Today Democratic Congressman from Alabama's 5th district Parker Griffith has switched parties to join the party of No (unless you want Wo). So that means that thousands on this site donated to elect a Republican. It happens, the Republicans went through this same thing with Arlen Spectre earlier in the year.
The question is what do we do about it?
Is it appropriate to ask the DCCC to stop giving money to anti-choice candidates like Griffith? Can they partition donations to a blue dog fund or something? Or would it just be better to point the DCCC at a pro-choice Democrat that they can support in Alabama like Joshua Segall. Last cycle the DCCC gave less than $5,000 to Joshua Segall in AL-03 and over $2,000,000 to anti-choice Parker Griffith and Bobby Bright in Alabama's 2nd and 5th Congressional districts. Segall lost by just a few points despite the lack of national support or media attention.
Our Progressive brothers and sisters at Left In Alabama are pissed about this. In a post entitled "Son Of a Bitch" they write
Shocked? (4.00 / 1)
Absolutely not. Pissed. Absolutely. And not because of his damned votes. Because he LIED to my face about how he would vote.
by: Gayla
So Chris Van Hollen at the DCCC is asking for our money back. That'd be nice, and if you get it how about sending it to Joshua Segall, a Democrat who's values actually line up with the most important parts of the Democratic platform.
One more note this district is still in play for us, it's not clear the teabagging right will accept Griffith in an Alabama Republican primary, and the district has continually pulled the lever for Democrats in Congress. Even if they voted heavily for McCain.
Politico, which first reported the story, notes that although Griffith's northern Alabama district has never elected a Republican for Congress, Republican Sen. John McCain won the district with 61 percent of the vote in last year's presidential election. The district includes Huntsville.
Griffith won the seat last year by a three-point margin over Republican Wayne Parker. He replaced the retiring Rep. Bud Cramer, who had also been discussed as a possible party-switcher.
UPDATE: Sarah Palin's on the Griffith train now too (and by train of course I mean luxury jet).
Thanks Scarce for this