Hi to everyone. We are organizing a district wide yard sign distribution for next Saturday the 9th and Sunday the 10th. I am still working out all of the details, but I wanted to get the word out quickly to all. We will need an immense volunteer effort to really make this a reality. We would like to paint the district red with Parker Griffith signs in one weekend. Please call me or email me and let me know your availability for next weekend. We appreciate any amount of time you can give us. Also, please help us spread the word to others who wouldn't mind putting a few yard signs up in their neighborhoods or communities. Thanks again for your help and your support. I look forward to seeing you all.
I should be able to give some time as I have already been in touch with the campaign looking for yard signs. If you can help out contact Justin at:
justin@griffithforcongress.com
www.griffithforcongress.com
1 comment:
Parker Griffith
Parker Griffith - His actions on Illegal Immigration.
****Thursday March 6th 2008*****
*
Thanks to all of those who came to the rally, it was a great success for a
Wednesday at 12:30, 3 hours away from the listening area.
*
Immigration committee hearing was a freaking disgrace.
5 Senators were present at all times. The committee did not take a vote on the
bill
Wednesday because it didn’t have a quorum. The sponsor of the bill Senator
Scott Beason says
special interests asked some lawmakers to stay away so they wouldn’t have a
quorum.
*
Who was there and who was not…
1. Ted Little - conducted the hearing and was present.
2. Wendell Mitchell - left a few minutes before the hearing was completed.
3. Scott Beason - was present until very near the end of the hearing when he
left the hearing room for a few minutes, to look for other members of the committee.
4. Kim Benefield - absent
5. Ben Brooks - present
6. Linda Coleman - absent
7. Parker Griffith - absent
8. Myron Penn - absent
9. Bobby Singleton - arrived just before the hearing ended, but after
Senator Mitchell had left the room.
10. Zeb Little - absent
11. Jabo Waggoner - present
Now I distinctly remember our illustrious legislature, including many names on that
list, passing themselves a 62% pay raise last year. And for what? So that they
cannot even attend a significant, highly anticipated committee meeting. What the hell
are we paying them to do? Is it really too much to ask that our elected officials
actually do their jobs? Seriously, they only have to meet in regular session for 30
days over the course of the entire year.
I’m not sure which is worse, the ones who didn’t have the cojones to show up and vote
up or down for all to see or the pair (Mitchell and Singleton) that did show up,
but orchestrated their movements so they wouldn’t have to vote. Mitchell and
Singleton will try to use their partial attendance to deflect criticism, but don’t be
fooled. They might as well have stayed home since their actions prevented a vote.
According to WVNN’s Dale Jackson, there were representatives of business interests
physically present
to dissuade senators from even going in to the hearing lest they succumb to the will
of the people and vote to allow the full senate to consider the bill.
The one senator whose absence is explicable, though not justified, is Parker Griffith.
You know, the guy who thinks Alabamians are too independent minded. He choose to
attend a meeting with Huntsville big wigs. The meeting was planned for some time in
advance and I don’t doubt that he will use that as an excuse, but, again, don’t be
fooled. Rep. Sue Schmitz - yes, that Sue Schmitz - was an attendee at the same
meeting and she left to take care of legislative duties. Parker Griffith could have
left as well. He chose not to. He chose to schmooze with people he has ample
opportunity to talk to most of the year while he is in Huntsville instead of
performing his legislative duties that he was elected and is paid to do.
What is truly depressing is that 74% of the senate is signed on as a sponsor or
co-sponsor of the bill.
One might think that would insure passage, but one would be wrong. This is just
another example of our legislature, at least just the senate in this case, putting on
a dog and pony show. I wonder how many senators will point out their sponsorship of
this bill to their constituents in order to placate them while actively working to
subvert its passage. They know that most voters won’t pay attention to how the bill
got killed, they will just be glad their senator had his name on it.
I hope that voters in this state will remember actions like this and like the 62% pay
raise next time they go to the polls. I’m afraid I’d have better odds wishing for
world peace, though.
