member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 7th District from 2006 to 2008. The district includes parts of Madison County and Huntsville. During his term, he sponsored bills to promote investment in alternative fuels, cut taxes and establish a Statewide Trauma Care System to speed critical medical care.

2008 U.S. Congress campaign

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Alabama, 2008 § District 5

On March 22, 2008 Griffith announced that he would run for the open seat in the 5th District. The district's 9-term incumbent, fellow Democrat Bud Cramer, was not running for reelection.[8] He won the June 2008 Democratic primary election with 90% of the vote, defeating physicist David Maker. Cramer had endorsed Griffith in the primary.[9]

Griffith faced Republican Wayne Parker, an insurance agent from Huntsville, in the November election. Parker had sought this seat unsuccessfully twice before, in 1994 and 1996, losing both times to Bud Cramer.

The 5th was considered one of the few realistic chances for a Republican pickup in what was forecast to be a very bleak year for Republicans, due to the district and state's recent voting history. The 5th is one of the few districts in the former Confederacy that has not elected a Republican since Reconstruction. Democrats still hold most local offices as well as most state legislative seats in the area, but the district's residents have been increasingly willing to support Republicans at the national and state level. It last supported a Democrat for president in 1984,[10] and George W. Bush and John McCain won the district by wide double-digit margins in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Due to these trends, most forecasters rated the district as a toss-up. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'No Clear Favorite', The Cook Political Report ranked it 'Democratic Toss Up', and The Rothenberg Political Report rated it 'Pure Toss-Up'.[11][12][13]

Griffith defeated Parker, taking 52 percent of the vote to Parker's 48 percent. He carried all but one of the district's seven counties. This came even as McCain (who carried the 5th with 61 percent of the vote) and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (whose seat was up for re-election) won every county in the district. His victory, and that of Bobby Bright in the 2nd District, gave Alabama two white Democratic congressmen for the first time since Glen Browder and Tom Bevill left the House in 1997.

Congressional career

Political positions

Griffith has stated that he leans conservative on a variety of issues. He states that he is a fiscal conservative who has called repeatedly for reducing the national debt. He is a strong supporter of NASA and America's dominance in space.[14] Griffith also states that he favors increased defense spending, supports gun rights, a balanced budget, secure borders, investment in nuclear power and offshore drilling and is Pro-Life. He opposes same-sex marriage. Griffith voted against the Affordable Health Care for America Act, cap-and-trade legislation and the 2009 economic stimulus act.[15] Griffith is now getting criticism from some on the right who claim that he voted with House democratic leadership 84% of the time. Griffith argues however that the majority of these votes were non-substantive procedural votes.

Party switch

On December 22, 2009, Griffith announced he would become a Republican. He cited the health care bill as a major reason for his switch, and had also clashed with the Democrats over fiscal and foreign policy. During his announcement, he stated:

"I believe our nation is at a crossroads and I can no longer align myself with a party that continues to pursue legislation that is bad for our country, hurts our economy, and drives us further and further into debt."[16]

The GOP had been courting Griffith since August, when he publicly criticized the Democratic House leadership in the wake of raucous town hall meetings in his district, stating that he wouldn't vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker as she is "divisive and polarizing".[2] He also opposes the White House's decision to cancel a missile defense shield in Europe, which could have contributed to Huntsville's defense industry.[17] His switch is the first time a member of Congress switched from the majority party to the minority party since New York Representative Michael Forbes' switch from Republican to Democrat in 2000.[citation needed]In response to his party switch, by January 2010, most of Griffith’s staff had resigned, including his chief of staff, legislative director and press secretary [18]

Committee assignments

As a result of the change in party affiliation, Griffith has been stripped of all of his committee assignments. He previously sat as a Democrat on the Committee on Science and Technology (Subcommittees on Water Resources and Environment, Research and Science Education, and Space and Aeronautics), Committee on Small Business (Subcommittees on Contracting and Technology, Regulations, Healthcare and Trade, and Investigations and Oversight), and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management and Water Resources and Environment).

2010 election

Griffith is expected to run for Congress again, for the first time as a member of the Republican party. He is going to face a primary challenge from Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks and conservative activist Les Phillips.

References

  1. ^ http://www.house.gov/melancon/BlueDogs/index.html
  2. ^ a b Kraushaar, Josh (December 22, 2009). "House Dem blames leaders for party switch". The Politico. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  3. ^ "House Dem to switch to Republican". CNN. December 22, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009. Sources confirm to CNN that Democratic Rep. Parker Griffith will announce Tuesday that he's switching parties and will run for re-election next year as a Republican.
  4. ^ "Officials: House Democrat will switch to GOP". USA Today. December 22, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009. WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior House aides say freshman Democratic lawmaker Parker Griffith of Alabama is switching to the Republican Party.
  5. ^ http://www.astro.org/Publications/ASTROnews/ASTROnews_Members/2009ASTROnews/documents/Summer09.pdf
  6. ^ a b "Parker Griffith (R-Ala.)". Washington Post / WhoRunsGov.com.
  7. ^ Flashpoint Blog [1]
  8. ^ Campbell, Steve. Griffith is running for Cramer's seat Huntsville Times, 2008-04-10.
  9. ^ Lowry, Bob. Bud Cramer says he is endorsing Parker Griffith Huntsville Times, April 10, 2008
  10. ^ Osborne, Matt (December 23, 2009). "Parker Griffith's Christmas Present To Alabama Democrats". Huffington Post.
  11. ^ U.S. House, Alabama - 2nd District CQ Politics
  12. ^ 2008 Competitive House Race Chart The Cook Political Report, August 30, 2008
  13. ^ 2008 House Ratings The Rothenberg Political Report, July 19, 2008
  14. ^ http://www.spacepolitics.com/2009/12/19/nasa-versus-the-deficit/
  15. ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll887.xml
  16. ^ AP (2009-12-23). Democrat in House switches to GOP. The Boston Globe, 23 December 2009. Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/12/23/democrat_in_house_switches_to_gop/.
  17. ^ "Congressman Parker Griffith announces party change". WBRC. 2009-12-23.
  18. ^ MSNBC, Most of Griffith’s staff resigns, Jan 4 2010 http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/04/2164933.aspx
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Alabama's 5th congressional district
2009–present 		Incumbent
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