UPDATED: First health care casualty… Dems lose freshman Alabama House Rep to GOP

Update [via Mike's America] Griffith, a physician and now Republican:
Mata Musing: Thanks Mike. Also added McConnell’s statement at the bottom of the post.

Griffith: “I was not sent to congress to represent a party. I was sent to congress to represent the people….Joining the Republican party is what is best for our country, best for Alabama, best for our children’s future…After watching this agenda firsthand I now believe that the differences in the two parties could not be more clear and that for me to be true to my core beliefs and values I must align myself with the Republican party and speak out clearly on these issues.”

JOSH KRAUSHAAR over at Politico has the latest scoop… Freshman House Representative Parker Griffith will be announcing he’s officially switching his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican this afternoon.

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.

While the timing of his announcement was unexpected, Griffith’s party switch will not come as a surprise to those familiar with his voting record, which is one of the most conservative among Democrats.

He has bucked the Democratic leadership on nearly all of its major domestic initiatives, including the stimulus package, health care legislation, the cap-and trade energy bill and financial regulatory reform.

He was one of only 11 House Democrats to vote against the stimulus.

continue reading at link above

Statement from Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell:

Washington, D.C. — Statement of the Senate Republican Leader, Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on Congressman Parker Griffith’s announcement.

“Americans throughout the country share Congressman Griffith’s frustration, and his announcement today should be a sign to Democrats that their agenda has turned sharply away from mainstream America. American families have had enough of trillion-dollar spending plans, mountains of debt, new national energy taxes, and this latest 2,733-page health care monstrosity.

“Republicans welcome Congressman Griffith and welcome his continued efforts to focus on the priorities of the vast majority of Americans who want their government to focus on creating jobs instead of mortgaging our grandchildren’s future with big government experiments.”