From
http://www.flashpointblog.com/2008/03/06/alabama-senate-committee-conducts-civics-lesson
This entry was posted by Brian on Thursday, March 6th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
———————–
On Friday March 7, WVNN Dale Jackson posted this on the WVNN web site:
Senator Parker Griffith:
1. Why weren’t you at work on your assigned committee (Fiscal
Responsibility and Accountability Committee) hearing on March
5th.
2. Why did you feel that whatever you were doing was more important
than attending this immigration hearing.
3. Would you have voted to move this bill to the floor of the Senate?
4. Do you feel that you are serving your constituents well?
Call him at 256-533-0216 and 256-539-5441 and tell him “Dale Jackson wants to know
why you were not
at work on March 5th.”
http://www.wvnn.com/dale2.shtml
The Huntsville Times on March 7, 2008 wrote an
article about the situation.
Comments about the situation with information coming from several
sources are provided below:
Senator Parker Griffith must have felt that he was on the hot seat
because of the fury over illegal immigration as he failed to show up at a
committee hearing on March 5th. The committee lacked a quorum by one
vote as five senators, all Democrats including Parker Griffith, were
absent, thereby preventing a vote on the bill.
The stalling of the bill will probably mean it will not become law this session.
Parker Griffith had an alibi that he was meeting with some folks from
Huntsville at the time. It was pointed out that State Rep. Sue Schmitz
was also at the meeting but left temporarily to take care of
legislative duties. In a later interview the following week with Huntsville City
Councilman Glenn Watson on WVNN Radio, Watson stated that Parker
Griffith could have found the time to step away from his private
meeting to attend the Legislative Committee Meeting for a short time to
vote on the bill.
Senator Parker Griffith said he had some problems with the bill.
Griffith does admit he has problems with the bill, because it would put the
responsibility for
hiring illegals on businesses that hire them. This is a “Red Flag”
concerning how it would be enforced and how the IDs of immigrants would be
authenticated.
Senator Griffith said that he has “no position on the bill yet.”
The March 7 edition of the Huntsville Times provides much more detail
in article entitled, “Griffith and a tale of action without action”:
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/lroop.ssf?/base/news/120488495975740.xml&coll=1&thispage=3
————————-
Additional Observations
1. The bill was not voted on due to a lack of a quorum on March 5th.
2. The bill was voted on out of committee about a month later. At
that time, Senator Parker Griffith did vote “Yes” in favor of the
bill. However, due to the lateness of the date, there was not enough
time for the bill to be passed by the Alabama Legislature.
3. There was no obvious efforts by Senator Griffith to push the bill
or other bills on illegal immigration.
4. Any state senator who felt strongly about the issue of illegal
immigration, could have introduced legislation on the subject. About
10 bills to reduce illegal immigration were introduced and passed in
the Alabama House. There was a lack of effort by state senators as a
whole to take up the issue and vote on it. There is a lack of evidence
to reflect that Senator Parker Griffith did anything to push any of the bills.
Griffith and a tale of action without action
Friday, March 07, 2008
Huntsville Times
State Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, is the latest elected official to feel
voters’ fury over illegal immigration. It’s not a fun feeling.
Griffith stepped off the Senate floor in Montgomery on Thursday to return a
Huntsville columnist’s call
on why he skipped a committee meeting on an immigration bill the day before.
Griffith was one of five senators, all Democrats, whose absence meant no vote could
be taken on the bill. It’s stalled now and probably won’t become law this session.
Advertisement
The columnist’s call, Griffith said, was one of more than 100 to his office in
Huntsville, the legislative delegation office here and the Senate offices in
Montgomery.
“These people hate you,” one Senate operator told Griffith. “How did you get elected?”
Most of “these people” were apparently listeners of local conservative talk radio
host Dale Jackson. Jackson urged them to call Thursday morning and gave out Griffith’s
numbers.
On Wednesday, Jackson led a large group to the Statehouse for a rally and the
meeting. More than 150 people “squeezed” into the hearing room, reports said, and they
came home furious.
“It’s a disgrace,” Jackson said.
Knowing what we know about talk radio, the immigration bill, Parker Griffith and the
Legislature, let’s unpack this event. It’s more revealing than happy hour at a
legislators’ watering hole.
First, immigration is a real issue and perfect for talk radio. Jackson isn’t a
journalist, so he has no reason not to take sides or even lead a crusade.
Page 2 of 3
Jackson’s listeners had every right to expect Griffith to attend the meeting. That’s
what we send lawmakers to Montgomery to do.
But Griffith says he was “not available” because of a prior commitment to spend the
day with Huntsville business leaders and a local leadership class on a trip planned
“long before this bill was introduced or this hearing scheduled.”
Griffith does admit he has problems with the bill, which would put the responsibility
for hiring illegals on businesses that hire them. “Red flags,” he said, include how it
would be enforced and how the IDs of immigrants would be authenticated.
Advertisement
However, Griffith said he has “no position on the bill yet.” He realizes the issue is
“a legitimate concern,” especially in the cost of immigrants to schools and hospitals.
Let’s go a little deeper.
Skipping committee meetings to prevent votes is a time-honored Montgomery tool. The
same thing might have just happened to delay a decision on who builds Madison’s new
hospital.
This is maddening to people who want a decision, but it’s how the system works. Am I
saying that’s what Griffith did? No. I don’t know that. He was on legitimate,
long-scheduled business at the time.
However, the absence of five senators is suspicious. Someone was probably acting by
not acting.
Every major business group in Alabama opposes this bill. They control a lot of money
and influence a lot of voters. Votes and money are the two things lawmakers understand
best.
Going even deeper, this was full of ironies. age 3 of 3
Jackson and his partisans see immigration as a matter of right and wrong and law and
order. Yet, he encouraged people to call in sick, lie to their employers and make the
trip to Montgomery.
Not that they had much choice. Hearings in the middle of a workday are another
time-tested way of keeping the public out of the public’s business.
Most of the people angry now normally cheer when lawmakers don’t act. “No man’s life
or property is safe when the Legislature is in session” is a favorite conservative
quote. But it’s not so much fun when you want action.
Advertisement
Imagine Jackson’s reaction if a bill were introduced, for example, to require his
station to assure that every caller it airs has no outstanding warrants - is perfectly
legal, in other words. He’d be outraged.
Nonetheless, we see here the clash of two powerful forces - voters who want change
and a Legislature that hates most change of any kind.
Fueled by the immediacy of talk radio, more people are involved than ever. That’s
good. But can they change Montgomery? A lot of people have tried.
Here’s hoping this firefight doesn’t raise Jackson’s ratings so high he leaves for a
larger market. He’s kinda fun to have around, although Sen. Griffith might disagree.
“This (issue) is not going to be solved on somebody’s morning talk show,” he said in
parting.
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/lroop.ssf?/base/news/120488495975740.xml&coll=1&thispage=3
——————————–
Alabama Senate committee conducts civics lesson
A handful of talk radio hosts from around the state organized a rally in Montgomery
yesterday to urge the state Senate to pass a bill aimed at curbing illegal
immigration. Citizens from all over the state, including here in Huntsville (a three
hour drive), attended the rally and Senate committee meeting afterward. For their
trouble the Alabama Senate put on a civics lesson as only they could. The committee
couldn’t even muster enough members for a quorum so that the bill could go before the
full senate.
Whether the bill, Senate Bill 426 sponsored by Scott Beason (R-Gardendale), is
virtuous or not is beside the point of this post. Maybe we’ll debate it on its merits
here another time. What is truly shameful is that five senators did not even bother
to attend the hearing and another two senators engaged in a bit of choreography so
that neither would be in the room at the same time and cause the committee to meet the
quorum requirements.
Here is a list of the committee members and their status during the meeting:
* Ted Little - conducted the hearing and was present.
* Wendell Mitchell - left a few minutes before the hearing was completed.
* Scott Beason - was present until very near the end of the hearing when he left
the hearing room for a few minutes, to look for other members of the committee.
* Kim Benefield - absent
* Ben Brooks - present
* Linda Coleman - absent
* Parker Griffith - absent
* Myron Penn - absent
* Bobby Singleton - arrived just before the hearing ended, but after Senator
Mitchell had left the room.
* Zeb Little - absent
* Jabo Waggoner - present
Now I distinctly remember our illustrious legislature, including many names on that
list, passing themselves a 62% pay raise last year. And for what? So that they
cannot even attend a significant, highly anticipated committee meeting. What the hell
are we paying them to do? Is it really too much to ask that our elected officials
actually do their jobs? Seriously, they only have to meet in regular session for 30
days over the course of the entire year.
I’m not sure which is worse, the ones who didn’t have the cojones to show up and vote
up or down for all to see or the pair (Mitchell and Singleton) that did show up, but
orchestrated their movements so they wouldn’t have to vote. Mitchell and Singleton
will try to use their partial attendance to deflect criticism, but don’t be fooled.
They might as well have stayed home since their actions prevented a vote.
According to WVNN’s Dale Jackson, there were representatives of business interests
physically present to dissuade senators from even going in to the hearing lest they
succumb to the will of the people and vote to allow the full senate to consider the
bill.
The one senator whose absence is explicable, though not justified, is Parker
Griffith. You know, the guy who thinks Alabamians are too independent minded. He
choose to attend a meeting with Huntsville big wigs. The meeting was planned for some
time in advance and I don’t doubt that he will use that as an excuse, but, again,
don’t be fooled. Rep. Sue Schmitz - yes, that Sue Schmitz - was an attendee at the
same meeting and she left to take care of legislative duties. Parker Griffith could
have left as well. He chose not to. He chose to schmooze with people he has ample
opportunity to talk to most of the year while he is in Huntsville instead of
performing his legislative duties that he was elected and is paid to do.
What is truly depressing is that 74% of the senate is signed on as a sponsor or
co-sponsor of the bill. One might think that would insure passage, but one would be
wrong. This is just another example of our legislature, at least just the senate in
this case, putting on a dog and pony show. I wonder how many senators will point out
their sponsorship of this bill to their constituents in order to placate them while
actively working to subvert its passage. They know that most voters won’t pay
attention to how the bill got killed, they will just be glad their senator had his
name on it.
I hope that voters in this state will remember actions like this and like the 62% pay
raise next time they go to the polls. I’m afraid I’d have better odds wishing for
world peace,
though.
http://www.flashpointblog.com/2008/03/06/alabama-senate-committee-conducts-civics-lesson/
—————————
State Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, is the latest elected official to feel
voters’ fury over illegal immigration. It’s not a fun feeling.
Griffith stepped off the Senate floor in Montgomery on Thursday to return a
Huntsville columnist’s call on why he skipped a
committee meeting on an immigration bill the day before.
Griffith was one of five senators, all Democrats, whose absence meant no vote could
be taken on the bill.
It’s stalled now and probably won’t become law this session
But Griffith says he was “not available” because of a prior commitment to spend the
day with
Huntsville business leaders and a local leadership class on a trip planned “long
before this bill was
introduced or this hearing scheduled.”
Griffith does admit he has problems with the bill, which would put the responsibility
for
hiring illegals on businesses that hire them. “Red flags,” he said, include how it
would be enforced and
how the IDs of immigrants would be authenticated.
State Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, is the latest elected official to feel
voters’ fury over illegal immigration. It’s not a fun feeling.
Griffith stepped off the Senate floor in Montgomery on Thursday to return a
Huntsville columnist’s call on why he skipped a committee meeting on an immigration
bill the day before.
Griffith was one of five senators, all Democrats, whose absence meant no vote could
be taken on the bill.
It’s stalled now and probably won’t become law this session.
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